A Day in Ljubljana, Slovenia

For our big trip of the summer, we decided to go to Croatia. We wanted to add a stop in Lake Bled just across the border in Slovenia. We didn't really know anything else about Slovenia, other than it's the homeland of Melania Trump, clearly a strong selling point. The most convenient airport with the best tickets turned out to be Ljubljana (loo-blee-on-ah), the capital of Slovenia. We would land at night, and knew better than trying to get straight into a car to drive to the next stop, so we decided to add a day in Ljubljana before moving on. Even though it was a total add-on, it turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the whole trip - so I'm dedicating a whole post just to the one day we had there.

Slovenia/Croatia border

closeup of the old city - very walkable with lots of sites in a small, charming area

Morning: Local Pastries and a Castle with a View
While I got to sleep in, Spouso took the boys to find local pastries,  known as Štruklji (we pronounced it "sh-troo-klee" which might be close to correct).  It's like if you made a bunch of crepes and squished them together with some nice fillings or toppings in between. Then we headed off into town. We walked through the market and took the train to the top of the hill in the center of town where the old castle is located. The train did the hard work of getting us up the hill, and then we just climbed up the top of the castle walls. The castle doesn't have a lot going on really - just an amazing view of the city below. So we stayed up at the top, took lots of pictures, and then opted to hike back down the hill. Lesson quickly learned: hikes and strollers don't go together!

looking for pastries- castle on the hill in the background

pastries found!

market with classic Slovenian tower in the background

top of the castle wall

yay squinty selfie!!

Afternoon: Lunch and A Quick Walk Through Town
We grabbed a quick traditional lunch of sausage and bread - tasty but not light. We passed through town, across the Triple Bridge which is Ljubljana's center and most photographed spot. Then, everyone was hot and tired, so we headed back the hotel for a break. The little guy needed a decent nap, the big guy needed to cool down, and I needed to get my homework done (unfortunate timing to be doing a certificate program).

traditional lunch of meat and bread

on the famous triple bridge - ready for a break

someone needs a break

Evening: Dragons & Drinks
After our break, we headed back into town. First stop - the famous Dragon Bridge. Ljubljana is the City of Dragons, so they are all over the place. They guard both sides of the Dragon Bridge, and it's said that they wag their tails if a virgin crosses the bridge. Cheeky Slovenians!! Then we walked along the river, stopped for a quick drink, and headed to dinner.

dragon bridge

lemonade by the river

walking along the river 

so lovely

more of this awesome architecture

Dinner & Dessert

When we arrived the previous night, we walked from restaurant to restaurant, unable to get in to any of them because we didn't have a reservation. We didn't eat well that night, but were able to make a reservation for the next day at what was considered one of the best spots in the city. It turned out to be one of the best meals of the year for us. Like Croatia, Slovenia has a lot of truffles as well as Italian influences in their cuisine. Meanwhile, little guy was like 8 months old at this point and just starting to explore eating real food. So, we sat in a beautiful garden, passing him back and forth while he gleefully tried fresh pastas, lots of truffles and other tasty things. Then, of course, gelato was had by all. 

best meal of the year: scrambled eggs with truffles

a well-earned gelato

Next day: A quick walk and then off we go
The next morning was my turn to wake up early with the little guy, so we went for a walk while the others slept in. We had the whole city to ourselves. Balloons were in the air - it was just beautiful.

balloons over the castle

smiling selfies

city to ourselves

Then, while he took his morning nap, we got everyone packed up and ready to move on to the next stop: Lake Bled. In the end, Ljubljana turned out to be just charming. It's smallish, and definitely walkable with small kids, so we were able to see the major sites in a day. The lazy river the flows through the city is lovely, while the castle on the hill makes every picture scenic. The architecture is unique, the food is tasty. It was just lovely all around.

The biggest travel lesson we did learn from this trip is the importance of having dinner reservations every night. Trying to drag the family through the city when everyone's hungry and tired and being turned away multiple times is just awful. Instead, this experience taught us to always make reservations - even just calling in the afternoon a few hours before you plan to eat. Knowing you have a reserved table somewhere is just huge.