Ljubljana- Day 15
Still in Ljubljana - but showing how flexible we are today. The plan was to rent bikes today and tour Ljubljana via that mode of transportation - but because sometimes my head gets ahead of my feet our plans changed. That’s a nicer way to say I can be super clumsy and took a hard fall at breakfast and banged up both knees pretty badly. So riding a bike seemed like a very bad idea. I was laughing at myself in spite of the pain because Julie fell in Florence and hurt her knee so it appears we are not still 20 like we think we are and need to pay more attention to what we’re doing. I’m sure I’ll be fine but we took it pretty easy today which actually worked out well since unbeknownst to us it’s a holiday in Slovenia today - and lots of people are in town around the square with food and music to participate in. We seem to be hitting the holidays everywhere we go.
How often do you see two accordions in a band?? Statue of France Preseren Slovenia’s most famous poet in the main square, and the nicest department store in town! Beautiful high fashion in a gorgeous building.
The river is a main focal point in the center of town with shops, restaurants and bars lining both sides. There are quite a few bridges that cross and in addition to the Dragon Bridge I posted yesterday another famous one is the Triple Bridge which comes right off Preseren Square.
Three bridges all crossing in the same area designed by Joze Piecnik the leading architect in Ljubljana.
We went on our hunt for potica and found it! Julie and I both have fond memories of our Slovenian grandmothers making potica for the holidays, and it’s delicious. It’s a nut bread in a yeast dough rolled up like a pinwheel. Usually made only around the holidays we were told it might not be available but we scored and ate it immediately. Pretty close to what we remembered.
Top left - the pinwheel. They appear to make different flavors now but we went with the classic.
Ljubljana is a beautiful clean and friendly place. We have been very impressed with the locals that all speak really good english. Thank goodness because their language is hard to decipher and even harder to understand. They are all very proud of their city and country, and it shows with how well organized and efficient they appear.
Just a sample of some of the beautiful buildings.
The food is quite different from Italy although there is still a representation of pasta on many menus. There are lots of meat choices and not just beef and pork. We’ve seen quite a few options with deer, boar and veal - also fish including octopus and squid. Rick Steve’s gave a good recommendation for Julija and we had walked by it a few times so decided to try it for dinner. It might sound unadventurous but we opted for salmon and sea bass both with veggies. And lots of local wine that is good and very reasonably priced. Still working through the guilt for all the pasta, pizza and tiramisu we consumed in Italy.
Sea bass and salmon. Both excellent!
We came back to the hotel to do a few things and heard some voices outside our window. Oh look! It’s a group of Germans here to celebrate a bachelor party! They wanted to send a big hello to America so I’m delivering the message. Their matching T-shirts say Game Over! We all got a kick out of each other.
The Slovenians love their dessert and they make some good ones. Last night I had apple strudel. Tonight we found a cute place that had amazing desserts and coffee. It just wouldn’t be right to leave here without trying them.
Top left is called kremna rezina which is whipped cream and vanilla custard sandwiched between a delicate crispy crust. Bottom left is gibanica which is a pastry filled with poppy seeds, apples, walnuts and cheese drizzled with rum. Both delicious but we could only finish half of each - shocking!
We walked around the city center one last time and agreed that we love Ljubljana. There are tons of restaurants and bars along the river and the side streets all with outdoor cafes filled with people having fun. The beautiful buildings are lit up making it a magical place. And since there are no automobiles permitted it creates a festive fun atmosphere that’s great to be a part of. So glad we got to enjoy it and we will miss it when we leave tomorrow. On to Lake Bled!
