A Week of Family, Food, and Finding New Corners of Ljubljana: Apr 20-26
- kristineturko
- Apr 26
- 2 min read
This week was all about showing my mom around Ljubljana and settling into a slower pace after the busy travel days.
We spent our time doing what I have come to appreciate most about this city. We walked. A lot. We wandered through neighborhoods I had not explored yet, crossed bridges without paying attention to where they led, and stopped whenever something looked interesting enough to investigate further. One of our favorite discoveries was the eastern side of the Dragon Bridge, an area I had somehow managed to miss during the previous months.
As expected, much of the week revolved around food. We had dinner with our family – Martina and Tihomir, Nina and Bronco and their three sons. Martina sent us home with an impressive collection of homemade treats. Slovenian hospitality continues to be undefeated. The rest of the week included salty dumplings and mushroom soup at Plečnikova, dinner at Sokols, traditional Slovenian meals at Slovenska Hiša, and a celebratory dinner at Julija to wrap up my mom's visit. My mom officially tried Idrijski žlikrofi and I am happy to report that my favorite Slovenian dish received approval.
There were also plenty of simple moments that ended up being my favorites. Stopping by the river in the middle of the afternoon for a drink. Sitting outside and watching people walk by. Seeing a wedding celebration outside the Orthodox church on our way back from Tivoli Park. Waiting for photos from Loen's junior prom to arrive back home in Ohio.
One of the nicest parts of our time together was simply getting to share Ljubljana with my mom. At 79 years old, she flew more than 4,000 miles by herself to come visit me, which still feels pretty remarkable when I think about it. Not many people would sign up for international flights, airport transfers, and navigating travel across multiple countries alone without hesitation, but that is very much who she is. Adventurous, independent, and always up for an experience. It was incredibly special to get an entire week together in a city that had become such an important part of my life over the previous few months. Getting to show her my favorite places, introduce her to people I had met here, and watch her experience Ljubljana for the first time is something I will always cherish.
Of course, work continued in the background as well. The second phase of my grant project officially got underway and the first social skills group began at the Institute. It felt good to move from wrapping up one phase of the project directly into the next.
By the end of the week, it felt like my mom had managed to fit an entire Ljubljana experience into just a few days. The visit went by much faster than either of us expected, but I was grateful to get to share this part of my Fulbright experience with her.
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