Ljubly Ljubljana

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I know exactly where I am. Do you know where tiny Slovenia is on a map? The country was a part of Yugoslavia, the most northern region of that ex-country, sandwiched between Austria to the north and Italy to the west. The southern border of Slovenia is now Croatia, and there is a small border with Hungary to the north east. I left Zagreb with one of my hostel room mates who was travelling in the same direction as me this day. We had a real border crossing soon into the two hour train trip, a stamp out of Croatia and a stamp into Slovenia. I am now back in the EU, an economic zone, back in the Euro zone, a monetary zone and back in the Schengen zone, a security zone. And as well as all this, Slovenia just doesn't feel like the other countries of ex-Yugoslavia, instead it feels more Alpine. We are surrounded by green hills and in the far distance the Alps are visible. In the winter, under clear and crisp skies the setting my be quite grand. I am staying in a hostel here in Ljubljana that only serves as a hostel for guests in July and August because from September to June it is the housing for a boarding school for children. Our rooms are nice and large, and no bunk beds and we even have a place to study. But the bathroom is down the hall. And for the first time in two weeks of accommodation, I have breakfast included with the place to stay.

Ljubljana is a lovely walking town, with a small river passing through. There are many cafes, as is common throughout ex-Yugoslavia. In fact, far more places to drink than eat. There are some great looking bridges here: the Dragon Bridge, the Triple Bridge, the Cobblers Bridge and the Ugly Duckling. Only the Dragon Bridge is for cars. Both banks of the river are lined with cafes and a pedestrian zone, great for people watching. There are trees, plants and flowers everywhere, the authorities have tried impressively to make this town look lovely. The buildings looks great set against all the green and along the river.

I am here only two nights, and I have made the most of my time here. On my first afternoon I went to the castle high on top of the hill that overlooks the town. There is a newly built funicular of all glass that whisks people to the top. There is a 3D movie of the history of Ljubljana which traces the long history of the area from the first Roman settlements, through the middle ages, 19th Century, through to the end of the 20th Century when there was a brief couple of days war to become finally a free and independent capital city of the newly formed country of Slovenia in 1991. Slovenia broke away more easily than the other areas of ex-Yugoslavia mostly because the region is homogeneously Slovene. After the twenty minute 3D movie I climbed to the top of the tower for the best view of the town, a panoramic vista. Slovenia is quite a small country and from this vantage point you can barely make out Austria to the north. The day was hot and subsequently hazy so no details from that distance could be spotted. But the Alps, my next destination, were visible in the distance.

The next morning I toured the house of Joe Plečnik. He was a famous Slovenian architect who did most of his important work in the early 20th Century. He designed many of the buildings, roads and bridges in Ljubljana. It was really interesting to tour this house left as it was when he died. There were two drafting tables laid out with all of his (now antique) drawing and writing tools. No calculators or computers here, just slide rules, drawing compasses, curves and pencils. Quite an interesting character was Plečnik, trained in Vienna before WWI, who was religious and had various religious statues scattered through his house, but also fascinated with classical architecture so there were many models of classical structures he designed, built and intended on building. I also walked through the market that morning, the main permanant structure designed by, you guessed it, Plečnik. They sell nearly everything from fruits and vegetables, various honey, oils, wicker baskets, clothing and for the tourists, trinkets with Ljubljana or Slovenia printed all over it. This trip hasn't been a big shopping spree like the previous couple of trips. It is tough carrying around lots of shopping week after week. But everywhere I go there is lots to buy.

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