Our madness started like this: me: Cris what are you doing Monday and Tuesday? (I ask my colleague) Cris: Nothing, I'm at home Me: ok, so fancy going for a trip?... let's go to Ljubljana. Cris: ok! And so the adventure begins; on Monday I worked and finished at two, so between one thing and another we leave at 4 heading for Ljubljana! The weather wasn't the best but we don't get discouraged! The evening before we book the hotel: Hotel Park, right in the centre, at the cost of 90 euros for a double with bathroom and breakfast. Throughout the journey we don't hit any traffic and despite 3 stops we reached Ljubljana at 9.30 pm. To use the Slovenian motorways you need a vignette; we got ours at an Italian motorway service station (near the border), and it costs, for 6 months, 35 euros (there's also an annual one but I don't know the cost). The Slovenian motorways are nice and smooth.
We manage to find the hotel straight away even without a sat nav and we immediately discover that Ljubljana is a very lively city in the evening too, and above all respectful of road signs.
Day 120 Apr 2009
Arrival and a taste of the city
We paid for the hotel that same evening; the staff are kind but speak little Italian, though they make up for it with perfect English. As for parking, there are quite a few near the hotel but they're only free in the evening; during the day they're paid. The next morning we asked where we could park and the receptionist told us to just park inside the private car park… for free. After seeing the room we decide to start exploring the city. We're right in the centre and we immediately see that Ljubljana is full of young people! We ask the hotel staff to recommend a restaurant and I must say it was good advice. It's called Sokol and they have Slovenian specialities. The prices aren't outrageous but be careful about the time you go… the kitchen closes at 10 p.m.… and they're strict about it.
The restaurant is very nice, spread over two floors, and inside it feels like you're in a courtyard… very characteristic!
After dinner we take a walk along the river and cross the famous Dragon Bridge; I must say I thought it would be bigger, but it's a very beautiful and also curious structure. We see the market square and hope they'll hold it the next day. (Then we discover that the market is daily.)
We go back to the hotel and collapse from tiredness.
Bronze city model with fortress, tourists standing around the square
Day 221 Apr 2009
Second day
We didn't have a set tour; we decided to discover the city just like that… getting lost in its streets. We arrive at the Dragon Bridge and I must say it's quite another thing to see it by day! Beautiful, a shame about the cars going past…? We get to the market square (Plecnik Market) and discover that it's really big!! The whole square is embraced by a very characteristic colonnade. We immediately notice lots of stalls and the goods range from fruit to clothing to household items! We had fun discovering the various habits of the Slovenians! And we noticed that they are very attached to traditions.
We were struck by an elderly lady selling vegetables… we stopped to look at the produce and were surprised to see that they were the products of her own garden, with the soil still stuck to them; at markets I only ever see clean fruit and vegetables… the only place I've seen it like this is in Calabria, in the neighbourhood markets of small inland villages. It was really nice to see that they still care about the quality of local produce.
We also discovered a mini market inside a building near the square; you get in by going down some steps… as soon as the door opens you're assailed by a smell of spices, cheeses, cured meats… at first it's strange but you get used to it right away! We start our "tour"… we immediately notice that along the sides there are alcoves turned into shops, one selling wine, one oil… they almost look like Italian food fairs… then we plunge into the dried fruit and… lots of people selling it… and already shelled… spectacular, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts..
then dried figs, dried apricots… even candied fruit like strawberries, grapes, currants… we stop by a counter, admire these delights, and the owner, seeing us so… enchanted… offers us a taste of candied strawberry… my goodness… we couldn't resist… we had to buy some! He even gave us a bag of candied currants!!! The Slovenians are really kind! We continue our rounds and see stalls of cured meats, very similar to ours, bread and cheese stalls… we wanted to taste everything but unfortunately we didn't have time!!! We came out of this gastronomic world… outside it's raining and the smell of rain assails us but we don't get discouraged. We continue along the river admiring the stalls of local crafts, objects in wood and porcelain, but also glass and ceramics.
We reach the Triple Bridge (Tromostovje); at first glance it's really strange… you don't understand it at once, but afterwards, seeing it from various angles, you discover that it's a beautiful construction! Originally there was only the
Pink facade painted with colorful geometric folk patterns, Ljubljana
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