We spent our last day in Slovenia in the capital, Ljubljana, where having a car was unnecessary. So we dropped our car at the airport before noon and headed to the bus stop. The airport info desk said we couldn’t buy bus tickets ahead of time, so we found shade and waited. Paid 4€ each in cash on the bus.
After dropping our luggage off, we headed to the iconic Dragon Bridge for our first views of the Ljubljanica River.
Seeing that the line wasn’t too bad at Klobasarna, famous for their Carniolian sausage, Eric scoped out a counter spot while I waited to order. We decided to split a whole sausage (quite good, though we both liked the one in Bovec a little better) which we washed down with a local dark beer. The mustard and horseradish combo was on point and spicy!
The St. Nicholas Cathedral was across the street so we admired the “Pope door” then continued exploring down Stari trg, checking out some options for wine.
After seeing our third DIMATTEO Gelateria we stopped in and tried the pistachio (me) and the vegan pistachio passion fruit (E). Prices were higher for the pistachio options, 3,40 for a cone, but the serving size and taste was good.
We wound our way along the river with lovely views of boats and colorful buildings on our way back, including Triple Bridge, Prešernov trg (square), and the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation (Frančiškanska cerkev Marijinega oznanjenja).
I wanted to check out Tivoli Park so I left Eric in our room and went exploring. There wasn’t much to photograph but it was a nice leafy respite from the city.
Around 7pm we headed out to our wine bar reservations at Koželj Wines Ljubljana and got a great shot of the castle atop the hill in the early evening light.
We were seated outside and thankfully it wasn’t too buggy (mosquitos) or smoky (people). We weren’t super hungry so we decided to split the Slovenia cheese plate which came with four varieties of cow milk cheeses. One with onion (my fave), one with herbs (tasted like pizza or bruschetta), one smoked (mild with a little chew) and one aged (sharp, with an acidic tang, Eric’s fave).
For the wines we each tried 3.
Eric
- Vitovska – Pear! Very autumnal, different. Light mineral, medium lingering finish.
- Pinela – White pepper and tropical (pineapple). Finish fades quickly.
- Steyer Dišeci Traminec – aromatic. Balanced sweetness, a little floral and apple. Lovely gewurztraminer.
Leandra
- Lodoma blaufrankish – deep purple color. Deep plum, black pepper. Medium tannins, tastes youngish.
- Mezzoforte Blend – rock candy, cherry cola. Very smooth. Very dark, inky ruby. Shorter finish. Served chilled.
- Brut rose – A little peach and apple. Punchy dryness. Light rose color. Made from Žametna Črnina, a resuscitated grape.
After our meal, we took a quick walk around town to see some of the sites lit up. It was very lively with a lot of places along the river totally full.
After a night’s rest, we hauled all of our bags back to the bus depot to catch our shuttle to Treviso. The adventure continues in Italy!
