They set off early in the morning by train. They gathered in front of Marjana and Franča's house, happy and full of expectations. The whole family was sure that they were in for a special day, as they planned to explore this seaside town where they used to spend carefree holidays.
The journey was quiet. The eloquent Jožica, Franč's cousin, talked about her youthful years when she went to the seaside every summer, while Mito was always looking for interesting details on the road. Ema, the youngest in the group, was in heaven, already dreaming of all the things she would discover.
When they arrived in Koper, they were struck by the beauty of the Old Town and the decorations of the city with New Year decorations. The old square with its narrow streets was full of tourists, both local and foreign, enjoying the sunny weather. Marjana and Franc reminisced about their youthful years, walking along these streets and drinking coffee in the same bar where they were sitting. Jožica and Mito decided to visit the city museum, while Ema hopped over to the waterfront to admire the big ships.
Lunch is served on the terrace of a restaurant overlooking the sea. Everything was perfect. The sun was shining and the sea air brought a feeling of freshness and carefree. Ema was impressed by the New Year decorations, the shop windows and the hustle and bustle of the city. Marjana and Franc smiled at the memories of their youth. Jožica told old stories from Koper to Mito. After lunch, they walked along the coast for a while, admired the ships of Portorož, and then went to catch the train that would take them to Poljčane, where they had a car parked to take them home.
In Postojna, a young student boarded the train and kindly asked if there was any room left in the compartment. He was invited to sit down. Shortly afterwards, a middle-aged conductor came and asked for extra tickets because it was a bullet train.
They paid about €2 extra, and the student had no cash. He offered a debit card, but the guide refused to accept it. He told the student that he had to get off at the next stop. The student asked him to take the card because he had to go to Ljubljana for school. They argued for a while, but the conductor was adamant.
Marjana walked up to them, took three euros out of her wallet and offered them to the guide, saying, "What's the problem? Here's three euros, leave the boy alone!"
The conductor was embarrassed and accepted only 1.9 euros. He said, "Why did you do that? I would have given the boy this money too."
"It's OK!" Marjana said, and the boy thanked her for a long time and told her to accompany him to Ljubljana to the first ATM, where he would withdraw the money and return it to her. She replied, "You know, I won't be any poorer for the money I gave you, and you won't be any richer. But I'm glad I was able to help you and you didn't have to get out."
Everyone returned home full of good impressions and good spirits and agreed to repeat the trip next year.
Justina Strašek, 27. 2. 2025
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