Putting research in its correct place, also domestic tasks, we decided to enjoy our last day in Ljubljana and to take our time. A stroll with our eyes open and our minds on the task meant that we were able to notice details, like the gardens in the walls that line the sides of the river, the beautiful willows and other trees, and how each bridge was different. One bridge had flowers from one end to the other on each side.
Many houses and flats had window boxes and so many flowers really added to the well cared for look. Keith was very impressed with the rubbish collection systems and how, after the heavy rain the day before, the river had become muddy and there were masses of leaves, but very little rubbish had been washed in from the drains. Everything smelt fresh and had a newly washed look.The streetscapes showed that there were some very grand houses, possibly flats now, but probably for one family in the past. One of the most interesting things about Ljubljana is the variety in the buildings, with the fashions and ideas of different eras being reflected in the architecture.
A stop at the train and bus stations provided us with various options to consider for getting to France. We examined a bronze horseman on a skittish horse opposite the station, but we did not find out who he was or why the sculptor seemed to have invested more care in the horse than in the man.
We passed the now finished sculpture in the nearby gardens that we had seen two days previously and admired the new turf and the finished effect, although we were not sure of its significance. Maybe it related to the continuity and history of man being passed on through writing and symbols recorded on stone, and perhaps doodles were more universal than language. Keith thought that the sculptor liked the contrast between the cut surfaces and the natural rock surfaces that are seen on each piece of the sculpture. Certainly it was food for thought.
The Museum of Contemporary History was open and was very interesting. The display on the First World War included stepping down into a trench and seeing the conditions experienced by the soldiers, and a scene of graves to remind the viewer of the colossal loss of life during the war. In the 1920s there was a Slovenian People’s party which was banned in 1929, but at the end of 1933 they were still operating and made a declaration which called for the support of all allies in fighting for the status of Slovenia in a Federative Yugoslavia. As we had previously discovered, the agenda of the occupiers in World War II – Germany, Hungary and Italy – involved the disappearance of the Slovenian nation. A video display of over 1,500 photos, projected on all four walls of one room, was accompanied by sounds of guns, aircraft and explosions. A full size scene of a mother and children facing their burnt out home brought home the impact of the war on civilians and on children. The display for this section showed a vest made of newspapers sewn together which had kept a partisan warm during the struggles.
A chess set on display had been made from chewed bread in a concentration camp. 
After the war, the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia tried to win back all the territories populated by Slovenians but the borders with Austria and Hungary remained the same. In 1947 and 1954 some territory was regained. In 1941 Slovenia was 15,849 square kilometres and eventually, in 1954 it was 20,255 square kilometres.
War economy and rationing was in place until 1951, with many people on the verge of starvation. Agriculture was collectivised and a totalitarian state existed where intellectuals and writers were told that the League of Communists of Slovenia and the socialist forces would do all they could to stop any dissident writing or speaking. In 1989 the ‘May Declaration’ was issued and signed by the many groups that had formed for professions, for writers, for Christians and as political groups. In 1991 Slovenia declared its independence. At that time, the Yugoslav army had some Slovenian draftees in it and it was a great concern for their parents that they be allowed to return to Slovenia unharmed, and that they not be involved in fighting against Slovenia. An agreement was reached which ended the dangerous mass desertion of Slovenian draftees.We watched a video of the invasion of Slovenia by the Serbians, and it certainly was not ‘hardly worth a mention’ as the length of time it lasted might have implied. The tanks rolled in with all barrels firing against a blockade of civilian vehicles. School buses and trucks were bombed and rammed out of the way. Air assaults took their toll on buildings of every kind. We watched a young Slovenian soldier, perhaps eighteen years old, push back the brim of his camouflage hat and wipe his eyes with a grimy hand, as he explained his operations to the interviewer. We could not understand the Slovenian but the universal signs of anxiety, fatigue, fear, responsibility and confusion on so young and sweet a face tore at our heartstrings. At the end of the video the names of the civilians, the Slovenian soldiers in the hastily formed Slovenian Territorial Army, and the Slovenians in the Yugoslav army who died in the conflict, rolled past. For them and their relatives and friends, the cost of a ‘show of strength’ was surely too high.
It looked like more rain, and Alan had waxed lyrical on the virtues of umbrellas, so we went to the Euro Cent shop (like our $2 shop) to get some. Our beautiful aqua one that Aidan and Kathryn gave us was in Sydney, a casualty of Keith’s repacking to eliminate weight before we left. We must have been crazy and short sighted, thinking only of rain being in cold weather. Now we are experiencing rain in summer, when we don’t want to put on our coats and plastic pants. Unfortunately the Euro Cent umbrellas had all sold out so we took our chances and wandered off through the park to find the old part of the town where the fishing village was.
There was an interesting exhibition of photos of examples of Secessionist Architecture in Slovenia set up on one of the major paths in the park. Secessionists wanted to arouse a sense of beauty in the general public by making it a basic tenet of design for buildings and everyday items. It was an international progressive art movement in the early 20th Century, which aimed not to imitate other eras but to develop original styles, mostly derived from plant, animal and earth forms, and utilising a variety of materials in juxtaposition. It also used flowing curves and natural forms in opposition to rigid geometrical shapes, black and white lines and grids. Autonomy of the artist was paramount but public response was a crucial aim. From this movement developed a sense of national architecture which fed into the ideas and aspirations of those seeking to establish Slovenia as an independent nation. We had certainly seen many buildings that grabbed attention, were beautiful and didn’t seem to fit into a particular architectural ‘box.’
I relaxed with Edvard Kocven, an author who died in 1981, while he ignored me, preferring to concentrate on a smaller version of himself.
Everywhere our attention was taken by sculptures, usually of people we knew nothing of, or as symbols we didn’t recognise. One building had obviously been decorated with a fresco above the door, but now its removal had left a chimera there, not unlike the grubby remains of a removed tattoo. On the bad building front, one that could be seen from just about everywhere took the prize. 
We agreed that black is not a good colour for exteriors, and that adding a temperature display to a cereal box shape does nothing to improve things.
We finally reached the suburb of Trnovo where the church dominates the skyline and is reached by a bridge crossing the canal. On one side of the bridge, St John the Baptist lounges, which is appropriate since he is the patron of the Trnovo Church. The church is unusual in that it has memorials to non-church people, such as the architect Plecnik, who lived nearby, and the poet France Preseren, who used to meet his real muse, Julija Primc, here, on its exterior walls.
The fishing village of Krakovo is still there, but the size of the houses suggests that fishing was lucrative and their condition suggests that the area is now home to the upwardly mobile. We enjoyed looking carefully at more churches, statues, buildings and the flow of people passing by.
Our final major site was the Cathedral of St Nicholas, which has frescoes painted on its outside walls. The main door, of bronze, was sculpted by Tone Demsar, and represents 1250 years of Christianity in Slovenia. The other door has the history of the Ljubljana Diocese carved on it by Mirsad Begic. Both are great works of art.
The inside is incredibly ornate, with paintings and statues galore, and gilt edged boxes for special worshippers. Here again, we were to see paintings that depicted terrible and violent scenes, in the struggle to present the options of heaven and hell to parishioners.
We had been very impressed by the provision for cyclists in Ljubljana and thought that it would be a good model for ways to make cycling safer, and thus more popular, as a regular means of transport. People of all ages had been cycling along and the bike paths were used by roller skaters as well. 
We had really felt that Ljubljana was a friendly and very easy-to-be-in city and it was a pity that we would be off again the next day. There were also many other places in Slovenia that we would have liked to visit, so they went into the ‘our next trip’ file.
More street scenes around Ljubljana
We had been very impressed by the provision for cyclists in Ljubljana and thought that it would be a good model for ways to make cycling safer, and thus more popular, as a regular means of transport. People of all ages had been cycling along and the bike paths were used by roller skaters as well. We had really felt that Ljubljana was a friendly and very easy-to-be-in city and it was a pity that we would be off again the next day. There were also many other places in Slovenia that we would have liked to visit, so they went into the ‘our next trip’ file.More street scenes around Ljubljana
The railway station
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