Slovenia into Croatia

Slovenia is an amazing country that we both absolutely fell in love with. We were there a total of 5 days. We spent two days exploring the capital city, Ljubljana, which is just fantastic. It has a very quiet, quaint feeling from it and is lined with cafes with outdoor seating along the river that runs through the middle of town. We both loved it there. The other three days, we spent day-tripping. One day we went to Lake Bled - one of the most picturesque and idyllic settings I've ever seen. A beautiful lake surrounded by mountains with a cute church on an island in the center. We did a nice hike to get an overview of the place, and if I have time to post a picture before we have to leave, I will do so. The other day we day-tripped to some caves in the Karst region, we went to the Skocjan Caves to be exact. We hiked through the caves for two hours and there was an underground river crashing through. Very impressive. The guide turned out all the lights in the cave at one point...a bit scary!! Our final day we had rented a car and drove through the Julian Alps and the Soca River Valley. We were a little pressed on time to return the car, but it was still a beautiful drive. This is actually where Ernest Hemingway was an ambulance driver in WWI, and the setting for A Farewell to Arms. It is neat to see old rubble and guard towers from WWI dotted in the mountains. And crazy to think they were fighting a war on such harsh terrain. We then headed to Croatia, where we spent an evening in Zagreb, which we were actually not impressed with, and then on to Plitvice Lakes National Park. It is such a beautiful area consumed with waterfalls...again will post pics. After a night there in a hotel, we headed to Split, Croatia, which is where we are now. Split is interesting - we tried to hit the beach yesterday but were a bit disappointed with how dirty it was. Hopefully more remote beaches later in the trip won't disappoint. We have a ferry to catch to Hvar here in a few hours, so I will end the post with that. We apologize for the infrequent posting - we're just having too much fun exploring everything!

London-Krakow-Budapest

So...our original intention was to post some pics along with a few stories. However, I seemed to have forgotten the cord connecting the computer to the camera, so uploading pictures has thus far proved difficult. We will hopefully find this cord very soon, and pictures will accompany the text. We are currently in Budapest, and are planning on leaving for Ljubljana, Slovenia in a couple of hours. We have not purchased our train tickets yet, so hopefully it is not sold out! The trip so far has been fantastic. In London, we stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast run by a very nice couple. We hit most of the major sights - Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, etc., however the highlight for us was a very unexpected surprise on our last day in town, Saturday, June 11th. We had headed into town to take in the Churchill War Museums before leaving, and came upon very large crowds and what appeared to be the remnants of a parade. Unbeknowst to us, it was the queen's birthday and there was a large celebration! We found out there would be a flyover at Buckingham Palace and a possible appearance by the royal family. We scurried over there with the masses, and managed to get a fantastic spot. The flyover was amazing and had 4 sets of planes and helicopters. And, yes, the royal family made an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham including the newlyweds, Kate Middleton and Prince William. We got some fantastic photos which we hope to share soon.... Krakow was a whirlwind as we were only in town a day and a half. We had a great walking tour around Old Town. Krakow has the largest square in all of Europe - it truly is huge! We also managed a quick trip out to the salt mines. These mines were one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen - particularly the cathedral, which is carved completely out of salt, the altar, statues, etc...all underground. The salt mines are more than 700 years old. My brief description does not do them justice, however, pictures will help.... Budapest has been alot of fun for us. We spent a half day at the thermal baths and both felt completely relaxed afterwards. There is definitely something in the water.... We have really focused our time on understanding the communist times here and the transition to democracy in 1989. It truly is fascinating especially when thinking of everything the people here have been through when I see them walking on the streets. They have truly endured so much here... Budapest is a fantastic city, however, being one of my favorite I have been to. It is sad to be leaving. But, we must cut this short now as we are on a community computer, and I like to respect the etiquette... hopefully pictures next time!