Piran - Day 2 PALM SUNDAY & Visit to Portorož, Slovenia

Pretty building in Tartini Square with St. George's Church Tower in the background

Marina in the morning

View of the terracotta rooftops from the church

One of the many small streets with laundry out to dry

View of the city from the top of the hill fortification wall

Piran Hotel on the waterfront with pigeons perched

Woke up after an oddly restful sleep in my room at the hostel which is like a dorm room in college. It was a rainy cold day but that didn't keep people, including myself from getting up and out early for Palm Sunday mass.

Stairway on one of the side streets

St. George's Church Interior

Sculpture of St. George with the dragon in the church

I first stopped for a cornetto or Croissant in French/English at a small cafe in Giuseppe Tartini square which was packed with a group of older Italian women who were finishing their morning coffee and getting ready to leave for mass. The bartender seemed a little flustered and even snapped (although in Italian and in that special Italian way that isn't really being upset just slightly annoyed and needing to express oneself impatiently) at one of the women who was trying to eat her brioche at the counter which is approximately 10 feet long and covered with coffee makers and such so no room for an eating women.

Piran is very much an Italian town and it's great to hear all the Italians out and about as well as quite a few Germans who can easily drive here like the Northern Italians.

Fortification Wall

I trekked up the cobble-stoned hill to St. Geroge's church where 10:00am mass was being held and when I got up there most of the parishioners were in the small courtyard building off to the side of the church with their olive branches in hand (they don't do palms here they do olive branches.) I continued on to the church not knowing if that gathering was for parishioners only.

Piran Marina

Daffodils in front of one of the villas

Fortification Wall

View to the Marina Piran

Saint George's Parish Roman Catholic was built in the Venetian Renaissance architectural style and has been dedicated to Saint George. This is apparent not only by the plaques on the church but by the large sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. And as I mentioned before in my blog about Ljubljana dragons play a large part in the symbol of that city and Slovenia but interestingly have nothing to do with St George but rather the following legend "...that Jason was the founder of Ljubljana, and he and his Argonauts killed a dragon." 

The legend of St. George goes "According to the Golden Legend, the narrative episode of Saint George and the Dragon took place in a place he called "Silene", in Libya; the Golden Legend is the first to place this legend in Libya as a sufficiently exotic locale, where a dragon might be found. In the tenth-century Georgian narrative, the place is the fictional city of Lasia, and it is the godless Emperor who is Selinus. The town had a pond, as large as a lake, where a plague-bearing dragon dwelled that envenomed all the countryside. To appease the dragon, the people of Silene used to feed it two sheep every day, and when the sheep failed, they fed it their children, chosen by lottery. It happened that the lot fell on the king's daughter, who is in some versions of the story called Sadra. The king, distraught with grief, told the people they could have all his gold and silver and half of his kingdom if his daughter were spared; the people refused. The daughter was sent out to the lake, dressed as a bride, to be fed to the dragon. Saint George by chance rode past the lake. The princess, trembling, sought to send him away, but George vowed to remain. The dragon reared out of the lake while they were conversing. Saint George fortified himself with the Sign of the Cross, charged it on horseback with his lance, and gave it a grievous wound. He then called to the princess to throw him her girdle, and he put it around the dragon's neck. When she did so, the dragon followed the girl like a meek beast on a leash. The princess and Saint George led the dragon back to the city of Silene, where it terrified the people at its approach. But Saint George called out to them, saying that if they consented to become Christians and be baptized, he would slay the dragon before them. The king and the people of Silene converted to Christianity, George slew the dragon, and the body was carted out of the city on four ox-carts. "Fifteen thousand men baptized, without women and children." On the site where the dragon died, the king built a church to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint George, and from its altar a spring arose whose waters cured all disease. Traditionally, the sword with which St. George slew the dragon was called Ascalon, a name recalling the city of Ashkelon, Israel. From this tradition, the name Ascalon was used by Winston Churchill for his personal aircraft during World War II (records at Bletchley Park), since St. George is the Patron Saint of England.

Portorož Harbour with sailboats in the background

Portorož Harbour with sailboats in the background - There were so many out despite the weather

Marina Portorož Harbour with sailboats in the background getting ready to go out

So back to the church in Piran - The first church on top of the hill was already built in 12th century. In 1592 a construction of a new church began on the same location and finished in 1614. The free-standing bell, which was a separate building and was a faithful replica of St. Mark's Campanile in Venice, was finished a year later, it was the life work of the stonemanson Bonfante Torre from Venice. Because of unstable foundations on the whole hill, enhancement walls were built in the 17th century. A general restoration began in 1990 and between 2002 and 2005, the main building was closed because of restorations of the frescos and statues inside. I was looking at the pictures they had posted of the before and afters of the 2002 restoration and it was incredible what was accomplished and the pastor of the church was telling me, thankfully in Italian so I could actually understand him how difficult it was because there was so much damage. The hill was further enhanced and stabilized with this renovation to prevent the structures from deforming or even falling of cliff which would not just include going into the Adriatic but also on top all the homes located just below.

Portorož - Yes, that blob in the water with the ripples around it is a man scuba diving (crazy it was like 45 degrees today)

The mass began with a procession from the courtyard to the church with singing and then a traditional service like in the States with the Gospel reading of the Passion being done by a group of parishioners reading different roles and the Priest being the voice of Jesus.

After mass  I got a few tiny blessed olive branches to put with the tiny traditional Slovenian crafts I bought in Ljubljana and had also brought to church to be blessed.

After mass I took a long, amazingly 2 hour walk in the rain (which wasn't coming down hard but it was windy and cold.) Once I began walking I just kept going there was so much to see and I made it up the hill to where the fortification walls are and were originally built in the 7th Century. It was a bit high but I climbed up the stairs and got a few pictures before I just had to head back down.

Portorož Harbour

Beach, Portorož 

I walked then to Portorož which is the next town over and only about 1.2 miles away. The walk was beautiful along a lovely winding road lined with lots of beautiful villas and hotels. I made it to the town center which is right on the sea and had lunch at Figarola's which is my friend Monica's maiden name so that seemed like a good reason as any to try that restaurant versus the others and it turned out to be a good choice the food was fabulous, especially the fresh fish soup which was just what I needed to warm up.

I then walked around that town a bit but got too cold so I went to the Kempinski hotel on the waterfront which is their newest luxury hotel and sat for a few hours reading the good mystery book I picked up at the second hand store in Prague.

Kempinski Hotel, Portorož 

Although I could have stayed there for longer I knew I had to get back to Piran so I caught the public bus that took only 5 minutes to get us back safe, warm and dry.

After a quick stop at my hotel room to pick up my lap top I headed out to the cafe I went to yesterday for a light dinner snack of cheese and prosciutto and herbal tea and did some computer work to figure out my next travel move which seems like a bus to Koper, Slovenia, only a 45 minute drive away and then a 3 hour train to Rijeka, a beautiful seaside town just over the boarder in Croatia and then from there in a couple of days down the coast to Split.

So another lovely, albeit cold and wet Slovenian day but glad I got to visit this part of the country and would recommend a visit to anyone but better I imagine in the summer time.

NOTE ON SLOVENIAN EASTER RITUALS AND TRADITIONS:

I found it so interesting when the young lady who works at the hostel told me upon check in about the specifically Slovenian Easter ritual of bringing a basket to Church on Easter Sunday or Holy Saturday for the ancient blessing of Easter foods. 

Eggs for Jesus' tears

Meats for his body

Horseradish for the bitterness of the nails in the cross

Sweet bread (Gibanica is a traditional Balkan pastry dish, usually made with white cheese and eggs. Recipes can range from sweet to savoury, and from the very simple and "homey" to festive and elaborate multi-layered cakes. Gibanica is mostly served for breakfast with plain yogurt. Except in the Balkans, this pastry can be found in every restaurant with the Serbian cuisine around the world.)

Cakes - Potica - Easter Sunday Customs

I found this information online and found it so fascinating all the different rituals and traditions throughout Slovenia over the years although I'm not sure about the whole not feeding the cat bread thing, we love all the good kitties!

"Because Christ, according to the Bible, rose from the dead at night or on Sunday at dawn, that night really was a ‘great’ night. This is how Slovenians perceive it and that is why the Slovenian name for Easter, Velika noč, means ‘great night’. The Slovenians, however, also have other terms for this holiday, such as vuzem, vezen and vüzen related to the word vzem (taking). The word refers to the taking away of meat during the forty-day Lent. On Easter Sunday they ‘take’ meat again, meaning they can eat meat again. In the Prekmurje region, one can find a very interesting term denoting Easter: letnice (annuals), a term derived from the word leto (year), thus testifying the importance of this spring festival. At that time, with the spring equinox, the year turns and starts a new cycle.

All major ceremonies are accompanied by bell ringing; an all-Slovenian competition in this specific and traditional skill is also well-known. Easter customs begin at the very moment when the mourning for Christ’s death on Good Friday is over and when the bells in the church towers sound again. According to tradition, the bells already ‘return from Rome’ on Saturday and initiate a joyous Easter hallelujah. Pritrkovalci (bell-ringers) climb the bell towers where, by using clappers, they make the big bells peal, producing unique melodies and rhythms. Across various Slovenian regions, pritrkovanje (pealing) is alternatively called nabijanje, klonkanje, trijančenje, linganje, tamburanje, etc. This is a Slovenian speciality. This popular musical art is typical of our entire ethnic territory and probably dates back to the 16th century. All major ceremonies are accompanied by pealing and a national competition in this traditional skill is also well-known.

As in many places across Europe, Holy Saturday, among other things, is characterized by the blessing of the fire, when the priest in front of the church blesses the fire and people take the embers home to heat the stoves and ovens and light the candles. In some places, including the immediate vicinity of Ljubljana, the priest blesses the fire at a particular house, which is then visited by the entire neighborhood to collect the embers. This needs to be highlighted because the custom is still very much alive almost everywhere, including towns. In Kranj, the main town of the Gorenjska region, the blessing of the fire, for example, takes place right in the central town square with people coming from near and far to take the embers home. In some other places, particularly in north-eastern Slovenia, the well-known Easter bonfires, called vüzemnice, are made on Saturday evening.

Being so festive, no work may be done on Easter Sunday. In rural areas, the master and the mistress of the house were only allowed to go to the field to bless the crops. Going around other houses, not to mention pubs, was a grave sin. Receiving visits was also not allowed. Staying in is (was) typical of Easter Sunday. In the morning, of course, the blessed food was on the table everywhere in Slovenia. The whole family had to gather. Blessed food was also given to domestic animals. They were fed blessed brown bread and horseradish. In Slovenske Gorice, the cat was the only animal not given bread, “because the devil quite often appears disguised as a cat”. On that day, the cattle were given pieces of presnec and other ritual types of bread, as well as blessed water and salt. In the traditional Slovenian minority community in Zilja (Gail) in Austrian Carinthia, we find the remnants of pre-Christian sacrificial rituals. While eating, they threw pieces of meat into the fire, intended “for devout souls in purgatory”. The wind also received its share. They threw four pieces of food through the window, intended for four elements – fire, water, air and earth – in order to prevent damage on the house and crops. The nearby spring was also given blessed food.

In certain places in the Prekmurje region, the foods were not taken for blessing to the church, but instead, the Easter baskets were placed on fences before sunrise. As the sun rose, the meat in the baskets was blessed. They used to say that the Pope thus gave a blessing with the sun all over the world. 

In Kobarid, a town in the Primorska region, they threw some of the bužgine (eggshells) into the fire, while preserving most of them in order to usually scatter them around the house and outbuildings or throw them on the fields. This ritual was intended to chase away ‘poisonous things’, such as snakes, toads and lizards.

A special role was attributed to the bones of the Easter foods. In some places, they had to be burnt, while elsewhere, they were stuck beneath the roof as a protection against lightning. They were also burnt and smashed to dust, subsequently used as an ingredient for an ointment against various diseases.

In certain places in the Prekmurje region, the foods were not taken for blessing to the church, but instead, the Easter baskets were placed on fences before sunrise. As the sun rose, the meat in the baskets was blessed. They used to say that the Pope thus gave a blessing with the sun all over the world."