Hybrid Slovenia

  
 

The morning we woke up in Ljubljana was chilly and drizzly. Once we realized we hadn't yet withdrawn any Euros to check out of our hostel we set out along the Ljubljanica River through the center of the small city to find a bank. The dragons of Zmajski Most (Dragon Bridge) looked a little less threatening in the cool grey light of the morning. 

  

The architecture throughout the Old Town appeared to me as a graceful mixture of Baroque and Art Nouveau (which here I will assume reflects the Austrian influence brought by centuries of Habsburg rule) along with the Mediterranean red terra cotta roofs and high frequency of Pietas (which I think I can assume reflect Slovenia's position next to Italy at the southern edge of Europe). The stretch of town on our way out to the train station was sprinkled with taller modern glass and concrete buildings, and from the vantage point of the Ljubljana Castle, situated on a high bluff in the center of the city, we could see the  concrete apartment blocks typical of formerly communist countries repeating themselves out in the suburbs.

  

A large number of nuns on the streets was immediately noticeable (I had already counted eight by the time we reached an ATM). A second obvious element of city life here is the number of bicycles flying in all directions. I do see a lot more of those on the streets and sidewalks of Budapest compared with New York, but their ubiquity here jumped out at me (and almost over me a few alarming times).

  

The large market at Vodnikov Trg was filled with everything from bananas and beeswax candles to enormous amounts of flowers. The side streets of the Old Town are filled with expensive, stylish boutiques and outdoor cafes with hip waiters balancing trays of cappuccinos. The grey wet weather, however, seemed to maintain a strict mitteleuropean catholic rule over the city that lasted all day.

   

    

Ljubljana, 2:12 AM

The few train passengers who disembark with us in Ljubljana quickly disappear into the night. We walk past the few taxis waiting at the station and find ourselves in a seemingly deserted, quiet city. In planning our trip and seeing the 2AM arrival time, we'd been tempted to camp out behind a monument somewhere for the four hours until dawn, but we erred on the side of caution and reserved a room in a hostel. It was surely a relief now that we were here since it was 1-degree Celsius/34-degrees Fahrenheit outside! 

After ten minutes walking the dim streets to the Ljubljanica River, we were greeted by the dragons of the Zmajski Bridge. The Ljubljana Castle glowed purple in the distance, floating over the city in the darkness.

Train to Ljubljana

The scene on the Venezia line: blankets, socks, water bottles, jackets, a guidebook sitting on an empty seat, sandwiches wrapped in paper, bottle of beer, limp duffel bag, crammed suitcases, woman gets up and walks into the next car, returns to grab a small bag and leaves again, train eases into a nameless station with one dim lamp glowing, then accelerates on into the night. Train stops for a while, engine shuts down, border guards work their way down the aisle, pistol strapped to belt, checking passports, asking questions, stamping passports and moving on while another is checking behind each of the ceiling panels, moving his stepladder a few feet at a time until he's done with our car and on to the next. Eventually, the train moves on into Croatia. In Zagreb: many people grabbing handfuls of duffels and dispersing out into the orange glow of the station dock. Those of us left on board spread out into the empty seats... lights go out, scarves and jackets pulled over faces, train moves on into the night. Another stop, a new set of border guards in a new shade of blue uniform, new set of questions, another stamp. The train eases forward another three hours to Ljubljana...