Two NEW countries...

... out of the seven we will be visiting on this trip!  We started 6 days ago in western Hungary, visiting with friends, but unfortunately, I failed to take pictures of us at the thermal bath with Paul and Tena, and with Bethany and Michelle when we went out for dinner!

The next day, we headed toward Bovec, Slovenia (new country) through Austria ...  

It was time for lunch when we were driving through Wolfsberg, a tiny village in the corner of Austria, close to the Italy and Slovenia borders.   According to our GPS, there was a Pedro's Mexican restaurant in Wolfsberg.  I thought to myself, "Maybe this is the best Mexican restaurant in Europe, and I'm going to discover it for the benefit of all our friends in Europe!"  Well, evidently it was not very good because it had not succeeded.   However, while looking for Pedro's, we stumbled upon the AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSE sandwich shop!  

We saw this signboard on the sidewalk on Johann Offner Strasse (Johann Offner Street) which advertised Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches!!!  So we quickly followed the ONE WAY sign that pointed  into an alley.   LO, and behold!  It was the real thing!  We talked with Jason, an American married to an Austrian and the owner of the sandwich shop, about his story and how he came to be in this little corner of the world, tucked away in a quaint village.  You may be quicker than me, but "Lighthouse" and "One Way" signs should have clued me in to the fact that Jason is a believer and this is his "raison d'être" (reason for being) in Austria!  How cool!  If you are ever in this part of Austria, you really ought to go by and try one of his cheesesteak sandwiches.  Ask him to add a hot pepper or two!  

If you have any questions about how to find his place, send him a message on Facebook.  Tell him the Borders recommended the place to you!

To get to Bovec, Slovenia, we had to go around some of the Alps, through the corner of Italy.  We were only in Italy about 30 minutes, and according to our children, we can't consider ourselves to have visited Italy unless we had eaten a meal and conversed with a local person.  We just drove through it so we couldn't count this as one of the countries we've visited.  (Not together, anyway.  I visited Italy when I was in middle school and living in Germany with my parents.)

It was a tiny town with winding roads up the hillside ...

and "bykers" everywhere.  Our son, Chris, would have loved the Italian Dragon Tail!  

The scenery was awesome, once we got on the autoroute and off the winding, hilly roads that scared me silly.

In Bovec, Slovenia, a tourist town made popular because of all the outdoor sports available, we met with one of our families during the afternoon while 2 of their girls were taking golfing lessons, and then we all went out for a celebratory birthday dinner for the dad.   I wish I'd thought to take pictures of the girls with their golf clubs!!

While we were heading out of town, I saw one of these benches with a Bible verse engraved on it next to a gas station.  I wondered if our family in Bovec knew there were some other Christians in their town, but as I found out later, THEY were the ones who'd had the benches made and placed around town!  

In fact, Central Baptist Church of Magnolia, Arkansas sends volunteer teams out each year to make the benches and "plant" them in various locations in this corner of the world.  It is such a small world!  Glenn did an internship at Central Baptist Church as Minister to Youth and Senior Adults when we were first married, back in the late 70's, and I think we know the man in the dark striped shirt from our days at Central!  What a cool ministry!  (Photo provided by one of our families.)

  

From there we traveled to Maribor, Slovenia to visit with the Bell's.  They had just returned from a trip to Germany and had such a busy schedule that day that we only had a couple of pleasant hours with them at a coffee shop known for its delicious desserts.  As the Brits would say, it was "spot on!"

We drove on down to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia to spend some time with J.P. and Angie.  As it turned out, Angie's parents were arriving at the Venice, Italy airport that evening, a 3-hour drive, so we spent a couple of hours with them, and then let them get on the road.   Before this trip, Sarajevo, Bosnia was my favorite city, but once I saw the city center of Ljubljana, it moved up to first place.  

Any city that has a beautiful river running through the center is likely to get one of my votes.

And if the city has sidewalks and cafe's all along the river, it's even more appealing.

We stayed over night in Ljubljana and enjoyed the market the next morning.

They had some very different kinds of flowers for sale!

I always enjoy outdoor fruit and vegetable markets!  I just wish I'd had a kitchen to prepare something with all the yummy produce!

I also enjoy the grocery stores in every country I visit.  Slovenia doesn't have a lot of American products, but in EVERY grocery store I visited, I found Oreos.  

The city center streets were blocked off to cars and trucks, so people walked everywhere.  WATCH OUT for those BIKES though!  They were everywhere!

We loved walking, and walking, and walking.

I was amazed by all the gorgeous flowers.  These Begonia's were the largest potted flowers I've ever seen.

And this is probably one of the most bizarre sites I've ever seen!  Pairs of shoes thrown over a rope tied between two buildings.  I asked a local man who spoke English what it symbolized, or was it a memorial, or what.  He didn't really know.  Hey, anyone from Ljubljana, can you tell me what this is all about?

We had a lovely time in Ljubljana and I hated to leave, but we needed to run on down to Zagreb, Croatia (new country) to visit with a family and then get to Rakovica, Croatia before nightfall.  Actually, the family lives in Brdovec, near Zagreb.  (Please, may I buy a vowel?)  We enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal of grilled chicken, roasted potatoes and mixed salad, and then went for dessert and coffee at one of their favorite bakeries.  

On our way to Rakovica where we took a day off, we stopped to have dinner at a rustic looking restaurant on a back road somewhere.  One of our families recommended we try the trout because they are fresh, caught from one of the nearby rivers.  We were not disappointed in the grilled trout!!

After leaving Rakovica, we traveled through rocky, mountainous terrain for 3 hours on wonderful roads that took us to Split, a coastal city in the southwestern part of Croatia.  The dry, barren, rocky soil and craggy mountains reminds me of Israel.

Lots of rocks and very unusual rock formations but very smooth highways!

Glenn has been driving us for 6 days now and I think he was really glad to get out of the car!  We arrived in Stobrec, just outside Split, in the middle of the afternoon and got to enjoy some time in the sun.

Though our room is small, it is air conditioned and it overlooks the marina in the bay.  We can see a small beach on the other side and houses rising up the hillside.   Small cafe's line the edge of the water.  The water is very clear and refreshingly cool.   I was tempted to go swimming. 

I succumbed to the temptation.    I loved every minute of it.  (We found floats in the stairwell for the guests of the building.)   :-)

After a short swim float, we walked into the main part of the town and ate at a restaurant overlooking the water.  And tonight, we're working on emails.  Well, after I finish this blog update.  

We meet with a family tomorrow, and then head on to Bosnia the next day.   

Next weeks' blog update:  Bosnia and Serbia