Ljubljana Fever Dreams

Today, I wanted to properly explore Ljubljana. I'd heard some amazing things about the city, but I was still completely unprepared for just how beautiful it was. I'd come straight from the Balkans, which in comparison felt much more impoverished and underdeveloped, but even compared to some of the cities I'd visited in Italy, Ljubljana stood out. It was cleaner, greener, historic, beautiful and, perhaps most importantly, lively. I'd become accustomed to major European cities being dirty and covered in rubbish. Given the population density, you had come to understand and expect it. But I genuinely don't think I saw even the smallest piece of rubbish lying around Ljubljana, despite it being the capital city.

The greenery was probably what stood out to me most. It wasn't just a few superficial trees lining the roads, there were natural, recreational and relaxing areas at every corner. It reminded me a lot of Australia in that sense. Ljubljana also has a large student population, which may contribute to the atmosphere, but whatever the reason, the result was a city that felt incredibly relaxed. Then there is the river. Aptly named the Ljubljanica. This runs directly through the heart of the city and is beautifully clean. It's also the centrepiece for so much of Ljubljana's social and cultural life, with restaurants, markets and people gathering along its banks.

At the same time, Ljubljana hasn't sacrificed its history. The city is more than 1,000 years old, or if you believe legend, stretches as far back as Greek Mythology, and the architecture reflects that. The combination of greenery, historic architecture and an incredibly well-organised city made Ljubljana one of the most amazing places I'd visited in Europe so far, and easily one of my personal favourites. I started my long tour of the city at Tivoli Park, the main park in Ljubljana. It's absolutely enormous, and I wouldn't have had anywhere near enough time to explore all of it, but I got a good glimpse by walking along the main path. The park was full of people reading, attending classes, chatting and playing sport. It was incredibly wholesome.

In hindsight, Ljubljana would have been the perfect city to do a walking tour in. Unfortunately, I simply ran out of time. I didn't have much of a plan for the walk, so I headed towards the city and started exploring the marketplace that runs along the river. It was absolutely bustling with life and energy. The stalls sold everything from ribs and fruit salads to burgers, crepes and basically anything else you could imagine. Everything smelled incredible. It wasn't particularly cheap, and I was still keeping a close eye on my budget but I did allow myself a fruit salad, and wandered around while eating it. The diet has taken a bit of a hit while being away, surviving off one main meal, and no fruit. This was a welcome change.

From there, I continued towards the Dragon Bridge. This is one of Ljubljana's main attractions, although I have to admit I wasn't particularly blown away. It's essentially a normal bridge with some dragon sculptures on it. The dragon is an important symbol of Ljubljana, representing strength, power, courage and wisdom. After that, it was a short walk to Ljubljana Castle, which overlooks the city from the top of a hill. Getting there meant a surprisingly gruelling walk uphill, but the legs were getting used to all the steep walking.

The castle itself was free to enter, although there were some sections that required payment. I decided to skip those, and a couple of guys from my hostel had already warned me that they weren't really worth paying for anyway. Even without them, I still felt like I got the full experience. The castle wasn't particularly large, but it was really cool to walk around, particularly because of the medieval artefacts and historical information throughout the site. Given its size, though, I didn't spend too long there before beginning the walk back towards the hostel.

On the way home, I stopped at an Irish pub for a drink. Mostly, I just wanted somewhere to sit down and watch the world go by, and the pub had some really nice views over the river. I also tried my first Irish coffee. It was horrid. Perhaps not the best place to try one in hindsight.

Eventually, I headed back to the hostel and lay down for a while to recover from the day's walking. I then got talking to an English bloke, who invited me downstairs for a drink with some of the other people from the hostel. I had no idea it at the time, but this was the beginning of one of the strangest nights of my life. I hadn't heard much about Ljubljana's nightlife before arriving, so I was curious to see what the city had to offer. We started at an Irish pub for a few drinks before heading to a club. By this point, I was already pretty drunk, so I have absolutely no idea who decided where we were going next. Wherever it was, it turned out to be one of the most unique places I'd ever drunk.
We headed just outside the city to a rundown little gated community consisting of maybe four or five houses. The buildings had clearly been abandoned or neglected for years and were covered in graffiti. We walked inside and were greeted by strange statues, decorations and artwork that made the whole place feel incredibly dark and gloomy. Not sure if this was actually old, abandoned buildings or if it’s part of the aesthetic but given their decrepit condition, I’m thinking that these may all just be an abandoned community. Then the music started and it got even stranger. Heavy metal Slovenian music.

Every house seemed to have its own bar and slightly different music, although I have absolutely no idea whether any of it was actually legal or what the whole setup was. I included a video as a little taster of the music because it's almost impossible to explain the atmosphere properly in words. Despite how dark and bizarre the place looked, everyone was incredibly friendly and happy. People were dancing, getting everyone involved and genuinely just having a great time. Somehow, despite everything about the place suggesting otherwise, I never once felt unsafe. None of it felt real to be honest. The whole experience felt like one enormous fever dream. Or a bad trip.Read more