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The Little Sisters

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by lexklein in Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Travel - General

≈ 55 Comments

Tags

Austria, Bratislava, Central Europe, Ljubljana, peek, road trip, Salzburg, Slovakia, Slovenia, small cities, Weekly Photo Challenge

You’ve met the older, more famous siblings– Vienna, Budapest, and Prague – in a previous post, but let me introduce some of the little sisters of Central Europe. They may not have the same prestige, but they’re distinctive and appealing in their own right and are well worth a peek.

Bratislava, Slovakia (pop. ~ 425,000) – our first little city stop – has a bit of an unnecessary inferiority complex. Our Free Tour guide must have said five times that she figured we were all there because we’d been in Vienna, an hour away, anyway. Umm, not us. We had actually planned a longer stay in Slovakia than we did in Vienna, and we were pretty psyched about our cool but affordable hotel in Bratislava (with a brewery onsite) and spending more time here than the typical day trippers.

Like many Central and Eastern European cities that used to be under the Soviet thumb, Bratislava has an older, more colorful history that was partially bulldozed by the Communists’ dreary utilitarianism. That means the pastel-tinged Old Town and the red-roofed castle grounds are bluntly divided by a futuristic bridge and dull highway that wiped out an old synagogue and a huge chunk of the old city’s narrow, twisting streets. It also explains the hulking concrete apartment blocks across the Danube River and the overbearing monuments in other parts of the city.

The good news is that this with-it city is both bent on changing its image and taking the Soviet changes in stride. There is an unmistakable pride in the unique, modern bridge, and that helps offset the frustration of losing a cherished old part of the city. Those massive residential blocks are now painted in a rainbow of colors; our guide aptly called it Lego town, and it’s a great example of turning lemons into lemonade. There are trendy brew pubs and Mac-filled coffee shops in both the old and new parts of the town, and even the manholes have an quirky, artistic touch.

***

As we drive from Hungary to western Austria, we pass through nearly the entire width of Slovenia, one of the most exquisite countries in Europe, in my opinion. Although I’ve already raved about the capital, Ljubljana, in a 2014 post, it fully deserves another song of praise.

This enchanting city is even smaller than Bratislava, with fewer than 300,000 residents. The core of the downtown is pedestrian only, which makes things very pleasant after you’ve found a place to drop a car. Both sides of the tree-shaded Ljubljanica River house vibrant shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, street markets, and a seemingly endless number of outdoor tables.

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Bikes whiz by, performers sing on the corners, varnished wood boats glide along the river, and it appears that every single person in town is either eating ice cream or drinking a beer as the autumn sun warms the last hours of the afternoon.

Overlooking the maze of brick walkways and buildings is a medieval castle, a staple of so many of Europe’s old towns and one of the fortress triplets of today’s profiled cities. Even if you’ve seen enough castles to last the rest of your days, the towers of these hillside edifices are the very best way to get the lay of the land, and in Ljubljana’s case, that vista includes a succession of terracotta roofs, green fields and woods approaching the mountains, and the Julian Alps themselves off in the distance. Talk about a view!

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Our last city stop, the smallest but perhaps best known of the three, is Salzburg, Austria (pop. < 150,000). This visit really is just a peek. We’ve had so much fun trekking in Slovakia and Slovenia that we arrive rather late in Salzburg and have to press on to our next hiking base soon after.

Husband J remembers this town as a real charmer, and he is eager to show it to me for an afternoon and early evening. As we walk into the city along the river and view it from its castle above, it does not disappoint. Up close, too, it’s a handsome and cultured little metropolis; I’m infatuated early on with the soft stone walls and the wrought iron signs, the sparkle of the water and the impeccable wool fashions everyone is wearing. I’m obsessed with the ubiquitous stag motif and drool over the giant pretzels for sale in a few semi-busy squares.

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Suddenly, though, we are in pressing crowds and discover that we are part of a St Rupert’s Day celebration, an event that looks and feels remarkably similar to Oktoberfest. Those couples I thought were so cute a few minutes ago are bothering me now that they’re listing into me; she looks silly with her bosom billowing out of a dirndl bodice, and his lederhosen appear ill-fitting and stained at close range. The pretzels now seem obscenely expensive (and dry – we discover after foolishly buying one), and the shops a bit ostentatious with their Bavarian designer hats and fancy accoutrements. We beat a hasty retreat up the hill to the castle to get away from the noise, disorder, and conspicuous consumption.

Upon our descent and escape back into the quieter streets, I do another 180 and decide maybe I do love the look of the boiled wool jackets and hats on the local families, and wish I could buy both of those items, plus a stag scarf, a couple of pins for my hat, and maybe some very pricey suede boots. (I desist.)

I admire the setting sun on the bridges, conjure up Mozart and Salieri as classical music wafts out of hidden courtyards, and drink another beer as J eats a giant weisswust dinner in a cozy biergarten. Just like that, Salzburg is back in my good graces, completing a trifecta of small town visits on our Central European road trip.

 

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This is likely my last post on our Central European road trip, which turned out to be a perfect combo of big cities, a series of excellent hiking stops and rural stays, and many smaller towns in between. For information or stories about the trip, see the following posts:

Road Trip: Central Europe

A Tale of Two Villages

High Tatras High

Dressed for Success

Ambling Around the Alps 

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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 &amp; 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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Little did I suspect that this summer’s warm-up hike on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley would become next summer’s main event! @jesseitzler @colinobrady @marchodulich #29029everesting #idaho #sunvalley #hiking #oopsididitagain #onlyplaceilookgoodinred
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Good news, bad news: our small trekking group was crushed to find our high-altitude trek in the Haa Valley totally cancelled due to snow and ice. 😢 The consolation prize was a few days in the verdant and lovely Punakha Valley, where we managed one full day of hiking above the valley before we were stymied by rain there as well. #punakha #bhutan #weatherwoes #hiking #trekking
Not only vacationing tourists visit the Tiger’s Nest. Here, a monk from eastern Bhutan pays his respects (iPhone in hand!). #taktsang #tigersnest #bhutan #monastery #monk #hiking
Although our major trek is yet to come - into the snowy and remote Haa Valley - today’s hike up to the Tiger’s Nest near Paro is the main reason I wanted to come to Bhutan. It did not disappoint! The photos I’d seen are not a cliche, I know now; no matter how many you’ve seen, including this “standard” shot, it’s hard to imagine actually being here and walking (bootless) into this temple and monastery after the tough climb up. Thrill of a lifetime for me. #taktsang #tigersnest #monastery #bhutan #hiking #buddhism #dreamcometrue

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