exploring Ljubljana

When we decided where to go for our New Years holiday we did not know what to expect from Slovenia. I must say that all reviews and posts I read were full of positive thoughts so as days were getting closer to the trip I was getting more and more excited, and the expectations were fully met!. Slovenia is an absolutely amazing country which you should definitely visit.

With about 280.000 people Ljubljana is one of the smallest capital cities in the world, but it is for sure on the top list of the most impressive, beautiful & cozy ones. It is amazing how the neighboring countries have such a big positive impact on Slovenia. One little thing I want to mention here is that the Slovenian guys are super good lucking they kind of took the best of all the countries around: the manliness of the Serbians and Croatians, the charm of the Italians, the height of the Germans & Austrians, seriously I was impressed :)

The streets

Cities with rivers give a sort of a special glow to the place and so does Ljubljanica to Ljubljana. All the streets look so cute and nice, so many little details that perfectly blend together with the colored houses.

The street art

Ljubljana is full of streetart and this is a joy for my eyes, you can read more on my streetart post :) but here one of the pieces next to the river. 

If you love streetart, don't forget to add to  your list Metelkova, you'll see what I mean :)

The Ljubljana Castle 

This castle is special, from down you can reach up from mostly all around the city. And from up you can see the whole capital of this little wonderful country.
Starting with the view from the bottom somewhere next to the river  

and once up, to reach the entrance you need to pass a wooden bridge  

The castle is split into several areas, and once you enter the the courtyard 

and the view from the top over the city 

The Dragon Bridge 

The Ljubljana dragon is part of the City of Ljubljana's coat of arms. It symbolizes strength, courage and might. It is depicted on the Dragon Bridge and on top of the castle tower on Ljubljana's coat of arms. (Source) The Name of the bridge was changed to dragon bridge on 1919.

"Legend has it that Ljubljana was founded by the Greek mythological hero Jason and his companions, the Argonauts, who had stolen the golden fleece from King Aetes and fled from him across The Black Sea and up the Danube, Sava and Ljubljanica rivers. 
At a large lake the marshes near the source of the Ljubljanica the stopped and disassembled their ship to be able to carry it to the Adriatic Sean, put it together again, and return to Greece. The lake was the dwelling place of a monster, which Jason fought, defeated and killed. The monster, now referred to as Ljubljana Dragon, found its place at the castle tower on the Ljubljana coat of arms."
(Source)

Butchers' Bridge

it seems that lately every city has its love bridge and in a funny way Butchers Brigs seems to be the one for Lubljana where thousands of couples locked their love. 

The food

Same as men, Slovenian food seems to have a lot of influence from it's neighbors, all mixed in a perfect way creating a delicious selection of dishes. We tried some  of them and I of course will share all the details on the food blog and in a recap post that I will post soon.  

Day Trips

Slovenska Hisa

and if this did not convince you yet, there are so many great day trips to go out of Lubljana that for sure you'll find something for you:
- Vintgar Gorge
- Lake Bled 
- Lake Bojinj
- Julius Alps Hiks
- Postjona Cave
- Piran
​
Will share soon more on Lake Bled & Vintgar Gorge