Dragons, Castles and an Open Kitchen Market

Hooray! We were finally able to catch a flight to Slovenia today after being stuck in Munich for 24 hours. Having a little extra time in Munich allowed us to deal with jet lag before we got to Sylvania - silver linings. Unfortunately, it meant that we cannot see the Slovenian coast or the Skojcan Caves 😞

On the famous dragon bridge in Ljubljana

Our morning in Munich was a pleasant surprise. The breakfast at the hotel was tasty and the transportation to Munich airport was easy. Our flight was delayed by only 30 minutes, so easy peasy.

Hotel breakfast was so much better then the frozen pizzas for dinner

Finally getting on our plane to Ljubljana

Lake Bled in Slovenia from the air - you can see the church on the island

The Slovenian mountains greeted us from the plane

Ljubljana is a cool city which is saying something because we don't even like cities. As soon as we landed, we sprung into action for our whirlwind tour of Ljubljana. It was a treat for our senses.

We had a sweet hotel room in Ljubljana

The view from our hotel room

You can see the castle at the top of the plateau

Preseren Square in the heart of Ljubljana Old Town

Dan crossing Triple Bridge which was one of the many famous bridges. The Franciscan Church is in the background.

On the triple bridge

The beginning of the Open Kitchen - lots of barbecued meats

Yes! Gelato!

Gelato makes everything better

Flowers at the Ljubljana Central market

Fresh fruit at the Farmers market

So many good looking berries at the Farmers market

Walking up the path to the castle on the plateau

Well, hello pigeon

Dan's learning how to take .5 selfies 😀

Legend has it that Ljubljana was founded by Jason, the hero of Greek mythology who stole the golden fleece from King Aeëtes and then fled aboard the Argo with his comrades, until they reached the Ljubljanica. There they dismantled their ship in order to carry it overland to the Adriatic coast. On their way to the coast, they stopped at a large lake in the marshes near the source of the Ljubljanica, where a dragon was said to dwell, whereupon Jason fought, defeated and killed the monster.

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 initially being portrayed as a monster, the dragon gradually transformed into a symbolic protector of the city, embodying power, courage and wisdom. Now, there are dragon symbols all over the city.

So many dragons

Dan on the castle wall with the courtyard in the background

Dragons!

One of the many art galleries within the castle

An old dragon shield

What I would look like if I was a dragon

Dan's a fierce dragon

A miniature replica of the castle

Up on the lookout tower of the castle

Views of Ljubljana from the castle tower

An aerial view of the Open Kitchen (all of the small tent roofs)

The stairway to the castle tower

A 3D video about the history of the castle - it was awesome! Our chairs shook and we even got wet from the "rain"

Stylin' in our 3D glasses

One of the many prisons cells in the castle

Dragons again 

After the castle, we headed down to the Old Town again. Ljubljana is known for some of it famous bridges, so we went to check them out. There were so many people out and about - many hanging out at the outdoor restaurants along the river enjoying beverages with their buddies just savoring life.

One of the dragons on the dragon bridge built in 1901

Another dragon on the dragon bridge

Love locks on The Butchers Bridge built in 2010

A view of the famous triple bridge which connects the historic old town of Ljubljana to the modern city

For dinner, we got lucky and were in Ljubljana on Friday night which is the night of the Open Kitchen. This place was the place to be in Ljubljana - it was happening! There were over 30 vendors selling everything from barbecue meats to local spirits to international foods to tasty desserts. This is my dream! I wish I had more room in my stomach to taste everything. It was a treat for all of the senses for sure!

Eating some of our food on the seats around a fountain

A Slovenian specialty: struklji

There were so many people at the Open Kitchen - it was difficult to get to where you wanted to go

"Open Kitchen"

We ate some of our food on the famous triple bridge

After stuffing ourselves silly, we headed back to our hotel to organize our gear for our hike the next day. We packed a lot into an afternoon and evening in Ljubljana and loved it.

The outside of our hotel