Ljubljana - The City of Love

Presern Trg. at Night

If you've ever talked to me about traveling long enough, you probably know that Slovenia is my favorite country in the world (bar-none) and that Ljubljana (loob-li-ana) is one of my favorite cities ever.

Slovenia is one of the smallest countries in Europe; situated between Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia.  It has a population of 2.5 million.  What's more impressive, 57% of the entire country is covered in forests!  It's an outdoor-fanatic's paradise.  It has mountains, plains, beaches, caves, and everything in between.  It also makes some incredible, but not well-known wines, and is famous for its stunning white horses from Lipica.

Ljubljana is an ancient city.  It was supposedly founded by Jason and the Argonauts on their return with the golden fleece.  The city itself is home to around 260,000 people and is situated around the banks of the Ljubljanica river.  They say it's the city of love because its name is so similar to the Slovenian word ljubljena, which means beloved.

We arrived late the night of August 14th, checked into our hostel and walked around the city.  We ran into a really strange problem though.  There are ATM's everywhere, but none of them would take either of our cards!  Growing increasingly concerned about being trapped in a country with just over 10 Euros and 2,000 Forints, Kati realized that all of the ATMs only service Mastercard and not Visa...and they say Visa is everywhere you want to be...Finally we found an ATM that would give us money, and we continued exploring the city at night.  The night life in Ljubljana, even on a Sunday night, was incredibly vibrant.  The streets along the banks of the river are lined with bars and cafes, all completely packed.

The next morning we woke up for a morning stroll in Tivoli park where we took in a pretty cool art exhibit about the sights in Serbia.  Then, we hopped on a free walking tour of the city and learned all about the history of the city.  Ljubljana is the only place outside of France with a memorial to Napoleon--he permitted them to teach Slovenian language for the first time in history.  We also saw the Crusader's Monastery, where many a Christian stopped on their journey to Jerusalem.  Another interesting fact: a Slovenian was responsible for creating the first (and still only) dictionary translating Native American languages into English.

In the afternoon, we took in the Castle, walked around the streets of the city, and relaxed at my favorite wine bar in the city; sampling the best wines Slovenia has to offer.  We had a relaxing dinner at great local Slovenian restaurant, paired with my favorite of the Slovenian wines, the Teran.  Teran is a wine unlike anything you've ever tasted, probably in large part to the incredibly ferrous nature of the soil in which it's grown.  We capped off the night with a walk around the city while eating ice cream.

It only took a day and a half for Kati to fall in love with the city.  It really is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable cities in all of Europe.  If you're looking for somewhere to visit on your travels, I would definitely put Ljubljana and all of Slovenia at the top of your list.