Ljubljana
I know most of you are probably struggling so I’ll let you out of your misery. It’s prounounced Lee-yoo-blee-arna. It’s the capital of Slovenia which fought a ten day war with the Yugoslav army to secure it’s independence some 15 years ago. Now a fully-fledged member of the EU, Slovenia is a very well developed nation; renowned for fine wine, great scenery and entertaining tourists from nearby Italy and Austria .
The final city on my European tour is relaxed, friendly and familiar with the recent influx of English Easyjetters. It is the smallest capital I have visiited with around 250,000 inhabitants, around a third of whom are students at the university. The town dates from Roman times, when it was called Emona, and although some of the original Roman walls remain most of the architecture dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. Highlishts are the castle; very high on the mountain overlooking the city, and the triple bridge, a unique three-bridges-in-one across the river in the centre of the city.
In another 48 hours I’ll be back for my short stop in the UK and it’s quite alarming to have to say ‘Nas Videnje’ to Slovenia and Eastern Europe. I’ve travelled coast to coast, stayed in eleven countries, ten capital cities, and I know the words for ‘Beer’ and ‘thank-you’ in ten languages. There isn’t anywhere I wouldn’t want to go back to, though Russia and Croatia are both near the top of the list. Thanks to Alex, Tak, my Mother and all the other people I’ve met along the way for keeping me entertained. Next stop is London, then onto Japan.
Some photos from Ljubljana (and the last few from Piran) will follow shortly.
