Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Up and ready for another day of adventure. Vlado and Neli are getting ready to take their five grandchildren to an island off the coast of Slovenia for a vacation and Neli has to get ready to be able to take some time off so we only got to visit with her while we were at their house.
Vlado took us for a walk above his house where he regularly walked when he was still working. At the summit, there is a bell you can ring as you make a wish for peace. It was a very beautiful walk and met several of his neighbors out walking as well. He was always looking for mushrooms along the side of the path as we walked along. Evidently mushroom picking is a common practice but must really be done in the early morning.
From there we traveled in the countryside to the Festival of the Grilled Ox. Along the way, passed several more of the bee hives on the backs of trucks and it seemed that everyone had a garden in their back yard. Before we had left, toured Vlado and Neli’s garden at their house which were quite lush and full of nice vegetables.
The Festival of the Grilled Ox is exactly what it says it is. There was an entire ox, and two pigs roasting on a spit as you walked up. You were able to order what you wanted while you listened to the music. This evidently is a gathering of people to listen to accordion and harmonica players from all over, very young to very old, very good to very not so good. It was very interesting to listen to music from the various bands and some of them sounded like some of the music you hear in Central Texas.
From there down to Ljubljana where we first visited with Neli’s parents where we had coffee and fresh apricots from their yard. Evidently this is apricot season because everywhere we went there were fresh apricots for sale in the stores for an excellent price!
Then to the town of Ljubljana where we did a walking tour of the old city including a walk into the castle and up to the tower for a look at the city from on top. There is a lot of open space around town and Vlado pointed out several features from there.
The worst part of the trip to the castle was getting out of the pay toilet because you have to pay to go in and go out!
Walked around the old town and past the various bridges that are famous such as the Dragon Bridge, the Butcher’s bridge and the place where the open market is on Fridays and Saturdays. From what we have read and heard, this is a great market to visit but unfortunately we were never in town on those days.
There is a river that runs through the town and we walked along the river and Vlado found a boat that would have an hour long tour with music as well. Had to wait 30 minutes so we found a outdoor cafe and had a beer/wine and watched people passing by.
The boat ride was very enjoyable and the music was two clarinet players who were quite good. We left to main part of town and went to the outskirts where we saw nutria in the water. Crossed under three bridges on our tour and it was a very enjoyable time.
Back to their house for a quick meal and early evening.
2025-05-22