Touring Ljubliana Slovenia

We were off after breakfast for the city of Ljubliana . We crossed the border into Slovenia a small country with a population of about 3 million. It is a EU country so no border control. Our destination was the capital city. As we travelled along the modern 4 lane expressway we could see flat areas that reminded us of Essex County. There were low hills covered with forests as well. It reminded us of what you might see in some of the areas of the maritime provinces. The 2 hour drive got us to the city by mid morning.

The overall impression of the city is that it is very friendly. Everyone can speak English which is taught in the schools starting in the first grade. Our guide met the bus and we were off on foot for a full tour of the downtown area. It was busy but there were not as crowded as some of the other stops on this trip. We crossed a small bridge and found ourselves in the market square which was quite lively for a weekday. Our guide was well spoken and as were walked among the open stalls you could tell that she was quite proud of the city and the country. That part of the tour was spent talking about the differences between the garden farm products and the grocery stores.

She pointed out the restaurants and places to get the best strudel which is an Austria dessert since Austria is very close. She did carry a map that showed where the city was located in relation to the surrounding countries. It shares a border with Italy, Croatia as well as Hungary and has many similar things with those countries. As we walked around she had samples of some of the chocolates that are the local favourite. The big attraction for us after the market square and central core was the castle on the hill. We took the funicular ride to the Ljublijana Castle. That provided some very nice panoramic views of the old city with the red roof buildings. The tour ended at the castle. We had plenty of time to explore since we were to make our own way down. The city has done a wonderful job in restoring the castle blending the old with the new. For example there are restaurants for light snacks. They also have a jazz club and a venue for music. The old jail cells were opened and reminded us of what we saw in the old Dublin jail.

There was also a clock tower with a climb of 200 plus steps which we had to do. The views were very nice. We decided not to use the funicular down to the city. We opted for the path down the hill. Although we took a wrong turn we ended up in the market area close to where the “right path” came out. No harm done. We found a a place that served strudel and sat and had “dessert” for lunch before heading to the meeting place. Our hotel was within walking distance. The leaders of 12 countries were meeting at the same hotel that we are staying at. Although the meetings were over we still had to go through airport type security. The rooms were not ready as we arrived so we had a short wait while they were cleaned. We were the last to get our key but still had plenty of time to relax before dinner at a local restaurant. We headed out walking for dinner at a local restaurant. The meal was quite tasty. There was a prosciutto appetizer, salad and then polenta and meat. Dessert was cake with fruit in it. We did have a glass of nice tasting red wine. Walking back to the hotel we needed to go through security again.