Another Drava vista

This is a somewhat wider view of the town from across the river. I had a look at a new shopping mall a friend urged me to visit. A shopping mall? They're all the same except that the signs here are in Slovenian. At least I got a nice photo for my efforts. Walking through the streets of the old town a bit later I stopped to examine a map of the town and heard some music drifting into my consciousness. It was a bit too exotic to be European. My ears did not deceive me: it was Indian music. A little ways up the street sat a lone Hare Krishna guy, shaved head, saffron robes, the whole kit, singing gently and accompanying himself on a harmonium. It was so unexpected and incongruous I did a double take. Passersby on the busy shopping street looked at him as if he had just landed from another planet. As I passed him I made an effort to nod and smile, to thank him for his courage. He flashed me a huge smile. The guy was blissed out. Hare Krishna y'all!

Bridge over the River Drava

We all know someone who, from a certain angle, with the right lighting, etc. looks pretty darn good. So does Maribor from the bridge over the Drava. In a lovely coincidence, the Drava (Drau in German) is the very same river whose source I saw outside of Toblach in the South Tyrol. It's all grown up here, a big river, having made it's way through three Austrian provinces and flowing into Slovenia at Dravograd. It will join the Danube somewhere in Serbia. The lady walking on the left is now forever immortalized on my blog. The setting of the town is very pretty, with its hills and vineyards. I have seen a picture of the old, pre-war Marburg. It must have been a lovely town.