{"id":15069,"date":"2016-11-25T20:43:45","date_gmt":"2016-11-25T20:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=15069"},"modified":"2017-03-06T11:08:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T11:08:39","slug":"lovely-ljubljana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/lovely-ljubljana\/","title":{"rendered":"Lovely Ljubljana"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"church<\/a>
Ljubljana’s Franciscan Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I honestly think, that if you visit a city on a day when the weather is unbelievably bad, and you still come away thinking, “that was really<\/em> lovely” (despite being soaked to the skin, and having had to invest in a Belgian (or should that be Slovenian) Waffle to warm you up on the way back to the car (not such a hardship!)), then it has most definitely been worth it.<\/p>\n

If a place leaves you thinking that it had far more to it than you had ever expected it to, and that you should have visited for far longer in the first place, then kick yourself in the shin if you can manage it, because that’s exactly what I should have done… \u00a0Ljubljana is beautiful, and well worth a long weekend at the very least.<\/p>\n

\"Ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

We first drove down through Slovenia on our way to Istria<\/a> in the summer. \u00a0 At first it wasn’t hard to spot the mixture of influences from the various countries on its doorstep, but having now explored it that little bit further, it’s also very much its own “person”, with lots of stunning scenery – a mass of mountains, lakes (including one particularly famous one<\/a>!), and a very decent wine \u00a0and food heritage (friends of ours recently made the trek from Munich to Hisa Franko<\/a>\u00a0for a night after seeing it on Netflix’s “Chef’s Table<\/a>“, and proclaimed it to be one of the best meals they have ever eaten!). \u00a0 And, as it just seems to be just popping up on the travel\/tourism radar, what better time to visit before Slovenia gets a bit “been there, done that”? \u00a0 We spend a whole day there during our week of log cabin excess<\/a>, it’s only an hour and a half’s drive from Carinthia after all…<\/p>\n

So what does Slovenia’s capital look like? \u00a0This kind of “photo essay” should give you some idea… Obviously I haven’t captured all of this gorgeous little city (I am planning on going back to do that further), but if this little lot helped to inspire you to visit, you can thank me once you get back from that long weekend…<\/p>\n

\"Doors<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course we had to say hi to Ljubljana’s famous inhabitants on Dragon Bridge (known locally as Mother in Law Bridge!) – apparently an old legend says that Jason (from Argonaut fame) actually founded Ljubljana, and obviously had to get rid of the resident dragon before it had a chance to eat everyone’s klobasa…<\/p>\n

\"Jason's<\/a>
Dragon Bridge Resident<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having said hello to magnificent beasts, we also had to take a closer look at the love locked lined bridge a little further down (inspecting love locks is a bit of an obsession for the smaller folk, with sibling competitions as to who can find the funniest names\/messages!) where we found what we thought might be dragon offspring, before a quick wander around the market.<\/p>\n

\"Dragon<\/a>
Dragon babies? Ljubljana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"cheese<\/a>
Cheese vending machine!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Official<\/a>
Official market scales<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the rain, the \u00a0market was still bustling, and we were impressed with the range and quality of the produce, not to mention the cheese vending machines (genius!). \u00a0Don’t miss the official weighing scales just in case you think your local market vendor has been “adjusting” theirs! \u00a0I really wanted to ask if anyone still used these, but sadly my Slovenian is not up to much!…<\/p>\n

\"st<\/a>
St nicholas door ( by “flower alley”)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From here we took a little street behind the church, which could well be known as flower alley judging by the stalls. For the Small Boy however, it will probably forever be remembered as something else (probably rude) as he managed to get one shoe lace caught on the other, resulting in a completely overly dramatic fall (and a full accompaniment of wailing and moaning) that a professional footballer could possibly be proud of. \u00a0 Thankfully however, my children take after me in that they can usually be placated\/comforted\/blackmailed with food, hence a necessary klobasa pit stop. \u00a0You can’t come to Slovenia and not try one at the legendary Klobasarna<\/a> anyway (unless you are vegetarian obviously!), you can’t miss it, look for the giant sausages hanging outside the door!<\/p>\n

\"Find<\/a>
Find the best klobasa at Klobasarna…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"klobasa<\/a><\/p>\n

Talking of food…\u00a0Do stop off at Cafe Lolita<\/a> for the thickest most decadent hot chocolate (ordered by the Small People, and consented to by moi, knowing fully well that they can never get through more than a quarter of a cup each!) when your team are flagging – a slightly dubious name perhaps, but really fabulous macarons (thanks for the recommendation Kinga!)! \u00a0And if you are not too busy staring at the creations on your plate, don’t forget to look up!<\/p>\n

\"Cafe<\/a>
Eyes up – Cafe Lolita’s ceiling…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You could also do far worse than having lunch at Robba<\/a>, a stylish little joint (with an interior straight out of the pages of a design mag) in the middle of the city. \u00a0The food’s really good, and the staff are super friendly (and remained so even when our tiny grumpy Ewok baby protested that his (parent provided) food wasn’t coming quickly enough!)<\/p>\n

\"Robba<\/a>
Robba – Ljubljana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Tired<\/a>
Show me the way to the Forest Moon of Endor…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And finally on the foodie front, that (completely necessary for warmth) Slovenian waffle I told you about? \u00a0They can be found at the sweetly named Gelateria Romantika<\/a>. \u00a0 I swear I am not exaggerating when I say this is possibly the best waffle I have ever eaten, and believe me I have had a few… Thanks to the small people who don’t tend to ever feel the cold, I got to sample the ice-cream here too. \u00a0It definitely lives up to the hype, and there are a few unusual flavours (like tahini and honey) that sound different, but work exceptionally well…<\/p>\n

\"best<\/a><\/p>\n

Do also take time to inspect a few shops while you are here. \u00a0 I am not that much of an enthusiastic shopper in Munich (unless you count the flea markets and antik halls) but this little city has lots of little boutiquey shops that reminded me of life in Copenhagen, and had me wishing I didn’t have the entire family “helping me to look for things”…<\/p>\n

\"porcelan<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

And, just before you head back to the car (with your waffle!) – take some time to wander down a few quieter streets “off the map” so to speak. \u00a0 A lot of Ljubljana’s architecture is stunning…<\/p>\n

\"ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

\"modern<\/a>
modern Ljubljana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"ljubljana<\/a><\/p>\n

Thank you lovely Ljubljana, you completely surprised us. I am looking on this first visit as a taster, and we will most definitely be back…<\/p>\n

\"Emona<\/a><\/p>\n

(Emona – Ljubljana’s Roman name)…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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