Yesterday morning the superior asked if I could go to the Cistercian monastery in Sticna (little hat over the c) to help with a retreat. Sure. When? Five o'clock. Today? Uh huh. Fortunately was free. We drove down, about thirty minutes, and I took the train back this evening, about an hour. The monastery was built in the early 12th century and is one of the most significant religious sites in Slovenia. Renown for illuminated manuscripts in the 14th century. The Cistercians were founded in 1092. This abbey was a rather early foundation. In the 16th century the Cistercian order was split into the O.Cist. (old or common observance) and OCSO (strict observance, also known as Trappists). Only a little remains of the original monastery, mostly outer walls. The abbey church was redone during the Baroque. The abbey was inactive by order of the emperor for 114 years but was reactivated. It is not huge nor is it situated on a vast tract of land. Fascinating place.

Because I was facing a significant walk back from the train with backpack stuffed with laptop etc. I took only one lens, a Leica f 1.4 25 mm (50 mm equivalent on Olympus). It finds light where there is none even when hand held.