Caves and Caverns

I've been meaning to write more about Slovenia...just a little short on time lately. These pics are from the caves in Postojna. The tour takes you into the cave on a rattling mini-train that's kind of like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Two kilometers into the mountain, you're dropped off at a pathway that winds up, down, and around a series of caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites. So yeah, I took a lot of blurry pictures of minerals. It was magical to be there, though.

Heineken World Bottles

I just saw this article at Inhabitat, and I thought it was kind of awesome. In 1963, the owner of Heineken conceptualized this World Bottle (WOBO) - a beer bottle in its first use, and a building material in its second. He worked with architect John Habraken to design the shape; they made some plans for structures, but I'm not sure they ever built them.

The more I learn about the recycling process, the more I believe we should just consume less. Yeah, recycling plastic and paper is great, but you'd save a lot of time and energy if you just used less packaging in the first place or made stuff people want to reuse. I keep thinking of those old tea and cookie tins my mom collected - they're beautiful reminders of history, vintage graphic styles, and the ease of life before blister packaging.

Hyggelig Places: Slovenia

Kranj

Piran

Last week, we spent a few days in Slovenia. It was probably the best part of the trip - relaxing, scenic, and hyggelig. We wandered through narrow medieval city streets and breathed in the fresh autumn air, sat out by the seaside and ate dinner in cozy cafes. It felt strangely perfect in Slovenia - kind of like Swiss and German towns, but without the crowds. After the craziness of Istanbul, it felt like we were absolutely alone in this beautiful nation. In Ljubljana, I saw a restaurant with all of its tables set with glittery glass and tablecloths...but the place was empty. It could've been sad, but I thought it was magical - like maybe if we ate there we'd be doted on, or like all of the tables were just set for us to enjoy as we passed by the big windows.

We went to a flea market in Ljubljana on Sunday - people set up their tables along the bridge and the outer edge of the Old Town - and most of the junk there was AMAZING. We saw:

an old fashioned deep-sea diving helmet (the brass and glass kind)
rusty tins from the Eastern Bloc
funny 19th century mantle sets - clocks with candlesticks
soviet army uniforms and pins
skeleton keys and big padlock keys from the late 1800s
big apple baskets
old leather suitcases with destination labels
midcentury brooches and earrings
fox pelts
navigational tools
footed metal jewelery boxes with tiny keys

Not exactly the kind of stuff you want to lug through the airport, but fun to look at.