48 hour weekend getaway in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Živjo folks!
Going to Slovenia was a really #yolo trip. My friend and I were actually planning to head to Munich for Oktoberfest but realised that plane tickets were £400. So we headed online and checked the cheapest plane tickets, and Ljubljana was there. We didn't know much about the country, we didn't know how to pronounce the city's name but we just decided to spend a weekend there!
Thankfully, my friend knew a Slovenian local and she was very kind to be our guide. I'm very much in awe of her, as she was super friendly to me throughout the trip, but she also published her own book when she was 17, and she's very intelligent and kind.
Anyway, back to my itinerary. So we took the Luton - Ljubljana Wizz flight for £30. We arrived and headed to Ljubljana castle for our lunch reservation.
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You can choose to either walk up the Ljubljana castle or take a funicular about a few euros. We decided to take the funicular up because we were running late for our lunch reservation. There are two really good restaurants at the castle itself, I chose the one with a 'Taste of Slovenia' menu, Na Gradu.
E told us that this is a traditional Slovenian dish so it is legit!
The food was good and the price was reasonable to us, but I think slightly expensive for Slovenia. My only gripe is that the service was really really slow but friendly.
E actually planned a pdf pile of places to bring us to and she was googling places for us to see and the history of places. I was very touched by her kind gesture.
This dragon is a symbol of the Ljubljana city. Folklore has it that this guy and this girl set about to kill this dragon, and the enchantress put him to sleep before the guy tried to stab him. Unfortunately, the guy did not work out sufficiently at the gym. Therefore, they decided to suffocate the dragon by stuffing the dragon's nostrils with the carcasses of everyone it killed. Quite grim.
We also passed by Prešeren Square which is named after a famous poet. He wrote this poem called The Waterman, which is about this socialite who rejected every Ljubljana guy but agreed to dance with this enchanting foreigner. Alas, the foreigner was evil and trapped her into a watery grave. It is also purported that he wrote the poem because he was unlucky in love and did it as a petty gesture because he was jilted. Interesting stories, we went for cake and coffee there which was really good.
Come on, look at it! :) Yum!!! So due to protected status, you can only have this cake in Lake Bled. It's a decadent vanilla and cream topped off with delicate puff pastry and icing sugar. I think the chef who prepared it is very OCD, everything is done in the number 7. The puff pastry is folded 7 times. The egg custard is cooked for 7 minutes. Cooled and then dusted, each pastry is cut into a perfect 7x7cm square. Eh hmm. The pastry chef should have done a heptagon.
Haha.
By then, it was time to the head to the airport. But not so fast! E recommended us to go down this luge. I was utterly terrified but glad I went.
We then made our way to the airport and said our goodbyes.
I highly recommend Ljubljana as a weekend trip :) And if I returned, I would also like to try the Pop Burger which was highly recommended by her too.
E also brought us to this street where you could buy a lot of neat handicrafts! I liked this shop because it sold handmade aprons and other wearables, and you could engrave your name. Loads of chocolate shops selling chocolate with the famous Slovenian sea salt. Bought some back for my family.
We went to nap and then met E at 8pm for dinner! She brought us to her favourite restaurant. It is really really good. The waiter came out and discussed what we wanted, and kind of decided what to order for us. I think it's because she a regular, so the service may have been different. She also recommended a very good bottle of wine.
The Restaurant is called As and it's right in the city centre. I particularly liked the homemade pasta and the fresh seafood - salt-baked fish on fire. But the waiter told me that the owner recently decided to focus on cured meat. So if I ever go back to Ljubljana, I am definitely going to try the meats!
Day Two
The next morning, we had a ride to Lake Bled - the iconic lake!
I spent 10 years of my life in the countryside, and 2 years next to a very nice lake (Wononscopomuc - I had to google how to spell it) in Connecticut. So I really like getting away from the city. And I highly recommend Lake Bled, even though there are tons of tourists, it is surreal to walk / jog around the lake and just spend a lazy afternoon.
We decided to rent a boat for 20 Euros to go to the church in the middle of the lake. It was a good call, thank god for friends that can actually row properly!
Isn't this beautiful?
We waited outside the church because there was a christening going on.
Legend has it that if you ring the bell 3 times, your wish will come true. I can't lift, so I couldn't make the bell ring!
It is important to be respectful of people's religion and culture! A lot of tourists were told off because they were playing around with the bell, and quite loud / disorderly.
After walking around the lake, we decided to try the famous kremna rezina
Accommodation
Going to Slovenia was a really #yolo trip. My friend and I were actually planning to head to Munich for Oktoberfest but realised that plane tickets were £400. So we headed online and checked the cheapest plane tickets, and Ljubljana was there. We didn't know much about the country, we didn't know how to pronounce the city's name but we just decided to spend a weekend there!
Thankfully, my friend knew a Slovenian local and she was very kind to be our guide. I'm very much in awe of her, as she was super friendly to me throughout the trip, but she also published her own book when she was 17, and she's very intelligent and kind.
Anyway, back to my itinerary. So we took the Luton - Ljubljana Wizz flight for £30. We arrived and headed to Ljubljana castle for our lunch reservation.
.
You can choose to either walk up the Ljubljana castle or take a funicular about a few euros. We decided to take the funicular up because we were running late for our lunch reservation. There are two really good restaurants at the castle itself, I chose the one with a 'Taste of Slovenia' menu, Na Gradu.
 |
| cheese dish |
E told us that this is a traditional Slovenian dish so it is legit!
This was really interesting, deep fried breaded chicken.
The food was good and the price was reasonable to us, but I think slightly expensive for Slovenia. My only gripe is that the service was really really slow but friendly.
 |
| This building is supposed to be iconic Ljubljana! |
E actually planned a pdf pile of places to bring us to and she was googling places for us to see and the history of places. I was very touched by her kind gesture.
 |
| Emperor Franz Josef Jubilee Bridge |
This dragon is a symbol of the Ljubljana city. Folklore has it that this guy and this girl set about to kill this dragon, and the enchantress put him to sleep before the guy tried to stab him. Unfortunately, the guy did not work out sufficiently at the gym. Therefore, they decided to suffocate the dragon by stuffing the dragon's nostrils with the carcasses of everyone it killed. Quite grim.
We also passed by Prešeren Square which is named after a famous poet. He wrote this poem called The Waterman, which is about this socialite who rejected every Ljubljana guy but agreed to dance with this enchanting foreigner. Alas, the foreigner was evil and trapped her into a watery grave. It is also purported that he wrote the poem because he was unlucky in love and did it as a petty gesture because he was jilted. Interesting stories, we went for cake and coffee there which was really good.
 |
| locks and love |
 |
| trying to row somewhere |
 |
| Shops selling Handicraft |
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| Canals and Shophouses |
 |
| happy with my polaroid |
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| Iconic Lake Bled Cream Cake |
Come on, look at it! :) Yum!!! So due to protected status, you can only have this cake in Lake Bled. It's a decadent vanilla and cream topped off with delicate puff pastry and icing sugar. I think the chef who prepared it is very OCD, everything is done in the number 7. The puff pastry is folded 7 times. The egg custard is cooked for 7 minutes. Cooled and then dusted, each pastry is cut into a perfect 7x7cm square. Eh hmm. The pastry chef should have done a heptagon.
Haha.
By then, it was time to the head to the airport. But not so fast! E recommended us to go down this luge. I was utterly terrified but glad I went.
We then made our way to the airport and said our goodbyes.
I highly recommend Ljubljana as a weekend trip :) And if I returned, I would also like to try the Pop Burger which was highly recommended by her too.
E also brought us to this street where you could buy a lot of neat handicrafts! I liked this shop because it sold handmade aprons and other wearables, and you could engrave your name. Loads of chocolate shops selling chocolate with the famous Slovenian sea salt. Bought some back for my family.
We went to nap and then met E at 8pm for dinner! She brought us to her favourite restaurant. It is really really good. The waiter came out and discussed what we wanted, and kind of decided what to order for us. I think it's because she a regular, so the service may have been different. She also recommended a very good bottle of wine.
 |
| amazing wine |
 |
| fish on fire |
The Restaurant is called As and it's right in the city centre. I particularly liked the homemade pasta and the fresh seafood - salt-baked fish on fire. But the waiter told me that the owner recently decided to focus on cured meat. So if I ever go back to Ljubljana, I am definitely going to try the meats!
Day Two
The next morning, we had a ride to Lake Bled - the iconic lake!
I spent 10 years of my life in the countryside, and 2 years next to a very nice lake (Wononscopomuc - I had to google how to spell it) in Connecticut. So I really like getting away from the city. And I highly recommend Lake Bled, even though there are tons of tourists, it is surreal to walk / jog around the lake and just spend a lazy afternoon.
We decided to rent a boat for 20 Euros to go to the church in the middle of the lake. It was a good call, thank god for friends that can actually row properly!
Isn't this beautiful?
We waited outside the church because there was a christening going on.
Legend has it that if you ring the bell 3 times, your wish will come true. I can't lift, so I couldn't make the bell ring!
It is important to be respectful of people's religion and culture! A lot of tourists were told off because they were playing around with the bell, and quite loud / disorderly.
After walking around the lake, we decided to try the famous kremna rezina
Accommodation
Intercontinental hotel came highly recommended as it was only built a few months ago. The bed is extremely comfy, facilities are amazing, staff is efficient and I like the emphasis on technology. You have several nifty switches everywhere for temperature etc. The only downside is that it is slightly further out (5 minutes walk!) from the city. People normally decide between this or the Grand Hotel Union.
1. Ljubljana Intercontinental Hotel (Slovenska Cesta 59 Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia)
2. As Restaurant / Gostilna As (Čopova ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)
3. Gostilna Na Gradu (grajska ploščad d.o.o.grajska planota 11000 ljubljana, slovenija, m: + 386 31 301 777)
4. Ljubljana Castle
5. Lake Bled
Hvala for reading :) x
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