Day 3, Monday, 7/23/07
We have the morning to get acquainted with our surroundings. We are staying in a two bedroom, upstairs apartment. It is in an area more recently developed, with some evidence of incorporating older farm land. The apartment is called Domacija which is a farm with a cafe attached. There are many fruit trees in the yards of the neighbors. I imagine this land used to be a large orchard. On the main road there is new construction of what looks like a modern apartment complex. Josh calls it a “Space Cow”. (“How do you know it isn't a space cow? Have you ever seen a space cow before?”)
It is on the southern boundary of Ljubljana. To the west of us is the river. To the east is a new shopping complex. To the north is a botanical garden. Botanični vrt Ljubljana (Botanical Gardens) was “established in 1810, the Ljubljana Botanical Gardens are Slovenia's oldest cultural, scientific and educational institution operating uninterruptedly ever since its foundation” (http://slovenia.hotels.hu/info/ljubljana/attractions.en.html). It is associated with the university. Dad and I found it interesting that originally it was associated with the philosophy department. You can visit the website of the garden at http://www.botanicni-vrt.si (be forewarned, it is in Slovene.)
In the morning we made a short trip into Ljubljana for supplies. This was the beginning of our first significant problem during the trip. As I was buying the groceries, my credit card was rejected. Fortunately, I had an alternate that worked. How am I going to figure out the problem with my credit card? Unfortunately, the Skype system on the computer of the apartment didn't work. We had to make an international phone call on the apartment's phone. The credit card risk department had put a hold on our credit card because “there were some purchases that they wanted to check”. Not only had they checked each charge we made in reserving the lodging and car for this trip (at which time we mentioned that we were taking a trip to Europe), they wanted to check the purchases we made in Europe. Of course, we weren't home when they called us, so they put a hold on our card. When I asked the bank representative if “we will have any more problems using our card?” I was told “no, ma'am, there shouldn't be any more problems”.
We had our second casualty today, as well. Taking the advice from friends to pack light, I told everyone to pack just a few changes of clothes and I'll do laundry. After I started the washing machine of the apartment with our clothes, I noticed that the handle was broken. I notified the daughter of the landlords. She couldn't do anything about it, and we are going to have to wait until her parents came back on Friday. Our clothes were hostage in the washing machine. We kept the clothes spinning, so that they would be as dry as possible and in motion, to keep from developing mold. This appears to have worked well enough. (Although I had one outfit that was ruined by the extended stay in moisture.)
All of this was inconsequential when compared to the wonderful time we had meeting our new family. Vida and Fonza (Maruska's parents) hosted a family picnic in a beautiful forest at a cabin (see pix).
This was our time to meet the family (see pix):
(from left to right) Fonza, Tama (Maruska's grandmother), Josh, Maruska, Karen, Bob, Zack, Charles, Tina (Maruska's sister), and Vida. Not in this picture are Damian, Spela (Maruska's good friend), and Gorasd (Maruska's brother). Keep your eye's open, you may see them in later pictures. The food was great. We discovered a new family favorite. It is like the Slovene hamburger, called Chavapchichi. It is ground beef and pork rolled to a small sausage size and grilled. There was lots of food and we all over ate.
We also shared presents. Karen and Bob received a beautiful picture book about Slovenija. Karen got a dragon pin. Bob got a key chain (with a dragon on it). Damian and Zack got Ljublana t-shirts and dragon key chains, and Charles got a traditional block painting of traditional bee keeping. It was special for Charles to receiving this particular painting, as he can remember when his father kept bees in a similar fashion. Vida and Fonza were given a ceramic bowl (from Charles and Vida was give a southwest American style hot plate. Fonza got a Portland “City of Roses” t-shirt, Tina and Gorasd received picture blocks that has pictures of Portland and Oregon on them, and Tama received a tea pot. The tea pot was special because it was to Maruska's grandmother from Josh's grandmother's tea pot collection. Also, as it was announced at the picnic, Tama dries her own tea leaves, which she will be able to use in her new tea pot.
There is a river that runs through the park, with beautiful woods. Charles, Bob, Josh, Maruska, and Zack took a walk to the river (see pix).
Damian was suffering from jet lag and spent most of the picnic in the car, sleeping. It was a wonderful evening of socializing, eating, and appreciating the woods. Before we left, we played a game of Bocce Ball with Gorasd (see pix).
Gorasd won after coming from behind of Charles who was winning most of the game.
It was a very full and enjoyable day. Most of us were still adjusting to the jet lag. We were still falling asleep early and waking early.
It is on the southern boundary of Ljubljana. To the west of us is the river. To the east is a new shopping complex. To the north is a botanical garden. Botanični vrt Ljubljana (Botanical Gardens) was “established in 1810, the Ljubljana Botanical Gardens are Slovenia's oldest cultural, scientific and educational institution operating uninterruptedly ever since its foundation” (http://slovenia.hotels.hu/info/ljubljana/attractions.en.html). It is associated with the university. Dad and I found it interesting that originally it was associated with the philosophy department. You can visit the website of the garden at http://www.botanicni-vrt.si (be forewarned, it is in Slovene.)
In the morning we made a short trip into Ljubljana for supplies. This was the beginning of our first significant problem during the trip. As I was buying the groceries, my credit card was rejected. Fortunately, I had an alternate that worked. How am I going to figure out the problem with my credit card? Unfortunately, the Skype system on the computer of the apartment didn't work. We had to make an international phone call on the apartment's phone. The credit card risk department had put a hold on our credit card because “there were some purchases that they wanted to check”. Not only had they checked each charge we made in reserving the lodging and car for this trip (at which time we mentioned that we were taking a trip to Europe), they wanted to check the purchases we made in Europe. Of course, we weren't home when they called us, so they put a hold on our card. When I asked the bank representative if “we will have any more problems using our card?” I was told “no, ma'am, there shouldn't be any more problems”.
We had our second casualty today, as well. Taking the advice from friends to pack light, I told everyone to pack just a few changes of clothes and I'll do laundry. After I started the washing machine of the apartment with our clothes, I noticed that the handle was broken. I notified the daughter of the landlords. She couldn't do anything about it, and we are going to have to wait until her parents came back on Friday. Our clothes were hostage in the washing machine. We kept the clothes spinning, so that they would be as dry as possible and in motion, to keep from developing mold. This appears to have worked well enough. (Although I had one outfit that was ruined by the extended stay in moisture.)
All of this was inconsequential when compared to the wonderful time we had meeting our new family. Vida and Fonza (Maruska's parents) hosted a family picnic in a beautiful forest at a cabin (see pix).
This was our time to meet the family (see pix):
(from left to right) Fonza, Tama (Maruska's grandmother), Josh, Maruska, Karen, Bob, Zack, Charles, Tina (Maruska's sister), and Vida. Not in this picture are Damian, Spela (Maruska's good friend), and Gorasd (Maruska's brother). Keep your eye's open, you may see them in later pictures. The food was great. We discovered a new family favorite. It is like the Slovene hamburger, called Chavapchichi. It is ground beef and pork rolled to a small sausage size and grilled. There was lots of food and we all over ate.
We also shared presents. Karen and Bob received a beautiful picture book about Slovenija. Karen got a dragon pin. Bob got a key chain (with a dragon on it). Damian and Zack got Ljublana t-shirts and dragon key chains, and Charles got a traditional block painting of traditional bee keeping. It was special for Charles to receiving this particular painting, as he can remember when his father kept bees in a similar fashion. Vida and Fonza were given a ceramic bowl (from Charles and Vida was give a southwest American style hot plate. Fonza got a Portland “City of Roses” t-shirt, Tina and Gorasd received picture blocks that has pictures of Portland and Oregon on them, and Tama received a tea pot. The tea pot was special because it was to Maruska's grandmother from Josh's grandmother's tea pot collection. Also, as it was announced at the picnic, Tama dries her own tea leaves, which she will be able to use in her new tea pot.
There is a river that runs through the park, with beautiful woods. Charles, Bob, Josh, Maruska, and Zack took a walk to the river (see pix).
Damian was suffering from jet lag and spent most of the picnic in the car, sleeping. It was a wonderful evening of socializing, eating, and appreciating the woods. Before we left, we played a game of Bocce Ball with Gorasd (see pix).
Gorasd won after coming from behind of Charles who was winning most of the game.
It was a very full and enjoyable day. Most of us were still adjusting to the jet lag. We were still falling asleep early and waking early.