Slovenia

We are sitting in our hotel room here in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia looking out at a beautiful range of Mountains. Today was a short driving trip southeast to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. We drove through the Alps and even though it was overcast, you could see how beautiful this whole area is - just amazing! We went through 14 tunnels from 200 meters to 5 miles.

The longest tunnel, Karawankentunnel - 5 miles long, connects Austria with Slovenia. It was opened in 1991 after taking 5 years to construct. Less than a month after opening in 1991, the Slovenia entrance side was the site of "skirmishes" during the breakup of Yugoslavia.

These mountains that we are looking at are the Eastern Alps - the Julian Alps. It is a long range of mountains dividing Austria and Slovenia. This town is only about 25 miles from Lake Bled. This area is quite the winter sports area. There is a ski slope outside our hotel.

We were commenting at dinner about what a difference a computer makes in traveling. Making hotel reservations is a snap and then GOOGLE - what an amazing program that is to you when traveling!!!! During the day we find that we have so many questions about the areas we are going through so we make a list and then consult GOOGLE at night. Presto, there is the answer!

Then there is the subject of languages -we are just amazed at how you can get around without knowing any of the local languages. I asked the waiter tonight, "How did you learn your English?" He said, "From working (at a resort)" It just fascinates me how you can just move around Europe and basically not have a problem with language. Of course, I really do wish that I knew some of these languages, because I do think that our adventures would be enriched by knowing the languages. But....which one should we learn????? There is the basic dilemma!