Klobasarna

Klobasarna is located in the center of town, near the cathedral.

It's a fast-food place. Order at the counter and pick it up when your name is called. There are a few tables inside and a few outside.

Juhe (peasant turnip soup)--€3.50 with Carniolan sausage (klobasarna) for an additional €1.40. I did not like the soup. It was very bland but the sausage made it palatable.

My husband ordered the Klobasarna--€3.50 for 1/2 sausage (1 link), €5.90 for an entire sausage (2 links). The sausage is served with mustard, horseradish and bread. The bread is similar to the German brot.

2016 09 05

Ljubljana, Part 2

On the way to lunch, we passed numerous alleys.

Near the town hall was an interesting alley with an interesting interactive sculpture. Turn the knob on top of the hand and water flowed.

The water drained to this display, which resembled stool in a ditch. If you look closely, they were actually faces.

Slovenia is very green. There are recycle bins everywhere.

Ljubljana is a relatively flat city. You can rent bicycles to tour the town. There is a subscription fee of €3. The first hour of rental is then free. The next hour is €1. After that, the fee goes up exponentially. I guess they only want you to use it for a short time.

Most of the sights are within walking distance so the bikes are really not necessary.

National & University Library--thought by some to be Plecnik's greatest work. The red and gray color scheme on the building represents the red soil and chunks of granite of the karst region. The library holds more than 2 million books, one for each Slovene. This was the only building that was damaged in WW II. Hundreds of locals formed a human chain to save the books from the burning building.

The main stairway is dark and gloomy and was modeled after an Egyptian tomb. The stairway opens up into a bright and airy room before leading to the library itself. 

The library is only open to the public mid-July to mid-August when school is not in session.

Joze Plecnik House. Plecnik lived here from 1921 until his death in 1957. The house can only be toured with a guide. Unfortunately, on the day we visited, the house was closed. Fortunately, there was a guide who was waiting for an Italian group who had not shown yet so he showed us a small section of the house.

On the walk back into the center of town, we passed a remnant of an old Roman wall.

Cobbler's Bridge was named after the cobblers who set up shop along the river in olden days. This was another of Plecnik's designs.

Funicular to the castle--this was included in the city tour we purchased. Otherwise, it's €2.20 one-way or €4 roundtrip. It runs every 10 minutes and only takes a minute to get to the top. You can also take a tourist train for €4 roundtrip or hike to the top by one of 2 trails. The faster but steeper trail starts near the Dragon Bridge.

Once at the castle, there are great views of Ljubljana. 

The castle is actually a huge complex and it's free to walk around. There is an admission fee to tour the castle itself. The castle was built in the 1940s and renovated in the 1970s and I didn't feel the need to see the inside of such a modern castle. 

There are also several restaurants onsite. Gostilna na Gradu is supposed to have some of the best Slovenian food in town.

Slovenian Parliament with interesting doorway representing the Slovene people conforming to communist ideals.

Serbian Orthodox Church built in 1936 is at the edge of town, near Tivoli Park.

2016 09 05

Spajza

We had a 4-course lunch for €11 at Spajza. This was an amazing deal. There was so much food and it was so good. If we had stayed in Ljubljana longer,  we would have definitely gone back.

Spajza is located at Gornji try 28.

Delicious poppy seed rolls.

Broccoli Soup--creamy but not too heavy

Squid Ink Risotto with Cuttlefish. Perfectly al dente.

Lunch even came with a salad.

Horse Goulash and Ravioli Filled with Potato. This was so good. The sauce was rich and the horse meat was tender.

Fruit with Yogurt Mousse and Fruit Crumble.

2016 09 05

Main Market Square

The Main Market Square in Ljubljana is hopping in the mornings and on Saturdays. We got there near noon and the market was starting to shut down.

Scale at one end of the market that allows you to check whether the producer cheated you. I found the Slovenes to be very honest so I don't think this was used much.

Next to the scale is a vending machine selling fresh apple juice.

This was a liter of apple juice for €1.30 It was so good.

Next to the apple juice machine was the Nonstop Mlekomat. It dispensed unskimmed fresh raw milk, something you will never see in the United States.

If you don't have your own bottle, you can purchase one and fill it with milk. My husband was brave enough to try it and got 0.2 liter of milk for €0.20. He thought it was quite good and refreshingly cold.

2016 09 04

Another Wednesday Night Dinner at Flavor Bistro

Here's this week's offering at the Wednesday Night Farmhouse Table at Flavor Bistro. Dinner was $18.95 and it included a white and a red wine. It was a Chardonnay and a Cabernet tonight--same wines as last week's.

Chicken Parmigiana

Creamy Garlic Potatoes

Rughetta Pasta

Grilled Autumn Veggies

Sautéed Spinach

Blue Lake Beans

Farmhouse Soup

Organic Romaine Salad with Lemon-Romano Dressing

Warm Stone Oven Bread

Pear Tart with Chantilly Cream

2016 10 26

Walking Tour Ljubljana

The next day, after breakfast at our hotel, we went to the TI and signed up for a walking tour at 10 am. This was an excellent 2-hour walking tour of the Old Town. Cost is €10 and it included a round-trip funicular ride to the castle. It was SO worth it.

The TI is located to the east of the Ljubljanica River. Looking back across the Triple Bridge, you can see Preseren Square and the Franciscan Church.

Town Hall, highlighted by a clock tower, was the start of the tour.

The tour met inside the Town Hall. The map of 17th century Ljubljana above the well was interesting. Other than a few additional bridges, not much was changed about the old town.

The Fountain of Three Carniolan Rivers is located in the Town Square between the Town Hall and the Cathedral. 

After we left the Town Square, we stopped at a restaurant. We were served a couple of local specialties, all courtesy of the tour. This was klobasa, Slovenian kielbasa, served with mustard and horseradish. I loved this but then again I love kielbasa.

Struklji--dough filled with nuts then boiled. I'm not sure how they kept the roll together to boil it since the dough was so thin. I was not a fan of this. It didn't have much flavor and I didn't like the boiled dough.

Several steps further is the Cathedral. The most interesting parts of the Cathedral are the bronze doors. They were created for Pope John Paul II's visit in 1996.

This side door to the Cathedral is actually on the main street leading to Krekov Square. This showed  3-D images of six 20th century bishops of Ljubljana.

The main door to the Cathedral tells the story of the Slovenes.

At the bottom right of the door, the face of the doors' designer has been rubbed and polished.

The cathedral is dedicated to St. Nicholas, the protector against floods and patron saint of fishermen and boatmen who sell their catch at the nearby market. The interior is Italian Baroque.

After the Cathedral, we came upon Butcher's Bridge. This was at the end of the market hall featuring butchers, hence the name. The bridge had bizarre sculptures by a local artist. These were supposed to be temporary but people loved them so they stayed. I was not a fan. The sculptures, which looked like dripping candles, were disturbing. 

This sculpture showed an emaciated figure.

The bridge was lined with locks.

Some had binkies. Did the lovers need a baby to solidify their love?

Further down the street is the Dragon Bridge, which features the symbol of Ljubljana. This bridge is one of the few notable architecture in Ljubljana not designed by Plecnik. It was designed by Jurij Zaninovic and dedicated to Franz Josef but neither of their names stuck with the bridge.

A lock even found its way on the Dragon Bridge.

We ended the tour in Congress Square with the Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity.

2016 09 05