Every Friday from March through October, Ljubljana hosts Odprta Kuhna (Open Kitchen) in the market square. Imagine market stalls instead of food trucks cooking up every type of cuisine you can imagine. The plates are small enough that you can sample from 2 or 3 vendors, sit down at a table with a glass of Cviček and enjoy the mood. This was one of our favorite meals during our visit.

Beautiful Ljubljana

During one evening out for dinner we shared a table and stories with Aviva and Jason, a young couple from Baltimore. We learned that Jason, a professional sports writer, just published his first book, Summer of theCheap Wieners: What the 1941 Phillies Were Up To While Joe DiMaggio Was Making History. I told him we'd share his title with you!

Metelkova mesto
This little gem is an art commune in the city that was "established" by protesters/artists/squatters in the old abandoned military barracks in the early 90s. It was intense to be surrounded by trippy imagery and the restless vibe that covers every inch of this small enclave.
More info: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/metelkova

Football!
Slovenia v. Scotland was the first soccer match we ever attended. The kilts we had been seeing in town in the day or two preceding the match showed up at the stadium where the .mood was energetic and fun. There police presence, especially the riot helmets strapped to hips and mounted police wearing what looked like armor reminded us about how crazy these things can get. This match was peaceful and lively and ended in a no score tie.

Škokjan Caves

Photographs were not permitted in the primary cave we trekked through in Škokjan, a town about an hour SW Ljubljana. For about 3 km you are surrounded by jaw-dropping limestone formations, a suspension bridge 150 feet above the canyon, and the Great Hall, an unimaginably huge "cathedral" that measures nearly 400 feet wide and 400 feet tall and is the home of a 49 foot tall stalagmite. Toward the end of the trek you hear the waterfall before you see where the river descends underground. It was incredible and very difficult to describe in words.

The photo below is of the exit of the secondary cave which did not require a guide and where we could take pictures. There is a human standing in the upper left corner for scale. The photo of the bridge over the canyon was sourced from an internet site (https://sunsetobsession.com/why-visit-skocjan-caves/).

It's just plain nice

In an effort to get more comfortable with s l o w cafe culture, I took my knitting along one day. We made our drinks last for a long time while we watched boats, people from all walks of life, dogs, kids with soccer balls, scooters, etc. The only engine noise were heard came from the boats and an occasional gas scooter. No cars. Heaven.

When it was time to say goodbye to Ljubljana, we walked about 10 minutes to where the car was parked. When we got there I realized I no longer had my knitting project bag with me. Retracing our steps we did find it; but not where I expected. The little bag was not on the sidewalk or kicked into the leaf litter. Someone picked it up and put in on a bench for me to find. Made my day.