Bridges and philosophers

Slovenia is every bit as good as those pictures I saw at the library. (Whew!)

Ljubljana, the capital, is a cute little European town (population under 300,000) with just a few major tourist attractions. It’s perfect for spending a few lazy days walking along the river and relaxing in cafes.

That's what most people do when on holiday; I, on the other hand, try to pack as much as possible into each day.

But I'm happy to say that I'm getting better at relaxing. Turns out you have to learn how to do that! 

One thing I do always make time for, though, is sampling new foods.

This actually did make me happy!

It's a big (empty) roll of bread, rolled in sugar and covered with roasted nuts. What more do you want from your food??

Took a really interesting walking tour. This is our guide, Ksenija. The woman behind us, with the tattoo on her arm, is a fire-performer from Israel. She invited us all to her free show in the square that night.
Unfortunately I didn't get the really good stuff on video, but here's a taste.

Ksenija showed us some great sights around town.

 St. Nicholas Church with an interesting door:

(that's Pope John Paul II at the top - he visited Slovenia recently)

more of the inviting canal

Cobblers' Bridge

 This place is all about natural beauty. Even the view from my hostel window was great!

The people at the hostel were great, too. I met a couple of interesting women my age from Denmark and we explored Ljubljana by night. One of the girls, who had recently gotten her first tattoo and was enjoying a smoke with her beer, told me she was studying to become a Lutheran priest.
"I know, I don't really look the type," she said, without seeming too worried about it.

Religion was also a topic with the three friendly Serbian guys I met at the hostel. We talked for a long time Sunday afternoon during a thunderstorm.
Two had recently graduated in law but, if they could, would have been full-time philosophers. Nikola was also the captain of the Serbian national cricket team. Slobodan's command of English was inspiring ("I grew up on cable" was his explanation), and their quiet friend Bogdan didn't say too much, except at one point when he told his friends "you get inspired when you b.s. in English!"

It was that kind of conversation.