Not wanting to confuse Slovakia and Slovenia any longer, we thought it best to visit the capital cities of both countries. Having recently visited Bratislava (Slovakia), it was now time to visit Ljubljana (Slovenia). Ljubljana is small for a capital city (<300,000 inhabitants), but the entire country isn't that big anyways (only ~2M people). What it lacks in size it makes up for in charm. The old town is pristine, with brightly colored buildings, clean cobblestone streets and shaded walkways along the river. We arrived on a particularly busy weekend - the city was hosting EuroBasket (the European basketball championship) as well as an athletic festival with fun runs on Saturday (including a children's run) and a bike race on Sunday.
We started Saturday by walking up to the castle overlooking the city. In the courtyard are two restaurants and a nice view of the city from its walls. Like the city, it's on the smaller size but very pristine.
On the way back to the city we stopped at the town hall which had an exhibit on the history of EuroBasket (can you spot Matt in the picture?), and then wondered through the local market. Part of the market is housed in a covered arcade, with the rest of the stalls in temporary stands spread across two plazas. There was a mix of meats, produce, clothes, flowers and even a raw milk vending machine (just bring your own jug, put in a coin, and out comes fresh, unpasteurized milk)!
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| Got Milk? |
In the afternoon we took a walking tour to learn a bit about the city and its history (it has only been an independent country since 1991). Afterwards we stopped by one of the many riverside restaurants/bars for a drink and to watch the (small) river cruise boats float by. "River" might be a generous term even if it's technically correct, the water is more like a small canal.
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| The locals like to throw shoes over wires. |
On Sunday we took a bus to Bled, about an hour north of Ljubljana. Lake Bled is a small lake known for its island church (only accessible by rowboat) and its castle perched on a cliff. We decided to first take a boat out to the island, which was a very peaceful ride. The island itself is small, taking about 10 minutes to circumvent it on the lakeside path encircling the church. Back on shore we took the short walk up to the castle, which provided gorgeous views of the lake. We finished our trip by sampling one of the town's famous cream cakes before heading back to Ljubljana and out flight back home.
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