Fourth of July, Embassy Style

Like the celebrities we like to think of ourselves as, we were invited to the U.S. Embassy 4^th of July gala.  It was held at Križanke, an outdoor amphitheater right in the heart of Ljubljana and within walking distance of our apartment.  Križanke was originally built in the 1200’s as a church monastery, but was nationalized after World War II and, like much of the rest of the city center, was redesigned by Jože Plečnik as a cultural venue.

We had no idea what to expect, but it was a spectacular event.  There was a Marine Corps brass band, flag presentation, singing of the Slovenian and U.S. national anthems, and an inspirational speech from Ambassador Mussomeli.  In true Slovenian fashion, wine and food were abundant, but you had to do stealth undercover work to hunt out the lone beer vendor in the far back corner (fortunately, I’ve been well-versed in this).

Most of the students from the Embassy’s internship program were there, and according to them the best part of the event was the short presentation by the Ambassador; they told us that if it had been put on by Slovenes that it would have been two or three hours of speeches and presentations and nothing else.  For us, the best part was the honor of being invited… a close second was that it was our first “date” night here, and a babysitter got to manage bedtime at the apartment!