we do not remember days, we remember moments: Slovenia

Posted by Paige, because Jesse is in work-mode and is too busy to edit:

Nestled in-between Italy and Croatia, fitting perfectly like the small, odd-sized, little puzzle piece, lies a gem of Europe -- Slovenia. We noticed the difference immediately after crossing the Italian/Slovenian border. To our left, a fig tree with big, fat, golden-black fruit waited for us in Plavje – good thing we had an extra large plastic bag with us. On the right, grape vines glistened in the near-term moon, and as we continued biking up and down well-paved roads and well-signed bike paths, we followed our sense of direction and the northwestern breeze toward Croatia.

We fell in love with Slovenia – both of us at the same time, and independently. I loved the rows of tomatoes and the farm animals, while Jesse developed an instant affinity with the fruit trees, lush land, and bike lanes. Slovenia seemed like a more developed Tuscany. We heard that a famous NASCAR driver, owns land here, and land/real-estate is actually much more expensive than Italy. Slovenia is like Italy’s rich older sister, with parents who make sure the kids do all their chores, and study many languages, retaining their Italian and Croatian heritage.

Our campsite that night was tucked within isles of green grape vines, with the damp earth underneath from the recent deluge of rain. It was very quiet in Slovenia, and while this silence gave us a sense of peace, the night brought some sort of mystery to our minds. “Is it okay to camp here?” (a thought that always races through my mind as we are setting up the tent), “What is the border control going to be like tomorrow?”, “Are rain clouds going to drift in tonight?”, “Will we be wet in the morning?”. The air was chilly, the sky dark blue, stars twinkled high above, and the moon was casting a ray of light onto a perfect, picturesque, group of grapes. No sign of rain clouds, only the anticipation of a new land, a new language, in a new country. That night was one of the coldest we experienced, and we slept with multiple layers on, zipped up completely inside our sleeping bags as to prevent even one breath of cold air from entering our cocoons.

Slovenia kept on astounding us. Around every corner was another farm, and around every bend a tall mountain. The warm waters of the Adriatic were nearby (which we regretfully failed to dip into). While it isn’t an expanding metropolis, Slovenia a very modern and developed country, that still holds a historic charm. Castles, towers, churches, cobblestone streets, winding alleyways are still here, attracting picture-taking-tourists, but located only 15 km away from developments such as “Planet Toosh”, an all-in-one shopping and social experience (if you were combine a Wal-Mart with a grocery store, and add a bowling alley, bar, café, and mall).

In Piran...