sLOVEnia

Another three day weekend means another excursion.  This time we drove to the neighboring country of Slovenia.  We started our weekend in the nation's capital of Ljubljana (loob-lee-ana).  After arriving at the 10 story apartment building that we would call home for the next few days, we headed into the city center armed with a map that the apt. owner gave us showing us some points of interest, and, most importantly, where to park.

His parking advice brought us to this lovely area, where we found this lovely church.  The first night the sun was beginning to set, and it lit the church beautifully, so I stopped to take some pictures.

That evening as we returned to the van it was dark, and the church was just as stunning.

So the next morning, after parking in the same location, we decided to have a looksie inside the church--it was just as beautiful inside, too.  It's a Serbian Orthodox church.

As luck would have it, this same church was the site of a wedding celebration that afternoon.  We don't have any pictures, but we got to spend some time watching the wedding guests enjoy some dancing and joviality in front of the church.

As we walked through the city we saw lots of neat architecture, most of it relatively new since an earthquake in the late 1800's damaged many structures.

The walk along the river was especially nice, if only a little smelly...at least to the sensitive noses in the family.

And the same buildings at night.

Also, we traversed several bridges that crossed Ljubljana River.

Above is one of the famous Triple Bridge designed by one of Slovenia's own beloved, architect Joze Plecnik.

And there was the Butcher's bridge--the odd sculptures on this bridge, reminiscent of animal innards were, um, interesting.

Perhaps our favorite bridge was the Dragon Bridge.

It was neat in the daylight, too

We spent some of Ted's hard earned money at the market.

that's not our basket, but I really thought it would be fun to get one.

Buying some local honey

and some decorative honey hive panels that are recreations of 1800 folk art that farmers used to attract bees to the hives.  We also threw down a chunk of change for some t-shirts for the kids.

I admired the gorgeous flowers!!!

We worked on learning a few Slovenian words.  The first was, not surprisingly, hello--dober dan.  We also learned the word for falcon,

Sokol--and ate at this restaurant with that name.  Not bad.  Had some of Slovenia's traditional dessert--potica, a layered sort of cake with a variety of options for fillings.

At the restaurant we had this very European view, and a classic old city outdoor dining experience.

 (classic to include LONG--we didn't leave until after sunset!)

Also in Ljubljana we visited the...    wait for it    ...

CASTLE!

We enjoyed lunch in the square of the castle at a museum cafe.

Inside the castle were many updated features to make it more accessible - like this red spiral staircase.

The castle had a tower viewpoint we all enjoyed.

The square below is the location of the famous Three Bridges and the pink building is the oldest Pharmacy in the city.  The square is named Preseren Square (after a famous local poet).

What's a castle tour without some cannons.

This is just the first evening and full day!  Wait until the second day's trip to Lake Bled!  Here's a sneak peak--a picture along the drive there.

Note the hay drying rack - these were a ubiquitous site among the farming fields we drove through.