SCM - Smarna Gora

Hello Family & Friends, Ever since we moved into our apartment, we've been watching Slovenes going to and coming from Smarna Gora.  Here's a picture of the 'hill' rising steeply above our village of 'Ljubljana-Smartno'   Hiking this mountain is a little bit of a local obsession.  There is a parking lot near our house which they fill to capacity almost every day... And they always take their walking sticks.   So for 'P-day' we decided to try it. Because there are so many and because they are all ages and fitness ranges, I have mistakenly supposed that it was a fairly simple hike. I was so wrong!  I'm not sure how they do it so casually, but this hill/mountain that is in our backyard and that we look at every day, is a bear to climb!  I should qualify that it wasn't that hard for Elder Lindorf.  He really enjoyed it.  The view from the top was spectacular! You can see plainly how rural Ljubljiana is...  And this is Slovenia's biggest city.  They purposely work toward maintaining a rural feeling in their communities.   Here you see the beautiful river that winds past our house.  Up on top there is a very beautiful and very old, stone church.  I can't help but wonder how many people, for centuries, have climbed that hill every Sunday to go to church?  There is a steep road that goes up the back side of the mountain.  There are also shops, picnic tables, lounging chairs to look at the view, and a restaurant.  It's a real party, once you reach the top!    They also have this amazing launch ramp for hang gliders.  It made me dizzy just to look at it!  All and all it was a wonderful adventure.  But we promise, if you come and visit us we won't make you climb it...  Unless you want to, of course!  Elder Lindorf will be happy to accompany you!  We are excited to report that we have four baptisms scheduled in our branch in the next few weeks.  Our missionaries have been very busy teaching lately.  We are also excited to have Elder Christofferson coming this weekend to dedicate a chapel in Zagreb, Croatia.  He will meet with the members in Slovenia for a fireside on Sunday evening and have a special meeting with all the missionaries on Monday.  We're looking forward to that. Love to each of you, Sestra Lindorf