Our accommodations at the University of Ljubljana were comfortable and affordable, so we decided to extend our stay in Slovenia's pristine, pint-sized capital to a total of four nights. It's the longest we've stayed in one place, but allowed us time to get ahead on trip planning and do some laundry. It was also nice to slow down for a bit as we will need to travel at a breakneck pace for the rest of our time in Europe in order to visit the places we intend.
We knew very little about Slovenia before getting here and we've really enjoyed learning more about the history of the country. Slovenia single-handedly won independence from communist Yugoslavia in the 1990's, in a rather remarkable ten day war. The Slovenes are hardworking and extremely proud of their heritage, and since gaining independence the country has flourished, becoming the first former communist country to join the EU. It's been very interesting to study this part of the world and learn more about Slovenia's struggles and triumphs.
Our favorite Ljubljana experiences:
- Eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas at a cantina downtown. The Slovenes are unexpectedly nuts about Mexican faire, and chowing down on a familiar comfort-type food was a real treat after a month on the road. The interpretation of the cuisine was peculiar but good.
- Sipping Lasko beers with the alternative crowd on the adult jungle gym at Metalkova, the former army barracks-turned spray painted, super cool counter-culture hub.
- Bypassing the elevators and making the sweaty hike up to Ljubljana Grad, the castle in the center of town, on foot. Climbing the spiral staircases to the top of the torrent for awesome city views.
- Eating venison goulash, fish stew, and polenta at Abecedarium, a restaurant located in the oldest building in town. Slovene cuisine is a pleasant east-meets-west, north-meets-south mixture of neighboring nations and it was great to sample local flavors at one of the most famous dining spots in town.
- Having a hilarious late night chat with an inebriated young Slovene whose knowledge of the US seemed to be limited to gangster rap references.
Next stop: Zagreb, Croatia
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