European Vacation. What "springs to mind"? Did you just think Chevy Chase and horrific slapstick comedy? Well, I laughed quite a bit on the trip, but this was more of a serious occasion - tracing our respected family lineages.

Slovenia was the principle destination for her, and Italy was the principle destination for me. While she was one hundred percent pure Slovenian and I was merely fifty percent Italian, the journey to our roots, stepping into the footsteps of our ancestry, was quite an experience.

This was my first inter-continental flight and I finally discovered just exactly what is meant by "jetlag". I literally could not stand when we landed in Madrid, and we still had a flight from there to Vienna, and an automobile drive from there to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Everyone was already off the plane before I could muster enough strength to get on my feet. They do not build airplanes for six foot five people. My knees felt like they would stay bent forever and I might need a pry bar to force them to straighten out.

I used to laugh at people when they complained of jetlag. 'How, weak!' I would heckle, thinking of the times when I would fly the red eye flight to Rhode Island to visit my grandparents throughout my life. But that was only three hours the wrong way, not spinning the globe backwards - our airplane actually chased the sunrise from behind it!

We were met by my friend's cousin and boyfriend who were kind enough to roll ten hours in a day to pick us up in Vienna and return back to Ljubljana. Quick Orwellian 1984 reference: the Austrian highways have sensors mounted on the guardrails that track your speed . . . if you speed between toll roads you receive a ticket in the mail. Whoa? Freaky, anyone?

I faded into oblivion staring out at the grasslands of a foreign soil. Yep - it's green over here too. Hard to really sleep, however, with our Slovenian guides rocking out to their favorite national band, Siddhartha. This Metallica-rip-off band makes so much noise that it was amazing you could actually hear them singing over the speakers.

Ljubljana - as I garnered through this great research tool - is a bastion of westernization for the Baltic region. Here you can find large shopping malls, a variety of commerce going on in all directions. This relatively small capital city of 280,000 people is the furthest west from the decay of the socialist federal republic that the country once belonged to immediately following World War One.

This town is steeped in a cultural legacy stretching back to 0. Ljubljana was actually named Emona during part of the Roman hegemony (1-6 AD). This beautiful city is mentioned for the first time in recorded text in the year 1144. By 1335 it was under the rule of the Hapsburg clan. Even under Napoleonic times (early nineteenth century) it was an important capital in one of the major provinces within his jurisdiction.

But the thing that really brought Ljubljana to the forefront of European consciousness was the Vienna-Trieste railway. In effect, this officially linked it with the rest of the world in terms of commerce and trade. This important lifeline and the city itself were thoroughly damaged by a severe earthquake that struck in 1895. A similar blow is on record from 1511. There is definitely a perceptible pulse under one's feet when walking in Slovenia. This is especially true when climbing to the top of the famous castle in downtown Ljubljana that provides spectacular views of the Trafalgar Alps that encircle the city with majestic white-tipped peaks.

There is lore describing Jason and the Argonauts, the Greek hero who stole the Golden Fleece, and how he came upon the lake near the Ljubjlanica river source while escaping the King Aetes. There in the lake's depths lived a loch ness monster of sorts, or the green dragon. This has become a popular symbol for the town and the professional basketball team has adopted the name as their mascot. For more about history and travel to Ljubjlana.

Lots more from Europe on the way . . .

ER Harris