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Near the Rialto Bridge

We were walking along a street just a little ways from the Rialto Bridge when I recognized the street and our surroundings. Then I saw a shop that I knew. I spoke to Margaret: "That is where you bought your prints."

On a previous trip Margaret had entered the shop and told the proprietor that she had a question. The proprietor, assuming that this tourist needed some tourist information, told her to ask her question and he would do his best to answer it. No, she had said, she had a question about his prints. He had then closed the door of his tiny store and turned the sign, saying "that is different." After some discussion, he had showed her the very old book from which he printed copies of a print Margaret liked. She reached out to touch the book but he stopped her, saying "I show, you look. No book, no business."

But now, seeing the store, Margaret also saw that the proprietor was standing in the doorway. In her excitement, she told him "I bought prints from you the last time we were in Venice!" And he replied "Yes, I remember."

So we kept walking, discussing his claim that he remembered a customer from 18 months earlier. Yes, it is possible. But likely? Who can say? But it was nice to see the store and the proprietor again.

Ljubljana and Venice

Spent three nights in beautiful Ljubljiana.

Serbian Orhodox Church in Ljubljana.

Inside the Orthodox Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.

A couple dozen dressed up farm vehicles provided our own private parade.

Rick Steves' book on Ljubljana says that the number one thing to spend time in riverside cafes watching people. We did our share of drinking cappuccinos at various cafes.

Venice. Spent hours on the vaporettos. A fabulous place to end our vacation.

Venetian sunset. The perfect way to end our vacation.

Slovenia to Austria and back to Slovenia

This is a long post with many pictures taken over three days. We left the mountains of Slovenia on Wednesday and headed into Austria. The land soon became more level and farmers were out mowing hay.

We passed many villages, always with a prominent church. Notice the corn crop in the foreground. An Iowa farm girl always has to check the crops and evaluate the soil.

This is a type of barn that we had not seen previously. Notice the latticework windows for ventilation.

In the distance Margaret saw the glint of gold, so we had to investigate. The International Institute of Meditation. Out in the middle of nowhere.

We have seen many roadside shrines but in this area we saw some with pictures of saints on three sides.

Benedictine abbey at St. Paul im Lavanttal. The abbey sold its original Gutenberg Bible to the United States back around 1930 to raise the money needed to replace the roof. Now they have given up on English language interpretive materials because of shortage of funds.

Church built in the 1400s in Maria Saal, Austria.

The Mosser Inn in St Veit an der Glan, Austria.

Traditional garb is popular, not only in Salzberg but in other parts of Austria, as well.

Town square in Friesach, Austria

Our day was not going well. Notice what Dick is eating at 10:00 in the morning.

Women out shopping with their baskets.

Friesach has the only water-filled moat in the German speaking world.

Hochosterwitz Castle, said to be the inspiration for Disney's Snow White.

The walk up to the castle was thirty minutes of solid uphill walking through fifteen defensive gates. Here we see gates one and two.

Another gate.

And another gate.

There were groups of older people who had somehow reached the top. It seems incredible that they could have endured the climb. We theorize that this is used to remove those who expire.

The view from the top.

We changed our plans and left Austria early, returning to Bled, Slovenia. Beekeeping is a big deal in Slovenia. We even visited a museum of beekeeping.

Back in the 1800s beekeepers used to decorate the front of their hives. The museum displays many examples but we took this picture at the home of the guide who showed us the Julian Alps earlier in our visit. These have been collected by her father.

This is one of Dick's favorites. Here we see the butcher and the farmer fighting over a cow. But who is that guy milking the cow?? Who else but the lawyer!

Margaret ordered tripe and Dick kept his mouth shut until she had finished half her meal. The waiter told her it was just a hearty beef stew.

Lake Bohinj, west of Bled.

Margaret enjoying a delicious creme cake for which Bled is known.

View from our table.

Walking in the evening. Too bad you can't see the socks Margaret is wearing with her sandals.

The sun sets over Lake Bled.

Back to Slovenia

On Sunday we drove in pouring rain from Rovinj, Croatia to Skofja Loka, Slovenia.

Our hotel was the building with the banner.

The town's castle.

Yesterday we continued north to the Logarska Dolina area in northern Slovenia. We have seen many roadside shrines. This one, built right into a rock, was the most unique.

Many farms raise yaks. They are related to both cattle and bison.

We traveled a narrow, twisting road through the mountains. Margaret wasn't at all sure that we would not need to turn back.

The view from our balcony.

This morning we visited the Logarska Dolina park.

We hiked up to visit Rastovski Slap (waterfall). This seems to be the end of the rainbow - notice the leprechaun on my shoulder.

This is the view in the opposite direction from the waterfall.

We also drove a scenic road high in the mountains.

At the top of the scenic drive is the Church of the Holy Spirit.

A typical Slovenian May Day pole.