10.14.2012

Wanderlust: Slovenia, 2012

On day four of our journey, we took the train south to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It was an incredibly beautiful train ride through the mountains--very Sound of Music looking, even though that's really more in northern Austria. When we arrived at our destination, we had about a 20 minute walk to the apartment we were staying at, this time just a room in someone's house. When we got there and rang the bell, however, no one answered. We decided to walk back to a cafe to have a rest and email our hosts to make sure they were, indeed, expecting us. The cafe was far from a Caribou, however. Called Green Moon, they served everything from coffee to drinks with names I cannot repeat on this here blog...

After we sent the email we went back to see if anyone had shown up. One of the hosts spotted us from the Spanish restaurant next door. Once we got into the apartment, all I wanted to do was sleep. With the go-go-go to see as much as we could in Vienna, I was just exhausted. I should also mention that when I was packing for this trip in the wee hours the night before we left, I thought it would be a good idea to bring two pairs of heels instead of two pairs of tennies... In hindsight, not my wisest decision for cobblestoned streets. 

After a brief nap, we set out to explore Ljubljana. We wandered through the old town, a pedestrian-only area, which is surrounded by the Ljubljanica River. For dinner, we decided on a place that was much like the Slovenian version of Heartland Restaurant where all the dishes are traditional recipes sourced from local ingredients and a little market in the front of the restaurant sells the spices, produce, meats, and wine used in the cooking. Much to my delight, they are big on pumpkin this time of year. Our salad was drenched in a pumpkin seed oil dressing, and our porcini pasta even had a hint of nutty pumpkin-ness.

After the sun had set, we took the funicular up the hill to the castle. The museum was closed, but we could still wander around and check out the ruins. There was a little exhibit of photography from the early 20th century on display, and one of the photos was of a little girl who looked so much like photos of my own mum as a child that I had to check the name on the plaque. The little girl's name was Marta.

We ended the night with some plum and walnut brandy, and a dessert that was like a walnut-stuffed dumpling--think baklava meets ravioli. The plum brandy, known as Slivovitz, is a staple of the area, and we are somewhat familiar with it thanks to Corey's uncle in Duluth. The walnut brandy was a delicious surprise, tasting of Christmas with a molasses aftertaste. 

The next day, we had breakfast at the market. It had everything from clothes, local veggies, meat, fish, brandies and a special section for these huge mushrooms. Some of them looked more like toad stools than the delicious fungi. We bought some dried porcinis to take home. My breakfast consisted of my usual cappuccino and croissant. Corey had a cream cake consisting of a custard base, cherry jam, a lighter cream top with an almond crust, it was served with a side of chocolate drizzled whipped cream. Uncle Muckala would have loved it, but Corey couldn't finish it.

We made our way over to Tivoli Park, the Central Park of Ljubljana, to see the International Graphic Arts Centre housed in Tivoli Castle. I was nerding out a little, and Corey was kind enough to go along. The museum turned out to be much smaller than I had expected--just one level of the "castle." The current exhibit, however, was on Patterns and Symbols in Islamic art, which was nonetheless fascinating.
We then visited the home of Joze Plecnik, an architect from the early part of the 20th century who is responsible for much of how modern-day Ljubljana looks. He designed, for example, the pedestrian Triple Bridge, the Market Colonnade, and the Ljubljana riverbank area. He liked to combine post-modern influences with classical architecture for a style that spans the ages. His bedroom/office was completely round, which one might find problematic for furnishing, but he managed to make it work by dividing the space into different quadrants.

It happened to be the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, so it was only natural that we stop by the giant, pink Franciscan Church. After all the walking we had been doing, it was a welcome break to just sit and meditate. 

For a pre-meal snack, we got some chestnuts from a street vendor. Once the sun goes down, it cools off significantly, so the toasty chestnuts were especially tasty. For dinner, we ate along the riverside at a restaurant I had picked based on the lemons they had hanging from the chandeliers. Corey was well contented with a bowl of red pepper soup with some sea food mixed in, followed by some decadent pâté. I had some ravioli made from buckwheat (another thing we've seen a lot of here), which was good but filling.

Our final day in Ljubljana, my sister was flying in to meet up with us for part of our journey. Since she didn't arrive until later in the afternoon, we had decided to take the bus to Lake Bled, a fairytale-like place in the Julian Alps. After an hour and a half of winding roads, we had arrived. Unfortunately, the weather was especially grey and slightly drizzly. We hiked up to the castle for a great panoramic view of  the lake. There is a little island in the middle of the lake with a church on it. We had hoped to take a boat out to the island, but since it was a dreary, off season day, the boat rower insisted on having at least ten people aboard before he would row across the lake. We have noticed that in Slovenia, especially with regard to transportation, there is a lot of "hurry up and wait."

Since we didn't have time to wait, we caught the next bus back to the city so I could catch the international Biennial Design exhibition before we met Aisling at the bus station. It was pretty cool, with awards for everything from print design to environmental design to system design.
 

We made it back to the bus station, and after about 20 anxiety-inducing minutes, the airport bus showed up. Much to my relief, Aish walked off of it. With neither of our cell phones working here, I was indeed a little nervous about connecting with her. I know people survived just fine before cell phones, but I wonder if they worried more without them...

We ate at another little restaurant along the riverbank. Aish had the venison gnocchi, Corey the rabbit bolognese, and I, in anticipation of our journey to the truffle-laden Istrian peninsula the next day, some truffle tagliatelle. We then took Aish up to the castle for a night-time view of the city. We introduced her to Slivo, toasted her arrival, and indulged in some strudel before calling it a night.

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