5 Extreme Castle Makeover

The 1970 castle makeover was well done. The exhibits were clearly marked, easy to find and informative. The add-on gift shops and restaurant were modern in appearance yet blended nicely into the old castle walls. The 92-step tower yielded stunning panoramic views of Downtown Ljubljana. I got some fantastic shots including one of Donna and me made possible using the self-timer and my trusty miniature tripod. The tower makeover included a double helix staircase so people on the way up didn’t bump into people on the way down. We strolled through the Gothic chapel donning the coat of arms of St. George, the dragon slayer. In another passage, I spotted a small unmarked opening perhaps for "personnel only" … I couldn’t resist. The unmarked path led to a hallway enclosed by glass on one side protecting the original castle walls. I could hear some strange echo sounds just ahead, like something you might hear in a cave. The hallway led to a narrow wooden plank stretched over a dark deep hole. I inched across it like a seasoned tightrope walker. The path forked left-right and appeared to loop around a large rock. I went left, slowly, listening intently to this peaceful echoing sound. The hewn walls were lined with strange white tubes lit up like glow sticks jetting out of the rock. It reminded me of Superman's home in the Arctic, "The Fortress of Solitude." As the path turned to the right, the sound suddenly grew louder with deep base tones vibrating the chamber. My heart raced, I stopped … “I’m in trouble.” The sound grew louder. In the words of Elmer Fudd, I told myself, “be very, very still.” Man, I was freaked. Soon, the sound cycled back to the calm echo and I realized it was just a yet-to-be-open exhibit. The path looped back and I rejoined the group still a bit shaken from the eerie passage.

From the top of the tower, I could see the exact location of our Bat-cave parking garage. There’s the steeple, the brick smoke stack, the ski-jump condominium … finding the garage on foot might prove challenging. If only I could watch Dave weave the streets like a rat in a maze and radio him to turn left, right or climb a fence. No need. We were experienced travelers. We successfully re-traced our steps; yep, the name of the street was still written on Dave’s hand matched our street. For 10 EUR we were back on the autobahn on our way to beautiful Lake Bled.