Lovin' Ljubljana

Saturday we flew from Hamburg to Ljubljana, Slovenia.  The flights were smooth and Linda was thrilled to finally make it to the Ljubljana Center Apartment.

Why, you ask, was she so thrilled?  Let me explain.  We took a taxi from the Ljubljana airport and I gave the address that Google Maps showed for the Ljubljana Center Apartments.  And this is where it brought us:

Long story short, there is no apartment there and it's not in the center.  Fortunately, the man who lives there finally helped us contact the apartment manager and called for a taxi to take us to the correct location.  And what a good location it is - right in the center of town on the busy pedestrian street.

Since we had an early start, and it was now 3 in the afternoon, our first priority was lunch.  We went to the restaurant adjacent to the apartment and had some traditional Slovenian food and wine.

After settling in to the apartment and a much needed nap, we set out to explore the area with its many historic buildings, statues, and bridges.

We did a bit of grocery shopping and had a simple snack for dinner in the apartment.

Sunday morning, after breakfast in the apartment, we went for a walk, stopping for coffee first.  

We then wandered further around central Ljubljana and came upon a Sunday antique market.

Then more bridges, sculptures, and churches.

We came back to the town hall which is very close to our apartment.  There was an exhibit of ceramics inside.

And this exhibit:

In the afternoon we succumbed to visiting another castle, the Ljubljana Castle up on the hill above the city.  We opted to walk up rather than taking the funicular.

We made it to the top and enjoyed the views before going in.

We enjoyed walking around and through the castle with the audio guide.

Maybe the best part of the visit were the two special exhibits.  The first was an exhibit of Slovenian expressionist artists with the works displayed on the walls of a big room in the castle.

Then there was an exhibit about Slovenian puppetry.

When it was time to go back down, we opted to ride the funicular rather than the steep path.

In the evening, we went to a restaurant that we had passed earlier during our wandering, Vino & Ribe - Wine and Fish.  What could be better?  The wine and food were good but we particularly enjoyed the conversations we had with the people on either side of us.  There were a couple of women, one from Finland, the other from Sweden, who were traveling on an extended train trip.  And there was a couple from Paris with their young son who had curly hair.  Linda really connected with him and used her Duolingo lessons well.

Our first 2 days in Ljubljana have been great.  We really enjoy the city with its many sights, its crowds of visitors and locals, and its many restaurants.  We won't get to try them all!

Slovenia is country number 14 on this trip.

We've had some communication with a person who shall remain nameless but who should heed Rule of Civility Number 67:

Detract not from others neither be excessive in commanding.

That is all I will say about that.

Dear readers, after all this time, I just discovered that I had a setting on this blog that allowed only people with Google accounts to comment.  I have now changed that setting so hopefully you will all be able to comment.  Give it a try.

Peace, blessings, and wonder,

Linda and Larry

And here's a P.S. from our time in Hamburg.  We have this strong connection with Oceania Cruises which manifests itself in many ways.  One day, at the Hotel Atlantic, we were in the elevator with a man who noticed my Oceania shirt.  It turns out that he supplies all of the meat to Oceania and Regent.  We can't escape it.