Post by OnlyMark on Mar 15, 2023 17:42:32 GMT 2
In ancient times the city was just marshland and is now home to the oldest wooden wheel and axle known to us. It has been dated to being about 5,200 years old and made of ash and oak.
A river runs through the centre of the city which is spanned by many bridges, the most famous being the Dragon Bridge - the dragon is a symbol of Ljubljana and supposedly derived from the story of St George.
For a city, and a capital, it only has a population of something over 300,000, but considering Slovenia itself only has around 2 million, its size is proportional.
At times being ruled by the Romans, Austrians, Hungarians, Italians and Germans, it eventually became part of the greater Yugoslavia until becoming independent in 1991.
The food is influenced by its closeness to Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Austria so that even as it has its own traditional dishes, it is easy to find many restaurants serving Slovenian takes on other European food. In spending time in the country I can also say it is one of those countries where you can go less than an hour away from the capital and the dishes change depending on which direction you are heading.
In the capital English is widely spoken as well as German, Italian and Croatian, in fact any Slovene I’ve met often knows two other languages apart from their own. I do have a history and a soft spot for the country due to Mrs M but the other side to the abundance of varying countryside, historical buildings influenced by their country neighbours, the outdoor life, the skiing, cave systems and good food is the language is as impenetrable as the bureaucracy - e.g. the language changes people’s names depending on the context of them being spoken about.
Nevertheless, if you’ve been there I hoped you liked it as I find it, as an outsider but with local experiences as charming and interesting.
It’s probably the most international of the Balkan countries and the more “European” than any other.
We drove there from Sarajevo on the way to Germany last weekend and stopped off to visit a relative so had a couple of hours walk round.
The weather though, didn’t bode well by the time we weren’t too far away and near Zagreb -
A river runs through the centre of the city which is spanned by many bridges, the most famous being the Dragon Bridge - the dragon is a symbol of Ljubljana and supposedly derived from the story of St George.
For a city, and a capital, it only has a population of something over 300,000, but considering Slovenia itself only has around 2 million, its size is proportional.
At times being ruled by the Romans, Austrians, Hungarians, Italians and Germans, it eventually became part of the greater Yugoslavia until becoming independent in 1991.
The food is influenced by its closeness to Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Austria so that even as it has its own traditional dishes, it is easy to find many restaurants serving Slovenian takes on other European food. In spending time in the country I can also say it is one of those countries where you can go less than an hour away from the capital and the dishes change depending on which direction you are heading.
In the capital English is widely spoken as well as German, Italian and Croatian, in fact any Slovene I’ve met often knows two other languages apart from their own. I do have a history and a soft spot for the country due to Mrs M but the other side to the abundance of varying countryside, historical buildings influenced by their country neighbours, the outdoor life, the skiing, cave systems and good food is the language is as impenetrable as the bureaucracy - e.g. the language changes people’s names depending on the context of them being spoken about.
Nevertheless, if you’ve been there I hoped you liked it as I find it, as an outsider but with local experiences as charming and interesting.
It’s probably the most international of the Balkan countries and the more “European” than any other.
We drove there from Sarajevo on the way to Germany last weekend and stopped off to visit a relative so had a couple of hours walk round.
The weather though, didn’t bode well by the time we weren’t too far away and near Zagreb -
