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).
No comments:
Post a Comment