Ljubljana, Slovenia – the place I wanted to go to, and couldn’t remember why

But glad I did!

Growing up, we acquired a book for the house shelves only I rummaged through titled 100 Great Cities of the World. This is where I first heard about Ljubljana and all I could think about was how I had to go there one day. I couldn’t quite remember why in my early teenage years those two pages in the book made such an impression on me. I recall reading there was a renowned University there and anything related to learning and knowledge sort of sticks with me. I also couldn’t check, as the book stayed at my parents in Portugal. But alas… I’m back in Portugal and just when I was starting to write this post.

And now I can see why it made an impression on me. With the book in front of me, I see one of the subtitles describing Ljubljana as the “City of Writers”. Translating to English, it says “Ljubljana is a city predominantly inhabited by young people, with about 20% of the population registered at the University. The Slovenian writers Primoz Trubat (1508-1586), Ivan Cankar (1876-1918) and France Preseren (1800-1849) left a mark in the city, instilling on its inhabitants a romantic feeling and appreciation for the arts. A lot of young promising poets write moved for a “national angst”. Afterall, this is a country where the 8th of February, the day when Prseren died, is a national bank holiday dedicated to culture“

And that is how this resonated with me. For someone who has always craved culture, an avid book reader with writing aspirations, but growing up in a country that did not value culture at all, where arts and literature are only accessible to the elite, where I was the only one in the family and amongst friends who even cared to read… I thought this must have been a fantastic place if they even had a bank holiday purely dedicated to culture. And as I took a free walking tour in Ljubljana and learnt that what people do on this day is precisely to consume culture… wow. That simply sounds dreamy to me.

Ljubljana is indeed a marvellous place to be in. I was only there 2 nights, but it was fairly easy to walk around the city and see most of it, even with the heavy rains hitting us on my last day there, at around 3pm.

When you search for the main things to do in Ljubljana, you’ll find the castle named as one of them. And whilst the climb up the hill is worth it for a view of the city, I’d argue that the real attraction of Ljubljana is in its fantastic architecture. And that was very clearly during the walking tour I took in the city. The name of Jože Plečnik was a constant, as Ljubljana was the legacy the the Slovenian architect would leave after his death. It was between the two Great wars that he managed to transform the town of Ljubljana at the time – his architecture styles always included elements of the Mediterranean and the Austrian, always thinking about urban planning, about creating spaces of community not just between people, the citizens of Ljubljana, but also ensuring that the inhabitants of the town would always have open contact with Nature. Unfortunately, after the establishment of Communism in former Yugoslavia, Plečnik work declined.

His works are officially part of Unesco, where on their website they describe them as “an example of a human centred urban design that successively changed the identity of the city following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when it changed from a provincial city into the symbolic capital of the Slovenian people”.

The ice cream (straciatella flavour) melting immediately on me, giving me just a few seconds for a quick snap, I sat and looked around. It’s not just Plečnik. The examples of Art Nouveau and Baroque architecture marvellous too, making Ljubljana a cocktail of architectural flavours.

And if you look up, you also see one the main attractions of the city – the castle of Ljubljana, of obvious medieval architecture, looking so simple in comparison to the beauty you find below. You can access to castle by foot or taking the funicular. I didn’t visit the castle, but you can still go up and see the views to the city.

Something else you’ll see in Ljubljana every where are dragons. The city was away ahead of Game of Thrones – the dragon of Ljubljana is king here and it all goes back hundreds and hundreds of years. You’ll see the dragon is part of the city coat of arms, you’ll find dragon plushies in every souvenir store, and most impressive is the dragon bridge, with 4 dragon sculptures gurading it. It all comes from the legend that the city was founded by Jaso, a Greek hero from Greek mythology who stole a golden fleece from the King aeetes and fled aboard Argo, with his comrades (the argonauts) across the Black Sea and up the Danube and the Sava, until the reached Ljubljanica, the river of Ljubljana as it’s known today. People do think this is where they dismantled Argo, to be able to carry it in land untto the Adriatic coast. However, on their way, they stopped at a large lake where a dragon was said to live.. Jason, the “hero”, is said to have fought and killed the dragon – so it seems having the dragon as the symbol and protector of Ljubljana is some sort of homage to the creature that once inhabited its lands.

I didn’t get to visit the Tivoli Gardens. I had to choose between the quirkiest part of town (next post) or the Gardens. And with the rain forecast, the Gardens were out of the question for me, unfortunately. But I simply walked around, taking in the small streets of the walkable town, photographing, or simply sitting and watching.

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Ljubljana, I highly recommend Atik Rooms . This place is very central, just a couple minutes walk from the cathedral and 10 minutes walk from the bus and train station. The room was spacious and very clean, and there are kitchens in every floor, with fridges where you can make some morning coffee or tea, and even do your own thing, if you’re looking to save money dining out ;).

Love,

Nic