Monday 15th February 1999

At 4:30 am Sara knocked up all those who were leaving today. She was quite surprised about where everyone had ended up sleeping!!!

Very uneventfully (and unusually for us!) we left at 5:15, waved goodbye to the snowman who was still wearing Eryl's cape, and arrived three minutes before the bus was due (5:40).

On arrival at the bus station we noticed how many people were in the pub - there were loads!! They obviously do it early around here!

The bus was a little late in arriving, but then safely transported us to the airport. Hot chocolates were in order while we waited for the check-in desk to open, then it was through to the Duty Free where Sara - following the example she set for herself last year - sprawled herself across the nearest available seats, closed her eyes and left the world far, far behind . . .

The flight back was a quiet affair. Despite it being a Monday morning, the plane was virtually empty and many snoozed. Back at Heathrow, we got through customs to find our bags already circulating in the baggage reclaim hall. We all said our goodbyes, agreeing that we had had a thoroughly enjoyable trip!

Back in Slovenia: Those not leaving at the crack of dawn surfaced sometime after eight. Culvin was the first to venture down for breakfast, but found it did not begin until nine. At 9:30 Colin & Keith headed off to catch the bus to the airport so that they could hire another car. Culvin set off in pursuit but lost them near the bus station. Just as Colin & Keith were about to board the bus, Culvin found them. At the airport Colin and Keith arranged a car while Culvin bought a return flight ticket to England, so he could pop back to see his girlfriend.

Val: "Paul, Culvin, Rob, Mark and I decided to go up to Bled to do some skiing, but having waited some time - both in and out of the bar - at the bus stop for Culvin, we finally arrived in Bled too late to catch the ski shop, which had closed for the afternoon, and was not due to reopen until the skiers were due to return at the end of the day.

Bled castle across the frozen lake

Atop the castle

We wandered around for a bit, then climbed up to see the castle. The view from the top was fantastic.  One stretch of the lake was not frozen - an inlet and outlet at either side of the lake. We fed and watered and miraculously found the bus stop for the return trip. I can't remember the evening - it must have been good!"

Colin and Keith: After collecting their gear, Colin and Keith set off to Kranjska Gora for some more skiing. After a hot dog they found that the ski-hire shop by the slope was closed for the village's 12am-3pm lunch break. Fortunately, the other ski-hire shop closer to the centre was open. By 4:30, however, it was getting difficult to see the bumps on the slope, so they set off on the road back to Bled.

Once there, Magda offered them some coffee and pastry twists that her mother had made, followed by some Stock liqueur. The Kranj club had a training session that evening, so Colin and Keith set off back to Kranj. Training started with some widths that Colin and Keith sat out, followed by a general warm up, then a game. After a few more bottles of Union Colin and Keith set off back to Bled.

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