Slovenia, The Hidden Gem
September 10 to 15, 2015
We had made it to the East, our first Balkan stop. We had made it… but it wasn't easy. Well, technically, actually, it was pretty easy I suppose. We accidentally wandered right into Slovenia with no trouble at all, just a little walking. Making it into Slovenia in the way we had extended (by taking the train from Villa Opicina to Ljubljana) was the hard part.
We hadn't realized just how close Slovenia is to Villa Opicina and with the very limited amount of English in the small border town, all of our asking about where the train station was to get to Slovenia was translated into where is Slovenia. We had read a lot of blogs and forums explaining the journey to Ljubljana and everyone told us it was difficult, that there was only one train and if we were to miss that we would have to retrace our steps all the way back to Trieste. This led us to frantically searching out the train station with no clear map and no signs along the way. Not being able to find the station on our own we started asking people along the road where to go and decided to trust them as more and more people pointed us in a way we thought was contradictory to our map-knowledge. After about 45 minutes of walking out of town, along a highway, bags in tow, we found, not the train station, but the Slovenia border. We had accidentally walked to Slovenia. Mission accomplished… kind of...
We hadn't realized just how close Slovenia is to Villa Opicina and with the very limited amount of English in the small border town, all of our asking about where the train station was to get to Slovenia was translated into where is Slovenia. We had read a lot of blogs and forums explaining the journey to Ljubljana and everyone told us it was difficult, that there was only one train and if we were to miss that we would have to retrace our steps all the way back to Trieste. This led us to frantically searching out the train station with no clear map and no signs along the way. Not being able to find the station on our own we started asking people along the road where to go and decided to trust them as more and more people pointed us in a way we thought was contradictory to our map-knowledge. After about 45 minutes of walking out of town, along a highway, bags in tow, we found, not the train station, but the Slovenia border. We had accidentally walked to Slovenia. Mission accomplished… kind of...
Unfortunately the border didn't help us out any, we were kilometers away from Ljubljana and knew of no transportation from the border onward. We therefore had to turn around and try again to find the hidden train station. It turned out, tucked away, in the corner of town, down an unmarked and dusty road, the train station lay hidden, along with a train waiting to leave for Ljubljana. There was no one working at the station, we had to board the train and ask the man working on it. He was the only one around, asked us for the small fare, and we were on our way, all of our rush in vein, trains apparently left often.
Ljubljana
September 10 to 12, 2015
Ljubljana was one of the nicest, pedestrian friendly cities we visited on our trip. Not knowing at all what to expect, what we found was an extremely bright city with great open, public spaces. The city seemed young and vibrant, almost untouched in a way.
Ljubljana was also a city of a few important firsts for us. It was the first country of the Former Yugoslavia that we visited and the history of Yugoslavia ended up being a shaping theme of our trip. It was also the first city where we took advantage of a free walking tour, something that we would do again almost everywhere we visited. Lastly, it was our first less-travelled stop, and offered us the beginning of our feelings of discovery.
Ljubljana was also a city of a few important firsts for us. It was the first country of the Former Yugoslavia that we visited and the history of Yugoslavia ended up being a shaping theme of our trip. It was also the first city where we took advantage of a free walking tour, something that we would do again almost everywhere we visited. Lastly, it was our first less-travelled stop, and offered us the beginning of our feelings of discovery.
A City of Art
Slovenia has a vibrant youth and art scene. The city celebrates art in all its forms and proudly displays its local artists. In the main pedestrian sections of town you can see creative and unconventional statues lining the streets or you can head to a place like Metelkova City, an old military barracks, turned squat, turned nightlife scene for some graffiti and collective art.
We ate Horse!
This was something which our walking tour guide had mentioned quite tastefully to us and that we just had to try. A horse burger. Definitely not something eaten commonly in North America, but traditionally here, its just another type of meat. Admittedly… we loved it! We even ran into the city a second time just for another one while we passed through and were waiting for a bus to Croatia. Don't knock it until you try it!
Ljubljana Castle
Sitting on the old side of town, up on a hill conveniently called castle hill sits Ljubljana's castle. The walk up to the castle was fairly simple and once we reached the top of the hill we noticed that there was a roadway on the other side actually heavily trafficked. The castle has been converted to a modern exhibit/courtyard/banquet and convention centre of sorts. There were many nicely dressed individuals enjoying the fancy cafes and event centre in the old castle walls as well as tourists like ourselves taking in the older parts of the structure and reading the many plaques around. It was unlike anything we would see on the rest of our trip as most other cities focused on preserving their castle rather than modernizing them. However, for Ljubljana this seemed to work great.
Kranj
September 13, 2015
We stopped in Kranj for a night on our way to Bled from Ljubljana and luckily we only went for one night. There is very little to see and do in Kranj, even if you try hard like we did. We walked around a little and though cute, the town didn't have much to offer. We were also there on a Sunday which may explain the quiet streets a little more if you've heard different. We admittedly spent time in the hostel watching movies and snacking, making up for the very busy travel schedule up until that point. Enjoy the photos.
Bled
September 14 to 15, 2015
Bled, situated in the Julian Alps was another short stop for us. The big draw of Bled is Bled Lake, a glacial lake with the pilgrimage church of the Assumption of Maria and its bell tower. As well, Bled Castle, which we didn't visit. The weather was very bad while we were there and the town small with few things to do inside. There are day trips in the area and hiking when the weather is better and the town has a slightly fun young feel to it of outdoor enthusiasts. Unfortunately, for us, we got a very limited view of it with the weather and our one short hike around the lake.
Country Summary
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