Easy enough, right?
This hidden gem of a capital in the little-known country of Slovenia (not to be confused with Slovakia...) takes you back to a time in Europe before tourists invaded, when the beauty and charm of the Old World comes alive. Ljubljana is one of the last European cities yet to be discovered. So how did I ever come across this unpronounceable place? Well, during my extensive travel research on the blogosphere this past summer, I kept stumbling upon this one picture whenever I typed in "Most Beautiful Places in Europe"
Gorgeous, right? This is Lake Bled, located in the Northern part of Slovenia
After discovering the beauty that is Slovenia, I knew I had to go. Sadly, I did not get to visit Lake Bled, but I did get to do/see tons of other things/places during my stay. With that said...
1. Go to Lake Bled- Take a day trip from Ljubljana on either the bus or train. Spend time on a beautiful day relaxing on the shores and wandering through the village streets. If you can, take a boat to the tiny island cathedral, where legend says the fairies that created Lake Bled still live.
2. Stay at Sax Hostel- This hostel is a small, converted house that has a jazz bar on the first floor. Every room in the hostel is themed as a different jazz musician. My room was Ray Charles...my favorite. Love.
So colorful
Oh hey Marilyn
3. Go to the Old Town Market- Every weekend there's a huge farmer's market in the center of Old Town Ljubljana. They sell all kinds of fresh fruit and veggies, wood carved souvenirs, homemade cheese, and even a huge block dedicated to clothing (basically an outdoor mall). Walking through the market, you get a feel for the people and the culture on a deeper level than just walking in and out of castles and museums.
Handmade pizza, made right in front of you. Authentic and incredibly delicious
Best strawberries I've ever tasted. No joke.
4. Start a conversation with a Slovenian- Most speak English and they are some of the friendliest people I have ever met. You will start to feel at home very quickly in this city.
5. Check out the Dragon Bridge- The city's mascot is the Ljubljana dragon and it's on everything: flags, bridges (obvi), and even the sewer covers. Apparently the dragon lives on the mountain under the Ljubljana Castle, still acting as guardian of the city.
See! There's the dragon
I am obsessed with dragons. I think I was meant to live here.
6. Visit the Postojna Caves- I had never gone cave exploring before, so I really didn't know what to expect...but this place blew my mind. I don't even have the words to describe how incredible these caves are, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking:
Beautiful rolling hills of Postojna
The cave entrance...
"Spaghetti gallery"
It looks like an ice cream cone!
Well, here I am sitting in Galway, Ireland...and finally finishing my second travel break posts. More to come on my recent travels soon. I didn't forget about Iceland I promise!!
Hej hej,
Emily
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI'm traveling to Slovenia this spring and I was wondering how you traveled within Slovenia. I am having trouble looking up trains/buses in Slovenia, do you have any suggestions for websites I can look at? Did you find it fairly easy to get around/do trains and buses run frequently? Thanks!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteYou are going to LOVE Slovenia, especially Ljubljana. As for traveling through the country, I didn't travel that much except for going to Postojna Caves. I traveled to Slovenia from Vienna and I used this website: http://czech-transport.com/index.php?menu_id=papertickets&lang=en
It's really helpful for traveling all over Eastern Europe. When we got to Ljubljana, we took a bus to our hotel and you can get a pass with a different number of checks. So if you get the pass with 5 checks, you can ride the city bus 5 times. The bus station is at the train station too, so just ask someone to point you in the right direction!
Usually hostels have information for traveling around the country. The regional train we took to Postojna was at the main station and it was very easy to get to. I don't know how regional bus travel is, but I would definitely recommend the trains! They usually run every hour
Hope you have a great time!