Yesterday was a disturbing day. Not that anything really affected us, but we simply witnessed something disturbing. We were eating breakfast in our kitchen when I looked out the window and saw a police car on the other side of the river. There isn't a road on the other side of the river. There is only a simple, gravel walking path, just wide enough for people to pass each other easily. But there is grass and weeds growing next to the path, and the police car was on the grassy area next to the path, with the wheels on one side uphill. That alone made it unusual. At first there was another vehicle that looked like a fire department rescue vehicle, but it was slowly backing up the river towards the footbridge, which I assume was its exit route. After it passed the police car, the car drove forward and stopped by a grey bundle on the ground. The two police persons got out of their car and just stood there. Later, two guys with orange trousers came walking up the river to them and they all chatted for a while, then the orange pants guys left. I think those were paramedics. And the police waited. Then a grey van with city markings backed slowly out to the police car by the grey bundle. Two guys in black trousers and white shirts got out and chatted with the police for a long time. And finally, a man in grey trousers and a white shirt arrived and had the police unwrap the grey tarp from the body. He looked at it, talked to the police, looked at it again, and then left. When he left the two guys in black trousers removed a casket from the van, put the body in, and loaded it up. Then everybody left. The whole time, people walked by and bicyclists rode by and the police didn't hinder them in the slightest. It was apparent from crushed grass and weeds along the river bank that someone had gone down to the water and along it for 20 feet or so. Then there were several tracks leading up to the walking path, including a single line of drag marks. Clearly the body had been in the river and two or more people recovered it. When they loaded the body into the casket I briefly saw an arm, and it looked like a man's arm. That is all we know about it.
So, why was it disturbing? Because we love watching the river, with the swans, ducks, swallows, and seagulls that inhabit it. It is peaceful and soothing to watch it flowing by. All our experiences in the months we've been here have been peaceful, and so watching them recover a body was kind of jarring. Society insulates us from death in most cases, which makes it worse when we do encounter it.
Monday we bought groceries for our quarantined missionaries. The sisters here in Maribor had a few items they need to get through another week and we delivered those things first. Then we drove to Ljubljana, again.
The sisters in Ljubljana live in an apartment complex right across the street from a big mall that features a SuperSpar grocery store. So we drove to the mall first, and bought groceries. We had the sisters come meet us outside the mall (a very short escape from quarantine) to pick up their things. Then we met the elders outside their apartment to pick up theirs and then we decided to treat ourselves to lunch atop the tallest building in Ljubljana. It is an art deco building, built in the 1930's, and at that time the tallest building in Europe. It has thirteen floors, numbered from 0 to 12 in the European fashion.
I took this selfie on the 3rd floor. This steel spiral stair starts at the ground and only goes up to the 9th floor. For several stories near the top, there is a matching spiral stair going all the way to the top of the building, but it is made of wood instead of steel and concrete. That wooden spiral staircase is beautiful, with yellow lights illuminating each wooden tread. This is looking down from the 11th floor.
There is a restaurant on the top floor, but it's closed due to COVID-19, of course. However, there is a bar on the penultimate floor that serves ham and cheese sandwiches, pressed in a hot press to toast it and the meat at one time. We had a marvelous panoramic view of the city and here is the very best view of the castle:
Yesterday, we set out in the afternoon with a list of members we are supposed to visit and encourage. We drove all over town, but, sadly, did not find a single one of them at home. After we parked the car in its garage (a half mile from our apartment), we stopped at a restaurant for dinner, and I ordered a very typical slovene dish called, "Roasted Meat" or "Mixed Meat".
Starting from the top: chopped onions; Tomato puree (I think other veges are also in this - it is quite sweet); Tomato and cabbage; Pork chop (this one was overcooked); a nice ham steak; frankfurters (slightly spicy, but tastes like American hot dogs); The last two items are very, very common in Slovenia and are often served on skewers. They are both made of beef and pork, chopped and mixed together (sold in the stores as hamburger) then either formed into hands or pressed into sausages (there are two of each on the plate, and they are my favorite). Price for this dish? 6.20 Euros.
No comments:
Post a Comment