Ljubljana: The Beloved City

What else to do during my break besides revisiting the 90s through Spice Girls and S Club 7 songs, and drink chai? Travel with Sergio to Slovenia of course!

We caught a train early Friday morning and travelled through the mountains of Steiermark and across the border into the stunning wooded landscape of Slovenia. The journey was long, but absolutely breathtaking. I was reminded of riding through Montana. Big, looming mountains covered with trees and navigable by narrow, winding roads.


My Slovenia journal entry starts off like this: "Slovenia....good times. FREEZING TIMES. Soaking my feet in a bowl of hot water kind of freezing times." Ya, it was pretty cold to say the least.
After finding our hostel, which was next to the American, German, and Austrian embassies (very cool), we made our way out into the Siberian tundra. Within fifteen minutes we were in a coffee shop, sipping on cheap but lovely drinks. Next we moved onto pizza. Then to a bar for a local brew.

On our second day we did a wonderful free tour of the city. This was informative and quite interesting.
Here are a few notes:

This is a statue of France Prešeren, who wrote Slovenia's national anthem, which is unique in that it describes peace among nations and not war.  Above him sits a muse that caused quite a stir with a neighbouring church, who decided to "cover" her naked torso by planting three trees to hide the statue.

The Butcher's bridge is a more recent addition to the old town, which was also designated as a car free zone not too long ago, and is meant to be an important aspect of the market area. Butchers can sell their meat and other goods here over the water. Bridges are meant to be meeting places, not just a way from point A to B. The locks are left by couples, some of whom played it safe by using combination locks instead of throwing keys into the river.

The Dragon Bridge! Ever heard of Jason and the Argonauts? Yep, right here, Ljubljana. Dragons are not to be seen as evil, but as protectors.

After a terrible earthquake in 1511, much of the city was rebuilt in the Baroque style so popular at that time, and architect Jože Plečnik's influence is prominent.

Honey liquor at the market

Inside of the main church

View of town from the castle

We warmed up with more coffee, and continued the tour while discussing local and national politics, the history of the region, and Tina's opinion on Slovenia and its neighbouring countries. This was eye opening and quite fascinating. Slovenia was part of the Roman Empire, and Habsburg Monarchy. During World War Two Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia, and was reunified with its western part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1991 Slovenia declared full sovereignty.




Sergio and Tina



Ljubljana is known to many as the "beloved city" as it is one letter shy of this word. I would dare say it need not this additional character, as the city is sure to capture you with its charm, beauty, and history.