April 10, 2023
All right...we are getting our footing and feeling more at ease. AND we have started to see wildlife. THAT is always a good sign that we are settling in. Today we saw 2 Roe Deer, 2 West European Hedgehogs (YES!! HEDGEHOGS WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO LIVE!!!) 1 European Polecat, a common buzzard and a crow...all new to us today. We have seen a ton of jackdaws, but no crows until today. So, some exciting stuff today.
We woke up and drove 1 hour and 45 minutes to the South Eastern border of Slovenia, right on the border of Croatia. We actually were looking for a grocery store to buy some food (today was a national holiday in Slovenia) and the closest ones were in Croatia. So, we went to customs, and low and behold...as of January 1, 2023 there is no longer a border. The buildings are still there, but everyone can come and go as they please. No border? To Americans who speak so much of borders? I am fascinated, and I must say, these are NOT third world countries. I have erased things I want to say many times here...and have decided to leave it as it is, because in America in the current state of affairs you can't really express opinions without politics and serious arguments happening. So sadly, I will leave an open debate out. But let me say I COMMEND Slovenia and Croatia for such a forward thinking concept...and I will keep watching how this pans out. I hate that lines are constantly being drawn in the sand. (SHUT UP Katie.)
Moving forward, I will also make a few more comments that might really tick off some Americans, but as always, I am speaking my truth. I have not ONCE been afraid in this country. NOT ONCE. I have yet to see a slum. It seems like everyone here is middle to upper class. No one is living excessively, I would say...but no one that we have seen (and we have covered a lot of ground in a country that is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. About half the size of Switzerland. So, let me just say Slovenia has definitely confirmed so many thoughts I have had for so long. We are fed ideas that we all subliminally buy into. When you start to question things, though, I think so much of that falls apart. If you are TRULY investigating those answers. I have not walked into ANYPLACE and feared getting shot because someone with mental illness is having a bad day. I am liberated a bit in this. AND THIS....now that I have isolated at least half of my readers.......leads me to a story that happened today to prove my point of how much we are living in a really freaking weird reality in America.
All that know me know that I love speed. I drive too fast. My well known saying is that I deserve a ticket EVERY time I leave my house. The fact that I don't get them even weekly, to me, is a blessing. So when I get a ticket, I am NEVER angry. I deserve them 100%. There are so many worse things. It is worth the ticket and the fine. I have had MANY tickets in my life. (As a matter of fact, I lost my license twice before I was 18 because of speeding.). So, do I think this is going to change? Likely not. However, Sam is the opposite of me here. He is a very good law abiding citizen. So, I am doing my typical in the car....looking out the window at the unbelievable stars...and I MEAN UNBELIEVABLE. This place is untouched!!! And I think I may have swerved a bit left of center. I was also going about 10 miles over the speed limit. And...after being here 4 whole days....we have seen a TOTAL NUMBER of 3 police cars. ONE happened to be watching me swerve a bit and speeding. So, I got pulled off. Sam is freaking, and this is like any random Tuesday in my world. (Sam is saying that he has only ever been pulled over when he was with me)...so I calmly pull over, ready to speak the good people in blue. Sam is screaming at me, and I just ask where our passports and international license are. He says in the trunk. So, I roll down my window and a police office walks over and says something I can't understand at all. So, I say Hello...can you speak English? (NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON we have encountered can.). He rolls his eyes, throws his arms up a bit, and you can tell is like...oh give me a break!). He screams something to the other officer who walks over and can speak some very limited English. I look over at Sam who has his arms raised...and I am thinking...WHAT the heck is going on? So I look back at the officer who asks for my license...and I say it is in the back, is it okay if we get it....Yes, yes was the response as if I have asked a ridiculous question. So Sam repeats...it is okay if I get out of the car and get them? The officer responds again, yes. So, the one that can't speak English walks around with Sam, as he opens the trunk, pulls out a camera bag, and hands over passports and an international license for me. Meanwhile, I am sitting in the car talking to the other officer who (NORBIE BASED ON OUR CONVERSATION JUST 2 WEEKS AGO!) NEVER asks me where I was going!! They also never told me why we got pulled over, but hey, I am a smart human...and I know why. No mystery here. So the officer by my door asks where I live, to which I am confused and say where I live like in America (are we making small chat) or where I am staying in Slovenia...the latter was true. So, I say Kamnik, which we were about 1.5 hours from. I start talking about the beauty of the country and how we are here because of Ludmila. At that point the officer that can speak English replies to me and walks away, saying something in Slovenian to the guy who can't speak English. That guy comes over to me, says something handing me back the passport and shows me the road...and we leave...without a ticket. It is just different. Everything has gotten so far out of control, I feel. It was just a nice experience.
We were in that part of Slovenia because we spent 5 hours in a blind waiting for brown bear....so we could take some pictures...but sadly, that didn't work out so well. Sam got some good bird pictures...but we drove 1.5 hours there and back, and spent 6 hours in the blind plus the drive to the blind. Frustrating, but I am sure that means the rest of the week will be amazing.
Tomorrow adventures involve 3 more houses in Podsreda, hiking and a winery. So our adventures will continue tomorrow! Here are a very few pictures from today! We do have a hedgehog pictures that I will share tomorrow, it is on Sam's phone.
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