Sunday 14th February 1999

Bed for everyone else, but for Martin R it was a quick change, a quick pack and a yomp down to the bus stop to catch a bus to the airport in time to catch his plane back to Germany.

Back in Kranj: Eryl: "Recovery time! Some made it to breakfast, where there was more bread accompanied by some dodgy paté. Then they went back to bed! A small party was dispatched (Keith, Doug and Eryl, I think) to get bus times for the Ljubljana and airport trips, and also to top up with money.

One and a half hours later they returned with nothing: Kranj was dead. Despite banks displaying logos for Visa and Mastercard, their cash dispensers just spat out our cards. No one understood us at the bus station, and there were no timetables to our destinations - despite them being major destinations!! The only hot-dog seller open in Kranj couldn't believe his luck when we stumbled across him."

Sara: "Val had had a rough night, spending a fair bit of it with her head hanging over a bucket. When Sara finally surfaced herself, Val was starting to get a little colour back into her cheeks. Sara, however, was having to cope with the unusual sensation of actually having a hangover - a rare occurrence for her! "Must have been the orange in the vodka! - I don't normally get one!" The quantity consumed may also have had something to do with it . . . Paul came to the rescue with some Alka Seltzer XS which did the trick. While this was permeating the veins, Sara caught up on who slept where and with whom, and we said our goodbyes to the German contingent."

Paul took it upon himself to be umpire, and shouted out "Local incoming!" whenever a car or pedestrian came within range. We would then stop what we were doing, and try to look civilised (despite all being peppered with snow-shot!) until they had gone, whereupon the warfare would immediately continue. Eventually, we made our way up the steep climb towards the castle. The route we took made us think we wouldn't make it down again, because the steps were so icy.

Eryl, Keith and Culvin decided to follow the example of a somewhat younger local, and do some "body tobogganing" down a really steep embankment. The difference between them, however, was the local was wearing a ski suit while the boys were wearing jeans, which meant they just *had* to come down head first so that the snow wouldn't go up their jackets! After that, we proceeded to the castle, only to find it had turned into a bar and concert hall, and because of the snow the ruins were closed for the day. We then took a different route down to the town, relying heavily on the thick snow to slow us down.

Views of Ljubljana

The bus ride back to Kranj was an uneventful group sleep. After hot chocolate and coffee at the nearby bar we returned to the halls, crates of beer in hand. After beer, spirits and nibbles, Sara finally got her wish - it was snowman time! The result was a strange looking beast with a cat tail for a nose and wrapped in Eryl's very thick cape.

Snow Creature 1

Snow Creature 2

More snowball fights and a game of Snow - British-Bulldog (Rob's idea) rounded off the outdoor entertainment, and saw the majority covered from head to toe in snow (and absolutely soaked)."

Rob: "It was proper British Bulldog - the "wrestle them to the ground and sit on them" type. None of that wimpy 'tag' stuff . . ."

After that, we returned to the fourth floor and proceeded to cover every available radiator with wet clothes, shoes, etc. We then all ended up in Doug's room drinking beer, peach schnapps (particularly Sara) and tequila, having giggles about everything, including what was in various people's Valentine cards. People headed off in dribs and drabs to bed - not particularly early!

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