Day Three
It was an early morning, so we could get on the road in time to be at the Ministry of Defense in Ljubljana for Z's required meeting. I read in the lobby for the two hours he was upstairs.
After that we went straight to US soil: the embassy. Picked up lots of good information about what needs to be done for residency, for a work permit, to keep a driver's license, etc. Scary stuff, some seems possible, some seems impossible (ex finding a job without living here first). It's a start!
A little walk around Ljubljana. Would have been nicer without the piercing cold. AMAZING hot chocolate in a bar/cafe along the river.
Took a quick stop at the Opera House, where the National Ballet performs. Apparently they are performing a Nutcracker. Z didn't seem to want to go, so I didn't push it.
Picked up Chris at the Jesenice train station (Chris = cadet friend from West Point on a personal tour of central/eastern Europe). Back home for dinner and some relaxing.
The Plan as of now: an evening out on Bled . . .
. . . much later . . . which turned out to be quite an evening! After a couple hours bumming around Bled, we got word that there was a Croatian singer playing in the next town over at an underground club. Klemen agreed to drive for Z, me, Chris, and two of Z's friends - Yupi and Angi. Both the club and the singer played exclusively Slovenian (or Croatian or Serbian) songs, and great drunkness ensued. Chiefly in Chris and Yupi.
Lots of dancing on benches and tables. Home around 4am, definitely ready for sleep.
Day Four (Christmas Eve)
Wake up call (not!) turned out to be 12pm.
We took Chris sightseeing at Castle Bled, and then stopped for tea and hot spiced wine at the Devil (quickly becoming my personal favorite afternoon cafe). My toes got so cold that it actually hurt to take a step.
At the upper limit of Z's town, a view of Bled and beyond
At Castle Bled
It's a comfortable-yet-regal feeling castle - ideal!
With all the views and architecture, it's a great place for pictures
Ziga at Castle Bled
Home in time for Christmas dinner - trout that you had to take the head, skin, and entire skeleton out of as you ate. Very tender and yummy. I brought Christmas Crackers, the British party favors that pop when you pull them, revealing a treat inside. This brought about a playful mood that carried us into a few hands of 21 after dinner. Ice cream was served for dessert. And then began the waiting.
Everyone ended up taking a nap to pass the hours before midnight mass (I read my book). The house was quiet and chilly at 11pm when we bundled up in preparation for the unheated church. We picked up the family in the Grandparents' house across the street, had a quick shot of a honey-flavored liquor (for warmth) and then headed up the hill, following the rest of the town to the central church.
Midnight Mass was completely unintelligible to me. The priest sings almost everything he says, and there is almost no participation by the congregation - the choir sings the call and response. The church is ancient and decaying, ornamented with passion from long ago and minimally maintained. We stood, we sat, almost nobody kneeled at the appointed moment. And then it was Christmas.
Christmas is REALLY coming this time. . . Next Page
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