Ljubljana, the quaint capital of Slovenia

Slovenia was a destination that I’d been looking forward to for very long. My family and I had briefly driven through the tiny country back in 2013, when we drove from Denmark to Croatia, but we hadn’t actually seen anything apart from spectacular mountainous scenery from the windows. The views from the window assured me that this was a place that I needed to explore.

I convinced my mum that it was a great place to go for our fourth-in-a-row yearly mother/daughter trip, so after a short stay in Zagreb, we were off on a bus to Ljubljana, the quaint capital of Slovenia.

We had booked a room at Ginger Rooms right in the center of Ljubljana, close to the bus station and the old town. Unfortunately, the room wasn’t all that great. In fact, it was quite disgraceful to say the least – as well as dangerous! There was mould all over the walls and the room was cold and felt damp as well. My mum and I both got severe headaches after staying there for just half an hour. We knew that we couldn’t stay in that room, as mould can cause serious health issues, so we decided to ask the manager for another room or our money back. When we learned that neither was possible, we were furious. What now? Clearly, they weren’t going to budge, and we didn’t want to risk our health staying in a mouldy room for three nights.

The manager called her boss and he told her to check us in at another hotel that they own, but for a 15 euro increase in price, as the room in the new hotel was an upgrade. I couldn’t believe that they actually had the nerve to charge us 15 euro for their terrible mistake, especially when it’s downright dangerous and there was no way we could stay in that room! But my mum and I didn’t want to start a conflict, so we just went with the flow, but have since made the worst review on booking.com that hotel has ever seen (which has now been taken down, thanks very much for the censorship, booking.com). Usually, it takes A LOT for me to complain about anything, but this simply wasn’t right.

The “upgrade” really wasn’t an upgrade. They moved us to a hotel further away from the bus station, although in a nicer neighbourhood, but the room was nothing better than the last one, except it was bigger and mould-free. It definitely wasn’t worth paying 15 euros extra for though.

But it was nice to finally get settled in a room that wasn’t dangerous for our well-being, and we decided we would try to get the best out of the rest of our time in the country.

That day, we spent our time exploring the center of Ljubljana and shopping for waaaay too many euros!

Thankfully, although the hotel ordeal had been a nightmare, Ljubljana was a beautiful experience. It’s such a gorgeous city with so much to see and do that I think I could’ve spent months just wandering through its quaint streets.

Our new hotel was located right beside the Ljubljanica river with a view of the Ljubljana Castle (although not from our window). We crossed the bridge over the river and walked along the quaint street of Mestni trg, which offered many traditional shops and cafés. The first thing we did was to go to a cozy café, where we had a drink and a cake (I had a wonderful truffle shaped like a hedgehog!!!).

Further along the street we came to the funicular, which took us on a steep ride up to the castle, giving us a panoramic view of the city. I’m sure it would’ve been a nice walk up there, but we were too tired and it was several minus degrees, so the funicular seemed like a much better idea.

Ljubljana Castle is situated on Castle Hill high above the center of the city. It was originally a medieval fortress, but the majority of the buildings were rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries. Originally, it served as a defense fortress, but in the 14th century it became the seat of the lords of Carniola, a historical region that once comprised huge parts of Slovenia. Today, the castle is used as a cultural venue attracting locals and tourists from all over the world.

In many ways, Ljubljana reminded me of a mini-Budapest, especially with its special bridges over the river, although much smaller than the ones in Budapest. There is the Dragon Bridge in Vienna Secession style with dragon statues, and the Triple Bridge, which is a group of three bridges built in Glinica limestone and concrete, as well as several other beautiful small bridges. All the bridges connect Ljubljana’s historical medieval town on one bank of the river, and the modern city on the other bank.

In the middle of the city’s main square, Cyril and Methodius Square, stands the most beautiful building in the city, according to me at least – the cathedral of Ljubljana, also known as St. Nicholas’ Church.

The pink cathedral was originally built in the 13th century in Romanesque style, but after a fire in 1361, it was rebuilt in Gothic style, before being replaced again in the early 18th century and built in Baroque style, which is still standing today.

We ended our first day in Ljubljana at a restaurant serving Serbian cuisine in the old town, where we had a lovely vegetable goulash. I’m definitely going to try to make that at home!

The next day was spent exploring two of Slovenia’s most beautiful places, Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. Those lakes were so spectacular that they deserve their own posts, so stay tuned!

On our last full day, after coming home from a trip to Skotcja Cave (more about that in a later post as well!), we decided to spend the last half an hour of daylight exploring Metelkova, a small “autonomous” community located in a dozen of dilapidated buildings with rubbish-filled streets and graffiti leaving no walls uncovered. The place is the focal point of Slovenia’s alternative culture scene.

In many ways, the community reminded me of Denmark’s Christiania, which is much larger and more famous, but has the same kind of atmosphere and political history.

The streets were quite empty that evening, but I can imagine just how lively it must be during the summer months with youngsters and tourists roaming the streets and bars.

Our last morning in Ljubljana was spent in the village-like neighbourhood of Krakovo, the oldest suburb of the city. Krakovo was first mentioned in 1473 and was originally a small fishing village, which it still in many ways feels like.

I really liked this part of the city, and would probably choose it to live in, if I ever find myself moving to Ljubljana. The neighbourhood is clean, quiet and located just a few hundred meters from the center, so it’s just about perfect!

Ljubljana is a beautiful city and high on my list of favourite capitals of the world. It’s incredibly small and easy to navigate through (atleast I thought so), and it offers so much to see and do. The only minus is that Slovenia is pretty expensive compared to what we thought it would be! But the trip was worth every penny spent – except those 15 euros, of course 😉