G&B: 2023: Ljubljana & Trieste

Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble

Exploring Ljubljana's old town, plus an excursion to Bled, visiting the lake, the island and the castle

Wednesday 24th May 2023

After a good night's sleep in a very comfortable bed, we were up early for breakfast. Knowing that our time in the city was limited and that our excursion to Bled was due to start at 9:00 am, we had breakfast early and allowed ourselves about an hour in which to explore the old town on foot.

The Vander Hotel (the terracotta building in the middle of the photo) is right in the centre of the old town. We couldn't have been in a better location.

University of Ljubljana.

Ljubljana Castle, high above the city.

The triple bridge. We didn't get a good photo of it at street level...

...but this one (not ours) gives a much better view of it and of Prešeren Square beyond, where we did take several photos.

Back at the hotel, our guide Natasa arrived at exactly 9:00am and met us at the hotel reception. She seemed quite charming as she explained that the weather was not on our side and that this meant that long walks would not be advisable. She had, instead, adapted the itinerary to include a few shorter walks, which would hopefully be timed to miss the predicted showers. It all worked out perfectly and we did miss the rain.

She led us out of the pedestrianised zone, passing the art nouveau Union Hotel, which reminded us of the city's Austro-Hungarian past, to where our driver, Matic was parked in a very smart looking car. He looked to be about 15, but was obviously older! He was also very pleasant and spoke excellent English.

The drive from the city centre took us north, past the airport and on to the town of Bled in around an hour and a quarter. In Bled, our driver dropped us here, outside a restaurant called Zaka, where we had a toilet stop and some coffee.

The restaurant is known for its traditional Bled cream cakes (kremsnita), which are also popular throughout the country. The fridge just outside the door was full of it and it did look very tempting, but we decided to take note and try it another time. It was, after all, only just after 10:00 am and we had had a hearty breakfast. Well we never got another opportunity and in hindsight, I now regret not having one there and then!

From the restaurant, we began our walk along the edge of the lake.

Competitors in the European rowing championships starting tomorrow, were out practicing.

Bled Island is in the middle of the lake and is a key attraction. Natasa told us that we would soon be visiting it.

Our walk ended when we reached a small boat moored at the side of the lake. Natasa spoke to the sailor and within minutes we were invited aboard and he began rowing us across to the island.

Natasa explained that the boats are all owned by families who pass on the traditions from father to son. When asked if the daughters also got a look in, she asked him and he said "No, this is man's work".

Approaching the island with its 99 stone steps.

Traditionally, men have to carry their brides up these stairs if they wish to get married in the church at the top!

Another eating opportunity missed - at the top of the stairs was a Poticnica, a place where you can find various types of the traditional Slovenian "potica" with various fillings. Potica is Slovenian festive pastry made from rolled leavened dough, spread with various fillings and rolled in a round pot mould that is also called "poticnica". The walnut one looked particularly appetising.

The Church of the Mother of God on the lake.

Visitors are encouraged to pull the rope firmly three times to ring the bell and also make a wish. Bruce gave it a try.

Next, a walk up the bell tower.
Bruce climbed to the top... Geoff waited beneath.

The view from the top. Geoff looked very small from up here.

It was time to walk back down the stairs to the boats.

We boarded a different boat this time, taking a slightly longer ride to a small settlement further along the shore.

We disembarked at Mlino, where Matic was waiting for us with the car.

Another short trip around part of the lake and we arrived here for another walk in the direction of the castle.

Our walk took us to a point where the castle was directly overhead. Natasa asked us whether we would like to walk up to it or, alternatively, whether she should call Matic and ask him to drive us up. We thought about... for about 2 seconds. Matic was summoned!

Bled Castle, taken from the car park. We were pleased that we hadn't climbed all the way up to it.

The views from the castle terrace were very impressive.

We did a tour of the interior of the castle and the museum. Natasa explained the key exhibits that we saw, but we didn't take many photos because we were listening carefully. This is the 16th century Baroque chapel in the upper courtyard.

Natasa asked us if we we'd like to have lunch at the castle restaurant before returning to the city to continue the tour. Alternatively, we could skip lunch and have a slightly longer tour back in Ljubljana. Her time was booked until 5.00pm so it didn't really matter to her. We decided that we wanted lunch and invited both her and Matic to join us. We were impressed to discover that she had booked a table for us here anyway, just in case we needed it!

The restaurant and its owners are well known for fine dining and Slovenian speciality dishes, with ingredients all locally sourced. We didn't want a big meal, because we had already booked a nice restaurant for this evening, so we all chose one of the recommended dishes called "Dream of Krainerwurst", which was Carniolan sausage with (fresh) horseradish and mustard. Bruce, Natasa and Matic really enjoyed it. Geoff was less keen!

After lunch, we drove directly back to Ljubljana. Natasa recommended that we go to the castle, especially as our time in the city was short and we might not have time to go there by ourselves. It is bigger than the one at Bled and has been extensively restored to make it accessible for all manner of public events and exhibitions. We enjoyed what we saw of it.

Once again, the location enabled us to get good views over the city.

The Slovenian flag in on the left. The other one is the flag of Ljubljana.

Looking down at Congress Square. The prominent building is the Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity.

The Skyscraper in the middle foreground (Neboticnik) is one of the city's most recognisable landmarks. Built in the 1930's, it was, upon completion, the tallest building in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the ninth-tallest high-rise in Europe.

We could have got up here using the funicular if we had had more time.

The Chapel of St George, in the castle.

The stairs lead up to a Michelin recommended restaurant.

This is the wine store for the restaurant.

Matic drove us back down the hill into the city. Here we thanked him and said goodbye. Natasa continued our tour on foot, taking us to the cathedral.

After taking us to the vegetable market and showing us a few more sights, we said goodbye to Natasa and went back to Prešeren Square to visit another church, the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation.