Ljubljana and Jason - Golden Fleece

This is Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia. A kind of Venice. Many squares, canals, waterways. Wonderful for walking, with canals coming together with bridges all over.

We are told that Ljubljana was founded by the Greek hero, Jason, who arrived with his Argonauts seeking the Golden Fleece. More at www.ljubljana.si/en/ljubljana/history/default. Find the Ljubljana -Jason connection.

There is more on Ljubljana's past also at that site. Slovenia is a Western Balkan country, but its connections flow strongly to France and Austria.



More blogs about Slovenia Road Ways.

Ljubljana Castle - Ljubljana (city) Austrian-French influence; Jewish history

Ljubljana Castle. Two cameras, slightly different angles, looks like two different seasons - one shows a tree with the leaves all out, another shows a neighbor just budding. We were there in early May. Travel with a buddy.

Lubljana dominates the view of the capitol city, Ljubljana, as it should. Still, finding the way up is not simple. Go through a park drive, leave the car, and then walk. Detail to check out, next trip: What is the history of using angular towers instead of round? Which came first? The square tower in the background was built in the 1800's. The earliest beginnings of the castle area: 1100's. See www.ljubljana-calling.com/ENG/inCallingZnGrad.

The castle has a cafe, and reception halls - used for many cultural events. See www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Slovenia/Mestna_Obcina_Ljubljana/Ljubljana-688015/Things_To_Do-Ljubljana-Ljubljana_Castle-BR-1.
Wear good walking shoes - parking on the way up the hillside is limited, and the road hairpins.

Links, posts

References to third-part sites here are in written form, not the direct quick-click link in the familiar blue underlining. This appears prudent, see www.bitlaw.com and other sites on the convoluted area of copyright, internet and the like. A loss. Writing out web addresses instead of linking defeats the speed-access, hop-around exhilaration, of the web. Surely somebody smart can work out reasonable copyright protections for the internet setting in a better way.

Posts: These are laid out in the itinerary order, not necessarily by actual date. This made more sense in a travel-site. A new post may appear at the beginning, but will probably be incorporated elsewhere later on.

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People conflicts; Gypsies (Roma) - And Music

Gypsies. Beautiful music, background still misty. Here is some of the music: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6077876602430937809". This particular bit is Russian, but you can search for gypsy music and get many nationalities, and there are broad similarities.

The most beautiful, neat settings can foster deep-rooted prejudices, people against people, like anywhere. Here is a New York Times article, nytimesagency.com/preview/NTA2006112674803, that reports on one particular Slovenia Roma family forced out of home.

A simple search of news for "Slovenia gypsies" produces many more articles on the overall topic. We saw gypsies (known as Roma) mostly in Romania, and Croatia, but we were also looking for them more there. There is a wide variety of economic situations among them, as with any group, and some are in traditional costume, others blend.

Here is a site to remember: www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/47348. This site lets you click on the different countries for overviews on Roma and progress (or not) and learn about the history.

Also see our country-blog, Romania Road Ways.

Here is a site where you can scroll down to the music part - click, and enjoy. Go to www. worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic [the rest of the address would be /view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/roma__gypsy__music_778]. One of my favorits is this traditional Balkan singer - sounded very familiar after hearing radios and groups in pubs. Excellent.