Ljubljana

The first time we visited Ljubljana, was on the 4th of July. It was a holiday in Yugoslavia, but we never found what they were celebrating.

The outdoor market, with food and clothing, was open in spite of the rain. We bought a hand loomed wool Afghan for $40. A woman (speaking German) told the seller she was charging too much, the seller said, “They are Americans, and can afford it.” They didn’t know Emmy understood German. They sure loved Americans (President Carter had visited a few weeks earlier), especially when they were spending money.

One department store had clothes, kitchen equipment, tires, tools, small motorcycles, and all those things we might expect to find in a Sears store. The products appeared to be of satisfactory quality, but the displays and layout in Ljubljana’s stores were nothing to boast about. Italians do display best.

In some stores in Ljubljana we found we must stand in one line to select the product, in another line to pay for it, then with the receipt, go to a third line to finally pick up our parcel.

We talked to a young man who is in the furniture manufacturing business. He travels to Los Angeles a couple of times a year. He says that compared with the cost of living in Yugoslavia, the cost of a Motel 6 is very expensive. Because of terrible inflation, when he receives his paycheck, he quickly goes on the black market to change his money into US dollars.

The trade mark of Ljubljana is its castle, about a thousand years old, which had been under reconstruction for quite a few years. The castle is on top of a hill in the middle of town, with a fantastic view of the rooftops of Old Ljubljana, with mountains to the north and the northwest.

For our second visit to this old city, since the Yugoslavian campgrounds were closed for the season, we spent the nights across the border in an Italian campground, while we spent several days visiting this part of Yugoslavia.

At the Saturday flea market we saw boys on skateboards, and we were amazed to see NCR computer circuit boards for sale in the Ljubljana flea market. Emmy said she felt right at home wearing her head scarf, along with all the Yugoslavian Grandmas wearing babushkas in this rainy, chilly weather.