LJUBLJANA - SLOVENIA

With the trip to America just 3 weeks earlier I had almost forgot about the Slovenia trip I had booked for easter weekend. I finished work and headed straight down to Stansted to stay overnight then fly the next morning. First time at that airport, it was further than getting to Luton but far less hassle than going through London to get to Heathrow or Gatwick. On arrival it was almost no waiting for anything and I was at the hostel before 11:30.

It was a typical first afternoon in Ljubljana just walking around and getting a feel of the place it was very clean and scenic but small enough to cover a lot of it in just one afternoon. The markets reminded me slightly of Germany but overall it had a mediterranean feel to it. It was clear blue sky and lots of people out on the street.

I went to the castle which was very close to the hostel, apart from the view it had been modernised too much so I didn't hang around for very long.

The hostel was booked up but the common area was empty until around 8 or 9. I did eventually get talking to some Americans, a group of 6 plus 1 who was traveling solo. After a few drinks and conversation we did head out into town. After about 20 minutes we followed some noise to a large courtyard full of local students with 3 or 4 bars/clubs around the edge. Almost straight after getting the first drink the group of 6 went back to the hostel without even telling us leaving myself and the other solo person. After a walk round a few more drinks and a chat to the locals the American got some weed, I knew straight the way that he wouldn't want to be doing anything after that. I wanted to go in one of the clubs but he informed me he had ran out of money at the last minute. So we headed back, I was thankful to have got out but it was a bit annoying to have got that close to going in a club.

The following day I planned to visit the caves but the bus was full so I went to lake Bled instead. I did about 2 hours of solid walking round the area before heading back. It was the kind of place worth stopping had I been on a longer trip since there was a national park nearby.

A late night and lots of walking meant I had 2 hours of solid sleep when I got back, I had far more people to talk to downstairs in the evening. Unfortunately everyone of them was leaving early the following morning so were going bed early. Even staying up for an hour reading I was asleep before 10:30.

The plan on the final full day was to go to the caves, I'd barely eaten breakfast when my stomach started playing up. It's not very often I'm ill when abroad and it could have happened at a far worse time but it instantly through out my plans for the day. I spent a couple of hours packing my stuff until I felt slightly better again. I spent about an hour walking around Tivoli park which would have been better if it had not been grey and overcast.

With rain threatening I headed to the national museum only to find it closed. Feeling better I knew I still had time to go to the caves but unfortunately the buses were not running again until the evening. By this point it was rainy and depressing, the streets were largely empty and the city couldn't have felt any different from what it did 48 hours earlier. I stumbled across the city museum which killed an hour and even went back to the castle seeing a few bits that I missed the first time round. It was safe to say that I had seen everything I wanted to see in Ljubljana, nice enough place but lacking any other reason to linger. After an uneventful evening I headed home the following morning.