LJUBLJANA-A DAY TRIP

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As my readers know, my wife and I stay in a different place in the world each year, and I write a travel journal about the experience. (See my profile for more.) During our summer in Slovenia we made several trips from our residence in Bled to Ljubljana. This is an account of one such trip.

Ljubljana means "beloved" in Slovene.It is an easy 45 minute drive from Bled. We went on a Saturday, market day, and the town was all a buzz. Finding a parking place for the day near the university, we set about discovering the central part of this lovely capital.

Ljubljana is not a large city, though it is the largest in Slovenia by far. About 168 miles square with about 275,000 residents at the time of our stay. It is a young persons city with the average age about 40 and more than 50,000 students. The distinguishing feature is the Ljubljana River which is linked to the Sava, and was once a waterway through marshland that could be navigated in small boats to the Adriatic. Legend has it that Jason (of Greek fable Jason and the Argonauts) having stolen the Golden Fleece, sailed in the Argo down the Danube, Sava and Ljubljanica rivers to the Adriatic on the way back to his homeland. The Argonauts are believed to have set up winter camp in a place later settled by Romans. It is here that Jason is alleged to have slain a dreadful dragon resulting in that beast becoming Ljubljana's heraldic symbol. That explains the many dragon symbols found in the city, such as the one in the photo. (More to follow.)

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