Have you ever even heard of Ljubljana? Or even Slovenia (not to be confused with Slovakia)? How do you pronounce that “L + J” thing? [ We’ve learned that the “j” here sounds like a “y” or “i.” So Ljubljana is pronounced “loob – lee -AHN- ah.”] We had never heard of it either, until last November in England. Our friend Luci’s nephew Eddie learned that we were traveling Europe. He insisted – he made Sara promise – that we would visit Ljubljana. With our unexpected trip back to the US in December, we had to “rethink” our planning for January-March and now we had additional Schengen days to work with. So we thought “Let’s go to Ljubliana!” Thank you, Eddie. We absolutely love both Ljubljana and Slovenia.
Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia. Now an independent country, Slovenia was the northernmost republic of Tito’s Yugoslavia, and before that part of the Habsburg Empire. It’s the size of New Jersey with only one fourth the population. Although small, Slovenia was economically one of the strongest areas in Yugoslavia. In 1991 Slovenia was the first of the Yugoslav republics to declare its independence, and in 2004, it joined NATO and the European Union. Slovenia remains economically strong, so it was one of the only late-comers to the EU that was a net contributor rather than receiver.
We arrived in Ljubliana by bus late on February 4th from Venice. We had a 5 hour layover in Venice so just stayed in the airport. Although it was dark when we arrived in Ljubliana, our apartment was just a 20 minute walk from the bus station. We are so grateful for GPS on our phone and grateful that we are traveling with backpacks instead of suitcases! We found our Air B&B (in the dark) which is right in the center of town, along the river a block down from Preseren Square. The door to our apartment was hidden between two cafes. We are immediately charmed by the surroundings – looks like Vienna. Even in this cold winter weather, the café culture is strong with lots of folks eating and drinking outdoors in cafes and restaurants along the riverside. After settling in, we head out for dinner and our first look at Ljubliana. Right around the corner we stopped at “Pop’s Burgers” – recommended by our AirB&B host. Evan enjoyed a beer and burger, Sara the fish & chips. Not the traditional Slovenian food – we’ll get that elsewhere — but this was a great place.
Walking Tour of Ljubljana: We’ve discovered AirBnB Experiences – which is fairly new with AirBnB. Local people create opportunities for tourists to discover their town with a local. They are listed (and rated with reviews) on the AirBnb website. We signed up for a “Discover Ljubliana with a Local” walking tour with Anna, a young local tour guide. Since no one else signed up that day, we had our guide all to ourselves. We met Anna in Preseren Square, by the three bridges, and headed up along the river. Anna shared her experiences: she was a child in 1991 when Slovenia fought the “Ten Day War” to win its independence from the former Yugoslavia, but she still remembers what it was like from a 5 or 6 year old perspective.
Anna was a wonderful guide and host, helping us appreciate the real Slovenia, not just the touristy sections. She showed us where the locals would go to eat better food for less money. She took us to Metelkova, a former military installation later turned prison, and now turned artist’s colony, where we visited the studio of an established sculptor. Metelkova is distinctive, covered in colorful graffiti and striking artwork, quite a contrast to the more traditional architecture of the riverside. Anna also took us to visit the workplace of two friends, women who have recently bought a long-established Ljubljana business Sitar, making stamps and signs. Then back across the Dragon Bridge to a fabulous Farmer’s Market and marketplace designed by Joze Plecnik, who was to Ljubljana what Gaudi was to Barcelona. Plecnik’s celebrated work is all around town. Anna insisted that we taste the “national cakes” before walking up the long climb to the castle above town where we said our goodbyes.
Everyone speaks English: As we’ve traveled abroad, we have become accustomed to beginning conversations by asking if people speak English. Most often the response is “a little,” which in practice turns out to be just fine for our needs. But in Slovenia it’s different. At a grocery store on our first night, when Sara asked the young man at the checkout counter if he spoke English, he responded as if insulted. “Of course!” he said. We soon learned that everyone in today’s Slovenia starts learning English in Kindergarten. They watch English language movies, television, YouTube and listen to music by English performers. Their main language is Slovenian, but they are such a small country, bordered by Austria, Hungary, Italy and Croatia, and the language of international tourism is English. The schools begin teaching English in Kindergarten, and students choose a third language later, most likely Italian in the west, German to the north, Hungarian to the east. So most Slovenians are fluent in three languages. For English speakers like us, communicating in Slovenia is just as easy as in any English language country.
Learning the history of Eastern Europe. Our experience in Ljubljana led us to a greater interest in the history of eastern Europe, and especially about those times in our own recent memory, when the republics of the former Yugoslavia were consumed by war. Tito’s Yugoslavia was established after WWII and held together until his death in 1980, after which the “unity and brotherhood” Tito espoused began falling apart, leading to bloody wars, “ethnic cleansing,” and senseless destruction from 1991-1995. We learned a good deal from a BBC Documentary, “The Death of Yugoslavia,” recommended by Anna. It’s hard to believe that such destruction and brutality had consumed this area only 30 years ago. We will continue to learn about this, and to appreciate many different points of view, as we our travel on through Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Serbia.
Day Trip to the Škocjan Caves (pronounced “SKO- schee- ahn”). While most tourists visit the Postojna cave system, where they can ride a small train through the caves, we chose a trip to the Skocjan system, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The guided tour takes about two hours through some fabulously large caves created by the River Reka. The walk follows the river through many caverns until the river falls below. It surfaces again in Italy before finding the Adriatic Sea.
Our trip also included a brief stop to view the façade of Predjama Castle, built right into a cave sight, a stop for a tasting of local wine and prosciutto, and a couple of hours on our own to visit the coastal town of Piran.
A few other sites we’ve visited in Ljubljana: We had a full week of discovery in Ljubliana! Here are some additional photos of places we visited which included Tivoli Park, Ljubljana City Museum, Ethnographic Museum, Museum of Contemporary History, the Franciscan Church on Preseren Square, Cathedral of Saint Nickolas, Serbian Orthodox Church, Slovenian House Restaurant, TaBar Wine Bar, and Pop’s Burgers & Beer.
Slovenia, and especially Ljubljana, are definitely in our top favorite places we’ve visited and we hope to return for a longer stay.
