Real Travel Adventures
International Magazine
New Features
Click Below:
By Bonnie Neely
By Ron Kapon
By Antonio Graceffo
By Mary McIntosh
By Linda Vissat
By John Sammon
By Amanda Hargraves
By Nancy S. Tardy
Travel Adventures
Stories & Photos
|
Click Below For Recent Features:
© 2006 Bonita Productions Inc.
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
Travel Adventures
from
Real Travel
Adventures Ezine
International
Travel Adventures
Stories & Photos
Your FREE online travel magazine e-zine of exciting travel adventures, travel reviews, travel photos from all ages and lifestyles of real travel in US and the world. International travel adventure - travel adventure magazine - travel reviews - trip planner - road trip planner - travel news - Real Travel Adventures Ezine with Book Review and Travel Guides for good reads and good listens on your trips and international travel adventures.
Sharing Travel Adventures & Adventure Travel
Discover Great get-aways, budget stays, and luxury travel to Dream About .Choose from Hundreds of Travel Reviews and and book reviews Outdoor and Nature Photos
Get Your Travel Review Published here!
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
© 2006 Bonita Productions Inc.
Adventuring Into Slovenia
©2006 By Bonnie Neely Photos By Bill Neely
Having spent some days at a time-share near the Hungarian-Slovenian border, we packed stuff for we-didn't-now-what-kind-of-adventure and set off about noon toward Slovenia. We were relieved that the gas station had a map. The nearest border crossing was closed, and we had to go about 30 km. to the town of Radics, where we had absolutely no traffic until we got to the border. There was a line of about 20 big trucks waiting to cross in what it looked like would take hours. Thank goodness, the car line was very short and fast.In our typical fashion, we headed directly into the unknown and not knowing a word of the language, but that makes our trips real adventures! Because of the war in recent years in nearby Bosnia and Croatia, we had a few qualms about it being a safe area, but Hungarians who could speak English had assured us it is very safe and beautiful. They were certainly right!
We both agreed that it was not just our imaginations that the countryside and traffic changed immediately across the border. The two-lane highway was good but had extremely heavy traffic and many trucks, too big for such a small road! The countryside is lovely with a few small mountains and many beautiful, small family-owned farms. Wheat was so thick it was falling over in what I thought were mysterious wheat circles like those renowned ones that appear in England.
The houses and towns almost run together and appear prosperous, whereas in Hungary we saw only tiny, poorer looking villages far apart. When we changed our money at the border for their dolares we found the exchange rate to be almost like that of Hungary; however, we had changed Hungarian instead of American money so it took us quite awhile to figure out what the rate was.
The people are familiar in dress and features, blonder and fairer than the Hungarians. The countryside is so pretty I wanted to take lots of photos. but on the tiny, crowded road stopping was impossible. Of course when a photographer sees gorgeous shots and can't get them it is torture, but I restrained myself. I especially wished to photograph the many different wayside shrines we saw. They all appeared new. Some were like tiny roadside chapels; most had a life-sized crucifix with a statue of the Virgin Mary at the base; some had elaborately painted saints all around. These shrines are in every entrance to a town and on the entrance to many streets, houses, and nearly all country lanes. We can't speak the language so we can only guess that since all of these appear to be quite recently built, perhaps these people have only recently gained religious freedom again.
Our first stop was at Mursa Sopa where we saw a huge World War II statue with life-sized stern generals and cannons on it. The people in this city were very helpful and spoke good English. Everyone told us we must see Maribor, the large city near the Austrian border. We finally arrived there after a long detour due to road construction. To take a detour and figure out the signs when you don't know any of the language and nothing matches your map or planned route is very difficult! We had some laughable moments and lots of surprises. Bill, who loves the challenge of driving in a foreign country and is never afraid of anything except snakes, does an amazing job and we find the adventure quite fun. Sometimes I ask if our naivite is blissful or foolish to feel so safe in nearly every situation… Isn't fear supposed to be a protection built-in?
We spent the first hour of our time in Maribor trying to find the Tourism Bureau because we wanted a tour with an English speaking guide, but we never found one. We couldn't find any Slovenian souvenir shops either in this huge city. This is an absolutely beautiful city on the River Mura. It reminded us of Budapest, built on two sides of the river with a beautiful old cobble-stoned trade area along the water. The buildings were colorfully decorative, probably 17th and 18th century. Streets are cobble stones and the main plaza streets are very, very wide, with smaller very narrow ones leading off, up or down the hill. The part of the city downhill was beside the water and had many restaurants and pubs. The city center had buildings with amazing gargoyles and paintings on them and a marvelous statue fountain of an angel and the apostles. We stumbled into an inner courtyard which proved to have the souvenir shop we had searched for, and we bought several lovely pieces for only a few dollars. The young clerk spoke good English and told us they all have to learn it early in school, but most are too timid to speak it with a foreigner. In Hungary we found only a few who speak any English.
As we meandered just taking in all the sights, we kept saying, “I wonder if…” because we were like children imagining or figuring out what each thing might be. I spent a while trying to get the wind to open a flag I was trying to photograph, and after I got a good shot I discovered it was an advertisement instead of the Slovenian flag! “Figuring out” doesn't always work very well! We had a pastry and coffee at a little outdoor café and a bit of a rest, then wandered on, ending our afternoon trying to figure out how to get out of the parking building. At long last we found someone who could point us to the building across the street where we had to purchase a ticket to exit. When we entered to buy the ticket, we discovered a big vertical mall, so we finally found a shop with a flag to buy.
Our legs and feet finally told us we had to stop and it was getting late in the afternoon. We returned to the parking building and found it deep and dark, and I wouldn't have entered it with or without Bill in the US, but a mother and child were ambling along unconcerned, and well-dressed business men were coming and going. We knew the city had to be very safe. We saw lots of police cars but no machine guns or other signs of danger, not even any barred windows on buildings. Everything seems so prosperous, yet the prices are so low as to seem third world…nice for our pocketbooks, although we didn't have any serious shopping to do.
We had a long drive back to our Hungarian lodging and intended to be back way before dark; however, we took a wrong turn in the detour signs and took accidentally a beautiful sunset drive across the mountains paralleling the border of Austria. Tiny roads led through rich farmlands and elite looking neighborhoods with a beautiful view of the countryside and city below.
By 8 at night we had finally determined we were on the right road and stopped at Radgova for supper at a wonderful restaurant. We had wanted Slovenian food but the restaurant, which we hadn't a clue about, had Austrian food, which was absolutely delicious. We couldn't make heads nor tails of the menu, although a few German words were familiar, so we went “eenie, meenie, miney , mo” and chose soup, meat and vegetable dishes at random, not knowing what we were ordering. It was fun, and we had a wonderful salad bar while waiting for our mystery meal. Beside the porch dining area a lady was picking fresh salad for the next day. We had a delightful breeze and watched a beautiful sunset as we ate the delicious food. Then we started our two hours drive back toward Hungary, wandering around now on completely empty roads! Once we crossed the border we knew we could not ask for any help because no one speaks any English in this part of Hungary, and we couldn't read the road signs nor the map. We also knew the place we were staying closed its doors at nine P.M ….oh well, we'll figure it out somehow! Does anyone else want to travel with us?
<|<|<|Add to Bookmarks
Get Published Here! Contact Us!
Subscribers:So that your free subscription is not mistaken for spam, please copy and paste our E-mail address into your address book:mail@realtraveladventures.com
It's that simple!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Adventure Travels in your Free Ezine
If any links don't work
EXCITING NEWS!
CLICK HERE TO HEAR US LIVE
11:30 A.M. (NY time) some Wednesdays
EVERY Wednesday get Latest Travel Tips and views while you work on your computer
Streaming Internet broadcast on WWW.TTRN.COM "Talking Travel with Roy Lowey and Friends"
Every Wednesday 11 A.M. (New York Time)
Thanks for visiting us!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Real and Armchair Travelers: Enjoy best trip reviews, travel features, and excellent travel photos in RealTravelAdventures.com, your FREE on-line international magazine. Send your funny or outrageous travel experiences & photos and get published!
Visit or dream of fascintating places with Real Travel Adventures e-zine! This site offers travel humor, photos, stories, helpful guidebooks, and more. Visit for fun or to seek tips for your next travel adventure...and then share your own stories with us here at
realtraveladventures.com, your free online travel magazine, where you'll find great book reviews, international travel adventures magazine, airline tickets, real travel adventures, camping, RV travel, RV's, Cruises, restaurant reviews, RVing, FamilyTrips, traveling with kids and children, Nature and eco trips, ecology, international travel, Ski Trips, Spas, Spiritual Retreats, interviews with Special People, Travel Humor, Travel News, Unbelievable, WeddingTrips, restaurant reviews and advisor, traveling adventures, adventure travels, travel, virtual and armchair travel, Back Roads, off the beaten path, where to go Camping and enjoy RV trips, where to Dine and Sleep, fun Family Trips, our Favorite Finds, Arts and Crafts, cruises and cruise vacations, romantic trips, traveling tips, travel stories, audio book reviews for your travels, books reviews, good books for a trip, wedding trip planner, wedding Trips, Honeymoons, Unbelievable adventures, Travel News, humorous travel stories, spas and retreats, spiritual retreats, meditation retreats, ski trips, week-end trips Near You, nature's Best places, ecology trips, travel guide books, traveling with children, e-zines, FREE Ezines, Free travel magazines, magazine, free online magazines, internet magazines, free magazine subscriptions, web magazines, true stories, humorous articles, funny features, human interest features, nature photos, environment photographs, photos, adventurous stories, real true stories, true adventrues, camping gear, vacation, holidays, safaris, Caribbean vacations, cheap hotels, great places to go, nature hikes, nature photography, family vacations, family holidays, trip planner, great trips, scenic photos, holiday vacations, holidays, holiday stories, foreign destinations, International travel trips. And you can Get published here too! Send us your travel stories and pictures.
© 2006 Bonita Productions Inc.
If you wish to use our features or photos you must first contact us
