Having had good experience with just turning up in a country or city with no place to stay and a resolution coming about quite simply, we weren't expecting any complications as we made our way to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We arrived whilst it was still light, late afternoon I think it was, and calmly began the search for a hostel or perhaps hotel. Time was ticking by and having tried several options that we stumbled upon, it's safe to say we were becoming slightly anxious at this point and carrying around our backpacks wasn't really helping the situation! Katie and Hannah went off to hunt out accommodation whilst Chris, Rachael and I were sat in some alley with five backpacks in a country that was noticeably different from the previous ones we've visited, the completely alien language wasn't particularly helpful.. probably should have learnt some phrases! As the sun set, there was a touch of panic about us when we still had no place to stay! An option did emerge, we could spend a considerable amount of money on a luxurious hotel room which was the only hotel we'd come across that was actually open and not fully booked. Luckily it didn't come to that or sleeping rough as Katie and Hannah found Vila Veselova by around 9pmish but by then the rest of us were pretty stressed at the prospect of no roof over our heads! The hostel was a great find! It had several colour coded rooms with a varied amount of beds in each and the breakfast room included computers with free internet access with doors to a balcony too. The location of the hostel was great as all the attractions we visited were within walking distance and something I do clearly remember of Ljubljana was the quality and quantity of the graffiti! When compared to our stay in Paris, we had an extremely relaxing time which was rather useful seeing as it was incredibly hot. Only minutes away from our hostel was the building that contained the National Museum of Slovenia and Natural History Museum which housed such curiosities as a mummy, history of Slovenian currency, roman monuments in glass rooms outside of the museum and of course the normal collection of taxidermy. Also situated within viewing distance from the hostel was Tivoli park, a lush green area that was an ideal spot for rest. I didn't actually venture that far into it, Katie did but I seem to recall she got lost in the process! The old town of course is very picturesque where I bought some more jewellery in the market and overall I was pleasantly surprised by the city, being particularly pleased with the low prices which led to one night enjoying an absynth cocktail called 'The Monster'! Places of interest in the centre of the city include Preseren square, the numerous bridges (Triple bridge, Dragon bridge etc) over the Ljubljanica river which we enjoyed a short cruise on, the architecture in general and of course Ljubljana castle. The castle is situated on a hill which provided me with amazing panoramas of the city below, it's a shame I didn't have a camera with that function at the time! Within the walls there were exhibitions and a small cinema and I'm almost certain it was 3D or something, seem to recall the glasses! But anyway, we were shown this promotional/educational video with a brief history of the city and thanks to that I'll always remember it as 'Ljubljana - The city on the grow'.
Having had good experience with just turning up in a country or city with no place to stay and a resolution coming about quite simply, we weren't expecting any complications as we made our way to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We arrived whilst it was still light, late afternoon I think it was, and calmly began the search for a hostel or perhaps hotel. Time was ticking by and having tried several options that we stumbled upon, it's safe to say we were becoming slightly anxious at this point and carrying around our backpacks wasn't really helping the situation! Katie and Hannah went off to hunt out accommodation whilst Chris, Rachael and I were sat in some alley with five backpacks in a country that was noticeably different from the previous ones we've visited, the completely alien language wasn't particularly helpful.. probably should have learnt some phrases! As the sun set, there was a touch of panic about us when we still had no place to stay! An option did emerge, we could spend a considerable amount of money on a luxurious hotel room which was the only hotel we'd come across that was actually open and not fully booked. Luckily it didn't come to that or sleeping rough as Katie and Hannah found Vila Veselova by around 9pmish but by then the rest of us were pretty stressed at the prospect of no roof over our heads! The hostel was a great find! It had several colour coded rooms with a varied amount of beds in each and the breakfast room included computers with free internet access with doors to a balcony too. The location of the hostel was great as all the attractions we visited were within walking distance and something I do clearly remember of Ljubljana was the quality and quantity of the graffiti! When compared to our stay in Paris, we had an extremely relaxing time which was rather useful seeing as it was incredibly hot. Only minutes away from our hostel was the building that contained the National Museum of Slovenia and Natural History Museum which housed such curiosities as a mummy, history of Slovenian currency, roman monuments in glass rooms outside of the museum and of course the normal collection of taxidermy. Also situated within viewing distance from the hostel was Tivoli park, a lush green area that was an ideal spot for rest. I didn't actually venture that far into it, Katie did but I seem to recall she got lost in the process! The old town of course is very picturesque where I bought some more jewellery in the market and overall I was pleasantly surprised by the city, being particularly pleased with the low prices which led to one night enjoying an absynth cocktail called 'The Monster'! Places of interest in the centre of the city include Preseren square, the numerous bridges (Triple bridge, Dragon bridge etc) over the Ljubljanica river which we enjoyed a short cruise on, the architecture in general and of course Ljubljana castle. The castle is situated on a hill which provided me with amazing panoramas of the city below, it's a shame I didn't have a camera with that function at the time! Within the walls there were exhibitions and a small cinema and I'm almost certain it was 3D or something, seem to recall the glasses! But anyway, we were shown this promotional/educational video with a brief history of the city and thanks to that I'll always remember it as 'Ljubljana - The city on the grow'.
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