MazzJohn Ménage Meanderings across the pond on new vacay to old Europe. Third in our September 2019 series, this edition places us world walkers in ‘LjubZagVie’: Ljubljana, Slovenia before Zagreb, Croatia and then Vienna, Austria.
Part I: (London, Bologna, Florence)
Part II: (Lake Como, Rovereto, Trieste)
Holiday health goal was to keep moving to get in as many steps as possible by visiting as many sights/sites as possible. This family film documents those efforts for our tribal archives. Along the way explanatory factoids are organically sprinkled in to gently educate other, more casual, viewers.
After spending a fitful night in Trieste ~ an Italian jewel on the Adriatic ~ we woke up early to take the inexpensive morning FlixBus to Ljubljana ~ Slovenia’s capital and largest city (280K). It’s university fills the city streets with beautiful (if, er, pale) young people. Between the train station and our AirBnB (memorable for its beer decor) was the curving Ljubljanica River, crossed by bridges (e.g., Dragon & Triple) and lined with outdoor cafes and gelaterias as it divided the city’s old town from its newer commercial hub. We discovered Ljubljana’s markets, restaurants, museums, churches, squares and fortresses ~ including Ljubljana Castle where we climbed up to and enjoyed the city view and evening sunset from.
Waking up too early (of course) we catch the morning train from Ljubljana to Zagreb. Along the two+ hour way we sped past the (in)famous wood-carved statue of the FLOTUS ~ born in Sevnica on the Sava 26Apr70. Croatia’s northwestern capital, is distinguished by its 18th- and 19th-century Austro-Hungarian architecture. At its center, Upper Town is the site of the Gothic, twin-spired Zagreb Cathedral and 13th-century St. Mark’s Church, with a colorfully tiled roof. Nearby is pedestrian-friendly Tkalčićeva Street, lined with outdoor cafes. Lower Town has the main square, Ban Jelačić, plus shops, museums and parks. [[Still being edited]]
Waking up even earlier, we lugged our luggage (on foot ~ Option 1) to Zagreb’s old train station where the Orient Express once visited. The seven plus hour train was long but beautiful ~ and having a dining car helped. Wien/Vienna, Austria’s capital, lies in the country’s east on the Danube River. Its artistic and intellectual legacy was shaped by residents incl. Wolfie Mozart, Luddy Beethoven & Siggy Freud. Besides famous churches, city boasts imperial palaces & gardens, like Hofburg, Schönbrunn & Belvedere. [[Still being edited]]
This travelogue’s video clips and still photos are all MazzJohn originals. Informative factoids from various interweb sources including WikiPedia. Title, background and interstitial music mostly courtesy of YouTube’s Content Creator’s Audio Library.
Related Imagery:
Original Filename: EuroWalk2019-3Vienna3840x2160.mp4 (4K/UHD)
Family Film Fast Fun Food Fact: Štrukli vs. Strudel. Štrukli (akin to the Gibanica confection from filo dough, white cheese & eggs we so enjoyed in Ljubljana/Slovenia) is a cheese pastry dessert we savored in Zagreb/Croatia. AKA Zagorje Štrukli as this dish hails from the Zagorje region of N. Croatia. Comes either boiled or baked with the most important ingredient being fresh cottage cheese bestowing it a slightly refined acidic taste as the milk begins to ferment. Thinner the dough the better and top with your preferred garnish ~ like grated cheese.
Meanwhile, an old classic is strudel ~ with or without apple. Strudel (literally German for “whirlpool” or “eddy”) is also type of layered pastry with usually sweet a fillings. It became popular in the 18C throughout the Habsburg Empire while the oldest strudel recipes ~ using turnips ~ date from 1696. Internationally, variations of this pastry descend from (e.g., bakalava) and gave birth to (e.g., Sfogliatella) pastries but Austria’s ed. with paper-thin crusts, crumbly breadcrumbs and tart apples ~ all eaten together with a side of thick cream, is to die for/from.
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Recorded using a Sony Digital Handycam HDR-CX550 video camcorder which also contributed still images to complement those from a pair of Google Pixel 3/3XL cellular phones.
No volksmarchers were harmed in the making of this odyssey opus but many plates of Štrukli and too many glasses of Weiner beer met untimely demises.