OFF THE MOUNTAIN TO THE CAPITAL

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We said goodbye to the Bevk family and headed off the mountain. Our route to the capital was along the river in the valley floor so we were able to actually use the 5^th gear in our Fiat Punto.

We reached Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia in a couple of hours. Slovenia is about the size of Pennsylvania and Ljubljana is about the size of the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. We rode around for a little while looking for parking and then gave up and headed for the railroad station. There is always parking at the RR station and it is close to the center of town. We had made no plans for accommodation even though the guide books said the hotels are usually pretty full. I figured that being the end of September a room would not be a problem. I was wrong. The very friendly young man at the tourist office had to make several calls before he found us a room. Sadly, our first choice, the hostel in the old prison was full. Just like in the old days. We wound up at the Park Hotel, but not in the hotel where the room was 90eur a night, but in the hostel part for 50eur a night. It was an odd arrangement. Two floors were a hostel, in the same building with the same reception and cafe as the rest of the hotel. We had a double room, our own bath, tv, etc. we just did not get a free breakfast for half the price of a hotel room in the same building.. I just wanted coffee and the waiter let me have that for free from the buffet so we came out way ahead. Besides, coffee is just 1,50.

Ljubljana is a strange town. The old part downtown is closed to traffic and not a large area. It is quite beautiful with a river running through, but it all seems to be brand new. You do not get a feel of history like in Italy or France. It almost has a Disney feel. It is by no means crowded though there is a lot of activity. People are very nice, as they are in the whole country. They do not even  j-walk. They all stand obediently for the cross-walk light. Their museums and especially their castle on the hill are odd as there seems to be no defined plan. While watching the “virtual history” movie the attendant came in and cut it off leaving us hanging about all that happened in the '80's and 90's the most important part of their history.

 each block is hand measured, set, and leveled

 i know it is here somewhere

the smile because the sun is out finally

the city center

Our hotel was full with various local and international groups in town for meetings and small conventions. This led to another strange thing. Almost anyone under 30 speaks english in Slovenia as they start learning in the 1^st grade and study it all the way through school. But all these international groups, be it Japanese, Spanish, German or wherever they were from, were talking english fluently as their mutual language to communicate in. Wherever you went you heard english and every one talking with a different accent. (Don't get your ego's up. It is English, not American).

We met some very interesting people. By far the most interesting was Syed Ahmad Abdul Hadi bin Syed Hussien (try putting that on all those immigration forms)  and Lil G. Hadi for short. We were sitting outside at the hotel cafe when this small motorbike/scooter pulled up with Malaysia tags. After he checked in, he joined us for a beer. What a story. He had ridden this 130cc motorbike, a smaller engine than Scoot, from Malaysia to Slovenia and was going on to London. I am in awe still at this adventure. Unless you have ridden 2 wheelers it is almost impossible to understand this feat. It is right up there with the first climb up Mt. Everest. For the geographically challenged, that is a long way and includes the following countries; Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungry and Slovenia. From freezing Himyalas to desert temperature. All by himself. We spent quite a bit of time together and he could tell a good story. He made many of the challenging events sound hilarious. When he is not being crazy he works in disaster relief projects. Maybe that is why he has such a great sense of humor. Buy him a cup of coffee at http://immalaysian.com/

 hadi and lil g

vicki, hadi, and my beer

Next there was the crazy Croatian that came to a screeching halt on his bicycle outside a restaurant in his NY Giants hat and Yankees T-shirt in front of Vicki, Hadi and me. What a hoot he was as we talked baseball and about the waiters in the restaurant that were friends of his.

I came down early in the Park Hotel for coffee and to use the internet that was only available in the lobby and cafe. A Japanese gentleman came over and asked if I would help him with his computer. …...yep, you read that right. As his computer was the same as mine, I quickly diagnosed the problem. His WiFi was switched off. We had a great conversation for the next hour. His company had gone bankrupt last year and this was his last adventure before he started a new job.

In honor of our visit, the town decided to throw a big free concert for us right downtown. I even stayed out till after 11pm to see most of it. Yea, I know, amazing isn't it!

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this guy was good until he broke out in english