Photos from Ljubljana, Slovenia

The city of Ljubljana (pronounced Loo-blee-yah-nah) is the capitol of Slovenia, with a population of approximately 280,00 people.  We visited on a hot Friday in the beginning of June, and we were thrilled to have our wonderful friends as our tour guides.

Preseren Square 

 The city has a wonderful vibe, with tons of young people and families out enjoying the city.  There is a river that runs through the heart of the city, called the Ljubljanica River, and there are many beautiful bridges to stroll from one side to the other.  The most famous is the Triple Bridge, which is a span of three bridges very close together adjacent to the city's main square.

Triple Bridge

Dancing marionettes along the river

We stopped by a food market in the afternoon for a bite to eat and a glass of wine.  The food market takes place every Friday, with many local restaurants serving up a variety of dishes from falafel and burgers, to Asian noodles and traditional Slovenian dishes.  We sampled a Slovenian pork dish, risotto with asparagus, and my husband found a burger made with lamb meat that was so good my son asked for one, too.    

Friday food market

We then headed up to the castle to get  a good view of the city.  The kids were excited when we came across a man doing calligraphy in the chapel and he made the kids each a bookmark with their names.

Chapel in the Ljubljana Castle

After stopping at a playground to let the kids burn off some energy (it amazes me how after walking around a city all day the kids can find hidden reserves of energy as soon as they see a playground), we headed to a cafe for another glass of wine and a coffee before heading back to our friends house for a BBQ dinner.

Tables full of used books were set up all over the city, and were so inviting to stop and browse at the books in Slovenian.

Ice cream break!

I would go back to Ljubljana in a heartbeat, and it seemed to be a city with a lot to offer it's people.  The people there seemed so friendly compared to other places we have visited, and everyone was happy to speak English with us.  If we had not been with our Slovenian friends, I know I would have had a lot of stress with sightseeing around the city, but it seems hard to imagine being stressed in such a beautiful, laid back city.

My son Ryan and his good friend Val