To get into town, you need to take the bus or a taxi. The bus ride takes about 30 to 40 minutes and it is not a shuttle; it makes all the stops along the way. I don’t know if the bus route simply takes the back roads or if these roads are “the” roads, but the route meanders through villages and neighborhoods as it makes its way into the city. That gave me a chance to sit back and really observe this place for the first time. The first impression one has is that people enjoy themselves very much here. For an early Friday afternoon everyone was pleasant and most people on the street appeared casual and relaxed.
We finally arrived in town and I took a taxi from the main train/bus station to my temporary home, the Pri Mraku hotel near the old town. The town is old, a little dirty and a little run down, but that is not to say that it is not pretty. The cracks in the plaster and exposed bricks give the town a charm similar to that of Rome. But by no means would you mistake Ljubljana with Rome. Ljubljana definitely has an Alpine or perhaps “Austro-Hungarian” feel to it.
After settling in my (somewhat Spartan) room, being still a bit wired from the trip, I took a walk on the town and headed towards Prešeren Trg, the main square for social activity and central location to meet people. I took a coffee at the café in the local square and met Allan from Sweden. He is married to a Slovene and comes here often. We spoke about our homes. He was impressed that I knew a bit of Norwegian and stunned when I told him that my family on the other side was from somewhere in Dalsland as this is where he is from. It was a happy coincidence and he gave me his email incase I ever found myself in Sweden. How crazy is that?
After that chance encounter, I felt much more relaxed. I now knew that this was going to be a great trip.
I had been awake for over 24 hours but I was so excited to be here that I couldn’t sleep. So I decided to walk along the Ljubljanica (the river which runs through the middle of town) and explore. All along the river there are outdoor cafes and pubs filled with people. At many of them there were large screen TV’s set up for patrons to watch the world cup outside in the pleasantly warm evening. I cheered on Nemčija (Germany) to defeat Argentinja along with the local at Caffe P____ and chatted with a few patrons. From the get go, these have been some of the nicest people I have ever met. By the end of the match I felt like I part of the group I was sitting with! I am really looking forward to the next six weeks.
