Celje |

The morning threatened rain, so dressed accordingly.

First a check on the spa in Maribor.
Had been looking at a spa in Croatia, near Zagreb. After much on-line research, two calls, and confirmation via GoogleMaps, the hot-springs are away from all the hotels. The less expensive hotels being further away. Hmmmmm. Not really a good spa experience.
Showing up, enabled me to confirm that in Maribor the spa is part of the hotel. Been a while since I had some pampering. Put this onto my todo-list 🙂

Next stop. My favourite Chinese near the beer fountains. Rained along the way. And looked like it might do so again. So I parked under shelter behind the restaurant. Then went inside for a nice lunch. 4.50euros.

Then TomTom took me the rest of the way to Celje. Just why it had to choose some serious roadworks, I do not know. Maybe the Dutch are trying to give me more off-road experience. There’s nothing like squishy mud to cheer up a biker.

Rode the rest of the way to the hotel on tarmac.
Checked in.
Unloaded.
Gave the bike some TLC.
Had trouble connecting my laptop to the wifi 🙁 BlackBerry connected AOK. Hmmmmm. IT guru could not help. Hmmmmm. Always have a PlanB! My BlackBerry still connects to the laptop, and I have lots of data available.
Unpacked.
Put the bike into the hotel’s garage. Luxury.

Out for a stroll.

Tourist information provided direction to the museum, and real beer places.
Museum directions were good, but turned out that they were closing in 40mins.
Beer directions took me to the two recommended bars, but no real beer.
Had a capuccino at a third place and returned home.

The staff at the hotel had been wonderful. Right until I entered their sports bar……it was as if I had become invisible after ordering a water. Was almost an hour later before the wings and beer arrived. Shame. The footie game was bad, the wings OK, and the beer was really good……

Nice name too!

Went off in search of a better place to have a beer. Hmmm. Celje seems to close at night. Found a nice bar. In the MCC hostel. Go figure.

Back and to bed.

Friday morning up and paperwork, plus catching up on my diary. You didn’t think everything went into the blog?????
Took all day. I had been somewhat negligent last month.

Friday evening out in search of a light supper. The breakfast in the hotel is buffet. Lots of fruit salad. Museli. So my munchies plugged the gap during the day. By the evening, time for supper.
Big mistake. Gnocchi. How can anyone mess that up?!?!?! Here is what I left……

Back to the MCC to rinse the taste out. Took two beers 🙁

Saturday morning up and off to play the tourist. Wait. I am a tourist. hahaha

First stop the theatre. Closed for summer 🙁
But saw part of the ancient wall. A watchtower is still standing, and forms a corner of the theatre.

Wandered down to the river, along, then up to the museum. Glad I waited to see this place. I spent an hour just in the basement, where the old Roman town is cleverly displayed.

One piece in the building caught my eye. Ancient astronauts…….

……or weavers. You decide 🙂

Walked over to the sister-building, which has glass from many periods on display……

And the only canvas ceiling in Europe.
By 2021 the work in the forecourt will be complete, and more Roman walls, including frescos, will be visible.

Did my bit for cltural exchange with a curator. Gave an introduction to ‘RedGreen‘. The curator was more taken with my favourite phrase, “If it is logical and sensible, it will never happen” 😉

Walking towards the castle I was waylaid by a cafe selling nice beer…….

Lucky timing. As I was finishing my first, the rain came down. Big rain. 40 days & 40 nights rain! Half-way through my second beer, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. Timing is everything 🙂

Walked over to the Tourist Info spot, and gave them an update on their intel on craft beers.
Promoted August 7th as be-a-tourist-in-your-own-neighbourhood Day 🙂
Asked how to find a cab. Told they were all lined up at the railway station. Short stroll. Then the Slovenian Sabine Schmitz took me to the castle! hahaha.

Glad I took the cab. Was a long walk uphill. And in the hot sun.

Took these photos from the castle.
A panorama of the castle walls and hills……

A selfie with the whole town in the background……

One of the castle rooms housed a printer, using an old-fashioned press. Had the impression that few people stop by. He was quite excited to see me.

The castle is undergoing rennovation. Hope they put in a lift! Was a long walk to the top of the tower. Seven stories. Where I learned the correct spelling for “man-key wife”. And all those years in Britain, I thought the adjective was made up…….