From Trieste, we caught a bus then a train to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia (not to be confused with Slovakia) which is a cool, gorgeous compact little city with its own vibe, people seem way more chill here. A woman even let me pat her dog 🙂 Everyone’s friendlier than in Italy, though I think Italians are probably just sick of tourists.
The whole place feels like a movie set or historic village, cool shops, super tidy and clean, beautiful buildings all lit up at night, and a castle perched way up on the hill. Dragons everywhere! Apparently it stems from the city’s founding myth about Jason and the Argonauts, who supposedly slayed a dragon here. Over time, the dragon went from fearsome monster to powerful symbol, representing courage, strength, and protection. Now it’s the city’s emblem and you see it everywhere, including on the iconic Dragon Bridge.
Our bnb was on the edge of Old Town in a beautiful small hotel with a restaurant underneath, built in the 1600s (dark when we arrived). All these European places have “Old Towns” which are the historic centres featuring medieval, Renaissance, or Baroque architecture, cobblestone streets, and well-preserved landmarks.
It snowed overnight and was all over the cars though there was no evidence on the roads.
We checked out. I chatted with the receptionist a while. She has a sister and good friend who went to NZ for at least a year, both wanting to stay longer but not able to get permission or residency
Oh, and I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, we haven’t needed public transport since Milan. In Verona, Venice and Trieste we walked everywhere.
Sadly, only one night in Ljubljana as we were in a hurry to get to our one month stay in Split, Croatia because it’s so much cheaper getting an airbnb for a month as opposed to a few nights but we enjoyed strolling the streets and Sean finally managed to find a jacket to replace the one that got left behind at Customs in Houston!
Next stop Zagreb, Croatia
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