Italia Adventures!!: What's Up Slovenia?!

Ljubljana, Slovenia. Ten days ago I had never even heard of this city. Yet here I sit, living the Italian dream in my Paderno dorm room four short days after seeing enough of Slovenia (and Eastern Europe in general!) to last me a good long while. It all started out as a trip to get me out of my comfort zone, a trip that I would never think of taking on my own. Looking back on it now, I realize if being uncomfortable was my only goal for this trip, I was SO wildly successful it's almost ridiculous!! The minute I stepped off the lovely bright yellow tour buses with the built-in espresso machines (I'm still quite upset I didn't test to see if they actually worked...) I knew without a doubt I had crossed into another world. It might have been the fact that our hostel was a former military prison or that the area we walked through to get to said hostel from the bus station was so tagged with graffiti that I couldn't even tell what colors buildings were painted but I immediately knew the weekend was bound to be one for the books!

It was truly fascinating to see the inside of the hostel (who knew an old prison could be that unique!) but I will honestly say that walking immediately outside the hostel was even more eye-opening. Bone-shaking music, the weirdest "artwork" (see below) of my life, and glaring stares from a lot of people who seemed to be pushing the definition of hipster to the furthest extreme possible made the night a little nerve wracking. However, it definitely one of the most unique experiences I've had on this trip so far and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience it. The next morning, after deciding that we would be better off calling it a night than trying to start exploring the city at one in the morning, I woke up with a much higher level of excitement about seeing what Ljubljana had to offer than I originally anticipated I would. After chatting with one of the other girls sharing our room (she was a super friendly lady from England on "holiday"!), grabbing some of the breakfast that involved mass amounts of coffee, and collecting more members of the group, we put on our exploring pants and went on our way.

Walking through the streets of Ljubljana was awesome - behind the graffiti was an absolutely gorgeous city filled with beautiful architecture, unique old buildings, and a lot of personality. We strolled along the river that winds through the city, crossed amazing old stone bridges, and immersed ourselves in the culture the historic buildings and churches projected. Also very exciting was when we discovered that every day of the week (besides Sunday), Slovenian vendors host an open air market right along the river where they sell a huge variety of goods. It was there where I was able to buy a really cool piece of Slovenian art that I'm totally hanging it in my kitchen...if nothing else it should help generate some very interesting conversations! Next, we hiked to the top of Castle Hill where one the city's best known attractions, the Ljubljana Castle, is located. This was definitely a highlight for me, especially because the view from the very top of the tower was breathtaking! (Literally though...not only was the hill kind of a mountain but there were a lot of stairs!) What made this doubly exciting was the fact that so many other CIMBA students were up there at the same time - it made the picture taking process a bit more entertaining!

Also we ate. A lot. Apparently Slovenia is well known for its' Mexican food so naturally we were forced to try it and, based purely on the shear enthusiasm with which we consumed our lunch, they have definitely earned that reputation! For dinner though, five of us who were staying in the same hostel that second night (we had to switch because the jail was too full!) all decided we wanted to try something a little more unique for dinner, a decision that actually turned out to be the most memorable part of the trip. The restaurant itself was beautiful, the food and wine out of this world, and we literally had the best waiter in the history of waiters - I'm not even exaggerating! Daniel (the waiter!) not only gave wonderful suggestions about the menu and helped us get a cab but was also extremely interesting to talk to, especially when we asked him about his life in Ljubljana and what he thought about America. I think it was talking to people like Daniel that made this trip one to remember...they had such interesting points of view and it really made me appreciate the United States and my life there even more.

Other than a fantastic night at the Circus - the "hippest club in town" (Daniel's words!), a trip to Lake Bled the next morning that was absolutely gorgeous, and a little hanging out at the train station McDonald's before we come home, nothing else super eventful happened. Looking back on it now I realize nothing we did was too crazy exciting or eventful but was just so unique I know that this trip will be one I remember for the rest of my life. It was intriguing to see such a different culture but, like I hinted at before, I think I may stick to more Western European destinations for the remainder of the trip so look forward to hearing about that in the next post! Until then, ciao!!

Pictures...