The Long Way to Nova Gorica
Six hours of train travel turn into eleven
Sunday, June 29 was the first day of a North Adriatic wine press trip with a small group of international journalists coming from Belgium, Croatia (me), Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, and The Netherlands.
The others were flying or taking a train to Venice. Since I was the closest, my public transportation options were trains or buses. I proposed both options to the organizer. Since train travel is typically easier and more comfortable, we chose the train. I reserved an ÖBB EuroCity train to Jesenice, Slovenia, where I would connect to Nova Gorica, Slovenia, the sister city of Gorizia, Italy. A long-distance train of over four hours, whose final destination is Villach, Austria, it is supposed to have nice seating, air conditioning, etc. The second train would be a standard regional train with no amenities.
I arrived at the main Zagreb station (Zagreb Glavni kolodvor, about 30 minutes before my 12:50 PM train. However, as the departure time approached, the board and monitors began showing a delay, which grew longer and longer. I contacted the organizer and group to let them know what was going on, as we were scheduled to have dinner at a winery that evening. It was quite uncomfortable waiting as we were beginning the second week of a heatwave.
The main hall of the station has air conditioning units, but with the front and platform doors open, it was not cool. Eventually the delay became so long, I knew I would miss my original connecting train and the dinner, but there was one more train from Jesenice to Nova Gorica that evening, so I decided to try to make that connection (although I really wanted to go home and start over on Monday).
Finally the train arrived in Zagreb three hours late – and it was what my local friends would call a ‘Yugoslavia-era’ train built 40-50 years ago – with closed compartments that seat six people each – and no air conditioning. The conductor handed out cold bottled water to passengers. A few of us stood in the walkway outside of the compartments by open windows, the warm breeze on our faces as the train moved quickly along the tracks. I shared a compartment with a few young men who were backpacking across Europe from one capital city to another. This leg of their journey, they were going to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We chatted a bit. All we could do was laugh and drink water.
It appeared that I might not make the last connection from Jesenice to Nova Gorica. Since my mobile connectivity was spotty, I contacted a friend in Slovenia to see what my options were from Ljubljana. (By this time, I also just wanted to get off of this oven of a train.) He found a bus that would get me to Nova Gorica after midnight – I was sure no one would pick me up that late. He also found a train to Sežana – a town in southern Slovenia near the Italian border about 10 miles from Trieste – with a connecting train to Nova Gorica that would arrive at 9:37 PM. The layover was one hour, three minutes. I texted my group that I was disembarking in Ljubljana to take those two trains. I did not hear back from them, but I figured the worst-case scenario would be spending the night in Nova Gorica.
Getting off the train in Ljubljana was a godsend. I could finally breathe, but I was having issues trying to buy my ticket with the Slovenian train app. (At this point, I would have been OK with staying overnight in Ljubljana.)
Although the directions were in Slovenian, I successfully purchased a paper ticket from a machine at the station. The train would depart in approximately 30 minutes, so I had time for the bathroom. I looked up at the board trying to figure out from which platform I would depart, when a polite young man walked over to me and asked if I needed assistance. I showed him my ticket and he confirmed the platform.
The train departed on time. Even better, it was a modern, light-rail, air conditioned train with very few travelers. I would enjoy almost two hours of comfortable train travel. When the conductor came by to check my ticket, he told me (in Slovenian – most of which I understood!) that I could have purchased a ‘summer weekend’ roundtrip ticket for less money.
When I arrived in Sežana, there was nothing in the small station except a bathroom. I ventured past a hotel, a restaurant that was closed, then happened upon an open caffe bar, where I enjoyed a beer for 3 EUR and used the bathroom. I returned to the station about 15 minutes before departure of the second train.
While it was not air conditioned – and in fact, had been parked in the sun until the conductor walked out to it and opened the doors – it was a train that had been painted to commemorate Nova Gorica.
The 52-minute train ride passed quickly, although it was very hot inside. I opened all the windows in my car to try to make it cooler. There was one other passenger in the car and I think the heat knocked him out as he didn’t move until we arrived in Nova Gorica.
Upon my arrival, I suddenly received a flurry of texts and emails from the organizer and an unknown number (which turned out to be my taxi driver). Their calls did not come through due to being international numbers – my spam call blocker silenced them. After some confusion, I learned the taxi driver was at the station, but we could not find each other. Finally he found me – he had been parked on the opposite side of the station’s main entrance – where I was. He and the organizer spoke on the phone to confirm my arrival and transportation to where I would be staying. The taxi driver seemed very frustrated with me, but as I told him, “I’ve never been here. How would I know where to meet you?” He didn’t know I’d never been to Nova Gorica, as he asked, “Weren’t you on the trip last year?” – and I replied no.
He asked me if I had my documents, as we would be stopped while entering Italy by way of Gorizia. Although both countries are in the EU, some borders like this one have frequent security checks due to an increase in immigrants and possible illegal activity. The border control agent took both of my documents inside – my passport and my Croatian/EU residency card – as well as the taxi driver’s. About 10 minutes later, we were on our way.
By the time we arrived at my lodging, it was very late. The driver confirmed I was in the correct place before I got out of the vehicle. As he unloaded my luggage, he apologized to me for his terseness and frustration.
After an 11-hour travel day, I was ‘home’ for the next five nights.
For reference, Nova Gorica is three hours from Zagreb by car. But since I was traveling with the press group for seven days in a minibus – back and forth between Italy and Slovenia, then to Istria, Croatia – I needed to take public transportation.
Lesson learned. Take the bus.