Ice Cream Cones

The final day here is always a day of reflection.  Today, as we had our umpteen-hundredth ice cream cone here, we decided we’d reflect on ice cream cones and share as many ice cream cone pictures as we could find from our five visits to this part of the world.  In many ways, they capture as well as anything what this experience has meant for us as a family: the people we’ve shared them with, the places they’ve taken us, the joy they have brought.  And, of course, how much we’ve grown.

Each time we have been here has been special, this time because the kids are a bit older and now remembering people and places.  Celia even took notes this year on everything she learned about Slovenia.  For me, I learn so much just from watching them experience this part of the world: how to keep an open mind, how to welcome new relationships, and how to embrace the simple things…like ice cream cones.

Tomorrow we head home for a different set of adventures.  Thanks again for reading, and until our next journey abroad, Na Zdravje!

Joe and Kristy Come to Town

One of our highlights from this trip will be this past weekend, when my cousin Joe and his wife, Kristy, were in town to visit.  Joe and Kristy moved to Berlin six months ago and are living the dream, part of which includes three days with the Ebben clan.

On the itinerary:

- Staying up well past our bedtime Friday evening to welcome Joe and Kristy (late flight from Berlin) and being treated to spectacular meteor shower viewing from our terrace.

- A trip to the mountains, where we hiked the waterfalls in Vintgar Gorge, ate cream cakes at Josip Tito's former lake residence (the Vila Bled), visited the Bled Castle which sits on a rock high above Lake Bled, and swam in the cold-but-crystal-clear Lake Bohinj.

- Our first visit to the Cat Caffe in Ljubljana, home to eight friendly cats and tasty bela kavas.

- Lots of ice cream cones.

Thanks for coming, Joe and Kristy!  Adijo!

 

The City Walls

This morning, we hiked the two kilometers around Dubrovnik's Old Town atop the city walls.  Back in the 15th and 16th centuries, Dubrovnik rivaled Venice in shipping and a large center of wealth, and the massive walls were built for protection.  Inside the walls are ten churches and chapels, a cathedral, two monasteries, and two convents (small influence of the Catholic Church...), along with palaces and still-active fountains that supplied the city with fresh water from the hills above.  Outside the walls are a small protected port and the requisite city quarantine and dungeon.

The views from the walls are absolutely spectacular.  On the north end is a tower that rises high above the city, while the walls on the south and east sides look out over the water to the islands in the distance.

A few pictures are below.  I'm not positive, but I believe the basketball court in the last picture is over three-hundred years old.

Dubrovnik - The Dark Side

Since we first came to Ljubljana, a trip to Dubrovnik has been at the top of our list, and we're finally here.  There are lots of things to love about this town, but perhaps the coolest (definitely the coolest if you ask Sy) is the fact that scenes from the next Star Wars movie were shot here this spring.  And if you're into Game of Thrones, there's that too.  Star Wars and Game of Thrones memorabilia everywhere, walking tours, you name it.

A few Star Wars comparison pics below:

1) Onofrio's fountain, as it looks now and done up for Star Wars.
2) The main street Stradun, as it looks now and done up for Star Wars.
3) The view of the port and St. John Fortress from Banje Beach outside the city walls, one with a beautiful lass and the other with an evil lord (jokes in the comments box, please).

If you want to see a video on scene set-up, there's a very cool one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-heyfopgT0