A Tour of My Apartment...

Many people have asked me what my apartment is like here in Slovenia and if I like it. So I thought I would give you all a virtual tour. I love the apartment that the Lord has provided for me! :-) It has a great floor plan and is in a great location that is within walking distance of the city center, church, grocery stores and the new mall that contains shopping, a movie theater, bowling, and billiards. What more could one ask for!? I'm also on the 11th floor and have a fantastic view from the edge of the city looking out towards farm land and rolling hills. So let's begin the tour...

As you step in the front door, this is the view straight ahead looking through the kitchen and into the dining room and my "office" area.

This is the entry way looking to the left as you step through the front door. The contraption near the back along the left wall is my indoor clothes drying rack. :-) The bathroom door is at the end of the hall on the right.

And obviously this is the bathroom. The washing machine is on the left and drains into the bathtub after the washing cycle.

This is my bedroom and you enter it directly to the right as you step through the front door.

Now we have walked straight ahead through the kitchen and are looking to the left at the dining room.

Now turn to the right a bit and you are looking at my "office" space.

Now turn around and you are looking back through the kitchen the other way and at the front door.

Okay now do a 180 and you are facing the front windows. Now put your right hand in, put your right hand out, put your right hand in and shake it all about...do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about! Oh sorry, I got distracted there! :-) Now turn to the right and you are looking into my living room. The couch is also a hide-a-bed and guests are welcome so if anyone is looking to take a winter vacation to Slovenia this year, come on over! :-)

Now we have walked into the living room and are looking back towards the dining room, office and kitchen.

Now turn to the right and you are looking at my covered balcony, outdoor clothes drying lines and a lovely view.

This completes the tour of my apartment. At this time I would like to thank you for joining the tour and I hope you enjoyed it! This tour was given free of charge but donations are accepted and can be sent to...just kidding! Have a great day! :-)

Day of The Dead

Yesterday was a national holiday in Slovenia called the Day of the Dead. It's comparable to Memorial Day in America in that it is a day to remember those who have gone before us and are now dead. The difference is that Slovenes actually observe the holiday and don't just look at it as a day off from work. Okay, okay that's not a completely fair statement. I grew up in family where we always went and put flowers on the graves of our relatives and honored them but it seems to me that American culture in general doesn't really "get" this holiday. I think that there is something good and right about remembering and honoring those who have gone before us.

My apartment overlooks the cemetery here in Kranj so I have a bird's-eye view of the happenings in the cemetery and I have noticed that Slovenes visit the cemetery on a regular basis throughout the year. Most grave sites are well kept and the cemetery feels more like a park than just a cemetery because they actually plant flower gardens on the grave sites. They also light memory candles throughout the year and place them at the grave sites. All of the glowing candles look pretty cool out my window at night time. Some of you may think this is weird, but I actually like having the view of the cemetery out my windows. From the beginning of my time here in Slovenia it has served as a reminder to me that we are all going to die some day. Each night when I pull down my blinds and see all of the glowing candles I pray and ask God to help me to live in light of eternity and to take advantage of every opportunity that I have to share with people about God's love for them and Christ's sacrifice for them so that they have an opportunity to respond to Him and thus be able to go to heaven to spend eternity with God rather than be separated from Him forever in hell when they die.

Ahh, but I digress...what I really wanted to talk about is the holiday. Given that the cemetery has so much action throughout the year I wondered what the holiday would look like. Let me tell you that I have never seen anything like it. People flocked to the cemetery in droves yesterday afternoon. Police officers were directing traffic as people headed to the cemetery with arms full of flowers and candles. At 2:30pm there was a special mass in the middle of the cemetery and nearly every single grave site had people standing respectfully in memory of their loved ones. I walked down through the cemetery and was overtaken by this holy moment and the atmosphere of reverence. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this because it's only been three months since my dad died but I think Americans could learn something from Slovenes in regard to this. At any rate, I'm in Slovenia so I observed their holiday with them by lighting a candle on my balcony and placing some flowers there in memory of my dad. Following are some pictures of the day to help you see what I am talking about.

People buying flowers and candles to decorate grave sites.
Pilgrimage to the cemetery.
People beginning to gather in memory at the grave sites.
Mass service in the middle of the cemetery.
View from my balcony of the cemetery full of people remembering their loved ones.
My balcony memorial to my dad.
Candles glowing in the night.