June 22, 2024–Ljubljana, Slovenia

Today’s tour brought us to Ljubljana (pronounced Loob-yonna), the capital of Slovenia, which is inland and required a bus ride from Koper, where we docked. Koper isn’t much farther than a long Uber ride (10 miles) from Trieste, Italy, where we were yesterday, so I suspect that our ship probably just idled outside the port here overnight before docking this morning.

Slovenia is a small country of 2.2 million people, and is about the size of New Jersey. It’s our first visit to a Balkan country, but it’s close enough to the Alps that you can see them on a clear day.

Anyway, our bus left Koper for Ljubljana a few minutes before 9:00 on a sunny, warm morning, and almost immediately began a steady climb. Hilly forests and two tunnels brought us to a dramatic spike of a mountain ridge, after which we passed through a high plateau of farm country. Then it was back into mountains, which were very lush and green.

Ljubljana sits in a bowl, or river valley, with mountains all around, but the main part of the city is flat, a pleasant change from San Marino and Trieste, where we were the last two days. The city’s population is 270,000, and I think most of them were out in the old city today enjoying the Saturday sunshine, along with that many more tourists.

Our bus dropped us off across the street from the Greek Orthodox Church, which I would have liked to visit after seeing the one in Trieste yesterday, but it was not to be. Our walking tour took us in the opposite direction, past the US and Russian embassies, which oddly enough are side by side. The German Embassy was just a bit farther down the street—quite a little Embassy Row.

The highlights came quickly after that, as we soon reached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Republic Square, where the country declared independence in 1991, along with the National Parliament Building, which is directly across the street from the Square.

Just a couple blocks farther is Congress Square, home to the elegant University Building and prominently located Ursuline Catholic Church. Then we reached the canal-like Ljubljanica River, where many shops, restaurants and outdoor cafes line the walkways on both banks. We crossed the river on Butchers’ Bridge, known for the thousands of locks on its railing, and continued along a wide pedestrian street to St. Nicholas Cathedral, yet another of the magnificent Catholic cathedrals we’ve visited on our cruise.  A month spent exploring cathedrals in this part of the world would be time well spent.

After that it was time for lunch, which was right nearby at a restaurant called Vinoteka Sokol. There we were served what was promoted as a traditional Slovenian lunch, and all I can say is that if this is how they eat here I’m moving to Slovenia. We started with mushroom soup in a bread bowl, followed by veal and mashed potatoes, with apple strudel and ice cream for dessert, all of this accompanied by a nice glass of red or white wine. I was stuffed to the gills and smiling broadly when we waddled back out into the hot, sunny Ljubljana afternoon.

We had about an hour of free time to explore after lunch, and we used the first part of it to shop for a postcard and souvenirs, and were successful on all counts. After that we set off for the Dragon Bridge. Dragons are a big thing in Slovenia, and we knew there was a bridge over the Ljubljanica River nearby that had dragon statues on both ends. A quick stop at the tourist office pointed us in the right direction, and in short order we were taking photos of some fierce looking dragons.

By then it was time to slowly start making our way back to the spot where we were to meet our guide and find the bus to take us back to Koper and the ship. I had just enough time to get a cup of gelato (did I mention that it was hot?), before we regrouped and walked a few blocks to the waiting bus.

Ordinarily I’d end here by saying we had an uneventful ride back to the port, but we didn’t, at least not exactly. The highway between Ljubljana and Koper is fine, but we got caught in Saturday traffic heading down from the capital to the shore, and our 75 minute ride took a full three hours. Any thought we had of poking around Koper when we got back were out the window, as our bus only made it back to the pier about twenty minutes before the all aboard time of 5:30 pm. Maybe it was just as well. The bus air conditioning wasn’t great, and I was hot and tired enough to call it a day anyway.

All in all though, a great day in Slovenia, and from what I heard from passengers who took other excursions there are plenty of other great places to visit here. Slovenia may be small, but it’s nice and I’m glad we stopped here. Tomorrow we’re in Zadar, Croatia, which will be the 44th country on our big adventure. I can’t wait to see it, and I’ll be back afterwards with a full report, so stay tuned.

The Orthodox Church, just down the street from where we got off the bus. Unfortunately our tour took us in the opposite direction.

The US Embassy in Slovenia. You can just make out the flag on the left. The light colored building on the far right is the Russian Embassy. How about that.

Independence Square, where Slovenia declared its independence in 1991. There was an exhibit of bears there, painted by different countries.

Can you guess which country painted this bear?

The National Gallery is directly across the street from Independence Square.

A few blocks away is Congress Square, home to several elegant buildings. This is the University Building.

At the other end of Congress Square is the Ursuline Catholic Church.

Another short walk brought us to Prešeren Square. France Prešeren was a great Slovene classical poet.

The Hauptmann House is the oldest building in Prešeren Square.

Also on Prešeren Square is the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation.

The Gallery Emporium is just what it says it is, a shopping emporium.

The Ljubljanica River runs through the city and is lined by shops and cafes.

Butchers’ Bridge is a footbridge across the river, and is one of those bridges you see occasionally in Europe where people attach locks to the railing. I suppose each person’s reason is unique to him or her.

The river feels more like a canal, at least in this part of the city.

Some of the cafes and shops that line the river.

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas. Wait until you see the interior.

The Cathedral is truly beautiful.

The ceiling of the Cathedral is magnificent.

One more photo of the Cathedral.

Inside the excellent restaurant where we had lunch.

The mushroom soup came in a bread bowl.

Here’s to Ljubljana!

Another successful postcard mailed home.

The town hall.

One way to get around the old town.

Ljubljana really is charming.

We found the Dragon Bridge over the Ljubljanica River.

Can’t remember what this building was, but I liked it.

The old town is pretty as a postcard.

On our way back we passed the national court building.