Family Unions

In my opinion, the best thing about traveling abroad is the people you meet.  Especially when they're long lost family that you're meeting for the first time.  Anthony and I were met at the bus station in Ljubljana by our cousin Tadej and his beautiful (and very pregnant!) wife Sandra.  It is amazing how well we all clicked right away; we'd all been worried about an awkward encounter, but that was not the case at all.  The four of us spent the afternoon and evening together eating, drinking, catching up on our lives and philosophies.  It was absolutely perfect.  And Ljubljana is an amazing city.  Incredible architecture, small enough to be accessible but large enough to have everything, including delicious food.

First night in Ljubljana

In the city center

Dragon bridge by night

The next morning we met our cousin Sergej, his lovely partner Mojca, and their adorable 9-month old daughter.  They took us to see more of the city including Ljubljana castle, which is above the city and provides a wonderful view of everything.  We met up with Tadej and Sandra at a delicious Bosnian restaurant for čevapčič.  (I wish I had taken a picture but I was hungry and the food smelled so good...so.  You understand).  We also had baklava for dessert, which I did remember to photograph.

On the castle ramparts with Mojca

The guys

Baklava

After lunch, we went to visit Marija, my great-grandmother's 91-year-old sister.  We also met Darko and Vesna, Tadej and Sergei's parents.  This was perhaps the most exciting part of the trip.  How can I even put into words the awesomeness of Marija?  She's over 90 and has more energy than most people I know.  (Here's a tangent to try and convey my thoughts: for those of you who don't know this, I love making/using acronyms.  My favorite one is SIW, which means "strong independent woman."  It's a kind of anthem among my friends, and Marija is the epitome of SIW.  I hope this helps explain how incredible she is).  Like anyone who has lived through two major wars, Marija has been through a lot of suffering, but she is stronger for it as she was apt to tell Anthony and I in her rapid mix of Slovene and Croatian.  (Tadej and Sandra were gracious to translate for us).  Marija told us that during World War II, she was incarcerated in a forced labor camp and her father was shot and killed by Nazis in front of their house.  But she fought back and became a smuggler for the Yugoslav partisans, hiding letters in her shoes, under plates, and traveling by foot to dispatch information that ultimately led to Yugoslavia's liberation and victory.  I learned in my Europe class this past semester that Yugoslavia was really the only occupied country that didn't need outside liberation.  As we were hearing her story through translation (she talks too fast for my limited understanding of Croatian) I said "Tito?" to show that I understood.  She started speaking rapidly again and went over to her liquor cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Marshal Tito alcohol and proceeded to pour shots for Anthony and I to drink with her!  I can't find the picture of us toasting together before we took the shots, but I know someone got one.  At any rate, it was an experience I will never forget.

 

After Marija's, we went to Sergei and Mojca's place for dinner and conversation, and more family drinking.  (If I had more room in my suitcase I'd love to bring back some of the currant wine we had there).  The dinner lasted well into the night.  So much fun.

The next day Vesna and Darko took us to see Vintgar and Bled (I'll post pictures in a separate post), and later in the evening we met and had drinks with our cousin Maša and her boyfriend Sebastian, which was a perfect way to end our time in Ljubljana.  We had to leave for Budapest the next morning, but I will be back in Ljubjana this August so more family times will follow.  I feel like I understand more about myself now that I've met my long lost family.  We are truly blessed.