Having learned from previous solo trips, especially in the last few years that it's always good to have one day with absolutely nothing booked or planned, I made sure I had at least one day to do as I pleased and where my feet took me to see what Ljubljana had to offer.
Although I'd had a long afternoon to get my bearings in Ljubljana the day I arrived I had two full-day tours taking me outside of the city during my four and a half day stay. It was time to leisurely get to know Ljubljana before I bid it farewell a few days later. Tackling a few necessities like getting a local SIM card for my phone and buying a yoga mat for the yoga retreat I was going on the following week, I found the more "business" side of Ljubljana that was still only a 10-15 minute walk from my hotel and easy to navigate. The city isn't large, it's quite compact and easy to walk around with little challenges.
I then made my over to the Ljubljana castle which sits high above the city. While I had not encountered many tourists in my short time in the city; there were quite a few waiting in line for the funicular so clearly I now knew where everyone was!
Alas, my wait wasn't too long and after riding the short funicular railway ride to the top, I made my way to the tourist information to retrieve my headset for my self guided tour to learn a little bit about the castle's history. Now, heavily touristed and also serving as a venue for weddings and other large events and hosting a few places to eat and a wine tasting room; it's well maintained and provides incredible views of the city below. I wandered through the museum, watched the short movie on the castle's history climbed the steps to the two view points above the city and did all the touristy stuff before making my way back down to the city below.
As I'd been keeping up with my social media posts while I was traveling, I had learned that a professor from a graduate program I completed nearly 15 years before was traveling around Croatia for a few weeks with her husband and several friends, visiting many of the same places I'd visited in Croatia two years before. Long story short, they planned to take a day trip to Ljubljana and Lake Bled from Zagreb the same day I was spending in the city. They had made their way to the city and were enjoying pizza at Pop's Pizza (the same place I found my first day and at my recommendation) as I made my way back down to the city from the castle. While our visit was short, it was wonderful to reconnect! You just never know who you might run into while traveling! So great to see you, Beth!
Wanting to get the full touristy experience, I then decided to take a boat cruise along the Ljubljanica River to take in the views of the city from the water. The entertaining and informative river cruise was relaxing and provided a larger overview of the city. Definitely a peaceful way to spend a hour in the late afternoon.
Next up was a wander along the streets to visit a few shops before grabbing dinner at Pop's Place Burger Bar, the brother restaurant to the pizza place I loved. Both are apparently quite iconic in Ljubljana and had come highly recommended and did not disappoint. And they both provided fantastic food with views of the river.
I remember thinking as I made my way back to my hotel later that evening that Ljubljana was most definitely a place I could spend more time, a place that made it easy to leisurely wander the streets along the river, pop into a cafe, restaurant, or wine bar to grab a drink or a bite to eat while people watching and taking in the views. The laid back feeling I'd felt during my initial first impression of the city a few days before stuck with me the more I got to know this charming little city. And with its beautiful countryside surrounding in each direction, it's perfectly situated to be a base for other explorations. While my time there was only for four days, I knew when I left Ljubljana, it would not be a goodbye, but a see you again soon.
"There's not a country that I've visited, I haven't fallen in love with, whether it was 10 minutes or 10 years." -Unknown
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