Country 9: Ljubljana, Slovenia

26 Days On The Road ~ Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia ~ Transportation: Bus

Someone recently told me that Ljubljana is the most underrated city in Europe, and I couldn't agree more! If you are an average traveller, who goes on holiday once or twice a year, the last place you would think to visit is Ljubljana, which most people (me included) might have never even heard of. And that would be a mortal mistake.

We arrived at our bus stop and there it was out lovely host Stanka, single mother of 14-year-old Alex and very shy cat Kitty. She drove us to her flat in a pink building not far from the centre of the city, and until here we weren't that impressed simply because it seemed like any other Eastern European suburb. In the evening we had a well-deserved shower, and Stanka cooked us a typical Slovenian meal of cabbage in tomato sauce and mash potatoes. It was very delicious and homey. We talked till 22:00 about Slovenia, politics, her family, how it was growing up in the countryside and her imminent move to Brussels.

The next day we headed into the city on a 30 min walk right by a busy road and we were thinking we made a big mistake. But as soon as we reached the inner city our jaws dropped: the main square by the Tipple Bridge, one of the most famous attractions of Ljubljana, was buzzing with locals, tourists, families, artists, musicians, people dancing to the music. The buildings were shining of pastel colours under the Spring sun, and the river was sparkling emerald green. I was fell in love without hope to recover.

Here you can watch the video about our time in Ljubljana:

Our itinerary included:

~ Plaza Presernov

~Tromostovje - Triple bridge

~ Cathedral of St Nikola

~ Barbarella Arkade Bistro

~ Meserski Most Bridge

~Central Market

~ Peglezen

~ Ljubljana Castle

~ Tivoli Park & Mansion

We adventured into the alleyways discovering more gorgeous squares, fountains, churches, until we reached the farmers’ market and if you are going to Ljubljana, definitely go in Spring and during the weekend because the market will make you feel one of the locals.

Everyone was buying fresh products from adorable wooden stands with white and green striped roofs, and every two stalls you could find olive tree brunches, flowers and Easter decorations; as Easter is fast approaching.

Best Moment

After lunch we decided to climb all the way to the castle which is right on top a hill. The walk was so very steep, but we found comfort in the cutest dog imaginable: a tea-cup Pomeranian colour caramel, who was hopping around like a rabbit, and looks beyond adorable! We couldn't stop staring at it and giggling like idiots, so we named him Bisquito and we filmed him for 30 min while we were walking to the top of the hill. The castle was also amazing, and the view of the city is worth being out of breath for 1 hour. Also once you get all the way up you get to enjoy a nice stroll downhill through trees and flowers in bloom.

Healthy Tips

ALERT TO ALL VEGANS! If you find yourself in the middle of Ljubljana you cannot miss the Barbarella Arkade Bistro, which is right on the square were you can find the farmer’s market and it has one of the best burgers we tried so far but also an insane blueberry cheesecake. This comes from someone who always hated cheesecake, and I never found a vegan one which was deserving of the title. But this one is! It’s rich but not dense, and the cream is so fruity and light that it’s a crime not to eat it.

Funniest Moment

I will trade you a “worse” moment for the funniest. After our lunch we walked all the way up to the castle, then down from the castle, we crossed the centre of the city, we bought some postcards, we walked all the way to Tivoli park and this must have been during 3 hours. While we were walking in the park I looked at Adam and I noticed he had something hanging from his coat. It was the pillow that was on the stool in the restaurant we had lunch! He stole it with his butt and he walked around in it for 3 hours without realising. We couldn't stop laughing.

3 days later we are in Zagreb and I receive a message on Facebook from a girl who works at Barbarella saying she found my page because I tagged the restaurant in one of my posts and she saw our video of Ljubljana and she couldn’t believe she saw us in the video with the pillow! She said she looked for it everywhere and it was driving her crazy. We had a good laugh.

Final warnings: give Ljubljana a chance and you won't regret it! From the river, to the hill, to the mountains in the distance or the Tivoli Park, this city is a gem and it should be high on your bucket list! The city is overall inexpensive and can be seen all by foot without the need for public transport.

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Transportation Footprint: 288 miles = 0.01 metric tons of CO2e

we paid £0,06 each to Atmosfair.com to Zero our footprint

VS Plane: Flight Budapest to Ljubljana = 0.05 metric tons of CO2e

How Long We Stayed: 3 days

Accommodation: Free thanks to Stanka from Couchsurfing

Expenses for both of us:

~ Food: £20

~ Transport: £35 Flixbus

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