Tivoli is Ljubljana's largest park, covering an area approximately 5 km2 and stretching right into the city centre. It is very popular among its residents and, similar to Central park in New York, offers space for recreation like jogging or strolling, offers shade in summer heat, has sports centre, 2 national museums National Museum of Contemporary History and International Centre of Graphic Arts, a greenhouse that can be visited and a few bars to refresh yourself. The park has chestnut tree-lined walks, ornamental flower beds and numerous statues and fountains. If you go to Tivoli from Prešern Square you will first see Jakopič Promenade (Jakopičevo sprehajališče), designed by the architect Jože Plečnik which is now an outdoor venue for large-format photograph exhibitions.
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Bled is one of top three visited places in Slovenia, but even if afraid of the crowds, worth visiting as the area is vast and you can adjust your visit. Whether for summer swim in a refreshing lake or ice skating on it's frozen surface. Maybe for famous Bled's Cremeschnitte cake or to enjoy a stunning view from Bled's castle atop of the cliff like mountain. On the lake wooden pletnas are rowing to the island, where visitors can walk up impressive stairs, 99 of them, towards the wishing bell to make their desired wish.
Bled has many activities and a variety of accommodation possibilities, from 5 star hotels to hostels, from camping grounds to glamorous camping known shortly as glamping. Lately there is a lot of talking about food self-sufficiency, and there is something interesting you should know about Slovenia and self-sufficiency... We don't produce even a gram of sugar but we are completely self-sufficient in wine production. In an average season we produce slightly more than 100% of our consumption. It breaks down into 70% white wine, 27% red wine and the remaining 3% were rosé and sparkling wines. In other words, out of 52 different sorts of vines cultivated in Slovenia, 37 are white and 15 red. The statistic shows that the average Slovene drinks around 40 liters of wine in a year.
Prešern Square is among locals considered as the ultimate central square. Here you meet for coffee, for night party or just for a city stroll. If you are meeting a guide, you’ll most possibly meet him or her here. A thing which you might notice is that locals are very proud of having so important square named after a poet. And not just any poet, this is Slovenia’s greatest poet, named France Prešern. He was a romantic, like Dante, very much in love with Julia, who - because of social differences - he could never have. Square was developed from a road junction in front of one of the city gates leading to medieval Ljubljana. Overlooking the square is the pinkish Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, and on the opposite side Plečnik's Triple Bridge extends the square to the other side of the Ljubljanica River. Prominently standing near the bridge is a statue of a poet with a gaze towards statue of Julia. Take a moment and you’ll see her (still) leaning over a window in the first floor of a yellow house. Let's begin with something less known. Metlika. Little town in the southeast part of Slovenia, right at the border with Croatia. Metlika is not a famous tourist destination but has a genuine fell. The majority of people visit Metlika in spring for the biggest event, called Vinska Vigred (translation: Wine Spring) and in the summer, when people enjoy beautiful landscape and, most famous, the warmest river in Slovenia, River Kolpa. But the town itself offers nice stroll even during colder months. The medieval centre is concentrated around the castle, forming three squares. In the castle there is a tourist information centre and a museum, worth visiting, about the region. In the park in front of the castle there are many memorial symbols. The most picturesque being the statue of a partisan and, probably the most curious of them all, bust of Yugoslavian president Tito. Metlika is among Slovenians most known for its wines. So when visiting this area, a stop in a cellar is a must. You can choose among many small ones or you can head to the biggest named Vinska klet Metlika, translated as Wine cellar Metlika. Dragon Bridge is one of the main tourist attractions in Ljubljana. Everybody wants to see the famous Ljubljana dragon and have a picture with it so don’t be surprised to see tourist climbing up the Dragon Bridge. The main question there is always: How many dragons are on the bridge? And when counting them, be sure to check if any of the dragons is wagging its tail. That means a virgin is crossing the bridge. The bridge was built in 1901 and first named it a "Jubilee Bridge" in honor of Hapsburg Emperor Franz Josef's 40th anniversary of rule. Don’t forget, Ljubljana and Slovenia was at that time still part of the Austro Hungarian Empire. Bridge was one of the first creation built in Viennese Secession style (better known here as Art Nouveau) in Ljubljana, one of the first reinforced concrete bridges in Europe and first bridge in Slovenia paved with asphalt.
With the collapse of the empire in 1919 they changed the name into Dragon Bridge. Ljubljana is believed to be the city of dragons, after all, there is a dragon in City of Ljubljana’s coat of arms on the top of the castle. We believe it symbolizes strength, courage and might, even though the Ljubljana dragon had to be killed, according to the legend, by Greek hero Jason, so the people of Ljubljana could live freely. This double standard is rather confusing, but so is the legend. There is also a Christian legend, that St. George was actually the one killing the dragon. Anyhow, today we like the dragon and our ancestors from a century ago have put it onto the bridge, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Ljubljana. But this is not the only place to see Ljubljana dragon. While walking in the city, keep your eyes opened and you might see another one on somebody wall, fence…
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TjašaAfter writing a blog in Slovenian language for 10 years I have finally come to my sense and started writing one in English as well. Categories
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