I recently spent almost 2 weeks in Slovenia and I had a very good time – since when have you heard of me coming back from a vacation complaining? But it is true that I really had a good vacation this time again.
I started in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a small town, only about 250000 inhabitants which had maintained its medieval character, at least in the center of town. The Ljubljana River crosses the center of town which is dominated by the Ljubljana Castle, the tower of which is visible above the light green tree.
Both sides of the river have been preserved and are now pedestrian area where locals and tourists mingle in many restaurants and bars. Because Slovenia has been at the crossroads between Mediterranean, Slavic, Eastern and Northern cultures, it offers a mixture of many different backgrounds, but strongest is the Austro-Hungarian influence which existed until WWI. It can be seen in many of the buildings in the older part of town, which is well preserved, but in places in need of minor renovations – I have seen many facades that were peeling (more than the paint) and other flaws here and there. Slovenia is a young country and so I would expect that they will catch up very quickly.
A river, or water in general, always adds a side of serenity to the center of a city, which otherwise can be very hectic. This is the case in Ljubljana as well, especially with the first colours of fall that are starting to show in the trees. A few days after I left Ljubljana, there were very severe rains in Slovenia and in places, the Ljubljana River left its banks – fortunately not in the center of Ljubljana and therefore this area was not flooded.
There is another pedestrian street parallel to the river. This one too has restaurants, but it has more shops and older houses. It is also here that Ljubljana City Hall can be found.
Joze Plecnik (1872-1957 and I apologise to Ingrid and all other Slovenians for the lack of accents on his name – but I just cannot figure out how to add these in WordPress) was a very important architect who designed several buildings mainly in Ljubljana. He is an interesting character in that he also designed interiors, decorative motiefs and furniture, just like Frank Loyd Wright and Viktor Horta, two other architects that I really like. Amongst others, Plecnikdesigned the National and University Library, an imposing building with red and gray bricks. This figure sits above one of the entrances and is, to me, the exact opposite of the reserved attitude I would expect of people that go into a library. It looks more like a professor that is fully absorbed by the topic of his lecture!
Just as you get used to the Germanic influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, you get a reminder that it is difficult to “classify” Slovenia as only one thing. In the very back of the somewhat Teutonic Library, is the very Venitian headquarters of the Ljubljana Festival Committee. Venice’s influence in Slovenia was not limited to the coast as we will see later.
As in every city these days, there are unfortunately graffiti’s also here. However, I was taken by the artistic efforts that some of them went through – it may be the reason why they have not been painted over or cleaned even though they are right in the middle of the city. I call this one “The Yawn”, but it certainly did not reflect my feelings as I was walking around town.
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