On Fridays, during summer months, the Odprta Kuhna outside food market gives a nice introduction to Slovenian cuisine, with a smattering of international offerings. The abundance of pork ribs roasting over hot charcoals, and the variety of sausages on offer (try the Kranjska to be traditional) is proof enough that meat plays a key role in the national diet. Vegetarian options include the mushroom-based menu from The Fungalist and struklji, cheese dumplings flavoured with chives.
Bars and restaurants flank the river in the centre, and this is where the liveliest buzz is after dark, when revellers drink local Lasko beer and views are to bridges floodlit in green, and historic buildings atmospherically lit with spotlights. Breg is a stalwart on the dining scene, as popular with locals as tourists, for classics such veal shanks and cowboy-style T-bone steaks. Tucked just behind the eastern bank of the river, the Old Town (which quietens down come 11pm in respect for residents), is a less tourist-heavy scene. The three long squares of Mestni, Stari and Gornji all lead into one another, and contain the city’s oldest baroque buildings. For a pre-dinner drink, pull up a chair outside Vida, which specialises in 100% natural wines, then dine on salt crusted sea bass or duck confit with a raspberry cream at Restaurant Valvas’or.
The next day, from the Butchers Bridge I take a 50-minute river cruise with Barka Lea (arrive 10 minutes early to bag seats on the bow), to float beneath the city’s many bridges. Of these, the Dragon Bridge is an Art Nouveau beauty, guarded by four fire-breathing beasts. Once past the Cobbler’s Bridge (where shoemakers traded in the Middle Ages to avoid paying taxes), the beauty of the riverbanks unfolds, where locals sprawl with picnics under weeping willows and deckchairs and bookcases, filled with books to borrow, are found – part of a lovely initiative called Reading Under the Trees with an aim to provide access to books for all.
Lake Bled lies just 55km to the west from Ljubljana, with the highest peaks of the Julian Alps as its backdrop, and combined with the capital makes for an idyllic twin-stay. For anyone with a love of wild swimming, the clear waters of this emerald-green lake are the biggest draw, which stays at a constant 20C year-long thanks to thermal springs. The whole town is postcard-perfect, with a castle perched impossibly high on a rocky outcrop above the lake and the Church of the Assumption sitting pretty on Bled Island, looking every inch the stuff of fables. Couples come from all over Slovenia to tie the knot here and tradition dictates that the groom must carry the bride up the 99 stone steps that lead to the 15th-century church. The novel invitation is to ring the wishing bell, which hangs from a rope before the altar and sounds out across the water.
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Trading off its glamorous past as Slovenia’s greatest luxury hotel, Grand Hotel Toplice is a little tired these days (in bedrooms expect wooden parquet floors that creak like boards on a ship and very dated furnishings). However, what remains five-star is the romance of its location, perched on the lakeside with views that are impossible to drag your eyes from, and a private lido to swim from. They also have a fleet of small wooden boats that guests can use to row to Bled Island (an hour’s round trip, plus time for exploring). If you’re not feeling energetic, you can opt to be rowed gondola-style on punts, for hire around the shore.
Early morning I walk the lake’s 6km perimeter, taking a detour up the Ojstrica trail, a short but steep climb up a hill on the west bank that delivers me to a rock-riddled viewpoint. You could lose days to boating, swimming, and hiking just in Bled (and I do) but there are a few nearby beauty spots that shouldn’t be missed. Vintgar Gorge is one, just 5km out of town, where I don a hard hat and follow a wooden walkway (first built in 1893, though regularly maintained) bolted to the rock face, while underneath me frothy, menthol-hued water rushes. Another day I head 30km to Lake Bohinj, which, although not receiving anything like the attention that Bled does, is equally beautiful and an epicentre for wild camping.
Back lakeside in Bled, I dine on local trout on the terrace of the casual Park Restaurant and look to where fishermen cast lines for catfish that, once photographed, are thanked for their time and then gently lowered back to the water. Mother ducks, with chattering ducklings underwing, sit in congenial rows on the shore, as a gentle breeze stirs the lake to a ripple. The church bell peels out from Bled Island as if to mark the day’s end, just as the sun slips behind the castle on the hill, and there’s no doubt that I’m, as the Slovenian saying goes, ziveti kot pticek na veji (living like a bird on a branch), meaning wonderfully carefree.
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport with two stopovers, flying Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa, or Singapore Airlines and Swiss Air.
DETAILS
slovenia.info/en
Doubles at Hotel April 1550 from €130 ($229) per night including breakfast april1550.com
Doubles at Grand Hotel Toplice from €223 ($394) sava-hotels-resorts.com
Source link : https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/wheres-the-next-big-place-to-go-in-europe-welcome-to-slovenia/75YKTPPBIBAJXJCJRS7H76QAN4/
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Publish date : 2024-07-10 07:00:00
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