Crossroads of Adriatic Day 14

May 13, 2007 – Sunday – Travel into Slovenia–Ljubljana City Tour

Today was our last day in Lovran. We showered, packed up our last remaining things, and went down to breakfast.

When we went to the lobby, Tammy and the desk attendant had a surprise for me. I had mentioned that there was not a Brazilian flag on the shelf above the reception counter, although there were about 30 other flags representing nations of the world. Today there was the Orden E Progresso; green, yellow, and blue banner on center stage!!!!

After breakfast we walked along the pier again one last time. There were many families fishing, catching tiny little fish using mussels for bait. There were many people walking, pushing baby carriages, and enjoying their Sunday, Mother’s Day morning.

We met our new bus driver, Ecio and we have a new larger bus. We savored our last images of the Adriatic as we left the coast and headed inland and north to Slovenia.

We crossed the Croatian border for the last time at 9:40. Again Ecio and Tammy handled all of the paperwork for the bus. We entered the Slovenian border just a few minutes later at the town of Jelšane.

Tammy got off the bus and spoke to the guards, then collected our passports and took them to the booth. We watched as the guard scanned them all and she stamped each of them. She brought them to the bus and then we were on our way again.

We made a short stop for rest rooms and a chance to exchange Kunas for Euros as we are now in the European Union. Tammy gave us new Slovenian maps and we were off to explore another new country!

We observed a sharp contrast to the scenery as we journeyed inland into Slovenia, a delightful forest-clad country of emerald meadows, alpine villages, and soaring mountain peaks. This Slavic nation was the first to claim independence and break away from the Yugoslav federation, and it largely escaped involvement in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

Tammy explained the geography of her country that she has described as the most beautiful in the world! She also told us colorful stories of her own family history. Her great grandparents were partisans during WWII when Slovenia was part of Italy.

We made a short coffee stop at a “Truck Stop” along the Tollway. There was an incredible buffet – fresh fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, and hot foods, and breads and desserts to die for. This was not our lunch break so we did not eat, but all agreed that the food was certainly tempting!

We got back on the bus at 11:30 and continued the short way to our hotel. Tammy gave us a city map and more written information about the capital city Ljubljana (Loo-blee-anna).

The city was first built by the Romans so the history of the town is long and rich. As capitals go it is small, only 300,000 people. There are only 2 million people in all of Slovenia, a small country about the size of New Jersey.

As we drove into town, we had an orientation preview to help us get to know the layout of the city. We passed the ancient walls of the Roman city; saw the university center and many embassies. There are many concert halls, a national theater, as well as an opera house.

We drove to our hotel and got our room keys right away. We waited for our luggage and then met our group at 12:45 so Tammy could take us on a short walk to show us a few places to eat lunch. We chose an outdoor restaurant and shared a panini and a salad, avoiding the crowds and hot sun on the main river walk.

We met our city guide Vesna at 2:45 who took us on a walking tour of this small country’s charming capital of Ljubljana, a thriving university town with a picturesque hilltop castle. Our walking tour highlighted the quaint bridges spanning the gently flowing Ljubljanica River, and the narrow streets of its café-lined Old Town.

We saw many of the city's historical buildings, parks, and monuments. Many of the bridges spanning the city center were designed by the innovative local architect, Joze Plecnik.

As we walked along the pedestrian streets we saw that many of the shops and restaurants were closed because it was Sunday. We passed St. Nicholas Cathedral where they were having a Slavic celebration today. We talked to two of the people who were very gracious and described their traditional dress, costumes of the 19th century.

We finished our tour of the capital city back at the main square. We thanked Vesna and walked back to our hotel at 4:45. We looked at our photos from the day and at 5:30 we joined Marion and Judy for drinks before dinner.

At 7:00 we decided to walk a bit. The town was still full of people enjoying the last warm hours of the weekend. We found a kebab walk-up and had a light meal. We then had an ice cream and walked back to our hotel by way of several side streets and alleyways.

Grand Hotel Union Executive - - - Meals: B,

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