I love my little travel journal. I feel like Mina Harker. A secretary, getting my notes and details in order. Besides, this gives me some time to organize my thoughts, listen to music, and eat my burek sirov. At first I thought burek was a specific food. Then, as I pass by a barkery labeled “burek,” and I remember seeing a lot more of this word, I’m starting to suspect it just means bread.
I tried for coffee this morning but couldn’t find the place in google maps- I walked all around the building and couldn’t see anything. I asked the burek place if they had coffee and she said no. Sigh. Being caffeine addicted is getting less and less charming. Ever since ditching alcohol (mostly sober), ditching caffeine sounds more and more appealing. Especially when traveling. My head aches a little. I do look forward to my cup of warm coffee and a nibble on my burek sirov- cheesy bread. It’s flaky and warm but not melty- it has like a feta texture and flavor (tangy!), but I believe it to be a local cheese. Not entirely sure. Anyways, more to come later!

Sweet, lots of locals! Pretty cobblestone streets and colorful buildings. Locals call out to one another from across the road from their Juliette balconies dripping with flowers.

So, I took candy from an old man this morning. Certainly NOT in the itinerary.

He was busking (guitar) on the main street of Škofja Loka. He said “come here,” and I did, because he seemed friendly and I didn’t want to be rude (but I was a bit scared). He, guitar on his knees and case below him, reached down and grabbed a handful of yellow wrapped candies, and told me to hold out my hand. I did, nervous as anything, and he plopped them in my hand! He said it was because I was “so sweet and pretty” and all sorts of compliments. I told him thank you (“hvala”) and have a good day (“dober dan”), then scuttled out so fast. Very nice folks!

This “open air museum” was incredibly tiny (my video shows you all of it), but it’s hard because I’m comparing it to Astra in Romania, which was amazing. The worker lady there was so kind; she gave me a tour and we had a nice chat about history! She showed me around the Skopar (straw cutter) house, like how they made their food and heated the place (no chimney, so the entryway/oven was coated in black tar). The house had been elsewhere in the region, but disassembled, transported here, and remade. Cool!

She thanked me for my interest in Slovenian history and told me she studied sociology. She asked if I was a student and I said no I graduated years ago and she was surprised she said I looked young (neon green hair has anti aging properties it seems). This reminds me of the Jože Plečnik where the worker asked if I was a student and I said no but then he gave me the student price anyways. Either he was deliberately giving me a discount or genuinely thought I was a college student still. Either way, nice folks! Everyone is so exceedingly kind.

AAARRRRGHHHHH! I hiked 30 minuted out of town to see what Google said was purportedly an “historical landmark.” Such a waste of time!!

Okay, at least I got to walk by cute neighborhoods, and it was mostly an easy walk that has plenty of sidewalk/pedestrian friendly roads, but this location (Domačija Pr’ Burjuc) stops off at some dude’s house. It’s not a castle or landmark or anything.

Please instead walk 30 minutes to see the Wild Loka Castle (Old Castle) Grad Divja Loka (Stari grad) instead. I don’t completely regret it, as seeing the neighborhoods/how people lived was cool, but with limited time I wish I saw the old castle instead. Oh well! Live and learn.

Everyone is really stylish here! Okay, I mean the young folks. 20 somethings here all dress like billie eilish and tiktok shop. Long denim shorts, oversized shirts, backwards hats, chunky jewelry. It’s like the 90s all over again. Wild to see this cultural suffusion- likely bc of online culture. I’ll bet the world of fashion is a lot more uniform because trends aren’t country to country as much as they used to be- now, fashion inspo is on your phone (whether you want it or not) instead of in magazines or in American TV. It’s cool! The fashion feels like a signifier of culture, of shared beliefs. I know uniformity is bad, but the familiarity in something as simple as fashion has a striking presence. 

I don’t like taking pictures of strangers (who does??) so here’s the Škofja Loka bear 🙂

• Burek sirov makes a fantastic breakfast.
• Pr’ Pepet was one of my favorite meals so far.