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Ljubljana's Old-Style Euro Appeal
It's already been heralded as the new Prague, the place where American expatriates can go to leave behind the trappings of the modern world and find a place resembling Paris in the 20s and Prague in the 80s, where artists and writers congregate at coffee houses and the spirit of old Europe still permeates the air. Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia, the newish little East European country at the foothills of the Alps that is becoming the must-see city of Europe. In other words, get there before the tourist hordes ruin it.
According to this New York Times piece, Ljubljana's exposure exploded in 2004 when Slovenia was admitted to the European Union and several budget airlines began flying here, making it an easy weekend trip for travelers weary of Paris or London or Prague, and looking for places their Euros would go a little farther. It is, I am told by a friend who was there recently, and who lived in Prague in the early 90s, a truly wonderful little place. The NYT piece is definitely bullish on it, saying the city "has enough genuine charm to withstand" all the exposure its getting.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, Blogs, Stories, Slovenia
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jernej Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
First off... Anyway you look at the at it, Slovenia is not Eastern Europe.
From a historic and geographic viewpoint it has always been right in the middle of everything. Looking at our location we belong to southern (mediterannean), central (alps) and eastern europe.
The fact we've been a part of Yugoslavia through much of the 20th century is a product of stupid politics and very misleading since we never really fit in with the rest of them as far as culture, language, economy and almost everything else is concerned (come to think of it, the entire country was an incompatible mix waiting to fall apart).
Mainly due to our geographic location as a gateway from one part of europe to another we've been under many different influences throughout history and it all came together in an interesting mix very much unlike any other country in the neighbourhood. To categorize us as eastern european would only be correct if you'd also consider other influences and label us central or southern europeans.
Just thought I'd clear that up...
moving on... "place resembling Paris in the 20s and Prague in the 80s" - come again?? Sorry but this is ridiculous, as is the following quote:
"In other words, get there before the tourist hordes ruin it"
They haven't... yet, but at the current rate it won't take long. You'll meet more turists than locals at this time of the year.
A couple of years ago I'd back you up though.
Don't get me wrong, I definitely recommend a visit, it's a very nice place... just don't believe all these romantic, nostalgic visions that are (in my view) quite out of touch with reality.
Peter Thompson Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
Peter Thompson from Luxist here.
EVERYTHING Jernej said was 100% correct. I'm wondering; are you ski-jumper Jernej Damjan???
Anyway...I am a regular commuter to Slovenia. What a lovely place it is. I tend not to stay in Ljubljana, whose old-town really is limited, but I venture up north to the Gorenjska region. I've climbed Mt Triglav as well, and I almost crashed my car down a cliff on the road from Bohinjska Bistrica and Skofja Loca. The best part of Slovenia? Acroni Jesenice! Ole Ole Ole...etc.
I'd reccomend Slovenia to anyone. Thanks for putting me in the mood...I'm off to book flights.
Peter Thompson
Luxist.com
Jernej Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
No, never been into ski jumping myself ;) Was a(relatively successful) swimmer and a triathlete for many years though.
May I recommend driving on that particular road during winter months with snow drifts and avalanches? It does get pretty exciting at times but you'd better have some passengers so they can push if you get stuck ;)
BTW I've never been up mt. Triglav, too crowded for me. There are many other hills and mountains that are way more interesting. If I do go up eventually it will be because I want to ski back down.
Jernej Burkeljca
Blaž Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
Oh, come on now, you two. Ljubljana is great. I have been to several city's around the world (prague and paris included) and one cannot really compare those cities to Ljubljana. It's simply beautiful (at least to me and to quite a lot of people I know). It's green, small and usually full of people. If not natives then tourists. And it is romantic, just take a walk along Ljubljanica in these hot summer days. Well, I must agree with those who say that Ljubljana is a smaller (really smaller) Prague.
Zafer AKTAN Dec 18th 2005 5:08PM
I was in Ljubljana couple of years ago for business and stayed in a nice and I believe the oldest hotel in town, though it has now a modern extention which offers full business services.
The old town is very nice with small shops, restaurants but not too impressive as Bled is (everyone visiting Slovenia must see Bled and the Alps behind the lake - what a georgeous view). Some of the best restaurants offer local dishes and far away from the downtown.
We were able to see almost the entire country in 2 days. Driving towards the Croatia/Italy border and then visiting the caves and then couple other treasures such as the castle carved in the mountain (forgot the name -- sorry) and then driving along the Austria border and driving through some mountain villages, visiting old ruins of couple of very old churches, visiting couple cities in the north - which looks like the wine country in Slovenia is really fun.
If you like skiing, Elan's factory and outlet is only 15 minutes out of Ljubljana and won't cost too much :) like they are selling here at States. Ski resort is not too far from the city.
When we were there, there were lots of constructions on the highways - once completed, driving in Slovenia from one location to another will be much faster. But taking backroads has this intriguing charm.
I would recommend Slovenia to anyone. Start your trip there, and then extend it to either to Austria or Hungaria or Italy or Croatia.