Amsterdam Meets Prague and Loses Drugs, Sex, and Foul Language

I had heard very good things about Ljubljana from many, many different people. Since I wasn't able to see it on my trip to Europe last summer, I was eager to get a chance to see it (and figure out how the hell it's pronounced) this time around.

We arrived in the city late at night after a train ride from Vienna. Walking through the moderately tall, modern buildings in between the train station and the central, historic portion of the city, I had the distinct feeling I was in Montreal, Bethesda, or some other little, northern, well-to-do city. Everyone on the street was incredibly friendly and more than willing to offer directions. Even thought it was around 10:30 PM, no one seemed to be concerned about walking around alone at night. In fact, as we were hunting for the hostel, I went up to girl on the street and asked her if she knew where the Fluxus Hostel was. She didn't, but she led me around three of four blocks looking for it and couldn't have been friendlier. In retrospect, I'm sorry I didn't get her phone number. One of the things that distinguished Slovenia a lot of the other countries we visited was that local girls were incredibly friendly as well as very attractive (the norm for Slavic countries.)

With the help of our local guide, we reached the Fluxus (which, surprisingly, couldn't have been in a more central location) dropped off our bags and decided to head out, have dinner, and get a few beers. We ate dinner at the obligatory Sokol-- a restaurant that is in every guide book and features servers dressed in what they claim is traditional Slovenian garb. If you ask one of them for an entree recommendation, they immediately point you to the dish that costs three times as much as the others. The other customers were old British and German tourists who seemed to enjoy telling off the staff. Ben and I both ordered the goulash which, surprisingly, was very tasty.

Note that the Slovenian national beer, Union, was excellent.

Based on the impressions formed from the two nights I stayed in the country, Sokol seemed to represent Slovenia as a whole-- pretty, safe, rich, touristy, but still socially adapting to its place as a tourist destination.

The bars and cafes around the old town center are fun, and chock-full-of tourists. To get to some of the places, follow the road that rings around the hill that the castle is on to the left. After a few blocks, it will be all Slovenes. On the left hand side there should be a Kabob restaurant which was good if you want a break from the standard E. European fare.

The streets around the old center were pretty, with some pleasant architecture. The easy hike up to the castle offers great views of the city and castle is cool to explore. Note that the castle's tower closes in the early evening.

Most places that share Ljubljana's overly sweet nature tend to have some sort of dark secret burrowing underneath the surface. In this city's case, the secret couldn't have been more open-- from 10:00 AM on, locals crowded into cafes and bars and drank like fish. After 9:00 PM on a weeknight, the number of drunken people I encountered overwhelmed the number of sober people. The really cool part about it was that the drunken people I was running into on the street weren't tourists-- they were Slovenian college kids, mostly alone, walking from one bar to the other. I think the adults got their drinking in at the sensible hour of 3:00 PM. The situation seems to be a bit like 1950's America-- people are unreasonably nice to each other because they douse any rage or bitterness with alcohol.

From my impressions, Ljubljana can be seen in an afternoon at a pretty leisurely pace. It's important to note that Zagreb is two hours away by train, tickets are cheap, and, judging from the few hours I spent there, is at least a mandatory side trip. See my next entry, Busy, Beautiful, Real, and only Bombed Twice for more details.

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