Two of the most beautiful countries!

Glenn and I left on Monday morning and returned to Budapest on Friday afternoon.  We spent 5 days visiting our families in Croatia and Slovenia.   I'm sorry, but I don't have pictures from each place we visited because I kept forgetting to take my camera with me when we'd go out!

We spent one night in Croatia, then ....

... entered Slovenia.

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and is a very beautiful city.  I've come to realize that if a city has a river flowing through it, chances are very good that the local government beautifies it for its' citizens and tourism.  The river looks green here, but it really wasn't.  

Gorgeous cobblestone pedestrian streets.

There's a "small" castle up on the hill, a short walk UP.  

The castle grounds gave us some spectacular views of the city.

This is the Grand Union Hotel, once visited by former Presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush.

The sun was shining and everyone was out enjoying it's warmth.  In case you were wondering, the Euro look is still alive and well in this part of the world.  Just look at the man who is window shopping.  Glenn is trying his best to "fit in", but all he is willing to do is wear a vest.  He can't do the man-pris, white socks and sandals.  YET.

We then headed to Bovec, a winter-sports resort town of 1,800 people, living on the edge of the Alps. The scenery was so awesome.  Warm down in the valley, but definitely cooler once we got up into the mountains.   Brrrr.  

This is a snow catcher, found in the lower elevations to prevent the winds from blowing the snow into high snow drifts.  

There was still snow on the ground higher up, obviously, but fortunately the roads were well cleared.

We came upon a road that was closed due to heavy snowfall and had to turn around and find another way.  Thankfully, we had our reliable TomTom (GPS).  Our friends told us that this particular road is closed every year from October to May, due to snow falling so often that the road crews can't keep it cleared enough to be safe.  I'm so glad it was closed due to snow because they also said there were 52 hairpin turns on that road as it went up and down over the mountains to Bovec!

Breathtaking.

I don't like going down mountains because I feel out of control, but I do love driving through the valleys and looking up!

Glenn loves this sign that we saw several times.  Is it warning us that there are crashed motorcycles ahead???

Crisp, cool lake at the bottom of the "hill", on our way to Maribor where we enjoyed a delicious meal at a Mexican restaurant with another one of our families.  I dined on chimichanga's and Glenn had fajitas.  We had a great time! 

On our way from Maribor back to Budapest, we had to drive through the southern part of Austria.

We decided to stop at a grocery store in Klagenfurt, Austria to pick up a few things that we can't get in Hungary.  I was shocked to see these Starbucks products!  And no, I didn't buy any, but it was neat to see them.

We passed through Nagykanizsa (in southwestern Hungary) where we have a married couple and two Journeymen (actually, Journeygirls).  Unfortunately, only one Journeygirl was in town but we stopped long enough to take her out for lunch.  

See where Glenn parked our car, right next to the fire hydrant?  It is not against the law to park next to a fire hydrant unless otherwise marked.  Phew!  Guess these stone buildings don't catch on fire very often and it's a risk the fire department is willing to take!

We got there a little earlier than planned so spent a few minutes waiting for our lunch date in the city center park.  

There were a dozen or so flower beds!  (Notice the man sitting on the bench???  That's Glenn, enjoying the sun.)

Another flower garden.

At the other end of the square.

I love spring in Hungary because of all the flowers!

We stopped at a local grocery store near our house to pick up some milk and I saw this awesome hair salon that specializes in cutting children's hair!  

Once home, we unpacked our suitcases and put away the A & W Root Beer that we got from our friends in Maribor.  Glenn and I both love icy cold Root Beer from clear frosty mugs!   (Now, y'all don't all start going to Maribor to get your own cans of A & W because you can't buy them in a store. Our friends have connections with someone who has commissary privileges in another country.)  :-)  :-)  :-)

We've got a very busy weekend, and then we're going somewhere very special next week!  Stay tuned for the big announcement, coming soon to this site!