Ljubljana (L-yoob-L-yawn-a…fun to say!)

And our last stop on our way home on Sunday was in Ljubljana, Slovenia. We did a free tour of the town and learned lot’s of interesting facts which I now cannot remember (Mom? Dad? Do you remember any highlights??)

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The tour started in front of this “red” church. While waiting for the tour to begin we met an Irish lad who had a childhood friend who fell from the cliffs of Moher and survived. The story sounded very familiar, a woman we had stayed with in Ireland near the cliffs had told us a similar story about her son. Turns out, it was the same guy. Random connection.

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Famous and beautiful bridges. I love how everything in Europe is famous for one reason or another.

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AMAZING street performers. Possibly the best we’ve encountered in Europe.

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I remember how loudly these leaves crunched under Jonah’s feet as we struggled to hear the tour guide.

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I do remember that this building was designed to look like fabric.

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And this dragon bridge is very symbolic of Ljubljana. The same dragons are on the castle at the top of the hill in the middle of the town (we did not venture up).

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When we first got out of the car, I could have sworn I saw a white rat come out of a tree for some locals with a piece of bread. No one else saw it so I am not sure they believed me, but I convinced them on our way back to the car to wait with me while I attempted to lure the rat out again with some food. Sure enough, there is a white rat living in this tree.

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Krk

Saturday we spent much of the day driving up the beautiful coast and stayed the night on the island of Krk. I had heard good things about it, but it was pretty much a ghost town when we arrived. I am thinking it is more fun in the summer, as there are beaches and whatnot. We did however stay at the house of a VERY nice German man and his Croatian wife. They were so hospitable, he insisted that we drink his favorite beer that he brings back from Germany (we told him we do not drink, but he was very insistent and left it in our fridge anyways). They were so sweet.

We wandered the little town and found it charming despite the millions of cats. I lost count at about 30 cats. There appeared to be some hikes around the island, and I have heard there is good diving…but we pretty much just spent the night.
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Split, Croatia

We arrived in Split Thursday evening. We were able to find parking a few blocks from our downtown apartment that we rented. If my Dad had not been along for the ride, I am not sure we would have been able to utilize the small parking spot we found with our large van, but he made it fit. (My Dad can parallel park like nobody’s business, I should have taken a photo).
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Friday morning we set out to discover Split’s market scene. It was bustling. There was all kinds of produce, nuts and lot’s of lavender oil. And of course since it is a tourist destination there was some “stuff” as well. I loved their scales for the produce, and all the old ladies(just makes you want to know their stories). There was also a fish market a few blocks away, with some fun looking and stinky fish.
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Split, Croatia is probably most famous for “Diocletian’s palace”. A palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian. It is really interesting to see as the city of Split is essentially a medieval city built in and around the ruins of the palace. Many of the streets are what would have been the hallways of the palace. 

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There is this big room with a round ceiling with a big hole in it (did not originally have a hole, would have been a complete ceiling with some beautiful artwork), it was once the impressive entry to the living quarters in the palace. Now it makes for some wonderful acoustics for klapa singers.

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Nick, Jonah and my Dad decided to climb the bell tower to burn some energy (mostly Jonah’s energy…) Upon returning, Nick informed me that the windows were all wide open and a bit scary (easy to fall out of for the likes of Jonah). But everyone survived and got an amazing view of the city.

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Mom and I decided to use the other “half” of the ticket from the bell tower climbing to go check out the Cathedral of St. Domnius. Originally, it was built as Diocletian’s mausoleum. In the middle ages the Christians in the area decided to kick out Diocletian (who was notorious for his cruelty to Christians) and create a church. It is considered the oldest church still in it’s original form, and if I remember correctly, is also the smallest.

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We enjoyed wandering the streets of split and getting a feel for the local life.
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Towards the end of the day we wandered up the “Marjan hill”, the large city park and wooded recreation area. It was beautiful up there, a bit of a hike (especially with two kiddos), but a nice break from the city below.

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After our stroll in the park we wandered our way down the hill to find some dinner and stroll the boardwalk along the sea.
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And last but not least, my favorite moment in split. This young man with down syndrome was enjoying the didgeridoo immensely. He was smiling and just taking it in. I love that the street artist was so willing to engage with him as well. And you can see the people in the crowd looking on as well, everyone passing would just smile. I love this picture. It’s just so universal, every where you go in the world people are still people. Even when they speak different languages and maybe do things a little differently. 
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