Ljubjana, Slovenia - Not Tourist Friendly, Yet
Written: Jun 30 '00 (Updated Jul 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The old part of town is beautiful, and the food is very good.
Cons: Due to lack of tourism, prices are high and hotels are scarce.
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| kifwebe's Full Review: Slovenia |
When I planned my itinerary for my extended European tour, I had absolutely no idea I would end up in Slovenia. Truth be told, when my girlfriend suggested we make a detour to visit the city of Ljubjana, I was a bit apprehensive. We were in Salzburg after an incredible week that included Octoberfest in Munich and hiking in the German Alps of Bavaria, but frankly we were a bit behind schedule. We were both determined to get to the Greek islands while we could enjoy the beaches and clear sunny days that would be slowly giving way to the winter cool-down.
On the other hand, the discovery of a little known destination or hidden gem can be an exciting venture, and can often be the highlight of a trip. Neither of us had ever known anyone who had been there, but despite that and the fact that our Eurail passes would be invalid on Slovenian trains, we decided to journey into this relatively tourist-free country.
For a bit of background, Slovenia was once a part of former Yugoslavia. After WWII, it was annexed as the Slovenian Republic of the Yugoslav Federation, and not until 1991 did it declare its independence from Yugoslavia. Yugoslav troops invaded Slovenia in June of 1991, but luckily fighting lasted less than two weeks and a cease-fire was signed. By October Slovenia had its own currency, the Tolar, and several short months later it was officially recognized by the European community.
Our train left Salzburg in the late evening. We had just enjoyed a wonderful meal, and had enough wine to allow us to sleep well. Somewhere near the Austrian border we were required to switch trains, onto one unlike we had seen in the rest of Europe. It seemed slightly older and was a bit rougher around the edges than those we had become accustomed to. Neither of us allowed the new accommodations to prevent us from sleeping however, and within minutes of boarding the two of us were happily asleep.
A few hours later, a pair of men burst into our car, flipped on the lights, and started speaking in a tongue we had not yet heard on our expedition. One of them looked as if he had just run a marathon, and had glistening beads of sweat on his upper lip. Both were wearing well-tailored wool uniforms and donned authoritative brimmed hats. Our groggy looks of confusion indicated that we had no idea what was going on, but having gone through similar drills we were sure they wanted our passports.
"Teekehts!" barked Mr. Sweaty Lip. We had become so accustomed to using our Eurail passes, that we had forgotten to buy a separate ticket for travel within Slovenia. "@#$%&!" I thought as I saw him pull out a booklet that closely resembled those used by the highway patrol back home. I thought we were in some kind of trouble, but as it turned out we were just purchasing tickets. Of course, we hadn't been to an ATM machine, so we had no Slovenian Tolars. We had exhausted our funds in Austria and Germany with the exception of the change I was gathering for my coin collection.
Luckily Sarah had an American $20 bill, which was gladly accepted. Our change was returned in Tolars, and after a few calculations I figured out that we had just paid $8 for both tickets. "Not bad!" I thought. He really could have charged us whatever he wanted, and we couldn't have argued except in English, and I'm sure that would have done no good.
A bit later the train came to a stop, and we were told we had arrived. It was still dark outside, but we hoped that something would be open early so that we could hang out before searching for accommodation. We used the tolars we had obtained on the train to buy some rancid espresso at a small stand. There was very little activity in the station, and in fact we were the only backpackers to step off of the train. We felt pretty good about that, and sleepily chatted and studied the "Ljubjana" section of our guidebooks as we waited outside the tourist office, which was conveniently placed in station.
After an hour or so, two young people walked up to the counter and greeted us with a "Hello!" They had correctly guessed we were English speakers without our saying a word. They spoke flawless English in fact, and seemed eager to use it. Unfortunately they didn't give us a great deal of good news, as there was only 1 hotel in the city within our price range. There was a distant hostel, but they didn't recommend it because it was hard to reach via public transportation. Believe it or not, most hotels in Ljubjana cost around $100 per night (as of October 1999). It seems that because tourists are so infrequent, hotel owners make up for low volume with high prices. On top of that, the lack of tourism meant very few options. The hotels that do exist have a monopoly, and in that way can charge just about anything they want.
After a phone call from the tourist office, we headed out on foot to the only hotel we could afford. It was called the Hotel Park, and there are a number of reasons I remember that name distinctly. First of all, at about $35 a night, it was the most expensive accommodation we would have over the entire 3 months of our trip. That's right! The most we ever paid for accommodation was $35 per night, and it happened to be in a place that didn't receive many tourists. (The Peace and Love Hostel in Paris was close, but was slightly less expensive.)
In addition to being expensive, it was a horrible place to stay. The architecture of the building was as stoic as you'll find anywhere, no doubt due to former communist influence, and consisted of 4 rectangular outer walls with rectangular windows and a rectangular front door. It wasn't pleasant on the eye, and our room was far from pleasant on the nose. It resembled a prison cell, with the exception of having a window, but like I said it was our only option.
We dropped our backpacks and got out of there as quickly as possible. We would only have to sleep there - no big deal. The part of town we had walked through to get to the Hotel Park was the newer part of town. It was very unimpressive, with mostly buildings resembling the one I just described. But when we crossed the Ljubjanica River into the old part of town, our eyes lit up.
The buildings were very colorful, painted mostly in shades of red and yellow. The reddish Franciscan church at the center of town and the surrounding buildings were very impressive. The snarling green dragon statues that guarded the bridge were simultaneously welcoming and frightening in appearance. One thing that really stood out was the quiet nature of the city. Very few people were out and about, and at times we were the only people in sight. We wandered around the older part of town, stopping at an incredible flea market that was set up on the street that paralleled the river. It seemed to go on and on, and contained many interesting artifacts of the previous communist regime including war medals and uniforms. There was a great deal of antique jewelry and other sundry items, and before we knew it a couple of hours had passed. We didn't buy anything because it was early in our trip, and we knew we'd have to lug it around for a couple of months, but it was fascinating.
By that time it was time to sample Slovenian cuisine. Not surprisingly there was a lot of Italian influence in the cooking which also featured quite a bit of seafood. We in fact ended up eating a pizza, which we wouldn't know until later comparisons in Italy, was both delicious and authentic. Later on in the evening we had a bit of trouble finding a restaurant for dinner as many seemed closed, but we finally happened upon one late that night.
We learned an important lesson for travel in Slovenia - make sure you understand the menu before you sit down. We glanced at the menu and the prices looked very reasonable. What we didn't know was that we would be getting one of everything on the menu, whether we liked it or not. The meal was served in a barrage of courses that seemed never to stop coming. That wouldn't have been bad but we weren't prepared to spend the nearly $50 we did fork out, and we had quite a hard time communicating the fact that I was a vegetarian. Sarah had some very interesting seafood, and I had a polenta dish that was actually quite delicious. I had to send back the salad I ordered because it was covered with the local specialty - a large, thin slice of horse meat.
All in all, Ljubjana was much more beautiful than I had imagined it would be. It was very quiet and the people we met were extremely friendly and talkative. The old part of the city was very photogenic, and Ljubjana Castle, which sits atop a hill overlooking the city, provides great panoramic views. Despite the lack of hotels, I would say that Ljubjana is worth a visit if you happen to be on your way from Austria to Italy or vice versa. We found out that it's far from a cheap destination, mostly due to the lack of tourist infrastructure and the subsequent competition amongst hotel owners. I'm not sure I would spend a great deal of time in the city itself, but our guidebooks claimed that the surrounding countryside was beautiful. Perhaps in a future trip I'll have to explore Slovenia a bit more thoroughly. It was off the beaten path so to speak, and I don't regret my visit in the least. And I wouldn't be surprised if within 10 years it's much more popular amongst tourists.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kifwebe
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Location: :noitacoL
Reviews written: 29
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