Slovenia

11.8: Slovenia

While Sarah and I were in Croatia, it seemed only natural to take a day trip Slovenia since we were so close (only about 2.5 hours by bus)! One early morning, we walked to the bus station and boarded a bus to spend the day in Ljubljana (pronounced "loo-blee-awna). It was rainy and overcast, but we arrived in the city of beautiful architecture with Rick Steves in our pocket and ready to explore.

We went to the house of famed Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, which has been turned into a museum since his death. It was fascinating to see where he lived, worked, and slept as recently as 60 years ago! Plečnik was responsible for designing much of Ljubljana.

His work table

 Side door of the house

As we wandered from the house back to the main square, we found a music store (I insisted we go in--and I found sheet music to a piece I needed to buy!) as well as the university, the library of which had been designed by (you guessed it) Plecnik. 

We had wine for lunch, followed by the best Indian food I've ever had (yes, in that order)!

The afternoon brought with it a compulsory visit to the castle, which places a large emphasis on dragons as its main security. This is also seen on the bridge in the main square, which has sculptures of dragons on either side.

View of Ljubljana from the top of the castle

A dragon on the dragon bridge

Ljubljana was a beautiful city--I loved that the rivers ran right through the main area of town and the bridges were a central part of the city's architecture. Even though it was urban, there was a very nature-y feel to it. It was the perfect day trip!