Sunday consisted of a mix of everything really. We stayed the day in Slovenia, and went to Ljubljana (Laibach). Going to Laibach for the day was really fun and interesting because it provided another perspective on European cities. Laibach is the capital of Slovenia, and yet, it was only as large as Graz. It was really interesting to find out that even some of the larger cities are fairly small and compact. Furthermore, Laibach has one of the largest pedestrian-only streets, and it was one of the main places for shopping and necessities. Something else that was interesting about going to Slovenia is that the price discrepancies in Europe are much greater than they are in the US. In the US, things are often pretty consistently priced. In Europe, however, simply traveling a couple hundred miles (the difference between 1-2 states) can cause prices to almost halve. In Slovenia, a cappuccino costs around 1,30€. In Austria, that same cappuccino would cost 3,20€. This is the same with everything, water, food, even certain products from stores. Everything was cheaper, and that was different, because in the US, I can expect to pay around $8-9 for a burger at a restaurant, and that won’t really change anywhere I go.
Driving back from Laibach was also something new. Unlike the German autobahns, there are speed limits on the Austrian and Slovenian ones. Nonetheless, it’s 140km/h or around 85mph, so more than you can legally go in the US. Something else I found out involving automobiles and Europeans is that pedestrians don’t really stop too much for cars. I’ve noticed that when crossing a street with an approaching car, as long as the car is far enough away, that you can get into the street without getting hit, you cross, and the car must stop. This was different from what I’ve experienced before, because in the US, we stop and wait for cars to stop and let us pass. I guess we’re too paranoid about other drivers and Europeans just kind of trust each other not to hit pedestrians. ~Cory
