On to Žužemberk

 I know the crazy letters confuse a lot of folks,   but they’re easy.  Really.  The little upside down roof over the “Z” just means it’s vocalised is all.  Pretend there’s a bee in your mouth trying to get out as you say the letter.  I think that should work.   Not that you care.


There’s more where that came from, (č, š) but even those confuse me some times.  Best to not go there.


I don’t really want this to turn into a travel log,  since we all know just how boring that can be,  but I do want to put up a few pics and mention a couple things  for those “Slovenian Connections” back home.  I think you know who you are.


The first stop of the day on the Sunday,  was to visit an Aunt in Ljubljana.  We’ve visited this Aunt three times since moving to Vienna,  with the first time being at her apartment,  along with Travelling Companion’s oldest sister.   The second and now this third time have been in a “care facility”,  since she had a bit of a tumble at her place,  and has needed some help along the way.  She really doesn’t want to be there,  and it’s been very hard for her to give up her independence.


She’s quite sharp,  and we certainly enjoyed the visit.  I have to say,  she speaks not a word of English,  but in spite of that,  she told a little story about her and her friend Wilma and one of their trips to Toronto many years ago.   I only got about 50%,  but she still had us all in stitches describing how Wilma slept the whole time,  only to woken up as they were circling Toronto.   Turns out,  they were circling due to the fog.
Suffice to say,  for a non English speaking person,  you can easily get mixed up between a word like “fog” and another “F” word,  that we don’t want to put here in print, shall we say?

We were howling!


After our visit she came down to the first floor with us to then head off into the cafeteria for some “juha”  (soup) and we said our good-byes. 

Ljubljana to Žužemberk

(I can never quite get these “print screen” thingies to come out just the way I’d like….)  It should get larger if you click.  Or at least that's the hope.




I missed the first exit that would have taken us by way of the 216,  which didn’t really matter.  Either way there’s always some “up and over” driving any time you get off the four lane highways in Slovenia.   For some crazy reason,  the older back roads tend to remind me of Puerto Rico.  Can’t quite put my finger on it.  Something to do with the way everyone seems to drive with a certain fearlessness,  and the twists and turns of the mountain roads.    I’d probably push it just a little harder with the BMW if it weren’t for the fact that I had two additional bodies in the car with me.  (There was the cousin too,  our resident tour guide).  Just the same,  over the many years that Travelling Companion and I have been driving together,  she’s calmed down considerably.   There was a time when just driving in Toronto would almost send her off to the nut house. 

Now she’s as calm as a cucumber.   Well,  mostly.

AND,  I should also add that,  there was this one “Caravan”  (we’d call it a travel trailer,  i.e.  a big box on wheels)  being towed behind some German guy,  who was a wee bit too far over on our side of the road,   (‘cause he was a pussy and didn’t know how close he could get to HIS side,  so he was on MY side!)  and all she said was,  “Weren’t you worried about him?”.


I just replied,  “Nah”. 

I mean, there was enough road,  I just had to use every last inch of it.  No biggie.

The first place we ended up at when we got to Žužemberk,  after going to the yet another cemetery to put some flowers on a grave site, was a restaurant,  since by this point we were getting a tad peckish. 
This was a good thing,  since we needed all our energy to then walk around town.  
Bit of a hilly place.
I began to realise just why most of the relations who lived there had long lives.  You needed to be in shape to live there!  See the church on the hill?  Not too much of Žužemberk  is up on that hill.     Everything else is down below.

Here it is from way over on the other side.  And we’re on the main drag,  and the rest of the town is down behind me.

Looking back towards “down town” in the truest sense,  this is the house that another one of the aunt’s lived in,  up until just a little while ago.  Now get this,  she would walk from her place up to that Church!  Quite likely more than once a week.      She’s 90!

This is the view from out in front of her house.  So,  to get anywhere,  she was either going uphill or down.  Keeps a person fit I suppose.  Speaking for myself,  I was starting to sweat a little.




You’ll also notice the corner of what looks like a castle? 
You can see it here from down by the river.

For a fortification that’s been around since BEFORE 1295,  doesn’t some of it looks a little too “new”? 
That’s because it sort of got a little banged up during the war,  since the Italians were using it as a hangout,  and the Allies came through and knocked them out of there.  Along with most of the castle. 
To think it stood there for almost 700 years!  

Not going to get off on a "war" rant here.



 

I see that I’m once again starting to get a tad long winded,  so I’ll leave the saw mill story for tomorrow.
Plus I’ll put a bunch more pictures up on Picasa then as well.


Y’all come back.




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