Following are the links to the installments of the travelogue, "Baylor Family Croatia, Slovenia and Trieste 2019."
(Pre-trip: The 12 Days of Slovenia & Trieste)
Showing posts with label Ljubljana Slovenia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ljubljana Slovenia. Show all posts
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Link compendium for Baylor Family Croatia, Slovenia and Trieste 2019.
Following are the links to the installments of the travelogue, "Baylor Family Croatia, Slovenia and Trieste 2019."
(Pre-trip: The 12 Days of Slovenia & Trieste)
Sunday, December 08, 2019
An anchor-free public art tale of two dragons, in New Albany and far away to the east of Silver Creek.
Back in mid-November, the Green Mouse indulged in (partially founded) speculation.
GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Is this the next public art installation in New Albany?
While we were away, a pet dragon appeared at the office of Halo Applications at 1931 East Spring Street. Jim Sprigler explained it to me.
Credit to the artists that built him for a Halloween prop that didn’t have the heart to dismantle him for parts for next year's piece, Julie Schweizer (Art Seed) for seeing their Facebook post and passing along their contact info, and my dad and his friend for hauling it over here.
Public art without Dear Leader's direct inspiration and wheel-greasing? Say it ain't so, and big thanks to Jim, Julie and everyone else who are thinking outside New Albany's traditional boxes.
Meanwhile we returned from a city where dragons have been part of the public landscape for many a year.
Dragon symbols have thus been present in Ljubljana since ancient times. The dragon was originally present on the medieval coat of arms as a decoration, but later assumed a more central position. From its initial portrayal as a monster, the dragon gradually transformed into a symbolic protector of the city, embodying power, courage and wisdom.
Ljubljana gets dragons and we are given anchors.
Advantage: Slovenia.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Baylor Family Croatia, Slovenia and Trieste 2019, Chapter 10: Ljubljana's grand old train station and the current status of my ghosts.
Previously, Thanksgiving dinner in Ljubljana.
One of the bedrock, greatest-hits-variety stories from my Euro odysseys during the era of the 1980s is the tale of arriving Friday evening by train in Ljubljana and being greeted by scores of drunk young Slovenian army conscripts.
12 Days of Slovenia & Trieste (Part 4): In 1987, Ljubljana was an introduction to Yugoslavia.
Diana is sick and tired of hearing me repeat the saga, so it will suffice to say that 32 years later, I was thrilled to revisit the scene. The station building dates to 1849 when the railroad from Vienna to Trieste was being completed.
I didn't realize that since 2003 there has been a small commemorative plaque at the station honoring a migratory writer's mistake.
On 19 October 1904 (James) Joyce and Nora Barnacle spent the night in Laibach. En route from Zurich to Trieste Joyce and Nora got off the train in Laibach (now Ljubljana in Slovenia), thinking it to be Trieste, and had to spend the night in a park.
These days it's probably difficult getting away with spending the evening in a park. Not that I've ever done that sort of thing traveling ...
And so we were off to Lake Bled.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Baylor Family Croatia, Slovenia and Trieste 2019, Chapter 9: At Gostilna Pri Kolovratu, a lovely traditional Slovenian dinner for Thanksgiving.
We'd been walking around Ljubljana on Thursday.
For the second time in four years we spent Thanksgiving Day abroad. The first instance was in Catania, Sicily in 2016, and now Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2019. In mid-afternoon on Thursday after a day filled with strolling and brief pit stops, we dropped into an eatery called Gostilna Pri Kolovratu, which is located adjacent to the cathedral.
Guesthouse Pri kolovratu (At The Spinning Wheel) is one of the oldest guesthouses of Ljubljana. The first archive record was made in 1836, under the name Zum Spinnradl. In the 19th century, its regular customers included the poet Fran Levstik, opera singer Josip Nolli, the first Slovenian mayor Peter Grasseli, judge Kuralt. However, it was at its most famous between the two world wars, when it was the main gathering point of the "Penati" (the most important people who works in the culture that time).
I knew only that a website recommended it for superlative Prekmurska gibanica, a layered pastry containing poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins and quark (a creamy unripened white cheese). The dessert originally comes from the Prekmurje region in easternmost Slovenia, bordering Hungary. It has become a nationally-known treat. I opted for a sweet štruklji dumpling. Both were wonderful.
The restaurant was empty with the exception of two male staffers struggling to decorate for Christmas; the following day was the debut of the annual Christmas market and it almost surely would be a busy weekend.
We were enamored of Gostilna Pri Kolovratu's picturesque interior and secluded interior courtyard.
We explained Thanksgiving to our server, who graciously gave us a 10% discount card and said he'd be there all evening -- why not come back for the American holiday?
This we did, and it was a memorable meal.
Barley soup with sausage.
Vodnik salad from the 1799 Slovene cookbook (local greens, beets, cauliflower, hard boiled egg)
Lamb knuckle (sun-dried tomato and balsamic reduction).
Ribeye steak.
Slovene merlot and a parting glass of Pelinkovac, a bitter herbal liqueur.
Gostilna Pri Kolovratu wasn't traditional Thanksgiving cuisine in the American-based turkey sense of the occasion, but all the same it was one of my favorite holiday meals in recent memory.
It seemed an indefensible act of gluttony to eat dessert for the second time at the same restaurant, so we departed without sweets.
However the Vigo ice cream shop was just down the street on the way home.
In the next episode we hop a train for Lake Bled.
Baylor Family Croatia, Slovenia and Trieste 2019, Chapter 8: Weird circular Yugoslav garage architecture and an invigorating walk by the river.
Wednesday had ended with a tour at the Pivovarna (brewer) Union.
At sunup on Thursday, something strange happened because the sun actually came out. It did so again several times during the day, although we were destined to glimpse only a few patches of truly blue sky until arriving in Trieste.
Our chosen sleeping spot, the Hotel Park, refers to itself as the "most urban and green hotel in the centre of Ljubljana," and this description seems fairly accurate. We enjoyed it.
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| View from the hotel window on Thursday afternoon. |
It's an extensively remodeled late 1960s-era Yugoslav high rise in the middle of a regular neighborhood, quiet and well-situated near the epicenter of town, as well as only a short distance from the railroad station. As already noted, the hotel restaurant is quite good. In addition to a menu of Slovenian standards, there's an entire selection of Indian food. It turns out the chef is from the subcontinent.
With the weather finally clearing, we resolved to spend a casual day walking, resting and snacking while deciding where to partake of Thanksgiving dinner. This brought us back to Slovenska hiša, this time for breakfast.
Nice eggs.
We began our stroll in the old town below the castle, by the market, river and downtown shopping streets.
See the knives and forks?
Then had a morning coffee.
The underground bins are one component of a comprehensive municipal commitment to reducing waste. Learn more at The Guardian: From no recycling to zero waste: how Ljubljana rethought its rubbish.
The longer 25-minute walk riverside walk then began.
Now about that strange double circular structure. It is a parking garage, not a place of residence.
It was confusing at first sight, as it's not easy to see actual automobiles without looking closely. Rather, the individual spaces have all manner of stored items stacked near the windows. Consequently the notion of "parking garage" in this sense seems more about replicating one's home garage rather than temporary hourly or even longer term parking.
TGH-48 Car Park
Garažna hiša TGH-48
Architect: Savin Sever
Address: Ambrožev trg 4, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Completion: 1969
Here the problem of parking in the city was solved with the extremely efficient use of space. Sever developed a system whereby the number of car parking spaces could optionally be increased by adding new stories. The only limitation on adding the stories is the height of the stairways and length of the vehicle access. The two-way traffic system, internal communications, and spacious parking spaces allow safe and simple parking.
I was fascinated by these nearby structures under repair, which turn out to a former sugar refinery dating to 1834 called the Cukrarna.
Our original walking destination was a second-hand shop, which offered this old radio among numerous other trinkets.
By the time we found the shop, the scene had turned almost suburban.
Returning to the city center, we ambled past houses, a hospital and an old industrial space subdivided into art studios, performance venues and a skate park.
For my pal Roz.
A late lunch followed, just salads and drinks. LOO-BLAH-NAH is a local craft brewery; I had a pale ale as well as an IPA, both solid. Diana's choice was rum tea.
Passing through the market again to buy souvenirs, we smelled a stall: fresh kraut.
Nearby is the place that sells wine and fish.
And always another castle view.
After a siesta, Thanksgiving dinner in Slovenia.
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