Slovenija | LisaLarry.com

Old Friends, New Friends, and Ping Pong: Ljubljana, Slovenija

Lisa / September 22, 2009 / Slovenija, Travel

While here in Ljubljana we’ve had a great time catching up with old friends and making new friends.

The Three Majas

Last winter, a friend of Larry’s from the church Slovenija, Maja Hegediĉ (pronounced ‘Maya’ to our American readers – the ‘j’ has a ‘y’ sound in Slovene) came to New York for a few days. I was able to meet her and we had a great dinner and evening on top of the Empire State Building with her friends, including briefly meeting her friend Maja Kaplan. We immediately caught up with Maja Hegedic and Maja Kaplan on this trip. They also introduced us to another Maja: Maja Ŝekoranja. We’ve all quickly become friends and have had so much fun together. They are now collectively referred to by us as “the Majas” or singly referred to by the first letter of their last name.

While in Ljubljana we have fallen into a routine of Wednesday night ping-pong at the church with Maja H. Larry loves ping pong almost as much as he loves me and his iPhone (which he loves in that order), and Maja Hegediĉ is also a big fan. I became the cheerleader while they played, with the other Majas sometimes joining in. (I haven’t held a ping pong racket since the 7th grade and I apparently couldn’t even be trusted to keep score properly since I kept losing track.) They have been fun nights. We even had an exciting foosball match in the church attic one night as Maja K is as fierce a player as Larry is. Maja H introduced us to a little cafe outside of Ljubljana that sits along a man-made lake where at least 50 swans have decided to live, and it serves amazing palaĉinke (crepes). The banana and Nutella crepes almost have too much Nutella! (I say almost because I’m not entirely sure you can ever have too much of the evil little choco paste.)

The man-made lake at the palacinke cafe. All the white dots in the distance are swans. — The man-made lake at the palaĉinke cafe. All the white dots in the distance are swans.

Enjoying yummy post-ping pong crepes with Maja H.

We also had a perfect afternoon lunch one day when the Majas were free, at a gostilna that served yummy Serbian food with a beautiful outdoor patio – sooo good! – and a trip for ice cream cones and a visit to their “beach”. The “beach” is really just a little man-made lake in the middle of Ljubljana full of turtles and swans and ducks. It’s a quiet spot surrounded on one side by condos and on all other sides by nature. Maja S and I had great fun on one of the kiddie spinning rides. I can’t stay away from spinning rides. I’ll probably never grow out of that. 🙂

The Three Majas (from L) Maja Kaplan, Maja Sekoranje, and Maja Hegedic — The Three Majas (from L) Maja Kaplan, Maja Ŝekoranje, and Maja Hegediĉ

Some of the yummy Serbian food at lunch: cevapcici

These salads are the best. I could eat them every day. The cheese is from heaven!

Eating my hair. I should have put my hair in a clip before taking a ride.

Lunch with Aleksandar
One night right after we first arrived Ljubljana, Larry and I were having a quiet dinner at one of the restaurants that lines the Ljubljanica River, where Larry suddenly jumped up and ran over to hug someone passing by. His friend Aleksandar had been riding by on his bicycle and spotted us. They quickly exchanged numbers so that we could have a proper meal together and catch up. It’s so great to have chance encounters like that, and to see friends you may not have seen in years. Facebook helps us keep in touch virtually but nothing can replace sitting down for lunch or dinner, or just hanging out.

We subsequently had a nice long lunch with Aleksandar at a gostilna that sits along the Ljubljanica River just outside of the town center. It was one of those perfect early autumn days with sunshine, good food, and good conversation. A perfect afternoon. This was the first time I had met Aleksandar and it was a delight to get to know him a little bit. I look forward to future visits.

Time with the Majc’s

When we came to Slovenija on our honeymoon a little over 3 years ago, Larry was able to get in touch with the last family that he baptized before he left, the Majc family. It was a very special reunion. Since he taught and baptized them, they have become very active members of the small LDS community in Slovenia and have had three more children (in addition to the two they had when Larry first met them). When we returned to Ljubljana for a few days on our first anniversary, we were able to celebrate with the Majc’s as their older son, Davor, announced his mission call to Barcelona, Spain. Davor was just a young guy riding the neighborhood on his beloved bike back when Larry first knew him. How time flies! With this long visit we’ve been able to spend some quality time with the Majc family. Before we left the states, Larry dug up some old mission videotapes he had taken that included a visit to the Majc family house, and had them converted to DVD so we could share the footage with them. It was so fun to see young Davor running around and little Barbie, who was probably 18 months old at the time, saying “‘Anson!” when she spotted Larry coming up to the house (it was one of her first words). Barbie is now a senior in high school. Ivan laughed at how fast he drove and the funny shorts he was wearing on the day Larry was filming. We all laughed when little baby Barbie puked all over Larry, requiring him to change his pants while Rosanna washed them. I think the Majc’s really enjoyed seeing it and it’s so fun that Larry was able to share it with them. We also had a fun bowling date night with Ivan and Rosanna. Larry used all of his traditional high school “BH Bowlers” tricks, and still managed to beat me.

Watching Larry's old mission video with the Majc family

Time with the Lotriĉ‘s

The very first member of the church in Slovenija was a man named Albin Lotrič. Albin was baptized when he was studying as a university student in Norway. He brought the church back to his future wife, who was also baptized. These were the only two members in the entire country when Larry first came as a missionary. Back then, the only church materials in Slovene were a few hymns and the sacrament prayer, both of which were translated by Albin and printed from his home printer. Things have changed a bit in Slovenija now, as they finally have a version of the Book of Mormon in Slovene and have full facilities and materials in their native language. (When Larry was on his mission he had to try to convince people to read the Book of Mormon in Croatian).

We had planned to go on a hike with the Lotrič’s near where they live up by the Austrian border, but unfortunately the weather would not cooperate the week we were to go. Instead we were able to have dinner one Sunday afternoon and go on a mini hike on a mountain ridge near their home. Their son Benjamin brought his remote control airplane and we had a great time with the view (though the air was hazy) and looking at a nearby church. Albin told us a story of a car accident he was in at 18 years of age where a friend of his lost control on a bend and they rolled 200-250 vertical feet down the mountain where we were hiking. None of them were wearing seatbelts. Albin’s friends were thrown clear from the car at various points on the mountain but Albin was not, and stayed in the car until it finally came to rest against a tree. Albin eventually woke up and walked to a neighboring house for help. One of his friends, who was thrown from the car not far from the road, had also awoken and gone to another neighboring house for help. The third friend remained unconscious until the emergency personnel arrived to find him. All of them survived with minor injuries. Miraculous.

The Lotric's son Benjamin flying his plane

Time with Sara, Aleš, Vanessa, and Rebecca in Maribor

Larry has a good friend Sara who lives in Maribor, one of Slovenija’s other major cities, in the northeast part of Slovenija not far from the Austrian border. We were able to spend an afternoon with Sara when we were here in 2006. So one recent Saturday morning we headed north to Maribor to spend the day with Sara and her family. We only met her husband Aleš for about 5 minutes last time because he was working, and their youngest daughter, Rebecca, wasn’t born yet. We had a nice, long visit this time and had such a wonderful time. The girls were adorable and though shy at first, quickly became best buddies with Larry (Vanessa especially took a liking to him). We even managed to befriend their cat. We spent part of the time in their home eating, and eating, and eating, and part of the afternoon in the town of Maribor. While in Maribor we were also able to meet up with another woman Larry taught on his mission, Sonja, and her husband and little boy. Sara fed us far too much food and we stayed late into the evening and then left reluctantly for our drive back to Ljubljana (after being scolded by Sara for not planning to spend more time with them). Sara, we promise we will stop for longer next time!

Sara and Vanessa in foreground, Ales and Rebecca in background — Sara and Vanessa in foreground, Aleš and Rebecca in background

Maribor boasts the oldest grape vine in the world - over 400 years old and still producing grapes

We climbed the church tower to look over the city

Vanessa, Rebecca and Sonja's son riding a statue

Walking along the streets with Sara and family and Sonja and family

Sara, Ales, Rebecca, and Vanessa — Sara, Aleš, Rebecca, and Vanessa

Country Fair, Famous Church, and Waterfall Hike in a Peculiar Place: Ljubljana, Slovenija

Lisa / September 13, 2009 / Slovenija, Travel

Larry and I went out for a drive one afternoon to see a country church built by a famous Slovene architect, Joże Pleĉnik. It is one of the most unique churches I have seen. Set in the middle of farmlands, literally on marshes, it is called St. Michael in the Marshes. Because of the ground conditions, Pleĉnik built the church on approximately 350 eight meter piles. It’s a simple but beautiful building. We happened to show up at the church on the day they were holding a town festival, celebrating their farming heritage with demonstrations of period techniques, farm animals, and plenty of local pivo (beer), of course. What great fun!

Front of the church of St. Michael of the Marshes. You can't see it well but the columns line a floating staircase that goes to the front door of the building. Super cool effect.

Back of the church where the town festival was taking place

Back of the Joze Plecnik church, St. Michael of the Marshes, Slovenija

Traditional farming technique demonstration

After visiting the church we took off down the road to explore some of the smaller towns in the area. It was a Saturday afternoon and we didn’t have anywhere to be so we took our time. After wandering for a while Larry noticed that one of the directional signs pointing to nearby towns was named something unique. I’ll let the video do the explaining:

Yep. Hell. Apparently it’s a ridge where there are several beautiful waterfalls and because the ridge was so impassable back in the day, the people named it “Hell”. We were getting late in the day and running out of light, and I was in flip-flops, but we decided to hike up to the first couple of falls which were easily accessible, and see what they were about. Unfortunately not a lot of water is running through them this time of year, but they were still pretty. And now we can say that we’ve been to Hell and back.

Not a lot of water running. Though you would expect it to be a bit dry in Hell. — Not a lot of water running. Though you would expect it to be a bit dry.

Castle Sunset: Ljubljana, Slovenija

Lisa / September 9, 2009 / Slovenija, Travel

One recent evening we hiked up to the Ljubljanski Grad (castle), standing over the city since the 15th century, to watch the sunset from the clock tower. Here are a few shots from the trip.

Steps up to the castle tower, engraved with a dragon atop the castle tower, which is the symbol of the city of Ljubljana — Steps up to the castle tower, engraved with a dragon sitting atop the castle tower, which is the symbol of the city of Ljubljana

Looking down from castle hill to the edge of Old Town

Old Town Ljubljana and part of the Tromostovje (Triple Bridge)

Ljubljana city flag flying on top of the tower

Ceiling detail in the Ljubljana castle chapel

The back of the Ljubljana chapel, painted with crests of the royal lineage in the area

The Town Market: Ljubljana, Slovenija

Lisa / September 6, 2009 / Slovenija, Travel

Every town and city in Europe has its central market. Despite the invention of supermarkets and hypermarkets, there is still an open-air morning market at least once a week in every small and large town and city throughout Europe. I think it’s a great tradition and am happy to see that it still exists. I hope it never goes away. The open market and the daily fresh bread from the bakery are two things that America’s missing, in my opinion. New York City and other cities in America have tried to start a green market culture – New York has Union Square and other markets – but they frankly don’t even hold a candle to the local markets here. And the markets don’t just sell food – they sell clothes, shoes, candles, baskets, trinkets, you name it. Almost anything you can think of.

Cheese seller at the indoor portion of the market

France has olive vendors, and Slovenija has sauerkraut vendors! — The French markets have olive vendors, and Slovenija has sauerkraut vendors! Those buckets on the left are full of fresh sauerkraut.

Ginormous mushrooms!!! (Yes, even the object in the basket on the upper left is a mushroom.)

Larry often told me stories of the “tea lady”, an older woman who ran a stall filled with bags of mystery herbs and flowers. You would simply go up to her, describe whatever was ailing you, and she’d fill a bag with several handfuls of different items, and then give you instructions on how to take it. Feel a cold coming on? Go to the tea lady. Can’t sleep? Go to the tea lady. Larry and I stopped at the tea lady stall one day and asked for something to help us sleep better (foolishly thinking that this would keep us from staying up all night working on the computer!). The tea lady’s husband, who was minding the store that day, quickly filled a bag with various leaves and flower buds, and then told us to steep it for 30 minutes and take it 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. In brewing the tea later, I could tell that it had chamomile among other things in it. I have to say that it was delicious, and I slept like a rock.

Mlekomat

One day as I was coming back from a hike up the castle hill I noticed a vending machine tucked into the corner of the market square. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was a raw milk vending machine. I have seen these in other towns in Europe and think it’s brilliant. The farmers from the countryside surrounding the town fill up the milk machine with fresh, raw, unprocessed, unpasteruized, unskimmed milk. Straight from the cow. People can then come to the milk machine, any time of day or night, and fill either their own or a purchased container with fresh milk. Upon doing 5 minutes of internet research I quickly discovered that, like most things, milk is actually much more nutritious raw than the pasteurized/homogenized counterpart you can buy in the store. The processing takes out hundreds of beneficial bacterial that have been proven to help with everything from calcium metabolization to lactose digestion. (Many people who have a lactose intolerance can actually handle raw milk better). Larry and I quickly made a habit of getting our fresh milk from the Mlekomat and have loved it! Too bad you can’t find things like this in America.

Coming Home: Ljubljana, Slovenija

Lisa / August 30, 2009 / Slovenija, Travel

Larry lived in Slovenia for two years in the early ’90’s while serving a mission for our church. He spent most of that time in its capital city, Ljubljana. When we got married, we planned for part of our honeymoon to be in Slovenija. It was Larry’s first return since he lived there on his mission 15 years earlier. When Larry first arrived in Ljubljana in 1991, it was just after the 10-day war that split Slovenija from the former Yugoslavia had ended. Soldiers armed with automatic rifles were frequently standing guard, especially around government buildings, and they often stopped these out of place young Americans to check their ID. The country was just finding its way out of commuist rule. When we went back on our honeymoon, it was obvious that they had embraced capitalism – everything from L’Occitane shops to UGG stores to trendy little clothing boutiques. Ljubljana had become (and is) a vibrant, beautiful, small city to visit.

This return trip (we will be staying in Ljubljana for a month) affords Larry and I the opportunity to really spend some time in the city, with friends, and exploring Slovenija. We got an apartment on a beautiful street in old town, just below the castle which has been standing watch over Ljbuljana for several hundred years. We arrived late on a Saturday night after a grueling 10+ hour drive from Prague. It should have only been a 7.5 hour drive but we were driving through a tremendous downpour the entire way, and it was exhausting.

Along the Ljubljanica River in our neighborhood

View of the castle tower from our street

Our first Sunday morning we went to church services in the newly built LDS chapel just outside of the city center. The new building has been built since we were last here two years ago and it is gorgeous! Up until now the church members have had to meet in rented buildings or rooms. It’s gratifying (especially for Larry) to see them have their own nice, big, new building. Because Larry was here for such a long time, he has several dear friends here, and they were all happy to see him when we arrived. Word spread quickly that “one of the first missionaries in Slovenija” was in the building and Larry quickly got pinned down by the branch presidency to speak for a few minutes during the meeting. He didn’t look entirely thrilled with the prospect but of course he accepted and did a great job speaking a little bit about what the church was like when he arrived (they had one rented room from the government, only two members of the church in the entire country, and about eight missionaries).

Larry and I have had a great time wandering around old town, shopping, going to the market, walking up to the castle, and marveling at the changes. Unfortunately we discovered that Larry’s favorite pizza place, Pizzeria Napoli, is now an Irish pub. Luckily we quickly found a replacement, Foculus, just around the corner from our apartment. And we made the greatest discovery ever – a massive mall, with a massive movie theater. In a tribute to capitalism taking root in Slovenia, developers have taken an old industrial complex and turned it into a massive series of shops and restaurants. They even painted funny bright designs on the old ugly smokestack. My favorite part: Movies! In English! Since Slovenia is such a small country (about the size of New Jersey), most movies (except the ones for kids) are simply subtitled rather than dubbed. It’s worked great except when we tried to see one movie which had a lot of dialogue in French and German. We had German dialogue with Slovenian subtitles and Larry trying to whisper translations into my ear. That one didn’t work so well. Other than that, we’ve had a great time catching up on a few American movies and we even found a DSW-like shoe emporium in the mall. I mean, what else does a girl need? All is well in the world.

The Ljubljanica River and the Tromostovje (Triple Bridge)

Getting ligni (calamari) on the market square. The calamari you can get in the US cannot hold a candle to this stuff. — Getting ligni (calamari) on the market square. The calamari you get in the US cannot hold a candle to this stuff!

Looking up at the Ljubljana castle at night

Old Town Ljubljana is in the midst of some major renovation projects, including doing some infrastructure work which has required them to dig up many of the little cobblestone streets. It’s amazing how quickly they’ve been working through this project, and how quickly the road is put back together and the cobblestones are re-laid (by hand). In addition, they’ve been installing or refreshing new fountains in the squares, widening and re-laying the main pedestrian path along the Ljubljanica River, renovating many of the old town buildings, renovating and building an addition to the main opera house, and renovating one of the main downtown parks. Phew! It’s quite a work in progress. I can’t wait to see what it all looks like next time we come to visit!

Our street has already had the roadwork completed. Shiny and new.