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Tag Archives: dragons

Lovely Ljubli

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by lexklein in Slovenia, Travel - General

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

dragons, hidden gem, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ljubljana, Slovenia has to be the most charming city I had never heard of before last summer. When we were planning a few weeks in the Balkans, I kept running into references to this hip little college town and decided it had to be added to the itinerary. After four days there, we were sold. We kind of don’t want to tell too many people about our find, but …

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Ljubljana is a gem. It is the capital of Slovenia, the headquarters of the University of Ljubljana, and home to one of the biggest collections of bicycles in Europe (by my own unofficial count!).

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This colorful city sits on the banks of the willow-shaded Ljubljanica River and houses a medieval castle, a panoply of bridges, excellent restaurants with good local wines, reasonable accommodations, fashionable boutiques, cultural events galore, and a quirky dragon theme.

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More intimate and less crowded than Italian and other Mediterranean cities, Ljubljana offers all the best of those places and none of the hassles. Cafés are buzzing, yet there is rarely a wait for a table. Fine dining and good local wine abound, at much lower prices. Often likened to Prague for its architecture, much-tinier Ljubljana is more accessible without the throngs of tourists that its more famous Baroque cousin attracts.

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The entire city is walkable, and traffic is mostly on two wheels in the Old Town (but do watch out for the hundreds of those bikes whizzing past at all hours of the day and night). The locals are friendly and helpful, and the geographic location between the sea and the mountains makes the climate ideal and the countryside a delight.

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The medieval Ljubljana Castle on top of a hill overlooking the red-roofed city is nearly 1000 years old; it’s worth the walk up for the history, the view, and a luscious dark Laško beer on the patio. Balkans & E Europe 2013 447

There must be 15 to 20 unique bridges spanning the Ljubljanica River, with the Cobblers’ Bridge, Triple Bridge, and Dragon Bridge being just a few of these beauties. We spent several days just meandering the cobblestone streets, from the trendy back alley shops, to the riverside cafes, to the lively university square (where we stumbled upon free outdoor concerts two nights in a row), to the Botanical Gardens a short walk out of town. As a final exclamation point, there are dragons everywhere, from the Ljubljana coat-of-arms to the sculptures on the city bridge stanchions.

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Rounding out all these attributes is the fact that Ljubljana is simple to reach from many European cities (we took an easy train in from Zagreb, Croatia, and out to Vienna) and is a gateway to the Slovenian Alps and a day trip to the stunning Lake Bled. Just turn all those “J”s into “Y”s or “I”s (Lyoo-blee-AN-ah) and you’ll find our lovely Ljubli as easy to pronounce as it is to enjoy!

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I’m a restless, world-wandering, language-loving, book-devouring traveler trying to straddle the threshold between a traditional, stable family life and a free-spirited, irresistible urge to roam. I’m sure I won’t have a travel story every time I add to this blog, but I’ve got a lot! I’m a pretty happy camper (literally), but there is some angst as well as excitement in always having one foot out the door. Come along for the trip as I take the second step …

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FINALLY made it out of the U.S. for the first time in 2 years. 😀🌴☀️
Road trip final stop: Grand Teton National Park. We may have saved the best for last. The Tetons startled us every single time we rounded a bend and saw them jutting up from the sagebrush. The park gave us these amazing peaks, wildflowers, horses, huge skies filled with every kind of cloud, and our own cozy little national park cabin. We’ll be back here for sure! #grandtetonnationalpark #tetons #wyoming #roadtrip #hiking #horses #cabins
Road trip stop 8: Yellowstone National Park. The north and northeast sections blew me away - full of wildlife and lemon-lime fields under dreamy skies. The western parts had their moments; the geothermal features were better than expected, but the traffic even worse than anticipated. All of the crowds were for Old Faithful, probably my last-place pick for things to see in the park. #yellowstonenationalpark #montana #wyoming #roadtrip #wideopenspaces #nationalparks #oldfaithful
Road trip stop 7: Beartooth Highway - deserving of a post all of its own. We drove east out of Bozeman, over two hours out of our way, to catch the start of the Beartooth Highway in Red Lodge, MT, and drive its full length back west to arrive at Yellowstone’s NE entrance. This exhilarating, eye-popping road covers 68 miles of US Route 212 from Red Lodge to Cooke City/Silver Gate and crosses Beartooth Pass at almost 11,000 feet. Worth the wide detour and the zillions of photo stops along the way … at least I thought so! #beartoothhighway #beartoothpass #montana #yellowstonenationalpark #roadtrip #detour
Road trip stop 6: Bozeman, Montana. We walked and biked much of this hopping little town, hiked Drinking Horse Mountain for a nice view of the Bridger range, disappeared into Hyalite Canyon for a short time, and spent our last evening on local favorite Peet’s Hill.
Road trip stop 5: All Idaho and all stunning! Started in Sun Valley/Ketchum with a 36-hour mountain hiking challenge. Moved on to Redfish Lake via the spectacular Hwy 75 through the Sawtooths and over Galena Pass, and then followed the Salmon River all the way north to Montana, blissfully devoid of cell service the entire way.

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FINALLY made it out of the U.S. for the first time in 2 years. 😀🌴☀️

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