My ultimate goal was Budapest, but with a few spare days, I opted to visit Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, and then spend the night in Zagreb. Because every Slovenian border can be reached within three hours of Ljubljana, the travel time was not unreasonable. I caught a bus from Bled to Ljubljana to begin the journey. Ljubljana appeared to be a clean, compact city that was easy to explore on foot, with many interesting sights close together. My layover was only a few hours, so I wanted to make the most of it. I would not claim that anyone can see a city in an afternoon, but walking around still seemed better than sitting in the train station.

The Salzburg main train station is undergoing major reconstruction - with boards and temporary walkways everywhere. I boarded my train to Bled shortly after 8:00am, which included one transfer in Villach. In Villach two other travellers joined me, a couple from Arizona, who were on their way to Ljubljana for a first family reunion / Christmas celebration. I enjoyed my brief encounter with the couple, an engineer and a teacher, where I discussed work/life balance and how lucky I am to live in a country that values such balance. They marvelled that I could travel regularly, stating that their children, my age, only dream of taking a month off to travel.