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Published: October 3rd 2016
Ljubjlana
The river in the afternoonDamn, damn, damn, we are leaving Zagreb just as we getting to really love it, sort of feels like an unconsummated relationship, I guess we will just have to come back for a booty call. Both feeling a bit tired this morning which wasn’t helped when our bed collapsed in the middle of the night (and no it wasn’t from what you were thinking), at 3am it just hit the floor and we had to sleep at a weird angle and in the morning I once again had to do some running repairs. Our bus wasn’t till 12.30 so we didn’t leave our home till 11.45 for the 15 minute walk to the station. I (Scott) had just a touch too much to drink yesterday and so had to detour to a chemist for some headache tablets on the way.
Our bus arrived and as per our mantra – the shortest trips have the best bus and the longest have the worst- we got a great bus today for our 3 hour trip, lots of leg room comfy chairs, WiFi and power
Ljubljana
Traudy and Shelley plugs, just don’t get this on the 15 hour ones. Crossing from Croatia to Slovenia today and both are part of the EU but Slovenia is a Shengen country so this meant a more serious border control. Got to the border and had to stack behind 4 other buses so it took nearly an hour to process. Was supposed to get to Ljubljana at 2.30 but didn’t get there till 3. Thankfully my headache was gone because it was a 20 minute walk to our apartment in the full sun, but it was through the old centre so it gave us a good idea of what this town was like and it looked good.
Once again had a bit of a hassle getting into the apartment but the woman that got us in was lovely and as a welcoming gift gave us a couple of shots of the local fire water, and man was it good. We picked up some morning supplies, had a shower and then hit the town. Walked around the restaurant/bar area that flanks the river and managed to get a great feed of Asian noodles before calling an early night. First impressions of
Bled
Bled Castle Ljubljana are that it looks fantastic and cannot wait to get out and see the town over the next couple of days.
Day 251 Sunday 25th September 2016 – Ljubljana The lazy travellers are in town and to celebrate we slept in till 8 and then Shelley whipped up a fantastic brekkie of eggs on toast while Scott attended to all the electronic needs of the day (ie charging batteries and checking emails). We awoke to fog but this quickly evaporated and we were soon walking the streets in glorious sunshine. First on the agenda today was a flea market that was located just across the river from our unit. A great little market that was mainly filled with lots of unique antiques that we were tempted on but most of what we wanted was huge like sporting field lights or things I couldn’t bring back to Australia, cavalry Sabres. One stall was filled with fabulous fossils and was tempted on a couple of pieces but was unsure if we could take them out of the country.
From the markets we wandered down to
Bled
Church Island the “Roman” end of town. Ljubljana was originally the Roman town of Emona and there are elements of this settlement scattered all over the city. The premier site is the remains of the defensive walls that once surrounded the city. A large section of the southern wall still remains although it has been modified over the years including the addition of a 20
th century pyramid over one of the old gates – a bit weird but it was done by Slovenia’s most famous architect. Down the road from the restored wall is the remains of a Roman villa and further along there is another section of the wall that is now acting as someone’s boundary fence – how cool would that be.
After that we headed up to Ljubljana’s number one attraction which is its castle that sits on the small hill overlooking the whole city, and to get to the top what do you do, but use a funicular. Lost count now of how many we have used but this was an interesting one in that there was only one carriage and not the usual two. Our ten Euro ticket not only gave us a return
Ljubljana
Dragon on the bridge ticket on the Funicular but also gave us access to all the museums in the castle. The view from the tower was great over the town, the “virtual Castle” was an interesting movie, the museum of Slovenia was alright but the real highlight was the museum of puppetry. This museum was mainly about the Slovenian masters of the craft but it also had hands on display that allowed you to play with puppets. Shelley was like a kid let loose in a lolly shop or perhaps a puppet workshop – actually thought she started to get a bit demented trying them all out. Heaps of fun and the castle is a great space with fantastic views.
Late in the arvo we headed back down into town and thought we would check out the town bridges. Like a lot of cities Ljubljana is situated on a river and the Ljubljanica River is rather small and looks more like a canal, and is crossed by numerous bridges, and each has a character or of its own. The dragon bridge is flanked at each end by a pair of incredible bronze dragons, which is a major symbol of this town.
Ljubljana
Padlock Bridge Further along is the padlock bridge which as you guessed is where lovers place padlocks to bind their love – should have an adjoining “divorce hardware” where you can buy a bolt cutter. In the heart of the city is the triple bridge which are three bridges next to each other, one road bridge flanked either side by pedestrian bridges. Just about every 100 metres there is another bridge in a different style.
Being Sunday there were lots of locals out enjoying the afternoon sunshine and getting a feed or a drink at the hundreds of establishments that line the river, this town is fabulous. Joined the locals and stopped for a couple of beers before going home and then heading out for dinner. Got a feed of “traditional Slovenian” food that consisted of pork with ham and cheese – but not convinced it was traditional but it was okay, before we moved onto a local bar. Closer to home was a bar that was in a back street and quiet had a few locals and it was a nice way to end the night. We both absolutely love this town and maybe our most favourite town
Ljubljana
As busy as it gets ever, it just has such an incredible understated feel but is filled with great shopping (spent a small fortune today), good food, great bars, touristy but not overrun by them, vibrant but not overblown, this maybe Europe’s best kept secret.
Day 252 Monday 26th September 2016 – Ljubljana Bled Off for a day trip to Bled so we walked back to the bus terminal and brought a return ticket for 12.84 Euros and got the bus for the 1hr 20 min journey. Arrived to be met by the most beautiful setting, Bled has a large lake with a small island in the middle with a church on it. On the lake shore high above on a rocky cliff is a castle, the walk up only takes about 15 minutes which we did. We had read that you could go into the castle but the exhibits and museum cost, unfortunately this is not the case it is 10 Euros to enter which we decided against as all the reviews we had read said there was not much to see and we had spent the day at a castle yesterday.
Walked
Ljubljana
Castle courtyard back down and set off around the lake it is a great walk giving you splendid views of both the castle and church island from different angles. We saw a small group going in for a swim so I wandered over and was surprised that the water was not freezing apparently there are warm thermals that keep the water at 26 degrees during the summer months. I think it was cooler than that but we are now in autumn, so no swimming for me. We really enjoyed the walk around the lake and to reward all that walking stopped at the Park Restaurant and Café to sample the famous Bled Cream Cake, I usually don’t eat much cake more a savoury person but I really like it. Of course Mr. Sweet tooth Scott loved it and we both considered getting some takeaway for later but that would be over the top. So we paid the bill and made our way over to the bus stop for the 4.30pm bus back to Ljubljana.
Stopped on the way back to the apartment for an early dinner sitting at a table overlooking the river just loving the view. We are
Ljubljana
Shelley playing with the puppets not sure if the tourist numbers are bearable because we are now in Autumn but the cafes and restaurants all have a good mixture of tourists and locals.
Day 253 Tuesday 27th September 2016 – Ljubljana Domestics this morning with us doing a couple of loads of washing and a slow start to the day. After these chores it was a long walk around town taking in all the sights we haven’t seen yet as well as doing yet more shopping but fortunately no more handbags or shoes. Of course this was just us fluffing around as the main purpose for today was meeting up with our great friend Traudy the Slovenian/Australian Yoga goddess. Traudy has Slovenian parentage and when she told us she was “coming home” for a visit we just had to hook up with her.
Met up with her and her cousin Ursula in a café in the centre of town and from that moment we just talked and talked till our heads exploded. After a beer and a wine in the café took another long stroll through town picking up some
Bled
The Bled Cream Cake noodles for a late lunch and then finally settling into one of the many riverside cafes, whilst all the time catching up on what we had been doing. Traudy had not only been spending time with family in Slovenia and the Czech Republic but also had many a hiking adventure in Romania and time in Austria. We are hanging with her for the next few days so we not only caught up with old news but had to also confirm the details ahead. Before we knew it was 9.30 and she had to catch a bus and we had to pack for tomorrow so we headed off. Both been really looking forward to the next few days and starting it from the great city of Ljubljana is just brilliant except we now wished we had just one more day here. If you get the chance and you are in the area get here as you will not be disappointed.
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Steve Maberley
non-member comment
bed collapse
I don,t know where your head is at but I thought the collapsing bed was caused by to much beer and cake . Those motel beds are not built on a kenworth chassis you know . Great to hear that your both still thoroughly enjoying your bar crawl through Europe .