Kamnik - Sunday

We called Alma, our taxi driver, after breakfast and she took us 11km north of town to the cable car that goes part way up to Velika Planina, the Great Highlands.  It's a broad alpine plateau in the Kamnik Alps, dotted with small settlements distinguished by dozens of silvery-grey wooden huts with unique conical roofs that look like witches hats--extending almost to ground level.  And there are lots of cute cows, many with bells.  It's an otherworldly place.

We didn't want to leave the Highlands but the Costume Parade was about to start down in Kamnik at 3 and Alma was going to pick us up for that.  But on the way down the mountain we met a sprightly old lady who was very friendly and fun to talk to.  She lives in one of the unique round witches hat cottages in the woods and she invited us in for tea and cookies.   Her small, round cottage was filled with quaint, lovely things and she had many stories to tell.  She introduced us to the carpenters who were putting a new roof on the neighbor's cottage and also to another neighbor, Mia, who showed us her cottage, too.

So we missed most of the parade in Kamnik but our visit with Sonya and Mia was more fun.  Sonya is 84 but hikes up and down the mountain like a mountain goat.  Her English was great--she learned it living in Egypt for 7 years.  Her husband was in WWII and was in the fierce fighting in western Slovenia.   She misses Tito and the old Yugoslavia.  She is still very  bitter about Churchill giving away Trieste to Italy.  She disliked Bush but is a fan of Obama.

Top photo:  cows in Kamnik Alps
Bottom photo:  Sonya (and her dog, Bor) standing in front of her Velika Planina cottage