Ljubljana

With only a few hundred thousand residents and 50,000 full-time university students, Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana (pronounced LEW-blee-AH-na [took us a little getting used to as well…]) felt like more of a huge university town than the capital city of an EU country. We all loved Ljubljana so much that after our first day in town we extended our stay to spend five nights, and to be honest we all could have stayed longer. We setup camp right in the middle of the old town’s university district, with the University of Ljubljana’s music conservatory on both sides of the building where we stayed. Felt like we were in a movie with classical piano, violin and brass instruments ringing out amongst the buildings at most hours of the day!

Ljubljana’s old town is 100% motor vehicle free, the cobblestone streets and alleyways a tranquil and relaxing place to stroll at all hours of the day. Such a beautiful city that functioned with German-like precision, the locals wouldn’t even walk across a crosswalk in the absence of traffic if the signal was red. The beautifully preserved thousand year old architecture was a delight to explore on foot, lined with an endless array of cafes and restaurants that seemed to be busy from sunup to well after sundown. Our apartment’s location in the middle of the University of Ljubljana’s complex was a perfect spot from which to explore the city, with everything on our list of spots to visit within a 15-20 minute walk. Similar to Zagreb, Ljubljana has a central market setup in a plaza in the center of the old town that functions six days a week. Not quite as extensive as Zagreb’s Dolac Market, the Ljubljana central market still had a wonderful array of fresh fruits and vegetables on offer with separate underground halls for meats and cheeses. Some exquisite European stone fruit and such an excellent array of local Slovenian smoked meats.

The dining options in Ljubljana were phenomenal, such a foodie’s paradise. Everything from traditional Slovenian soup-and-sausage street food to fine dining at the Michelin-recommended Restavracija Strelec in Ljubljana Castle. The kids loved the local smoke sausages we had for lunch one day at Klobasarna – the onion bread and vegetable soup were worth a mention as well – and the gelato offerings at Gelateria Romantika were probably better than any of the gelato we ate in Italy. Even better than Florence. The standout for dining, however, was without a doubt the seafood eatery Vino and Ribe in the heart of the city’s old town. It was a hole-in-the-wall restaurant set between a handful of upscale eateries with an open kitchen facing the cobblestoned street. It was so good we went back twice. No reservations and only a handful of streetside tables made securing a spot to eat a bit of a roll of the dice, but even when we had to wait it was well worth it (and they of course served beer to patrons who were waiting for a table!). Quite ironic that after spending more than a month in coastal locations throughout Italy, France and Croatia, the best seafood so far was in a country that’s almost completely landlocked. The value for money was pretty incredible: one night we walked away with a bill for US$35, which included dinner for four, a glass of wine for Lisa and a beer for me. The seafood platter pictured below was definitely a culinary highlight of our trip thus far.

There were a handful of wine bars that caught Lisa’s attention dotted about the old town. We spent an hour or two at Dvorni Bar next to the university one afternoon, very much enjoying a flight of some tasty Slovenian offerings. I think the waiter who served us was quite excited to have some patrons that were keen for him to put together a tasting of Slovenian wines as opposed to tourists who sit down and order a glass of foreign Chardonnay. The wine bar had more than 80 different wines available by the glass, I think the most interesting one I tried was a Slovenian orange wine, a style of wine I’d never tried before (I actually didn’t know it existed…). Some of the bottle shapes from which we were served were like nothing I’d ever seen and had Lisa cringing as she pictured trying to get them through an automated bottling line. Our waiter noted, however, that most wineries in Slovenia are quite small and are family owned so manual bottling for their small production numbers isn’t typically an issue. The pedestrian-only inner city of Ljubljana was quite a blessing as we were sitting at Dvorni Bar: the kids could run around the streets while we were left in peace with our glasses!

We stumbled onto a few events during our time in Ljubljana that made our stay all the more memorable. The first of those was the Ljubljana Festival, an annual summer series of concerts, plays, dance performances and visual art that runs from July to September. Our apartment was located a block from the main outdoor stage at Kongresni Trg, so in addition to being able to hear the university musicians practicing during the day, in the evenings we could open up our apartment’s windows and be treated to live concerts from the main stage (some of which we were able to live stream on the TV with the volume turned off). On one evening the Baltic Sea Philharmonic Orchestra was performing and we all walked down to watch the show after Lisa and Max had watched them warm up earlier in the afternoon. They were quite a unique orchestra, in that all of the musicians performed standing and the entire concert was played without any sheet music. Very impressive to be able to perform more than two hours of classical music entirely from memory! Their rendition of Swan Lake was so moving: the backdrop of Ljubljana Castle behind the stage, the lights, the powerful music ringing out across the city… Call me a sap, but my eyes did well up a little during the performance: not only as a result of the performance but being able to expose the kids to a performance like that was pretty special for them, especially after all the ridiculousness the world has gone through over the past 18 months.

Another event we stumbled upon was the annual Castle Days Festival at Ljubljana Castle, which was being held on the Sunday during our stay. It was just by chance that we happened to walk up the hill behind old town to check out the castle on that day. The kids – Max especially – didn’t want to leave after being treated to medieval sword fighting displays, traditional medieval Slovenian dance, shooting crossbows, archery, sealing envelopes with hot wax and getting to sample some delicious Slovenian food. It was no half-assed display for kids, either: all of the festival members were attached to various castles around Slovenia, and took their craft very seriously. One of the groups we spoke with practiced their sword fighting three times a week, while the knights (as they called themselves) from Bled Castle who performed a number of traditional Slovenian dances must have put so many hours into the routine to get it so polished. All the performances were so well done, a real treat for the kids. And while we didn’t spend that much time in the castle itself after the hours that slipped by at the festival, the structure was also quite impressive. The interior of the castle has been renovated so it doubles as a function center, but many of the medieval features of the fortress remain intact. The penitentiary and chapel were quite cool to look through, and the view of Ljubljana from the castle’s main tower was second to none.

As with Croatia, Slovenia maintains a healthy craft beer scene. There were a number of local breweries in Ljubljana, we ventured out to Loo Blah Nah craft brewery on our way back from Lake Bled one afternoon after sampling some of the brewery’s beers at a bar earlier in the week. Definitely the best beer either of us had tasted since leaving the US. A mix of American-styled ales, variations on European classics as well as a cask ale (served in traditional manner) that seemed to be a pet project of the brewmaster’s. Loo Blah Nah also had an IPA made with spruce tips, something we’d only seen in Alaska and both very much enjoyed as we explored the Breweries of Alaska. Our stop one afternoon at the Lajbah craft beer taproom was also quite fun, not only some excellent beers from around the country but also exceptional food. Lisa loves porters, but wasn’t quite up for a glass of the 12.5% ABV Baltic Pride on tap when we visited for fear the kids and I would have to carry her home.

We happened to be in town for Ljubljana’s annual Pivo and Burger Fest (Beer and Burger Fest) – another chance encounter – which was a fantastic exhibition of Slovenia’s most lauded craft brewers coupled with some delectable burger offerings from restaurants around the city. IPA has definitely taken hold in Slovenia, no question it was the most popular craft beer at the festival, and there were a lot of New England styled ales around the tents as well. Some excellent beers on tap, and so great to see everyone out enjoying the sunshine and getting on with life. There were classic burgers on offer as well as some super unique takes on meat and a bun like Max’s fried octopus in an Asian steam bun. For my dinner I gravitated towards one of the tents with a long line – I cannot understand a lick of Slovenian so crowdsourced my decision – getting almost to the counter before realizing that I was in line for a burger with patty made from 100% Slovenian horse meat. I figured, “When in Rome!” and took the plunge, it was without a doubt one of the best burgers I’d ever eaten. Lisa wasn’t too happy with me when I told her the ingredients of my burger after she’d taken a bite. And Lilia – given her love of horses – stormed of and shed a tear when she discovered the contents of my patty. It took some discussion about the fact that people in different countries choose to eat things which may not be popular in others. She eventually calmed down but I think she’s still peeved at me for the whole episode!

We all unanimously voted Ljubljana as our favorite city on the trip thus far. The food, the events, the relaxing atmosphere of of the old town with its beautiful architecture, welcoming locals, the place has it all. And not only was the city itself a great spot to spend a few days, but its central location in Slovenia provided an excellent launching point for day trips to the countryside around the city, like our days in Bohinj and Bled. Ljubljana doesn’t have the history of Rome or the museums of Paris, but it was such a vibrant and welcoming city, definitely deserves a spot on the list of places to see in Europe.