This was an interesting sign at Lake Bled, encouraging people to do some exercises whilst enjoying the view. I helpfully suggested that Bev tried them.
She saw this and refused.
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Ljubljana – Day Three (Photos from Around Lake Bled)
I took far too many photos when at Lake Bled, so to set the scene of the day, here’s a heap of them….. More text based excitement in other posts about the whole Lake Bled arrangement.
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Ljubljana – Day Three (Arnold Rikli and Lake Bled)
Arnold Rikli was one of those glorious nineteenth century characters who was clearly upbeat, positive, new world and slightly odd. He decided that there was a way of getting people healthier, so he made them go into the country, walk about a bit, eat healthily and rest. He effectively developed a wellness retreat at Lake Bled and is perhaps the main reason that it’s as popular today as it is.
At Lake Bled, he established a health resort devoted to cold baths, woodland walks and standing around quite a lot in the sunshine looking optimistic. This was all billed as therapeutic and it was likely quite a financially lucrative arrangement for him as well.
Bled’s reputation as a spa destination grew and Rikli became known as a sort of eccentric health prophet. His legacy today, as can be seen from this sign, is as some sort of early Wim Hof. I could be engaged with the walking, but the cold dips into the river certainly wouldn’t excite and delight me.
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Ljubljana – Day Three (Getting to Lake Bled)
Our Sunday excitement was a day trip to Lake Bled to have a meander around the lake and to have the famous cake that I’d never heard of as it had somehow passed under my cultural radar. We started in the bus station buying a ticket with cash as we thought that was the only way of doing it, as well as our unwavering commitment to outdated payment methods…..
Susanna wrongly said that it was too cold, but I don’t think she tries hard enough to enjoy slightly cooler temperatures.
Bev excitedly waiting for the bus, which are operated by Arriva every thirty minutes.
There was something of a queueing system in operation, but what became clear quite early on is that there were more customers than the coach could possibly take. There will be more on this theme later, but for the moment, all four of us made it on board. Around fifteen people were just left to wait for a later bus.
It transpired that we could have bought bus tickets on the bus using cards, but there we go… The situation was confused and boarding was laborious, so we left fifteen minutes late.
The mountains come into view.
I was talking to this passenger in red about taking trains across Europe and he said he had been surprised at how bad Deutsche Bahn have been. I wasn’t, they’re bloody dreadful. Anyway, more mountains.
The bus was a fairly useless service for many as it was full from the start to the end, with no-one getting off en route. That meant that it drove by every single stop where people were waiting, including the airport where around ten people had wanted to get to Lake Bled. It was all very sub-optimal, but more on this theme later as it got much worse.
However, the bus in the morning worked for us and we were at Lake Bled after around 70 minutes, with the temperature being moderate and we could then start our planned walk. What could possibly go wrong?
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Ljubljana – Day Two (Ljubljana City Museum – After a Bigger Splash by Zmaga Lenárdiča)
Styled after the David Hockney work ‘The Bigger Splash’ from 1967, this sizeable artwork in the main atrium of the museum is by Zmaga Lenárdiča.
This seems to be one of these artworks that has numerous meanings depending on who is looking at it. There is maybe a statement on the water has gone, perhaps climate change or a suggestion that hope has declined since Hockney’s painting. Or it could mean that there’s something important about the elements that are visible and invisible, as Hockey’s initial work didn’t show any individual. Instead of the exuberant moment Hockney captured, this piece has the eerie and drained stillness of whatever happened after. Or it could mean that no-one normally captures the scene after it happens, when the spectacle has gone.
And my theme, if there is one here, is that it seems common for humans to find meaning in any given artwork. It’s not likely the meaning that the artist intended, but the viewer can walk away thinking there is meaning.
I asked AI to create a similar image and explain its meaning and why it chose what it did. It, rather cleverly, responded by saying that sometimes things don’t have to have meaning. And it delivered this image and I’m actually rather impressed at this philosophical line it went down….
Anyway, I digress.
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Ljubljana – Day Two (Pub Loo-Blah-Nah Center)
This is the taproom of the Loo-Blah-Nah brewery and it took me longer than it should have done to work out how it was pronounced. It’s relatively newly opened and is well reviewed online, located next to the river. There is seating outside which might be rather more suitable in the warm summer rather than just before midnight on a cold and wet Saturday in November.
The venue only sells its own beer, but it’s an interesting little selection. I was served by the helpful team member when I entered, but then he went outside and ignored the other three. I suspect he was annoyed at Bev’s loudness, so he just wanted a moment to himself. We’ve all been there.
Steve looking confused where the team member had gone. I had my two beers though, so I was fine. It was a bright little environment in a row of shops which have a seating area by the market and a frontage to the river, it’s rather decent real estate. It wasn’t overly busy when we visited, but it was closing soon after although we were surprised in general how quiet Ljubljana was on a Saturday night.
My first beer was the Little IPA which was only 2.9%, so it wasn’t surprising that it was quite thin. However, it was light, gentle and inoffensive which is all a bit like me.
My second beer was the Porter and this was gentle in taste, with a flavour of coffee, chocolates and a bit of nut.
Bev, who hadn’t eaten in fifteen minutes since her two course meal, went to order a pretzel.
For my own preference, I thought that the music was quite loud for the number of customers and it did rather dominate the neighbourhood. The venue itself is relatively small, but I felt welcome and comfortable, it’s a decent little place to try the brewery’s beers. I thought it might have been nice to have a guest beer or two, but I enjoyed what they had.
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Ljubljana – Day Two (Julija)
After an incident involving Susanna and Bev getting drunk on cocktails and missing our planned Indian meal, I managed to salvage the situation with another restaurant option, namely Julija.
We were seated and Bev was worried that it was a bit decadent and expensive for us, as if I hadn’t checked that latter detail before going in. I can imagine that if Bev thought that something wasn’t decent value for money she’d pocket the wine glass or something, but fortunately she has me there to keep some kind of control.
The bread arrived and Bev didn’t worry about waiting for a plate, she’s very much like an unsupervised toddler at times. Steve and I didn’t say anything and Susanna was too busy recovering from her cocktails to notice.
This was predominantly a wine drinking venue and there were some very reasonably priced options. However, I’m more into beer and wine, but had to opt for the slightly generic local lager. It’s like cutlery in airports, the local lager might be functional but it’s not really the real deal.
Beef goulash with polenta, with the meat being tender and the sauce being rich in flavour. I’m not a huge advocate of polenta as I find it a bit bland, but it added some texture to the whole arrangement.
I don’t usually do desserts as I prefer starters, but this apple pie with ice cream tempted me. It was pleasant in taste but served slightly warm rather than cold or hot, I’d prefer that they plumped for one option and committed to it.
Bev was excited by the plum wine and you can see how quickly Susanna moves here when there’s free alcohol involved. Bev was annoyed by the waiter, but I didn’t fall out with him…. The tip screen gave the options of 5%, 15% or 20% which annoyed me, as I wanted to leave 10% and so in the end I went for 5%. I was annoyed at this because they had denied me my right to be moderately generous, instead expecting me to only very slightly generous or ridiculously indulgent.
Anyway, the meal was pleasant and we were pleased with the choice as although it was busy they found us a table relatively quickly. I’d have liked a wider beer menu, but I always want a wider beer menu. The food was reasonably priced and it was well presented, with Susanna being delighted at her pasta. Fortunately I don’t think the waiter heard Bev saying that she didn’t like him, so that was one crisis averted at least.
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Ljubljana – Day Two (Old Wall Paintings in Ljubljana Castle)
Located in the heart of Ljubljana Castle are a number of wall paintings which have been recovered from the Estate Hall which was recently heavily renovated. The English text on the wall notes that they’re “ancient wall paintings”, but that might be a slight translation error as they’re from the Baroque period, so the end of the seventeenth century. Although I suppose ancient can be interpreted in different ways.
A coat of arms from what I assume was a wealthy family or region, designed to excite any visitors who might have arrived at the castle and needed reminding who was in charge.
A scrolling motif to add a bit of excitement to the whole arrangement. At least they haven’t shoved some tacky gold everywhere and built a ballroom on the side of the castle after having demolished half of the old structure, but I digress….
It’s bright with dramatic contrasts, using warm colours. I like that these old wall paintings have survived, as it’s so easy for them to be destroyed by building work, damaged ceilings, cold and just the ravages of time. Given the turbulence that this castle has gone through, any survival at all deserves to be appreciated.
The fragments were all restored in 1980 by the Restoration Centre of Slovenia at the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Slovenia. There was additional restoration that took place when the entire castle was renovated between 2009 and 2011.
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Ljubljana – Day Two (Bar Lajbah)
All four of us on this trip like museums, but Susanna likes them just that bit more. What might take Bev, Steve and myself around two hours to go around will take Susanna around nine hours. She’s fiercely clever and has a thirst for knowledge, but it means we’ve often finished when she’s still in the second room. That happened on this trip at the city’s history museum, so the three of us decided to go to a craft beer bar to wait for her.
Look at how tempting that little line-up is. Nicely curated with a range of beer styles and all clearly displayed. They had a wide selection of Põhjala beers, but I’ve been to their taproom in Tallinn twice and so was looking for something more local this time.
I ordered food and drink, Steve was ordering and Bev walked around looking lost. The team member was helpful in explaining which the local beers were, which helped me narrow down my four choices for the flight somewhat.
We visited on a Saturday afternoon and it’s fair to say that it wasn’t exactly packed with customers. But, it’s a popular venue, but more so in the evenings I’d suggest.
It’s all modern and on-trend. I like this kind of seating, although it’s not to everyone’s tastes.
And the beers. From left to right:
(i) Crux from Reservoir Dogs Brewery, this was a fruited gose which had a taste of mango, a salty edge and it was also refreshing and juicy.
(ii) Prule Pale Ale from Lobik, this was gentle, herbal and hoppy.
(iii) Prepovedana from Bevog Brewery, this was light, hoppy and clean.
(iv) Starvation from Reservoir Dogs Brewery, this had roasted flavours with tastes of coffee and chocolate.
I like a bit of beer themed artwork.
This is the slow baked grated beef hot dog with house marinade, smoked ketchup, salsa and fried onions. I thought that it was delicious, rich in flavour and chunky in portion size. It was a perfect complement to the beers that I’d ordered.
I really liked this venue, it was welcoming, friendly and felt inviting. It was also clean, the service was efficient and I very much enjoyed the beers and food. Even Bev didn’t grumble as she ordered about eight local white wines to go with her hot dog, so I’ll take that as a success.
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Ljubljana – Day Two (Ljubljana City Museum – Sculpture of Adam by Janez Lipec)
This sculpture of Adam is today in the city’s history museum, but it was once outside the Town Hall alongside the sculpture of Eve (which is also on display here). There is nothing left of that Town Hall other than these two sculptures, it was was replaced with a new building in the early eighteenth century.
There’s a symbolism to this sculpture which is that it was a tradition to kiss them (although I think Eve was the one that was usually used) when visiting Ljubljana to obtain good luck. It’s evident that this good luck hasn’t transferred to the stone sculpture itself, which has become rather worn and battered. However, to be fair, it dates to 1484 and most things over 500 years are going to show some signs of wear and tear.
The sculptor for Adam and Eve was Janez Lipec and I’m sure he was competent, but it’s quite hard to judge his artistic skill now with the stone in this state. But, at least it has been preserved.