2016 Germany: Slovenia, Italy, and The Matterhorn
We left
Austria and headed south towards Slovenia. The day’s drive was as pleasant and as
scenic as the previous day. By the end of the day, we made our destination,
Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Kranjska
Gora has an interesting vibe seemingly caught somewhere between Western European and
Eastern Russian cultures. Although this observation is not at all surprising, I
suppose their culture is uniquely their own. German is not the local language and the
locals are not as fluent in English as I found the Germans and Austrians to be.
Just as I started to get comfortable struggling with my minimal German language
skills, we are in another country where German is a language that "those other people speak." This fact just added to the adventure.
The village is a popular mountain ski resort destination. Old architecture next to
new architecture implied an economic boon was underway; perhaps a result of the
fall of the Soviet empire.
It was
raining just enough to discourage any lengthy hike or exploratory sight-seeing but not enough
to go find a bakery and over-indulge in some local pastries and too much
coffee. I ducked into the first one I found getting cover out of the rain. A pleasant young local girl, somewhere in her early 20s, was behind the counter
greeted me with a smile. “Sprechen sie Deutsch?” I asked. She shook her head
no. “Espanol?” I inquired. Again, the head shake. “English?” …She responded, in
perfect English, “No.”….Ok, I thought, I’ll just point but for the safety of
everyone in the country, make damn sure you understand what coffee is. Pointing
to two pastries and the coffee machine, I was relieved to learn she was fluent
in my pointing skills. While making the coffee, she accidentally knocked over the
cup and let out a loud, “Awwww fuck!”. Turning around, she gave me that same big
smile she gave me when I walked in. We both laughed, and had there not been 3
feet of counter between us, I’d would have given her a high five and a knuckle
bump for her gracious exercise, recognition, and understanding of our American traditions
and customs, making me feel right at home. The pastries and coffee were both as memorable as my encounter with the Slovenian Awww Fuck Girl.
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| Slovenia |
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| Slovenia |
While I
would have liked to spend more time in Slovenia, Kranjska Gora was just a stopping
place with our real destination being Venice, Italy.
In the
morning, Oma and I had a quick breakfast and loaded up our car. Before we got
out of the driveway, the owner of the home we stayed in chased us demanding we
pay for the rooms. Since I had reserved the room online and gave them my credit card
months in advance, I figured it was all taken care of. Embarrassed and feeling
like I was a bad example of American dignity, I went to the office, apologized
for my misunderstanding, and paid the manager. Sorry dude.
We quickly
made our way into Italy heading towards Venice. One thing we learned as soon as
we crossed the border was that while the Italians mastered the art of architecture,
building, and wine making, they totally miss the target when it comes to road
signage. At this they suck. I've concluded the fall of the Roman Empire can be attributed to substandard and flawed signage. Needless to say, we took numerous wrong turns
before finally getting to Mestre, Italy, just outside of Venice. We finally
found our room for the next two nights.
In the
morning, Oma and I got on the train and made our way to Venice, a short 15
minute ride. I had been to Venice 6 years before and knew that walking the
streets of Venice would be tough for Oma. It didn’t matter. Oma was going to
see Venice and ride on a gondola if it was the last thing she ever did…..and
she did it. ….like a champ!
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| Oma on her gondola ride |
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| Oma walking the street of Venice |
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| Oma and Der Duck in Venice |
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| Oma eating Italian gelato for the first time.....like a boss! |
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| Sierra Madre in the house |
After two
days, we left Venice and headed west towards Lake Como. Again, the road signage sucked but by
midday we made it to our destination. We took a small stroll along the lake’s
edge and enjoyed a delicious meal at a popular outdoor restaurant on the lake.
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| Lake Como |
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| Lake Como |
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| Sunset on Lake Como |
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| Walking the shore of Lake Como |
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| Lake Como |
In the
morning we headed into Switzerland, thru the Alps, and to our next destination in
Zermatt, a small village at the base of the Matterhorn. We took a cog railroad up to the village at
the end of the road and found a spot where Oma could get a view of the
Matterhorn. We also had the best Bratwurst sandwiches in all of Europe.
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| Train ride to see the Matterhorn |
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| Krom horn musicians |
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| Oma with Matterhorn in the far background |
In the
morning, after breakfast, and just as we were leaving to head back towards
Munich, Oma fell and hurt her foot. Of course, in true Oma fashion and style,
not a single complaint. We spent the day driving through the Alps towards
Germany.
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| Somewhere in the Alps |
After a day’s
drive and by the time we got to our hotel in Munich, Oma finally told me she needed to go
to an emergency room. After waiting hours in a local ER with the local junkies
and young girl who somehow found pleasure cutting herself (this time a little
too deep), the xrays showed Oma had broken her foot. In the end, Oma decided
she could no longer continue on her vacation and needed to go back home.
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| Oma waiting in the ER |
The
disappointment in her eyes broke my heart. And again, not a single complaint from
Oma. Damn I love that woman!
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| Boarding the plane with a smile on her face |
