Ljubljana

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The direct train connection from Vienna to Ljubljana ("Emona") is just over six hours long, but much of it is spectacular. While I had my iPod and a book, I spent quite a bit of time just looking out the window at the gorgeous landscapes, both in Austria and Slovenia.

My cell phone told me when we crossed the border, which wasn't especially spectacular, as borders tend not to be. The landscapes got nicer again, except for the trash littering the banks of the Savinja, the river that accompanied us on our route. Then, suddenly, the scenery stopped changing. Our train broke down in Celje. Passengers started getting antsy, and after a while, some even got out and got on another train. I got a little nervous, but the Slovene woman traveling with me comforted me in broken German that it wasn't really worth taking the other train. Then the conductor came by and told us we'd be on our way soon. We got under way, and I talked a little more with the Slovene lady.

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When I got to the train station, I got a map and a little city guide, which was incredibly helpful. I walked around town a little and then found my hostel (Celica: see review). After settling in, I went out for falafel (see review). Ljubljana was very pretty at night. Several streets were decorated with scientifically themed light fixtures: everything from a spiral galaxy to sperm converging on an egg.

For dessert, I felt like pizza, so I went to one of the fastfood places I had seen walking from the train station. The pizza was pretty blah, but I'm so glad I went. The guys who made it and sold it were Albanian! I found this out when I tried to pay. I didn't have enough coinage, so I had to give the guy a bill. He asked me in Slovene if I had change (I assume), and I said no, I didn't have enough. He asked how much I had, but I didn't know numbers, so he tried again in Albanian. I don't know why—I don't think he expected me to understand—but I answered him right back, "një!" (one). I didn't realize right away that I had actually understood and why I had understood, but then I heard the word 'anglisht' (English), and I realized the two guys behind the counter were Albanian.

upon the castle hill
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I asked them (in Albanian) if they were from Albania, and they gave me a look of surprise. They asked me where I had learned it, and I began to falter. I'm sad to say I couldn't come up with much on the spot. I was able to communicate that my father was American and my mother German, and I was able to say 'good night'. I also understood a lot of their questions, even if I couldn't answer them coherently. While I failed, it was still pretty awesome.

Sunday morning I got up before 8:00 am and had breakfast in the hostel with C from California: cereal, coffee and water with lime. When I left the hostel, I kind of wandered off in the wrong direction, but I got back on track and headed first for the castle in Ljubljana. I made it to the top of the hill by about 9:00 am. The castle, however, didn't open until 10:00. Despite it being incredibly cold and hazy, I decided I would just wander around the hill and take pictures. Close to 10:00, I headed back to the castle and reached it at the same time as some Italian tourists. They walked up the gate, which was ajar, and one of the men snuck through. He came out again, though, followed by a caretaker (I'm assuming), who said in Italian that the castle didn't open until 10:00 and started to walk away from the castle. When one of the Italian women pointed out that it was 10:00, the caretaker paused with a sort of "oh," turned around and opened the gate. We all went inside and were greeted by blaring classical music. I walked around the perimeter and then went inside one of the towers for a little 3D film (with glasses) about Ljubljana. It was shown in Slovene, but viewers were offered headsets with multiple language settings. After that I decided to have hot chocolate and cake at the castle's very nice bar/café.

Slovenia had hippies.
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After going back down the mountain, I walked through the town, very pretty. I'm not sure how I felt about the classical music playing in the streets. It wasn't being played by street performers, it was coming from loudspeakers distributed throughout downtown. I walked by a flea market, took pictures here and there and then made may way to the City Museum in time for a guided tour in English.

I was the only person on the tour, which is a shame because it was incredibly informative, and it really helped me understand what I was seeing. The City Museum had a lot to offer. It was in the museum that I learned that the name of the train I had taken from Vienna came from the Roman name for the region around Ljubljana.

Toothbrush dispenser? This was in the bathroom of the Italian restaurant.
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After walking around the exhibits again to take pictures, I left the museum and made my way toward Tivoli Park. Much of Ljubljana had the same idea, because there were lots of people on walks, sledding with their kids or ice skating in the park. When it got dark, I started looking for a place to eat. Not having been especially pleased with my pizza the night before, I thought I'd try again, but this time in a real restaurant. I also tried local Union beer, which isn't half bad. That evening I cleaned myself and some of my clothes and called it a (relatively) early night. The next day would start early.