Autumn Fritos and Beer

Fritos and Beer - Sierra Nevada  2019

Fritos and Beer Staging - Sierra Nevada  2019

A small nature preserve just north of Truckee on Highway 89, nobody there. So, ideal conditions for me to set up an idealized Fritos and Beer still-life.

Monday Nuthatch Blogging

Nuthatch - Sierra Nevada  2019

I visited Boomtown in Nevada last November. (I've already posted some photos.) I stayed there two nights, and during the day drove back into California for a short hike along Sagehen Creek, where I saw this little bird.

Driving Through Austria

Truck at Rasthof - Austria 2019

Mugs for Sale -  Austria  2019

The drive from Lake Bohinj to Vienna was fairly uneventful. ("Fairly," because there were numerous rain showers along the way. What was interesting was that the rental Mercedes' windshield wiper control was on the left side of the steering wheel, with the gear shift control on the right. On my Toyota the wiper control is on the right side. So there were quite a few instances of me wanting to turn the wipers on but hitting the wrong control - the gear shift lever - and putting the car into neutral while driving on the freeway. Interesting!)

We soon learned to look for the rasthofs - rest stops. For our lunch: fried food! Chicken and french fries!

Fried Food - Austria  2019

Leaving Slovenia

Mountains, Mist - Slovenia  2019

View from Patio - Slovenia  2019

An atmospheric start to the day. Breakfast downstairs, then coffee on the outside patio. Luggage into the car, then off for the drive to Vienna.

Morning Coffee - Slovenia  2019

Shrines

Shrine (detail) - Slovenia  2019

Shrine - Slovenia  2019

I've photographed shrines in Japan, starting in 1966 and continuing. (Most recently, Yokohama in 2017.) The shrines in Slovenia, scattered here and there, depict various Catholic figures and seem to be well cared-for.

Ribcev Laz - 2

Burger, Beer - Slovenia  2019

Steak - Slovenia  2019

Dinner at Foksner in Ribcev Laz - highly rated! And good. Below, the tempting blackboard sign listing the steak options by weight.

Steak Sign - Slovenia  2019

Ribcev Laz - 1

Kids - Slovenia  2019

Magazines - Slovenia  2019

Largest town in the vicinity. Where we bought groceries and coffee drinks in the refrigerated section.

Road, River (Lake Bohinj)

Road, House (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

River (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Our location in Ukanc was quite peaceful: quiet, scenic and walkable. If I wanted a secluded place to write my novel this would be it. Or Gimmelwald. (Both places in the autumn, of course.)

Monday Duck Blogging

Ducks (Lake Bled) - Slovenia  2019

Taken during our walk around the lake using an iPhone 7 plus.

Hiking Around Lake Bohinj

Trees, Backlit (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Forest, Overcast (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Sunny one day, overcast the next.

Hiking through Streambed (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Lake Bohinj

Reflections, Lake Bohinj - Slovenia  2019

Beach, Lake Bohinj - Slovenia  2019

We did a few hikes around the lake, first going one way, then going the other way on the next day.

Lake Bohinj Hotel

Hotel (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Hali on Balcony (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Hali had made reservations at this rustic-looking hotel (Hotel Stare) in Ukanc near the western edge of Lake Bohinj. (Bo-heen.) "Ukanc is a scattered settlement on a shady rolling plain at the west end of Lake Bohinj at the end of the valley, where mountain walls rise on three sides."

The hotel was very nice, except for the fact that our room was located on the top floor, meaning that not only was there an excess of staircases, but we were also banging our heads on the sloping ceilings.

Mike's Office (Lake Bohinj) - Slovenia  2019

Hike Around Lake Bled

Lake Bled - Slovenia  2019

Mirror (Lake Bled) - Slovenia  2019

Unfortunately, this article was posted too late for me to utilize the information therein.

Lake Bled Cream Cake

Cream Cake (Lake Bled) - Slovenia  2019

Cream Cake Information (Lake Bled) - Slovenia  2019

After a relatively short drive to Lake Bled we paid for parking, walked around the lake, then settled in for some famous cream cake. I must say, it lived up to the hype.

Ljubljana Morning

Reflections (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Farmers Market (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

We headed over to the Ljubljana Farmers Market early Monday morning. Pickings were a little slim for what we wanted (lunch stuff for our drive to Lake Bohinj). Nice reflections in the river, though.

Monday Dog Blogging

Dachshund (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Wirehaired dachshund. Note earlier dachshund photo taken in Hakone.

Ljubljana Food Tour

Food Tour (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Gnocchi, from the first stop on our food tour . . . maybe made from Hokkaido squash.

Huh. It seems like that's about all that I have photographically, other than our keepsake certificate that we got at the end. The tour was a lot of fun, though, with the discussion of Melania wisely postponed until the last stop.

Foodwalks Certificate (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Red Balloon, Red Coat (Ljubljana)

Boy, Balloon, Fountain (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Red Coat, Building (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Photoshop disclosure: The couple in the bottom photo were walking out of the picture, to the right. Didn't like the look, so I flipped them around in Photoshop. Just for fun.

[Wow. I guess we were lucky in that we traveled to Europe last year. Very dicey situation at the present.]

Ljubljana Rain

Red Umbrella (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Wet Cobblestones (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Light rain glistening on the cobblestones. The experience was slightly similar to our Chicago Rain one, in that we hadn't brought our parkas with us. Oh well. Rain wasn't that heavy.

Ljubljana Plazas

Plaza (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Plaza (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Yes. I should have kept track of the names of the various plazas. But I didn't. In many ways we were just a little culturally deficient during our trip.

Chestnuts / Outdoor Dining

Roasting Chestnuts (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Outdoor Dining (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

That evening we walked along the river, crossing and recrossing via numerous bridges.

Ljubljana

Clothesline (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

Stairs (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

As I wrote earlier, Slovenia was one destination that Margaret had highly recommended. So: two nights in the capital of Ljubljana (pronounced Loob Lee Ahna) and then a stay near Lake Bohinj.

Our hotel room in Ljubljana was quite nice and spacious, with a photogenic view of a clothesline out one window. But, the stairs! Hali and I felt at times like Frodo and Sam heading up the stairs of Cirith Ungol.

Monday Duck Blogging

Duck (Ljubljana) - Slovenia  2019

"The Ljubljanica, known in the Middle Ages as the Sava, is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river."

Boats on the river in the photo below.

Boats (Ljubljana) -  Slovenia  2019

Flag & Mt Tamalpais / Starbucks Tree / Rain

Flag, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2019

Tree near Starbucks (San Rafael) - Marin County  2019

Taken last year, when we had some rain. (See below.)

But, although February was completely dry, I was somewhat gratified to see that there weren't any smog-induced "Spare the Air" days. Very annoying when they occur.

Flooded Street near Starbucks (San Rafael) - Marin County  2019

So, there was enough rain in December and January that local reservoirs could be replenished. But yikes . . . no rain at all in February. Vegetation is drying up, so an early start to fire season, probably.