City Tours & Last Day in Slovenia
Small restaurant famous for it’s Kransjska sausage.
Side door to St. Nicholas Cathedral
Rail of the funicular, looking up Castle Hill
Ljubljana Castle
View from the tower of Ljubljana Castle
Prehistoric wheel found preserved in a nearby marsh, believed to be 5350yrs old. It is the oldest wheel ever found. On display in the castle museum.
Statues from the castle museum
Dragons are visible everywhere in town. This one lurks in the castle
View along the river promenade, lined with outdoor restaurants and bars, even in February.
The Slovenians refer to them as “Pickerel”. No idea if we have anything similar to them but they have nothing to do with the fresh water pickerel found in New England
Turnip soup. Very tasty, but I would have barfed if you first told me what I was eating. Paired with Bela Zvezdica white wine at the restaurant Güjžina.
Next tasting. Restaurant Klobasarna, of aforementioned sausage fame. It was actually very good! Paired with a light red similar to a Pinot Noir. This wine was called Cviček. 
Fifth tasting. Restaurant Hiša Pod Gradom. Struckli with mushroom sauce. Very tasty layered dish. Wine was Zalatel Chardonnay.
Ljubljana Puppet Theater in Krekov Square. Caught the mechanical characters coming out of the clock at just the right time.
Sunday was our last full day in Slovenia and our final scheduled activity was a 3hr food & wine tour, starting with a tiny seafood restaurant called Vino & Ribe (which means wine and seafood). Fried sardines and “pickerel” complimented by a white wine called Malvazija (similar to Chardonnay). We liked it so much we went back after the tour and bought 3 bottles to bring home.
Hand sculpture which can turn on a water spigot. Looks like something out of Monty Python or the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine movie!
Below, a work by the same sculptor that did the hand. The photos below depicts the street of the alley where water flows over bronze faces, which appear progressively older as the alley descends.
Next tasting . . . . Barigla Bar & Wine shop. Prosciutto, Tonko cheese, cheese with chive, and Kalamata olives. Wine was called Teran.
Final tasting was at the restaurant called Nebotičnik at the top of what they jokingly call “the skyscraper” which boasts 13 floors! Neglected to get a photo here unfortunately. We had a traditional Slovenian layer cake called “prekmurska gibanica” paired with a semi-dry white sparkling wine called Srebna.
Spiral stairs leading down from the “skyscraper.” We’re professionals, we took the elevator
Final thoughts:
What a gem of a country! The people were incredibly nice, so much to see and do. The city was small enough to walk around and was very clean. Beautiful place. Time well spent here and definitely a place we would be happy to make a return trip.
I love all of the pictures!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a country that I would like too
Looks like an interesting place to visit. Thanks for sharing. The face sculptures in the street look cool although not sure I would want to try walking through there after a few adult beverages. With my luck I'd roll an ankle on some guys nose.
ReplyDeleteYes, a treacherous walk at night!
DeleteEverything makes me want, small sardines, your slice of pâté, well everything. And accompanying it, how are the wines there?This country must be good to visit.André
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The wines are quite good. They have an odd wine that is quite popular - orange wine. It’s really a type of rosé but we both thought it tasted horrible!
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