We started our day quite early to attend Catholic mass and to explore the sights and scenery in the Slovenian countryside. Andrej’s parents had planned an elaborate itinerary for the day in and around Slovenia’s Triglav National Park nestled in the Julian Alps. We first drove to the Basilica in Brezje for the Sunday mass. While Mr. and Mrs. Poljanec took their seats in the front row, Andrej and I settled for the back. It was a poignant moment for me; firstly, this was my maiden experience of what a Catholic “mass” constituted, let alone the Slovenian way of worshipping God. Secondly, I went to Church with Andrej for the first time, something I had imagined in my mind many times before and getting to finally experience it felt beautiful. It made me happy to learn that he respected the sanctity of faith and enjoyed going to church even though he may not be a “believer” in the strictest sense. This knowledge made me change the way I understood his character for the better and threw a much more positive light on the way I perceive him. As we sat down, I said a prayer and thanked the Lord for a moment such as this and the numerous blessings in my life, some so small and yet so meaningful but often forgotten to be acknowledged and to be grateful for. I felt so at peace with myself and with my surroundings. The mass was in Slovenian so I could not understand any of the sermons that the Priest preached. Andrej tried to explain a few things. I thought the order of the mass reminded me of the Anglican Church I used to attend during high school. There was time for offering and we put in the money that Andrej’s Mom had given us. When the time for receiving Holy Communion came, we decided to remain in our seats as I was informed by Andrej and his father previously that Mrs. Poljanec took to these things seriously and felt only those that attended mass throughout the week or those that belonged to the Catholic faith could partake in the Communion. I didn’t mind that and felt it was appropriate to not offend her in any way. Here, I realized that the Catholics have Communion regularly through the week, whereas, Baptist churches such as mine observe it once in a month. After the mass, I picked up a few souvenirs from the souvenir shop, including a Slovenian Bible, which I intend to start reading very soon.
We then drove to Slap Peričnik to check out the waterfall and the rivers. When we arrived there, I was immediately struck by its natural beauty and picture perfectness. The streams were shallow but were of clear blue, green and topaz shades. The trees were coniferous, typical of the alpine region. The air was crisp and the weather just pleasant for a little trekking up the hill to get to the waterfall. We sat down at the restaurant for some food, drinks and a group photo before making our way up. Mr. Poljanec was the head of the group and led us up the rather steep terrain. He made the climb look so effortless I became highly impressed by his stamina and vigor, something not many men in their youth would be able to boost even. And so were Mrs. Poljanec and her briskness. Andrej told me that she usually walked ahead of the group despite pausing to take pictures at regular intervals. The couple seemed so adept at trekking and scaling lofty places I became awfully embarrassed by my very apparent lack of stamina and frailty. I could see that the Slovenian pet dogs and kids had more energy than I did. I had to stop every 5 minutes or so to catch my breath and Mrs. Poljanec was so kind to give me company and advised me to sit down whenever I needed. I told her I would do serious training before I come back to Slovenia for another trekking adventure such as this! We got to the hilltop and the view as expected was nothing less than spectacular with the waterfall gushing out of the rocks with all its might. We tried to get behind the falls and view it from a different angle. The two of us ladies were busy taking pictures of the scenery as the gentlemen evidently had no interest in such an exercise. I was thrilled to see a rainbow formation over the waters and captured it with my camera.
Next stop was Bohinj to see the Savica Waterfall. We were greeted at the entrance by a souvenir shop that looked like a picture of a cottage straight out of the Grimm’s fairytale book I used to read as a child. The path to the waterfall was laid out with stone stairs. Andrej opined that the authorities should have left the track as it was and as nature intended instead of laying concrete. I thought it didn’t look out of place and befitted people with no stamina such as myself; it made the walk up a lot more manageable. We finally reached the waterfall and I was awed by the natural splendor. The waters looked crystal clear and again, resplendent in its shades of blue, green and turquoise. The place gave us a good panoramic view of the surrounding valleys and mountains. Andrej saw on the wooden walls of the tourist lodge a carving that read, “I will marry you one day,” perhaps the art work of a love-struck tourist. I thought to myself, “Yes you will!” (giggles)
Other places that we visited included the Soča River in the Trenta Valley and its numerous springs and streams. I had known from before that the third installment of the Narnia movies were shot in the Soča River and its vicinity. Therefore, I was excited to see it with my own eyes and not via Google images. Every tree, plant and the waters looked so pristine on the Slovenian soil. I was left speechless most of the time. If there was ever a definition for ‘pure beauty,’ I thought to myself, the natural environment of Slovenia was it! To me, the land reeked of Romanticism and I understood how and why the Romantic poets such as Wordsworth or Keats could have been so intoxicated by the beauty of nature and the countryside.
We also passed through Lake Bohinj which was full of people. The lake looked as good as a deep blue sea with its clear waters and stony shore. We also stopped by at various places through the course of our journey. My hosts were so thoughtful that they would stop the car for me every time I wanted to take a picture of some scenery that I fancied. Later on, Mr. Poljanec faced a bit of difficulty finding his way to a place we wanted to go to and we ended up encircling half of the tiny country of Slovenia for nearly 2-3 hours! I thought it was a fun ride although I won’t deny I became a bit queasy and exhausted from the winding roads. But Andrej looked comfortable and very much at home as he napped for the most part in the car while I enjoyed taking pictures of him in his various grandiose sleep positions. There was talk about taking the train to Bled but because of the time restriction, we decided to drive there instead.
Bled was beautiful as I imagined. Perhaps a little touristy for persons like Andrej that do not like crowd but for me it seemed so full of life and activity. We went to a restaurant first to savor Mr. Poljanec’s favorite dessert. It looked like any regular cheese cake to me but oh dear, did it taste so incredibly good? I wanted to devour the entire piece but my tiny tummy would not let me so I gave one half to Mr. Poljanec who ended up eating 4 pieces of those little devils. Mrs. Poljanec worried for her diabetic husband and his obvious love for sweets and I could see she was a bit disturbed by his inability to restrain himself. I am always a bit amused to see older couples argue over little things that seem so banal such as wives attempting to control the diets of husbands that refuse to compromise…but to know they do that out of pure concern and affection even at the cost of causing annoyance to one or both seem to only assert the love they have for each other. We walked around Lake Bled for about 30 minutes. The area had a lot of tourists and I could spot my Asian counterparts in the area that made me feel glad to know that they were visiting Slovenia just as I was. Since it was getting dark, we decided to head home to Ljubljana. It was a long and tiring day but so much covered in one day, it was all worth it!
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