March 14, 2013 6

West Balkan trip part 2: Slovenia (Bled + Ljubljana)

By in Balkans, Slovenia, Travel

We spent two days at Slovenia, one day at Lake Bled and one at the capital Ljubljana.

A former member of the socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,  Slovenia was the first of the six regions to gain independence. It’s also one of the first former-communist countries to join the Eurozone. The vibe here definitely felt more affluent than the other three former Yugoslavia republics (Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro) we visited.

Bled:

Bled CastleBled IslandSurrounded by the Julian Alps, Lake Bled and the surrounding area are breathtakingly beautiful! The castle on the hill made it even more fairy tale-like picturesque. We took the hard (dumb) way to climb up to the castle though, it was quite tiring. There’s a natural small island in the middle of Lake Bled where a church is built. It’s only accessible by hand row boats.

Lake Bohinj
The nearby Lake Bohinj  is really gorgeous too.

Ljubljana:

Dragonold town Ljubljana
The Capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana felt like a smaller, less goth version of Prague to me. Slovenia was under Austrian’s Hapsburg Empire rule for a long time so all the architectures in Old town Ljubljana felt very “Hapsburg-y”. Just like Prague, the old town area felt very quaint and almost too cute at places. Overall there’s not a lot to see in old town, you can see all the sights within hours. It’s more about just strolling around and hang out in cafes and relax.

Gornjj street and Hercules Fountain
A picturesque street Call Gornji which has some of the best restaurants and bars in town.

SpajzaSpajza
On Gornji street, we went to one of the best restaurants we had in this trip: Spajza. It’s a cute Slovenian restaurant where the interior feels like someone’s home. There’s a pretty patio in the back. However, within 10 minutes of this photo was taken, heavy rain poured down and all of us had to grab out plates and move inside.

IMG_5164Slovenian Ham
amuse bouche and Slovenian Ham – it’s similar to Prociustto. Very good!

Zlikrofi
Zlikrofi: pasta stuffed with cheese, bacon and chives with meat sauce. A traditional Slovenian dish, it’s a dish that perfectly taste like both Italian and Austrian/Eastern European. It was very delicious.

Squid ink risotto
Squid ink risotto: Best one we had at the trip! Fresh tasting and very umami.

Špajza Restaurant
28 Gornji, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia

Cream cake
Another specialty of Slovenia is the Kremsnita, which means cream cake.  A vanilla and custard cream dessert. We had one at a cute cafe call Zvezda right by the Congress Square.  A good treat to have during coffee break!

If you ventured off the old town area of Ljubljana, you immediate see a very different side of the city. For example:
Metelkova MestoMetelkova Mesto
Metelkova Mesto: An ex-army garrison taken over by squatters and became a complex of art spaces, bars and clubs. A huge contrast from the quaint old town. It’s quite a sight of its own. You can see more pictures here.

In fact the more we venture off the quaint old town, the more graffiti you see all over. It’s kind of out of control at some places. There’re some nice “street art” ones but most of them are ugly. We spotted some Neo Nazi ones too.

Back to the old town, again on Gornji Street:

Pri Zelenem ZajcuAbsinthe
We found a small cute Absinthe Bar call Pri Zelenem Zajcu (At the Green Rabbit). I like the vibe a lot, it’s chill and there’s a cozy backroom where you can sit comfortably.


Pri Zelenem Zajcu

Rožna ul. 3, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia

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6 Responses to “West Balkan trip part 2: Slovenia (Bled + Ljubljana)”

  1. Allen says:

    Nice Post, I fell in love with Bled lake when first time I went in 2012. The festival was awesome on lake, lighting thousands of candles at the same moment and ends with lots of firework. And Ljubljana is such a nice place, Was amazing sitting along the river.

  2. Miriam says:

    Hello!

    Your pictures are beautiful! I am thinking of making the same trip around the Balkans in about a month. I am living in Zagreb for the summer, and I’d love some suggestions on travel /transportation to and from these locations. If you have any recommendations, I’d appreciate any tips I can get!

  3. bledtrip says:

    BLED TRIP.COM is an experienced company that provides tailor-made bus, minibus and minivan trips to Bled for an affordable price. Our vehicles are modern, comfortable, clean and the drivers are friendly, responsible and proficient drivers with excellent knowledge of Slovenian roads and various languages. We recommend combining your Bled trip with visit of the surrounding sights, which we also offer.

    Please step in contact with us for any question, needed information or price demand.

    We offer special discounts for large groups, agencies and local guides.

    Additionally, if you need information about Ljubljana and Slovenia, we can suggest you interesting and convenient tours and sightseeing trips.

    http://www.bled-trip.com/about-us.html

  4. bledtrip says:

    pics posted are different from the routine ones found in almost all blogs. tks for sharing.

    BLED TRIP.COM is an experienced company that provides tailor-made bus, minibus and minivan trips to Bled for an affordable price. Our vehicles are modern, comfortable, clean and the drivers are friendly, responsible and proficient drivers with excellent knowledge of Slovenian roads and various languages. We recommend combining your Bled trip with visit of the surrounding sights, which we also offer.

    http://www.bled-trip.com/about-us.html

  5. its very informative please post more blogs……..

    Beautiful Bled a tourist attraction place in Slovenia attracts traveler with its natural beauty surroundings. Hire rental mini shuttle bus, shuttles, for bled trip in Ljubljana.

    slovenia tour

  6. Tina says:

    Lovely blog about my city Ljubljana. You even tried žlikrofi. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2592891