Le mie benedizioni

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Slovenia Day 2--Lake Bled

So this is probably one of the most well known and most visited tourist spots in Slovenia. I had originally signed up for a bus tour of the lake, including another nearby lake as well, but in the end I was the only one who signed up for the tour and so it was cancelled. At first I was uber annoyed, then I started to make my own arrangements to visit the area and thought I could plan an even better itinerary than what the tour group had planned. Then I arrived and tried to put that plan in motion and failed terribly. Moral of the story, tour bus is the way to go. I still managed to have a decent time though. I had wanted to hike a nearby gorge because the photos I had seen were absolutely breathtaking. But because of the rough winter that Slovenia had, it wasn't open yet for people to hike. And the side of Lake Bled that I started walking around was a very commercialized spot, and so for my first 20 minutes or so I was extremely disappointed. I learned two very important things from that. One: Don't let my expectations ruin reality. Particularly when my expectations are unrealistic. Two: Sometimes timing really is everything. I had just come too early in the year, and no amount of pouting was going to change that fact. After around 20 minutes I became much more immersed in nature, and the commercial aspects of the area weren't as obvious, and since I was one of the few tourists in the area, I had a lot of good alone time to ponder life while walking around the lake. I was able to analyze a few weaknesses that I have been struggling with lately, so while it wasn't the funnest thought process, it was good to go through. Good timing too, seeing as how Easter was almost here and I could make the jump from feeling down and frustrated with my weaknesses and bad character traits to the Savior and the Atonement, and how He can help me overcome my issues and make me a better person. So it was an interesting day indeed. Full of annoyance, frustration, disappointment, discouragement, acknowledgement of weaknesses, etc. But I guess if one is going to have a serious heart to heart with themselves, it might as well be around a gorgeous lake.

Slovenia Day 1--Ljubljana

Oh man, I don't even know where to start with Slovenia. There is just so much to say and describe about my 4 days exploring this country. Part of it was hard. I had lousy accommodation issues that meant I didn't sleep at all for the first few days, which made me horribly tired and sick. Obviously not the best conditions to be exploring a new country in. I also realized how in some places, it actually does matter if you don't visit in the tourist season. There were some hikes I wanted to go on that were closed still, museums undergoing major renovations and one of my tour bus excursions got cancelled because I was the only person that signed up. And in reality, this country is best explored with a car, with someone (preferably Slovene) that really knows the area. Despite the massive amounts of beautiful photos you are a bout to see, I feel like I didn't even begin to scratch the surface of the beauty and amazing things that exist in this country.

The Slovenes themselves seem like a really interesting group of people. They all spoke amazing English. Even the couple homeless dudes that came up begging for a few coins immediately switched to fluent English when I said I didn't speak Slovenian. They all looked very....I don't know...American? Their clothes, their mannerisms, etc. seemed to fit much more in America than even in Europe. Like a Nor Cal type of city perhaps. The city was very young as well, with a lot of students, and a lot of young families strolling around.

My first day in the city I went to the Slovene Ethnographic Museum, the Ljubljana Castle and a ballet at the Opera House. The Ethnographic Museum was so cool! It was all about people, and what makes people who they are, and how we relate to each other and why, and things like that. It was so thought-provoking and super interesting. They also had a neat display on the symbolism of doors and what doors can mean in our lives. Super great museum.

The Castle was very tiny and quaint. There wasn't a ton to do, but there was a nice view of the Alps and an informative display on the history of the country. It was interesting for me to think that someone my age in this country would have been born in a country that no longer exists. And their parents were probably born in a different country, and their grandparents another, and their great-grandparents even another different city, and of course if they have kids, they as well were born in a different country, all without leaving the same geographical location. That's 5 different countries/systems of government in 5 generations (from most recent: Slovenia, Yugoslavia (rebublic), communist rule under Russia, Yugoslavia (kingdom), Austrian Empire). And looking even farther back in the history, this part of the world has gone through many hands, from the ancient dwellers of the Stone Age, to the Celts, to the Romans, to the Huns, to the Slavs, to Venice, to Napoleon, to Austria, etc. A very busy history indeed!

I ended my day by seeing the ballet "Don Quixote" at the Opera House, and it was actually my favorite thing that I did all trip. It was such a fun story and the dancers did such a great job and the Opera House is the most adorable thing on the planet!

Here are my pictures from my day in the city!

Friday, April 11, 2014

That One Time I Hung Out With Julia

This is pretty much a month late....but like a month ago Julia came to visit me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was with her roommate from NYU, celebrating their graduation. We spent about 3 days in London(ish) and 3 days in Italy! It was sooooo much fun being with the Ickle Jubee Kins once again. I am uber lucky in the fact that my siblings (including my sister-in-law) are my absolute best friends in the entire universe, and it was much needed for my psyche to have some sister time. Here are some of the photos from our week together!