Setting off
It was around 5 am when we reached the Slovenian border and my head was the only one that wasn’t nodding off under the weight of a 4 day festival in the sun. I just couldn’t sleep and because of this, I was probably the only one who was nervous to cross the border. It felt a bit surreal, like a scene from a movie with the murky windows turning the light outside to an almost black and white shade. Following some quite loud and aggressive Slovenian words thrown back and forth with the border control officer and our driver, we were on our way with no problems. Did I even show them my passport? I can’t remember, I was tired and it was all a bit of a blur really.
Anyway we were off, with the Slovenian capital Ljubljana on the horizon and the first signs of sunlight in the sky I felt the nerves fade back into excitement. Of course I didn’t get any sleep, why would I? Even though I was exhausted I was in a new country now so my eyes were wide open trying to soak in every detail in case I never saw it again.
New day, new country
The sun was up by the time we were dropped off at the main train station.. Wait, was this the main station..? Are we at the right place? It didn’t feel like the typically large city-centre stations that we were used to arriving at due to how small Ljubljana is. Not a complaint at all but I did have to remind myself that Ljubljana is a small capital in comparison to others with a population of just 280,000 and a compact city centre it’s closer in size to my home town of Norwich than a European capital. This was absolutely fine though because, after a 4 day festival with barely any sleep, the confinements of the city were more than appropriate for our energy levels.
The quest for coffee
We wandered down a street in the direction of the castle and old town and soon enough stumbled upon Dragon Bridge where we grabbed a quick coffee and our first bit of (sketchy) WiFi we’d had for a while and planned our next move. The city was really peaceful at this time of day and a far cry from the madness of Outlook festival.
Killing time with killer views
We had quite a while till we could check in to our Airbnb so we decided to visit the castle, bags and camping gear in tow we found the funicular that took us up to the castle that overlooked the city. It was free to enter which was a bonus and we split up in couples to have a wander around. The 900-year-old castle is perched on a hill in the centre, frequently hosts art and photo exhibitions and boasts some stunning views of the city and the mountains in the distance. I looked out in the direction of Bled where we would be heading the next day and pictured the Slovenian countryside I was so eager to explore.
After an hour or so in the castle, we returned to ground level, got our bearings and headed in the direction of our accommodation. We walked past craft markets, quirky boutique shops and plenty of taverns and restaurants all on small cobbled streets with the castle in the background. It all felt a bit medieval which is one of the things I love most about European cities. We stumbled upon the river that runs through the city and by following it I knew we’d be at our accommodation shortly. We still had just a little bit of extra time before we could check in so we took in the views by the river and happened to see some otters playing around in the water. Never seen an otter before. Good job Slovenia!
Time to check-in
Once we had checked in and freshened up we decided to split up as couples and enjoy a night out with our partners. It was important that we had some alone time as we are pretty much by each other’s side most of the time. I also encouraged my brother to split away from us some point later in the trip and find his own adventure with his girlfriend, which he did and we will cover later in this series.
The best time of the day
The city is beautiful on a late summer evening, the golden hour was upon us and the light really brings out the colours of the shabby-chic buildings. There were people casually strolling around but it never felt overly busy. The medieval castle watching over you coupled with the bohemian vibe and cobbled streets really set an atmosphere that I hadn’t experienced before. After an amazing meal by the river and a bottle of wine, we were more than ready to crash on our first bed in 4 days and slept like a log.
Up and at ’em
We woke up fresh as daisies and I was absolutely buzzing to get out and explore again. We’d thoroughly knocked out those post-festival blues in the best way, who would have thought travelling after a festival could be so refreshing. I already felt like we’d had a holiday but for me, the real fun was about to start as we were initiating our inter-railing passes today and heading to Lake Bled, one of the highlights of Slovenia. But first, breakfast, we just had to hit one of the bakeries we passed yesterday and enjoyed some pastries and a coffee by the river before heading back towards the train station.