Ljubljana
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is a picturesque town with a castle at the top of the hill overlooking the city, the Ljubljana river meandering through the center of the oldest part of town, romantic bridges crossing the river and fabulous architecture. In the early 1900 Jože Plečnik had a major impact on the city today much the same as Gaudi did in Barcelona as Plečnik design the public market, many of the bridges, the parks, the National Library and rechanneled the river. You cannot miss his influence as the light post, park benches, and the layout was designed by him. Since the middle ages, the city has been part of the Habsburg Empire which lasted to its dissolution at the end of WW1. It became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes until the beginning of WW2 when it became occupied by Italy. After WWII it became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovene a state within Yugoslavia until it becoming independent in 1991. Now part of the European Union they use the Euro and traveling across the border to Italy does not require passport control but beware crossing into Croatia still does.
We arrived before noon parked close to where our Air BnB was going to be but since we were too early to check-in we took a stroll along the river, seeing the Dragon Bridge, the Three Bridges, and Butchers Bridge which was supposed to be built many years ago, but was only recently completed as a modern bridge. People swear their love on that bridge, place a padlock on the fencing on one side and toss the key in the river. Stopping any place along the river for a drink and you can enjoy the views and the activity mainly tourist boats traveling on the River.
We checked into our Air BnB and this is where the fun started that I mentioned in our Zagreb post. We when entered the room we had no electricity. Fortunately, the manager had not gone far and after a few attempts, he said he would get someone. We waited a few minutes for them to come back and then left hoping that when we got back it would be back on. Ljubljana is a very cute city. We strolled along one side of the river until we got to the market and spent some time walking through there. Like most markets in the former Yugoslavia it is separated out with the meat and cheese sellers in a building to themselves with some sort of refrigeration available and the produce in one section, then with the goods such as plastic and house wear or clothes in another.
Some of the highlights you should see:
The bridges over the river especially the Dragon Bridge, the Triple Bridge and the Butchers Bridge
The Market
The parks with all of Plečnik’s influences
The Brutalist Square in front of the Parliament
Ljubljana’s Castle
Robba Fountain
Cathedral of Saint Nicholas
The National and University Library
When we got back to the room the electricity worked thankfully so one thing my wife wanted to do was a small load of laundry since we had a washing machine in our room. As soon as she tried to start the machine, we knew it was not working. So once again we called the manager, who came not as quickly this time but came and tried to fix it himself to no avail. To his credit, he did volunteer to take the cloths so a laundry and have them washed. When we came back from dinner there were no clothes, so we had to call him again and he brought over the wet cloths for us to dry out at least something.
Dinner that evening was on the river at Restavracija Most which is right at the Butchers Bridge on the other side of the river from the Market. We had the Slovenia version of rakia to start out which I must admit is not nearly as good as Serbian. We tried the muscle appetizer which we thought was fair and the grilled Banzine which we thought was outstanding. The house wine went very well with the fish. Slovenian wines are quite delicious so trying several is worth the time.
The next day we did not get to spend much time in the old part of town as my wife had an appointment at the Museum of Architecture and Design which is right on the main road that leads from the highway to the city. While my wife met with her colleagues on topics for the book she is finishing Ella and I went through some of the museum, which is a Renaissance Castle being renovated. There was an exhibit on Slovenian fashion through the years that was her favorite. They and had an exhibit on the various designs for the renovations of the courtyard. There is a lovely café in the courtyard, even before the renovations, and it will be a place to go in short order. I highly recommend the museum for an afternoon away from the city, especially if you are interested in architecture and design.
All in all, Ljublana is well worth the time to visit. We plan to go back and send more than a day.
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