Ljubljana, Slovenia was our first stop on an 11-day, approximately 2,000 mile road trip through Europe. We rented apartments or houses at each of our four destinations (Slovenia, Plitvice Lakes and Makarska Croatia, as well as Austria), which allowed us to have separate bedrooms, cook a majority of meals at "home", do some laundry, and park our large car safely and without hassle.
We arrived in this capital city on the evening of July 3, and woke up on July 4 ready to explore. Most sights are on or a short walk from the Ljubljanica River which bisects the city.
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| Our home for two nights in Ljubljana. |
We walked along the west, more Baroque side of the river, taking note of Cobbler's Bridge (designed by beloved Slovene architect Jože Plečnik and named for the shoemakers who used to sell their wares along the river), and then stopping at Congress Square. This grassy park is surrounded by impressive buildings (University, Philharmonic Hall, a church, and mansion) and we happened to stumble upon a small jazz band playing an informal concert. We stayed for quite a while, as the park was extremely pleasant and the kids were in the mood to dance.
Cobbler's Bridge
Congress Square
We kept walking along the river, passing the so-called Ugly Duckling Bridge (boring wood) until reaching Preseren Square. Pedestrian only Preseren Square is a main thoroughfare, and includes the pretty pink Franciscan Church of St. Mary; a unique statue of France Prešeren, Slovenia's greatest poet, being inspired by a Muse; and Triple Bridge, so named for the three side-by-side bridges built (the middle one already existed and Plečnik added the other two) to more efficiently allow traffic to pass from one side of the bridge to the other.
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| Pink Church of St. Mary from afar. |
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| Elie on Triple Bridge |
We walked on to padlock covered Butcher's Bridge (young couples lock padlocks to the bridge railing as a symbol of their love) and Dragon Bridge. The dragon has long been the symbol of Ljubljana, after someone important supposedly killed one nearby, so seeing the Art Nouveau dragon bridge was a highlight, or at least we tried to build it up as one for the kids- a dragon in the city! Hazel was amused, but only temporarily. City touring can be a little dull for the three and under crowd.
In search of the perfect souvenir (which we never found), we stumbled upon the sleepy Town Square, saw the Town Hall and a replica Fountain of Three Carniolian Rivers.
We didn't make it up to the castle, though we would have liked to if we had a bit more time, as it undoubtedly provides excellent views of the city. But when traveling with kids, we have to pick and choose.
Dinner was huge take-away slices from Ljubljanski Dvor Pizza followed by more playtime in the very pleasant Congress Square. The next morning, the kids, Elie, and I enjoyed one more walk along the river while Matt loaded up the van, and we were off to our next destination: Plitvice Lakes National Park.
Final impressions: Ljubljana was an extremely pleasant, pedestrian friendly, laid back town. Given the numerous bridges spanning the river throughout the city, it reminded us of a much cleaner, less run down version of Venice. Some of the building exteriors were crumbling and warn, but that only added to the charm. We are spoiled by the abundance of playgrounds in Germany, and Ljubjana was noticeably lacking in this department. It seemed like a youthful town, full of college students rather than small children needing a place to climb and play. English was widely spoken and with less reluctance (or resentment) than we have become accustomed to, perhaps in part because of the youthful population. An additional day or two would have been enjoyable to check out the castle and explore more of Tivoli Park (with kids), or lazily pass an afternoon away with a book or a deck of cards at a quiet cafe (without kids). We're very pleased to have made the trip.
