Ljubljana, A Great Few Days In Slovenia's Amazing Capital

 

My last day in Italy was spent making sure I got three buses that would take me to Ljubljana, after a day spent walking around Milan, I had realised that I needed to get to the bus station at Bergamo airport, which is a 40 minute bus ride from the city centre of Milan. 

In my infinite wisdom, I decided to take the bus to Bergamo at 4PM, when my bus to Verona was at 9PM meaning that I had hours with nothing to do. Bergamo airport was really boring, there wasn't much inside of the airport, but thankfully I had realised that there was a huge shopping centre across the road which was absolutely packed for a Sunday evening. I managed to grab a pizza as my last meal in Italy, but sadly it wasn't to the Italian standard. Eventually, my bus came and then 2 hours later I was left in the middle of nowhere in Verona at eleven o'clock at night, I wasn't sure that my bus would come here as it was in the middle of nowhere, a strange man tried to have a conversation with me in Italian and kept touching me, but I guess that's the way Italians are. 

I got on the bus and it was a pleasant journey, even though I didn't make myself sleep in fear of missing my stop. When the bus got to the border all that happened was that a border guard came onto the bus and checked everyone's passport. When I got off at Ljubljana I decided to sleep on a bench as I was exhausted and as the sun came up, I started to appreciate how beautiful this city is. 

After brushing my teeth in a public bathroom, I saw that the McDonald's had opened and I got my breakfast there. I decided to head over to my hostel and they were kind enough to check me in early. After a couple more hours of rest, it was time to head out and my first stop was Ljubljana castle. Just like Edinburgh castle, this castle is on a hill and you can take a funicular to get up there. 

Not only can you get some incredible views of Ljubljana and the Julian Alps atop the castle walls and the tower, there is a really interesting museum about the history of Slovenia inside. All the way from medieval times, to Yugoslavia to today. It's certainly one of the places you should visit here as it has the best views in the city. I decided to walk down from the castle and then grabbed some lunch. 

I spent the day walking around to get a feeling of the city and one of the great things about this city are the many spots beside the river. I went to a pub called Lockal next to the bridge with the locks for a pint, then I made it my quest to find some brutalist buildings from the days of Yugoslavia behind all the pretty Plečnik architecture in the centre of the city. Honestly there isn't a huge number of these kinds of buildings nearby the centre, however I did find some interesting sites. Near the river, is the Republic Square, which has two brutalist towers next to it and in the square, there are some statues which, to be honest, I did not know the significance of. Furthermore, there are some communist style buildings nearby the square and I witnessed a wooden door with Tito's face painted on it. 

Then I walked over to the riverside and I found a great place to get some ramen called Tokyo Piknik, after this meal, I made it my quest to find some authentic Slovenian cuisine. Then I headed over to Tivoli Park, but at that moment it started to rain and there was thunder and lightning. I decided to head back to my hostel as I was seriously needing some sleep. 

The next morning, I went over to a riverside café for a coffee and even a Slovenian breakfast, which involved some tea, an apple, bread, cheese and ham. As I was having my coffee, I got the chance to meet some Slovenians who were extremely open and friendly. They told me that I looked more Serbian than Scottish as I had black hair and was wearing some Adidas trackies. 

I was curious about the National Museum of Slovenia, so I gave it a visit, the building itself is incredibly grand and inside it's worth taking a look. It has a lot of history about Slovenia's ancient history and even has some ancient Egyptian coffins and Roman artefacts. 

I was wanting something to eat, so I headed over to the Central Market, I noticed a place that had Burek, something that I had never eaten before and washed it down with some Shokata Fanta. I thought that Burek was Slovenian food, but my new Slovenian friend told me that it was actually from Bosnia. Burek is like a pastry with beef inside of it and it is worth a try, however Shokata Fanta, which is exclusive to the Balkans is not that great. 

The central market is worth visiting, much of the stalls sell fruit and cheap clothes, however, I found a stall which sold souvenirs where I bought a sewing patch of the Slovenian flag for my backpack. 

I then decided to go back to Tivoli park for a walk, Tivoli park is huge and you will first notice a fancy looking house, but past that you can walk through what feels like a forest in the middle of a city. I am hugely impressed that this city is one of the greenest and cleanest in Europe and it truly feels connected to nature. 

I got back to the centre of the city and was in need of a drink, I decided to try a Cockta which is a drink I had never seen before, it's actually native to Slovenia and is a soft drink which made from herbs. It almost tasted like Dr Pepper and is worth a try when visiting Slovenia. 

One of the big things you'll notice walking by the riverside of the city is that there are many boat tours advertised, I decided to give one a try for the price of 8 euros and it was ok, there are better ways of seeing the incredible architecture by the river, however you do get a good view of the bridges, but I can't say it's an absolute must do in Ljubljana.

Then it was time to find a good Slovenian meal, nearby to the town hall and the cathedral, I found a good restaurant and I was interested in eating the Ljubljana chicken, it was some good food for a fairly decent price and I had found out that battered chicken is part of Slovenian cuisine. I then headed over to a riverside pub to watch PSG v Red Bull Leipzig and I have to say the riverside pubs are fantastic, one of the best aspects of Ljubljana.

The next day I took the chance to hire a bike from my hostel and I have to say, if you like to cycle, take the opportunity to go for a cycle around Ljubljana. This city is super green, the streets are heavily pedestrianised and there are cycle paths everywhere. This is the best way to see the Plečnik architecture and some of the brutalist Yugoslav architecture as well. I have to say the brutalist apartment blocks don't look like nasty places to live, they have actually been well looked after and furthermore, I have to say that the majority of the buildings around the city are super quaint. In the city centre there is the triple bridge and you can see both the Franciscan church and the castle on the hill. 

Furthermore, on the river, there are also two bridges to look out for, the Cobbler's Bridge which was designed by Plečnik stands out as it as lined by pillars. On the other side there is the Dragon Bridge which has statues of dragons on the sides of the bridge.

At Congress Square, there is a hugely impressive building for the University of Ljubljana, it looks incredibly opulent and must be a great place to study. Nearby, there is also the Opera House which is also super elaborate and dates back to 1892 and has been well-kept ever since. 

As I cycled to go towards the outskirts of the city, I was honestly expecting to see some more brutalist buildings, however I was wrong, I cycled through more really quaint streets and the houses looked like some really desirable places to live. I stopped at a convenience store to have a Cockta as I was thirsty from cycling in the sun. I drunk it outside the shop and when I unlocked my bike ready to go, the woman working in the shop was trying to tell me something in Slovenian and I realised she thought I was stealing the bike, I don't know why she would think that, maybe it was because I was wearing Adidas trackies. 

After handing the bike back to the hostel, I went for another walk around the enchanting streets of Ljubljana to take it all in. I crossed the bridge with the locks on it which I think is really cool and I strolled around the area with the riverbanks, which is lined with some charming buildings and in the background, you can see the castle. Then I headed to a Slovenian restaurant recommended by my hostel, a place called Druga Violina and strangely, to order your food, you have to tick what you want with a pen, I had some battered chicken and potato dumplings and I have to see it was a treat. I have to say that Slovenians really love their tatties and battered chicken. 

To finish the day off, I headed over to a riverside pub to watch Bayern take on Lyon and it was packed full of Germans in red shirts, of course, I took this chance to indulge in a Union beer by the river for the last time. 

I can only say that Slovenia is up there with Germany and Portugal as one of my favourite European countries. Ljubljana is an Absolutely stunning city, it pains me to think that most people in Scotland would expect that just because it's Eastern European it would be an industrial hellhole full of unfriendly alcoholics who want to fight you. Honestly, even though some of the streets are covered with graffiti, this city is super clean and as I have shown you, some incredible architecture. This place is miles nicer than London or Los Angeles, the Slovenians are super friendly and it's a very laid back city where you can enjoy a coffee right next to the river. If that sounds good to you, then you have to come to this amazing place.