Ljublijana – The Last Leg
Unlike the other road trips along the way, this particular day, driving from Belgrade to Ljublijana, consisted of interstate driving the entire way. At first, we were amazed that, for many miles, we seemed to be the only car on the expressway. The border crossing into Croatia was easy enough but we noticed increased traffic as we proceeded through the country. By the time we reached the toll booth kiosk, traffic came to a standstill. Perhaps it was our preparation for a return to the US. The 1.5 hour delay made for a late arrival in Slovenia but we did arrive before dark – always a goal on travel days. We chose to stay near the airport instead of the city center. We were so pleased to meet our innkeeper, Rok, and his mother. There were only 2 rooms in their home Hisa na Vrtu, near their family farm. They were so welcoming, provided a wonderful breakfast, great dinner recommendations, and lots of ideas of things to do on a rainy day.
While Jim and Julie chose to visit a pretty cool cave with a train ride through the cavern, we ventured out in the light rain to the city center. There, we experienced a great walk along the river and took many photos of the famous Triple Bridge and the castle high above the town. The town market was the perfect place to purchase last minute gifts for those back home. In addition to wooden carved items, our favorite vendor was a local farm family with honey products. But, our favorite part of the day was people watching and walking along the riverfront while enjoying tea, coffee, and Slovenian wine.
We had the best lamb chops ever over dinner! We ventured to try a local side dish, buckwheat mush. I wonder if, perhaps, I felt about this dish like those not accustomed to grits, trying them for the first time. As you can imagine, we had leftovers. As we were leaving the restaurant, the sweet little cook came out and told us we must take the leftovers home for breakfast. She gave us clear instructions about covering with yogurt or milk and enjoying them again, either warm or cold. What could we do? Away we went with our container of buckwheat mush!
Our trek to the airport was easy and uneventful. Even with the government shutdown back home, we managed to make all of our flights home in a timely fashion.
This marks the end of our 24 day adventure! What a great adventure it was!
