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There is a small feeling of comfort, arriving in a place where the surroundings seem familiar but yet still strangely new. Not quite a local, but then, not a tourist either.
We arrived on the last day of a three day public holiday break when almost everything was closed and the streets deserted, making it a perfect time to reacquaint ourselves with the winding streets in the old town.
On the subject of the public holiday, the first two were for Christmas and the third to commentate when the decision was taken to break away from the then Yugoslavia. Then there is another holiday in June when independence is finally achieved. So one day when the decision is taken and another when it is fulfilled. Sounds good to me.
Ljubljana is absolutely covered with Christmas lights, brightly lit pine trees both big and small in every square. Even in the small winding cobbled streets, someone has tied a ribbon to a tree or light post, or hung a worn looking decoration to a window just to say that it’s Christmas.
Speaking with the locals, it seems that it hasn’t snowed in this area at Christmas for many years, the big snowfalls now come in January or February so it makes getting around so much easier for us, although, it’s still cold and hats, gloves and scarves are definitely needed, especially when the sun goes down.
Of course, apart from going up to the castle that overlooks the city, which we will definitely not be doing, the city is virtually flat, and that makes for a very pleasant change.
Arriving around midday and check-in not until 3:00, we spent the intervening time searching for a restaurant we went to when we were last here 5 years ago, a restaurant that we did not know the name of, or where it was, but always the optimist, we eventually found it and made a point of eating there again. It’s called Jadro, right near the central market and although it has new owners and is billed as a Gastobar rather than a restaurant, the food was great and the owner a real delight who never stopped talking. The Borovničke or blueberry liqueur served at the end of the night was something that took the breath away.
Unlike other markets we have visited, the Christmas markets here are not so much centred in a plaza, but rather strung out along the walkways beside the river, so it is a much easier stroll made even more enjoyable by the fewer numbers of people, although after dark the numbers do start to pick up and the cafe tables that line the river are packed with people, with a glass of wine, a mug of beer or just having coffee, clearly just socialising and people watching. That among all the Christmas lights make for a very pleasant evening stroll in what was tonight, quite a balmy night.
Our time here has been very restful. Leisurely breakfasts, an hour or two of wandering to nowhere in particular with the occasional detour for a bit of department store shopping, then back to the hotel for drinks and cake before heading out for dinner later in the night. Slow travel at its best, but I fear once we hit Italy tomorrow the pace will definitely pick up.
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