Made It To Slovenia!

I arrived in Slovenia yesterday afternoon after a complicated train and bus connection from Salzburg. My ticket was supposed to be direct, with no connections, but near the border between Austria and Slovenia I was required to switch to a bus to be driven across the border and then re-board a new train on the other side.

Neither my ticket or the reservation clerk explained any of this. I was tipped off by the fact that the route sign at the train station listed Villach and Klagenfurt Austria as destinations on the route, and while Villach was a town on my route, Klagenfurt was too far east. My train should have continued south after passing through Villach rather than heading east for Klagenfurt.

I decided to get on the train anyway since the platform, time and direction were correct, and since I knew I could get off at Villach and transfer to a different train later in the day for Ljubljana. Once on the train, I found a porter that spoke English and she explained the bus factor. Then I found another passenger that was taking the same route (and who understood Slovenian and German). She agreed to let me follow her to Ljubljana.

I’ve been lucky finding people who are willing to patiently explain things to me. Sometimes I ask people for help, like the older Austrian woman and the two teenage Austrian girls in my train compartment who insisted on answering my questions in German. I asked the questions in English and asked if they spoke English, but they rambled on in German, I assume telling me how to make my transfer and that it would be OK, the stop wasn’t until quite a bit later. They were sure that I understood them. I merely imagined that I understood. But in the end, it all worked out OK, like I presume they were insisting!

I got off the train at the Ljubljana station around 3pm, and as soon as my feet hit the ground, there was Janez. Like magic, and just like his photos! He helped me with my luggage and we headed to his Citroen and drove about ten miles out of the city to his town of Dragomer. It is a pleasant little residential village, just off the main highway and he lives in a nice house in a small valley, filled with other houses, but surrounded by green hillsides covered with trees.

We had a nice meal of fish and pasta and salad that he put together. Meta was out of town at a short workshop, so we had plenty of time to talk about schedules and paperwork and the general plan and strategy for our forest work. It was such a nice day, though, that we went for a walk in the hills around his home, with his nice dog Gaja. I took a few pictures of flowers and fields and the traditional Slovenian hayracks.

Later that evening, we watched the European version of American Idol. There were seventeen different singers or groups, each from a different European country, all competing to be the annual Eurovision champion. Saturday night are the semi-finals, so I imagine we will watch those, too. During the TV, Janez and Meta’s son Uroš came home. He lives in the basement apartment and is a nice and polite fellow. He is apparently also interested in photography and may accompany me on some of my excursions later next week. We’ll see if it works out.

Today we spent eating, talking and working on our computer files in preparation for our Monday court hearing. It seems that everything is in order, so I am not concerned. If there is anything else needed, we will find out then and do what we can. Janez also spoke with our cousin Helena today. She lives nearby and I met her again when I was here three years ago. I will see her and her sisters on Monday after the court hearing. Janez and I also worked together today to make Serbian Beans (this is very much like American baked beans, but nowhere near as sweet). Here’s the basic recipe:

Serbian Beans

·      Boil 2-3 lbs of large red beans, reserve the broth when beans are tender.

·      Dice 1-2 lbs of sweet onions and sautee in olive oil with paprika, bay leaves, chili powder, salt, pepper and pureed red peppers. Add enough bean broth to keep the onion mixture very moist.

·      Mix beans and onion mixture and put into a large casserole or baking dish.

·      Top with chopped raw diced salt pork and bake at 350 degrees until the meat is cooked and the beans and onions are hot.

Serve warm or hot.

Tomorrow is a big party. For Janez’ birthday, I believe. It seems there will be about thirty people in attendance from all parts of the family as well as friends. Daša and her husband will be there (Daša is pregnant and due next Wednesday). So we will have a busy couple of days, at least through Monday night, and then maybe I will get a chance to travel around Slovenia.