Accolades over Slovenia’s accomplishments (141Cong.Rec.E969)

I arrived in Ljubljana just as the sun was setting, but even through the cloudy dim and my tiny window, I could already tell that Slovenia was going to be something to behold (top). I became even more enchanted during the walk downtown from the AirBnB, during which I passed an illuminated Trnovo Church (middle left). The moon was shining high over the capital, as was its namesake castle (middle right). The whole atmosphere was utterly romantic, especially when passing the love locks on Butchers' Bridge (bottom left). Lots of couples were enjoying the outdoor seating at Magda, so TJ and I found a table inside where we could eat a late dinner (bottom right).

The city was just as lovely by day, when the sun revealed all of its storybook spires along the Ljubljanica River (top left). Many people load up for boat tours, but we opted to enjoy the center on foot. Particularly enjoyable for walking is the promenade near Joze Plecnik's Arcades, named after the city's famous native architectural son (top right). Many buildings, especially banks, are designed by famous architects. Josip Vancas gets credit for the People's Loan Bank and Municipal Savings Bank, but I give top billing to Ivan Vurnik for the Cooperative Business Bank (middle left). Even when the facades aren't famous, it's fun to wander amid the winding streets filled with outdoor cafe dining (middle right). It's so quaint that you barely even mind the climb up to the castle, especially when you get to enjoy breathtaking vistas along the way (bottom).

 

But the best view in town is from the clock tower, which makes the admission price to Ljubljana Castle worth it (top left). You get a 360-degree perspective of the surrounding mountains as well as a bird's-eye view of the castle courtyard (top right). Located in one corner is a pleasant cafe (middle left); it seems like you would have to pay admission to access it, but you don't. You do have to shell out some cash if you want to get inside the fortifications, which contain a chapel (middle right), a history museum, and a rotating exhibition space. During our visit, the latter dungeon area featured a display on local dragon mythology. The creature has a fiery presence in the capital; it's featured prominently on the flag and on the Dragon Bridge (bottom).

  

The bridge is located right by the city's Central Market, which has both covered and outdoor areas (top left). It's also a great place to find a bite to eat. We passed up some "first lady" pie, paying homage to Slovenian-born Melania Trump (top right), in favor of some fresh native seafood and wine (bottom left). Later, during a stroll through Tivoli Park, TJ didn't want a bite of my burger from Hot Horse (bottom right), but I figured, what the heck, considering I had already broken the seal on eating horse.

 

 

TJ was much happier partaking in local specialties of the beverage variety. I got lazy about keeping track of the craft beers we had, but I know we tried offerings from Pelicon Brewery, Human Fish Brewery, and Bevog Brewery, which is actually just across the border in Austria. One of the best tap lists was at Sir William's, which is not nearly as cheesy of an English pub as it name indicates (top left). Still, I preferred Lajbah because of its casual al fresco sipping space (top right). The night of the UEFA Champions League Final, which actually was being held about a block away from our flat back in Kyiv, almost every drinking establishment found a way to create outdoor seating for soccer spectating (bottom). 

 

We figured a good way to work off the beer would be a day trip to walk around Lake Bled (top left). As you circumnavigate the water, you can continually see its little interior island, which is home to the postcard-perfect Assumption of Mary Church (top right). Many people rent boats to row or ride out to Bled Island (bottom left). But others, including ourselves, are content to gaze upon the lake's majesty from its shores (bottom right).

A great place to get a view of the entire lake is from Bled Castle, just a short walk up from the main waterside town (top left). The castle was swarmed with tourists, and its tower didn't seem like it would provide that much better of a vantage point (top right), so we simply walked around outside its walls. About halfway around the lake, near Camping Bled, we left the shore to hike up the nearby hills (middle left). We turned around not even halfway to Ojstrica, so we didn't feel like we deserved some of the inventively-chilled trailside beers (middle right). But we did treat ourselves to some Slovenian cuisine, trout and goulash, at Mlino restaurant before the rains blew in (bottom left). We got soaked making our way back to the bus station, so while we dried off and waited for the next bus, we capped off the day -- and our trip -- with some Kremsnita cake (bottom right).

Unique styles of beers that consistently win international quality and taste awards (S.Pub.114-13)

I know what you're thinking if you read my blog post about my TDY in Belgrade: How surprising that I didn't drink much beer there! But au contraire, the fact is, I drank so much beer in those three weeks that I have enough material to write a whole separate post. I found out that a beer festival would be taking place my first weekend in town. So I toasted my first completed work week with a Boca Do Inferno spiced beer from Deck Beer in Portugal at the Brtewshka International Beer Festival (top left). There were lots of taps on offer, so I built a base with some American-style BBQ brisket (top right). Then I did a world tour of tastes (bottom):

• Poland: Apache white IPA from Raduga 
• Spain: 9 Hores saison from Art Cerversers
• Russia: Dostoevskyy imperial Baltic porter from Brewlok 
• Italy: Latte Piu' witbier from Retorto  
• Switzerland: Stirling California common from La Nebuleuse 
• Norway: Svartediket black IPA from 7 Fjell Brygerri
• Sweden: 2016 is so 2015 barley wine from Beerbliotek 

Despite the fact that the festival was in Serbia, the only local beer on hand was from a small brewery located at the venue, Dorcol Platz. But of course, I wouldn't let my visit go by without sampling the native brew. I had a Zajecarsko Crno at Question Mark (left) and a Jelen at Dva Jelena (right). Both were perfectly quaffable, especially when paired with some heavy Serbian cuisine.

But if I wanted a post-dinner (or pre-dinner, to be honest) drink, I would head to one of Belgrade's many quality craft beer bars. Gunners Pub appeared to be a favorite with university students, for its selection of domestic and international beers at a variety of prices. I hit Krafter, right down the street, a couple of times (left). Two selections from the chalkboard that I remember enjoying are Salto pale ale by the brewery of same name and Korsar IPA by Kors Brewery. The beer list at Samo Pivo was so long, I can't even recall what I chose in the end (right). I must have had some high ABV options, though, because I vaguely remember the walk back to my hotel seeming longer than the two blocks it was.

 

By far, the closest outlet to my hotel was Brkati Pub, which every night set up an outdoor bar in the alley I walked through to the bus station every morning. It was there that I had my first taste, an encouraging one at that, of Belgrade's craft beer: a Matador red IPA by Tron Brewery (top left). At Prohibijica, which was right around the corner from the bike-rental shop I patronized, the bartender was pushing Kabinet brews. And rightfully so, as both the Rufaro spiced beer (with hemp) and the SuperNova IPA were solid sips, suitable for the laid-back ambiance (top right). But the big brewery dog in town, if you will, is Dogma Brewery. As the first craft microbrewery in the city, its beers can be found in many restaurants; I drank one of its core offerings, Hoptopod IPA, during a meal at Burger House (bottom).

The second weekend I was in town, the embassy was offering a brewery tour; I was too late to sign up, but that didn't deter me, and I managed to hit most of the stops during my own solo outings. To be honest, I didn't mind not having to fight the crowd and being able to select my own samples. At Dogma, where I stopped near the end of my second day of biking, I was almost by myself in the tasting room (left), where I ordered a white IPA, a S.M.A.S.H. Mosaic IPA, and a Miss Quince pale ale before calling it a day (right). 

The day before, I dropped by Kas Brewery during my ride (top left). I had beat the tour to the brewery, so I enjoyed a peaceful Ryezen rye IPA by the river (top right). The owner -- who felt a bit sorry for me, I think -- gave me a personal tour during which I tried some Maltese pale ale and Lagerila Indian pale lager straight from the vats. I got a little lost running to Kompas Beer after work one night, so I was happy that there was some outdoor space where I could sweatily sip my pint of California Common after getting some friendly tasters of English pale ale and IPA (bottom left). My least hard-won beverage by far was the black IPA at The Black Turtle, which came with a side of river vistas (bottom right).

Some nights, I preferred to stay in and watch bad reality TV, which I don't really have access to at home. So during my first few days in town, I swung by Drunk Chiwawa to stock up my apartment fridge. (Later on, I found that Pivski Zabavnik also had a good bottle selection, but I was no longer in need of take-away refreshment.) The cashier heralded my choice of NikolaCar Brewery's American Idiot pale ale (left) by pointing out that the brewer himself was drinking the same beer right behind me in the store. And I know this was true because he matched the face on the label. Otherwise, the sunny weather apparently put me in a seasonal mood because I picked up Dilemma Brewery's Spring Ale (middle) and Crow Brewery's Sunshine American wheat (right).