Ljubljana - A Paradigm Shift

I want to start this blog by talking about the Slovenian national anthem. Unlike many national anthems (not that I am an expert!) which celebrate a nation's battles (the American Star Spangled Banner), its monarchies (Britain's God Save the Queen), or an uprising (France's La Marseillaise), Slovenia's takes a different slant. Consider the words from one of its verses:

God's blessings on all nations

Who long and work for that bright day,

When o'er earth's habitation

No war, no strife shall hold its sway;

Who long to see

That all man free

No more shall foes, but . . .

No more shall foes, but neighbours be. 

The reason I am raising this, aside from the fact the words resonated with me, is that the man who wrote it, France Preseren (1800 - 1849), was from Ljubljana. As we walked around this town with our private guide, Marijan (a very informative and talented guy who works for Rick Steves) made the point to us that this city's statues and memorials don't celebrate wars or conquests but rather the arts with most statues being of poets, musicians and such.  It seemed an interesting shift in the usual paradigm to me.  I could also go on about the huge influence the architect, Josef Plecnik, had on enhancing this city's beauty but that would take far too long and, besides, there are books about it!

We spent two and a half days exploring Ljubljana.  The overview Marijan gave us and the fact that it is very manageable in terms of size made our experience here very enjoyable.  It is a university town with many faculties focused on the arts. Naturally, this also makes it a lively town filled with young people.  We took the funicular up to the castle, walked along the river, visited the cathedral, went to the market and spent time relaxing in bars and restaurants. The people were always helpful and friendly.  For example, on Saturday when I asked a server at a restaurant where we could watch the FA Cup final, he pointed to a bar down the way (Casablanca) and then gave me three vouchers for free drinks there. We had lots of fun and the fact that Wigan beat Manchester City was a bonus!  Later we ate at a charming little restaurant called Marley and Me and, again, there was nothing to complain about.  The food, service and prices were great,  The next evening we returned, as much to get out of the rain as anything, and watched the Canada - Czech hockey game.  It was another good time - a different but again very good waiter (Zdani replaced by Alan) and our team won again!  One  place I would recommend to go is a restaurant/bar/club called Neboticnik on the rooftop of one of the buildings. From it you get spectacular views of the city and its surroundings mountains.  Monday we moved on to Bled in the Slovenian countryside but took with us great memories of this gentle and architecturally-rich town.