Heat Wave in Ljubljana

I've finally made it to Ljubljana. For the next week, I hope to get as much real photography done as possible. Originally I had hoped to meet with a local photographer who knew all of the sights. In fact, I found a group of photographers that created a niche tour company specializing in photography, but they are in Croatia with a group right now. So I have had to improvise and find my own opportunities.

I arrived in Ljubljana last night after a positively grueling day in Postojna. We had hoped that it would take minutes to finalize a purchase and sale contract for our forest. Indeed it seemed that we had dotted all of the "i"s and crossed all of the "t"s, but the local notary (in this system, similar to a lawyer) felt it was his obligation to shoot as many holes in our preparation as possible. So we were forced to reschedule with him for next Tuesday and run around to a variety of regional and municipal offices, plus make more translations of paperwork that had been completed for months before we felt we had accomplished everything the fellow could possible ask for. In addition to all of this, the weather has been unseasonably warm. Really uncomfortable.

So I hoped to sleep well last night and hit the city early and get a lot accomplished, photo-wise. Well, it was so hot that it was difficult to sleep, but I was up early anyway and headed out on foot for what turned out to be a 5km day. Unfortunately, it was nearly 90 degrees between noon and 3pm. I spent a great deal of time looking for cool church interiors, fountains, shady park benches and water to drink. It wasn't a very productive day, except that I enjoyed being in Ljubljana again.

Tomorrow I meet with the Milavec cousins who are planning to take me to the Planina church and cemetery, to a nearby town, Laze, where Louise and Olga stayed when they visited in 1971, and to visit a cousin of Olga, Teenie, Louise, Martha and Sophie, in Ljubljana. She is in her 80s or 90s, so I'm not sure how it will be, but maybe she will remember some stories or other family history.

Here's a picture of the town of Planina taken from the hills to the south (on the road to Postojna). The village is just above the valley floor, which fills up with water during the wet season.