Beer Fountains in the Park

Europe is such a civilized place.
And pretty.
Even in the rain.

The ride from Ljubjana to Zalec took an hour and a half along winding roads in alpine countryside. With, as Tolkein put it, “misty mountains”.
Lots of little villages. 
And closer towards Zalec, hop fields.
Even the rain devolved into a light drizzle. And then stopped.

Arrived at the hotel, and told to leave the motorcycle right in front 🙂
I was now only ‎300m from the park with the beer fountains.
So, time for lunch……

Then off for a beer or five. The glass has a micro-chip programmed for 5 beers.
Pity there were 6 fountains. I missed the green beer. You cannot recharge your glass. Instead you have to buy another one. So now you have to drink 5 more. But only 100ml…… 

Decided to call it quits.
And have one more at a bar, enroute the hotel.
Nice barmaid. Gave me a free beer mug 🙂
Then two chaps from Slovakia invited me to join them. They were down on business.
The chat and the beer flowed. Well, it was only 1.50euros for half a litre. A tenth of what the three of us paid at the fountains.
We learned from the barmaid that‎ Ljubljana is known as “Froggy Town”, because the locals are always saying “Qua” (what). 
Great evening.
Should not have gone onto the Slovakian liquor. hahahahahaha

Breakfast on Tuesday morning was late, and consisted of scrambled eggs and tea. 

Next stop, the post office. However, they couldn’t package the beer glasses 🙁
Took the glasses back to the hotel then went walkabout. 

Scored some nylon bootlaces (2mm rope) as the regular cotton laces only last two or three months. Hard to imagine that something that needs to be super durable (bootlaces) would be made out of cotton. 
Still, as I have come to believe, “If it’s logical and sensible, it will never happen”. 
ps: Leather laces are impossible to find these days.

Scored a new container for my first-aid kit. The items were in two re-used food containers. But the boxes cracked under the last fall. One had already cracked in A Coruna.   Duct tape was holding them together. Takes time to find the right box. I have been looking for a while.

The shopping took me to the eastern end of Zalec.
Right by a Chinese restaurant. 4.50euros for very tasty lunch. Plus a Jasmine tea.
And the Slovak boys came in. We chatted. They drank beer. 

Back at the hotel, I gave the bike some TLC.
And took a look at the RHS pannier. It was prone to movement since the repair to the frame. But moved only when going over a bump.  Straightened out a very bent part of the bottom bracket on the box. We’ll see how that works out.

Then time for a nap.
Just as the rain returned.

The evening was spent planning and hoping Nigeria would beat, or draw with Argentina. Nope 🙁

Back to the Chinese for supper. They gave me a shot of what I could only describe as “cold tea” 🙂

Then bed.

Tuesday morning up to sunshine, TaiChi and breakfast.
Packed.
Headed out to Maribor.

See you there.