Ljubljana

Halli Hallo,

and another day in a country that has amazed me and definitely captivated me. Looking back, it's definitely a country that I will visit again at least once.

Slovenia and Ljubljana were not originally on our list, but we had to change our plans a bit due to weather conditions. There were heavy rains and winds expected on the coast. That's why we also shortened our stay in Zagreb by 1 day and initially skipped Trieste.

So early in the morning, we left the campsite in Zagreb and had a small breakfast on the way to Slovenia and our new campsite on the city border.

A truly beautiful campsite that invites you to stay and also happens to have a football golf course. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time or weather to try out this sport. But it's on the list for the next visit.

The campsite was right next to a bus stop, so we took the bus into the city.

We walked from the main train station to the car-free old town of Ljubljana. There I found a wonderful fountain with many legs. In general, there are still many fountains in the city, some from the past that used to ensure water supply.

The court buildings here are truly eye-catching. From here, we continued to the meeting point for the next Free Walking Tour.

The meeting point for the Free Walking Tour was the monument of France Prešeren. The national poet and the man who, unlike in many other cities, is honored as a military officer in Slovenia. A poet and thinker who philosophized about peace and unity became a representative of a nation. His poem 'The Toast' became the national anthem and the following lines were introduced to us by the guide at the beginning of the tour and remained in my memory:

Here's to the people,
who look towards the day,
when strife from the universe is banished,
where freedom seems like a friend,
and where the neighbor becomes the foe.

Not word for word, but the sense of peace, unity, and community. A community like the one that spontaneously gathered under the 3 bridges and paddled together.

Since we were early for the tour once again, we explored the city on our own for a while and then hiked up to Ljubljana Castle.

Exactly to this castle we wanted to go - preferably without dragons, but exactly there.

The fountain, which is inspired by the famous fountain in Rome and is supposed to represent the 3 rivers of Slovenia.

But the city also honors other poets, philosophers, thinkers, and scientists with monuments. I find them much more appealing than warlords, military, etc.

The castle is located several meters above the city, so the ascent took about 20 minutes.

Once we reached the top, we found a dragon, but luckily it was made of metal, not scales.

In the castle, there are many individual rooms and floors that are available for tourists to visit free of charge. The castle reminds both of us of Dragonstone Castle from the fantasy series Game of Thrones. It has been beautifully and impressively restored and the different elements of the castle have been skillfully reimagined and highlighted with steel and wood.

A visit to this city is an absolute must and the castle completely blew us away.

Not only the castle, but also the view from up there was simply WOW!

But in order to be on time for the tour, we quickly made our way back down the hill.

In the small streets, there are small cafes and restaurants everywhere that make your mouth water and make you want to have a nice evening with friends.

Back at the main square, we started the Free Walking Tour and learned more about some of the buildings and monuments we had seen and visited before, as well as some historical facts.

An absolute novelty for that time and one of the first concrete arch bridges to be built.

The city library was designed so that the windows and their sills look like open books. In addition, the students studying in Ljubljana are greeted by a door handle in the form of a Pegasus, which is supposed to fly them to the sky and to knowledge. Unfortunately, it was already closed on Sundays and we couldn't visit from the inside.

The university in the capital is the largest in Slovenia and has various faculties.

I would have loved to study here. In general, Ljubljana is considered Little Vienna and reminds you of a very green little sister of Vienna.

After the tour, we went to a restaurant that serves classic Slovenian dishes and is also popular with the locals. Luckily, we managed to get a table for 2. We had a platter for 2 with traditional Slovenian sausages and other very meaty specialties. There was also a kind of flatbread that tasted fantastic and was prepared on the grill.

This city is absolutely recommended and the visit has left lasting memories - SO BEAUTIFUL.

Until we meet again!

Best regards, Britta