Ljubljana

Tuesday, June 3

We were up early this morning, as we wanted to see the castle before taking a walking tour at 11:00.  The first funicular climbed the Castle Hill at 9:00, so we spent some time visiting the courtyard and exhibits at the town hall, and the market square.  In the market, we were interested to see a couple of machines that dispense raw milk and other dairy products, with the farm of origination identified; shoppers can either bring their own containers, or buy sterilized milk bottles via the machine.

We also stopped in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, adjacent to the market square.  The baroque interior was the usual over-the-top baroque, but the three-dimensional bronze doors, which we re-visited with our guide later in the day, were standouts; they depict the story of the city from pre-historic to modern times. 

Then, it was the funicular ride up Castle Hill to see the views from the walls, climb even higher to the tower, wander through the former prison cells, and visit the chapel and the museum devoted to Slovenian history.  

Back on terra firma, we took the lovely Triple Bridge from the old town to Presernov Square, where the walking tour formed.  The square is the main one in Ljubljana and it and the statue that dominates it honor a national hero, France Preseren -- not a general, statesman, or politician, but a poet!  He is so revered here that his birthday is a national holiday, Preseren Day.  On that day, also known as Slovenian Culture Day, most cultural organizations are open for free and thousands attend hours-long poetry readings in front of the statue -- in February weather!

Our tour was in the very capable hands of Tina, who wove information about the history, politics, architecture, contemporary lifestyle, art, and culture of Ljubljana into a walk that crossed bridges, toured the old town, and the center city -- all completely pedestrianized.  Though Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia only in 1991, the city's native son, architect Joze Plecnik, foresaw the day when Ljubljana would be the nation's capital and used his vision of what a great city should be to shape much of the newer construction in the historic core.  The Triple Bridge, market colonnade, open air theater, and National and University are among his signature contributions to the city.  Tina did a great job of helping us sort through some of the ethnic, cultural, and religious jumble that pretty much made the concept of a unified Yugoslavia untenable, especially after the 1980 death of Tito.

We couldn't resist the chance to have burek for lunch one more time.  Then, under darkening clouds, we walked along one of the city's streets notable for its Art Nouveau buildings, en route to visit the Metelkova mesto alternative culture center.  A thunderstorm broke out just as we approached Metelkova mesto, so we waited it out under cover across the street. 

The avant garde center of arts, music, crafts, performance, film, and political activity is housed in a complex of former army barracks.  Now, graffiti covers the walls, and every building and courtyard bears the marks of the free expression of free spirits -- this may be the origin of the term "outside the box!"

We had traditional Slovenian food for dinner tonight, at a small restaurant in the old town, then walked around a bit, along the river, sidewalk (and center-of-the-street) restaurants and cafes, and through the squares.  There was music and conversation in the air, but no cars, horns or exhaust fumes!  

We learned today that when Ljubljana's central core was pedestrianized seven years ago, most residents were pleased and felt that their quality of life was enhanced.  Some, however, were inconvenienced and the disabled, elderly, and others had difficulty getting around.  In a step we haven't seen in any other place, the city government here provides a fleet of electric carts that anyone can hail to be driven anywhere in the pedestrian zone -- for free!  Also, bicycles are allowed in the pedestrian areas; we've seen more bikes here than anywhere else on our trip.

We added Slovenia to our itinerary fairly late in our planning, and are so glad that we did. The countryside of this small country is lovely; Ljubljana is a fine and cultured capital city, with forests at its doorstep and views of the Alps.  Wow!

Tomorrow, we begin our trip home with a day-long drive to Nice, France.  We'll return our car there, spend the night at an airport hotel, and catch a flight to London Thursday morning, and home from there later in the day.  All good things must come to an end, so that even better ones can begin!

Zagreb, Croatia to Ljubljana, Slovenia

Monday, June 2

Zagreb is quite close to the Slovenian border, so after a short drive we'd pulled out our passports yet another time.  At the border, we purchased a vignette, the sticker required for all cars on the road in Slovenia; it is used as a sort of universal Easy Pass, and has replaced road tolls throughout the country.  It took just a couple of hours' drive through lovely countryside to reach Lake Bled, at the foot of the snow-capped Julian Alps, and almost in Austria.  

Lake Bled seems almost too beautiful to be real.  Its waters are blue-green, Bled Castle dominates it from atop a high precipice, and Bled Island, with its monumental staircase leading from water's edge to the island's church, sits, just waiting to be photographed.  Needless to say, Tom obliged, stopping often as we walked the 6 km path that encircles the lake.  En route, we stopped for lunch on a shady lakeside bench, and the view was unbeatable.

We retraced our route to reach Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia early this afternoon.  After checking in to our apartment, we walked about fifteen minutes to the center of the old town, which lies at the foot of a castle on a hill high above. 

The town center and old town are separated by the curving Ljubljanica River, but the two pedestrian areas are joined by so many footbridges that they seem as one.  There are many squares, and they seem to morph into streets, and flow into each other.  Cafes, outdoor restaurants, fountains, squares, the riverbanks, even the bridges provide lots of open space for people to gather and linger against the backdrop of attractive public buildings, and former mansions and townhouses that now house shops, galleries, and museums.

Our first impression is of a lively small city, a university town, and one not overrun by tourists.  To be continued tomorrow...

Zagreb

Sunday, June 1

The cathedral and Kaptol Square were much quieter this morning than they had been last night as the procession to return the Lady of the Stone Gate to her home.  We had a daylight peek into the church and a walk around the surrounding cathedral close before heading across the square and through a short passageway to the Dolac Market.  

Today, the market square was full of stalls overflowing with beautiful fruit and vegetables, all shaded by the traditional red umbrellas with striped trim that are one of the symbols of the city.  Also seen in abundance in the market and throughout Zagreb are the glossy red hearts (licitars) decorated with white writing and trim, also emblematic of the city. 

 Once edible gifts for special someones, now they're pretty much all plastic souvenirs.  We also visited the fish market, housed in its own hall, and the market's lower level, where the butchers, bakers, pasta makers, and dairymen offer their products.  It's probably hard to beat the burek, a meat-filled, phyllo-wrapped delight as a mid-morning snack, which we enjoyed as we wandered the outer reaches of the market, through bedding plants, leather goods, and clothing stalls.  

Passing through the Stone Gate, we verified that the painting had been safely returned to its place in the shrine, surrounded by the ex-voto plaques offering thanks for answered prayers, and candles whose wax is gathered and reused -- the local version of eternal flames, or religious recycling, I suppose!

In Gradec's Upper Town, we stopped in St. Mark's Church, with its coat-of-arms tiled roof, golden vaulted ceiling, and powerful organ playing in full force.  A couple of blocks away, we reached St. Catherine's Church in time for 11:00 Mass. 

 Originally a Jesuit church, it bears all the hallmarks of that lineage -- baroque decoration (pink and white!!), tromp l'oeil painting, etc.  There was one element we've never encountered elsewhere, though: under each pew was a radiator!   While the Mass is the same the world over, when it came to the homily, we have no idea whether it was a brilliant biblical exegesis, an appeal for financial support, or a World Cup update.  Relieved of any need (or ability) to pay attention, we spent that time praying for you, dear reader!

All morning long, bells rang out from the many churches throughout the city.  86% of Croatians are Catholic, and 90% of the population are Croatians, but now we're getting into the religious and ethnic divides which we've given up trying to grasp.

After a stop at the  terrace (and beer garden!) behind the church for a view across to the cathedral atop Kaptol, we returned to the market for more burek, which we had for lunch back in our apartment.  It's going to be hard to get back to lowfat yogurt and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

One of Zagreb's most popular attractions is a cemetery, and it was our first destination this afternoon.  Mirogoj is green, leafy, and touted as an open air art gallery.  Many of Croatia's greats -- statesmen, artists, scientists, composers, musicians, sports stars, actors, and heroes -- are buried there, and many of their monuments are the works of great sculptors.  The cemetery itself is encircled by beautiful domed arcades reminiscent of the porticoes of Bologna; they are truly lovely.  In this serene place, even the adjacent morgue looks like a summer palace!

This afternoon, we drove about an hour east of the city to Varazdin, a notable example of a Baroque city.  For a short time in the 18th century, it was Croatia's capital and many aristocratic families built beautiful homes there.  It was very quiet this Sunday afternoon, but we enjoyed walking through the cobblestoned pedestrianized center of the town, and then on the grassy ramparts surrounding the stoutly-built 12th century castle.

We've very much enjoyed our visit to Zagreb.  It's a beautiful city, small enough to feel familiar and manageable, blessed with a gracious old town, and dotted with many lush and lovely green spaces -- and LOTS of red hearts!