Jen and Rebecca Toodle Around the Capital

Saturday we left Postojna (still without luggage for Anna and Rebecca) and drove less than an hour back to Ljubljana, where we had landed in Slovenia on Monday. We got what luggage we actually had (Jen’s and backpacks for all) dropped off at the hotel near the city center and walked a few blocks to the Dragon Bridge to meet up with our bike tour guides. We thought we should see the city like the locals do in this very bike-friendly city. There are bike lanes on most of the sidewalks and everyone has a bell to warn you they are coming up behind you.


At the Dragon Bridge, pre-bike ride.



Ljubljana is currently hosting the Eurobasket, the European basketball championships. Our guides Mascha and Janesch (spelling based on listening to them say their names, so could be way wrong…) were a super cute couple, both wearing green Slovenian jerseys in support of their team playing that night at 9:00. While toodling around the city center, we saw a lot of Croatian team fans wearing the distinctive red and white checked shirts for their team too.

Our guides showed us sights that we would most likely not have found on our own – like the former military barracks that was converted into an artist colony. The government attempted to kick the artists out at one point, but the city revolted and they were allowed to stay. On our way out of the area, they pointed out the former prison that had been converted into a youth hostel – the rooms are the former jail cells, with fixtures and all.

Biking through the city center on our one speed bikes was a bit of a challenge given all of the weekend pedestrian traffic, from locals to tourists. But we really got a feel of the city and its people. We toodled past the city market, two big churches (don’t remember the names. Too many churches in Europe.), the city hall, the statue of Ljubljana’s poet of note looking over to a sculpture of his (underage) love Juliet, and the many bridges, including one with padlocks of lovers who have commemorated their relationship on the bridge with a lock, including our tour guides. A short 5-10 minute ride down the river took us away from the bustle of the city to a more tranquil spot. We ended our tour relaxing with a beer on the lawn of Tivoli Park and chatting with our guides. Biking was a great way to be introduced to the city and it was nice to talk to some locals.

Next on the agenda was returning the rental car and hiking back from the rental car place to get into our room. And, lucky Anna, we finally had an ETA on her luggage arrival, so we hung around the hotel waiting for them to drop it off around 5:00. Rebecca is finding it hard to be happy for Anna being reunited with her luggage. Rebecca is apparently selfish and/or a bad friend.

We rounded out the touristy portion of our day by taking the funicular up to the castle on pretty much the only hill in Ljubljana. (Its otherwise flat landscape makes it an ideal biking city.) The views were nice, though a bit cloudy over the distant mountains. The wind picked up, making us chilly as Rebecca ate ice cream and Jen and Anna had some wine (we had differing priorities today, it seems) so we headed back to the flatland to peruse the souvenir shops. We ended the day with Mexican food at Romeo’s Café and margaritas next to the river, watching some crazy comedian/daredevil/performance artist do tricks on the other bank. As we walked back to our hotel, the Slovenian basketball game had begun and all of the sidewalk cafes were filled with people watching screens erected for the game. Slovenia loves its baseketball!

City at night, full of avid basketball fans.