Ljubljana, Slovenia

Slovenia looks like Oregon from above. Very lush & forestry. I really hadn´t thought much about this trip with so much going on in my life at the moment so i arrived in Ljubljana without any expections, not even a place to spend the night.

I found a bus to the city center and found myself sitting next to an aussie guy, Matt & a Portuguese guy, Luis. The latter spoke very little Spanish. I had planned to stay in a hotel but they convinced me to go to a hostel with them, the hostel Celica which is rated as one of the best in the world. Yeah, it was full . So we ended up somewhere that was probably rated the worst. Hotel Park which doubles as both a hotel and a hostel. As i found myself having to share with what was supposed to be 3 strange women, i decided it was not one of my best ideas and as i opened the door to the corridor that lead to my room and was greeted with very loud dance music, very loud shit dance music i wanted to run. I inched my way to my room & edged open the door, dreading what might be inside. It was quiet. Phew! Hang on a minute though, what the F is that? On one of the bunks was some kind of breathing device, a machine with a tube coming off of it and mouth piece. It was huge and very, very creepy. Nothing else, the bunk relatively untouched. As i eyed it, somebody on the bunk next to me said hello. I jumped. Hardly surprising as i am the jumpiest person in the world.

The voice was attached to Lena, a very nice 24 year old teacher from Minnesota. She was equally creeped out by the medical device. It wasnt hers. The owner was a mystery to both of us.

I convinced Lena to come out with me, i was thinking i would set her up with Matt or Luis but i just wanted to get out of the room.

The four of us walked along the river which was buzzing with cafes and bars and people. Its a university town so there are lots of young people around. We ended up finding a bar called The Cutty Sark which sold beer and pizza. I did try to ask locals to find out where we could get some local food from, apparently Ljubljana does not do local food. I was pointed to a Chinese place, an Italian and two Mexicans. Mexican food is Slovenia? Thats just wrong.

I sat and chatted with the younguns for a while, until they caught wind that i was 30 something and looked a little disappointed when i said i would not go in on a bottle of vodka and roam the benches of Ljubljana. They decided it wasnt cool either and we went back together, Lena and i was anxious to find out who the owner of the medical device was. NOt before Lena signed on to You Tube and showed us clips of fainting goats which was quite hilarious and we were all molested by the massage chair in the hotel lobby, at one point it tried to penetrate places where i would think it illegal in Eastern Europe.

Our floor was crazy, a party of German teenagers filling the corridor with guitars and booze and lots of singing. Confused into thinking we were all American they tried to get us to sing Tom Waits songs, Bob Marley and then talk turned to Jim Morrison and how amazing her was? Um...how old are these people? What year is this? As modern as Eastern Europe has become, so much of it is still stuck in 80s and stone wash denim and crazy haircuts rule. I made a swift exit to my room. I heard the slow hum of the medical device immdiately but i was a complete scaredy cat and didnt look, it was dark anyway so i just jumped on my bunk and fell asleep to the soudns of Richard Hawley crooning in my ear.

As uncomfortable in my environment as i was, i managed to sleep. Lena left early for a hike which left me with what i thought was 2 strange females in the opposite bunk bed. Well, imagine my surprise when one of them had a deep voice, a hairy back, a bald head and wore tiny pants. Urgh! they had put a man in our room and he was the owner of the breathing contraption. I feined sleep until they showered and left before doing so myself.

Today i rented a bike and rode all over Ljubljana, its very small and tidy so easily done in a few hours. I love that thez have bike lanes on both the pavement and the roads, easily identifiable in red. Good job too as while i was riding my pedal fell off, almost plowing me into traffic so i had to walk it back all the way from the castle. The castle is a big tourist attraction, its pretty from the outside but too modern and restored on the inside.

Im losing weight fast as i am hardly eating and not drinking. I have had no appetite and im disappointed that Ljubljana seems to be low on fresh local food, i didnt feel like anything until... i went for a stroll around the market which was nice, lots of fruit and vegetables, badly made clothes and souvenirs. I suddenly caught a waft of Sardines, i love Sardines. I followed the smell and came across a food truck selling whitebait, calamari & sardines which all the locals were scrambling for. I ordered myself some Sardines that arrived deliciously crispy with fresh garlic and lemon. I sat and people watched for a good hour. Slovenians are a social bunch, lots of milling aroud outside cafes with wine from as early as 11am, bikes everywhere. I love that nobody locks their bikes up.
I like Ljubljana, its very relaxing, the people are amazingly approachable and friendly, ashamedly they all speak great English which i have had to rely quite heavily on. Slovenian not being latin based i have struggled to understand a single word so have shyed away from trying anything more than a hello or thank you. The river is great and i love how vibrant it is in the evening, many of the bars look fun and some restaurants look interesting enough. The problem is, i am not feeling very inspired. I have hardy taken any photos and haven,t written anything more than my blog. So i am taking my own advice where i say if you aren,t feeling inspired by a place then move on. So, i am going to take an earlier train to Zagreb.


Timezone: GMT +1

Reading: John Updike - Couples