Hey guys!
Welcome to Ljubljana, Slovenia.
I’m standing here in our hotel suite,
which is a pretty big deal that I’m standing actually because
unfortunately I sprained my ankle right at the end of our time in Istanbul in Turkey.
I can’t believe it.
It’s super annoying as these things are.
And I had to get a wheelchair through the airport to get to Ljubljana.
I just need some ice and I’m good to go.
And so when we arrived and I saw how amazing and massive this hotel suite was,
I just felt really lucky because I’ve had to spend a lot of time in here.
And it’s been such a nice place to just sit and recover with my ankle elevated with some ice on it.
And I love the history here too.
It’s from the 16th century
and this used to be the home of noble families
and my favourite part probably is to look up at the ceiling
and just imagine all of the people and memories that were made in these different rooms.
So I felt really lucky to be here but today, we are actually going to go out into the city.
I finally get to see Ljubljana.
I’m going to go slow.
I’m still hobbling a little bit but I really don’t want to miss seeing this city
so that’s where we’re going to head out now.
Here’s my helper.
I feel like I’m in kindergarten where you need a little help with your shoes.
And I feel like I work at a shoe store.
Foot, please.
Oh…careful, careful.
Just don’t touch the side.
Alright, other foot.
I opted for these shoes because they have the most cushion for today.
Oh, sorry. -Sorry.
It’s too…they’re too tight.
Because you don’t like undoing your shoes.
It’s so weird.
You have to pull the tongue out, that’s why.
Oh.
I feel like my thumb’s in the way.
Neither of us is used to this.
No.
New experience.
I actually don’t think you’ve really been injured the whole time.
No.
Except for our scooter accident.
You mean in my life?
No…since I’ve known you.
Oh, yeah.
So my life?
In over a decade.
Which is good.
Knock on wood.
Yeah.
Let’s try to keep it that way.
Lucky.
Yeah.
Oh yeah…look at me go.
Motoring!
It’s nice to be outside again.
Marc’s been getting all of our food and bringing it back.
Yeah, you haven’t really seen daylight in a couple days. -Having a solo trip in Ljubljana.
Yeah!
Haven’t done that in a while.
I was going to say though when we first arrived…
So we’re in the city centre now and there’s this huge pedestrian area.
And you can only have a car here if you live here or if you’re making a delivery
and otherwise you’re not allowed to drive inside.
And I thought it was so nice because the shuttle that we took from the airport —
the shuttle driver called the hotel and asked if they could bring the security swipe card out
to put those roadblocks down
so that he could drive me right up to the door of our hotel
so that I wouldn’t have to hobble or hop as far into the hotel.
And the receptionist ran out...was freezing... to put the roadblocks down.
So that was my kind of first contact with…
Our introduction to Slovenian hospitality. Yeah…people in Slovenia.
Yeah.
So that was a very, very warm welcome.
We’ve made our way to the Ljubljanica, which is the river that goes all through the old town here.
Standing on this beautiful bridge and the sun’s just kind of poking out through the clouds.
Teasing us that it’s going to go away.
I have missed the sun.
So I’m glad it’s at least saying hello.
But this is so pretty.
Everything is just right down on the river.
All these cafes and restaurants.
It’s so nice.
I love seeing all the boats going by.
We just saw a wooden boat going under the bridge and it looks so…
I want to be on one of those boats.
Yeah.
We might have to see about that.
We’ve followed the river down to one of the most well known attractions in all of Ljubljana.
This is the Triple Bridge.
And I think what I like most about this bridge other than just how pretty it is
is the story behind it because it didn’t start as three bridges.
This middle one that we’re standing on right now is the widest and it has been here since 1842.
And it replaced this very old medieval wooden bridge that was strategically quite important here, I think.
And then in the 1920s, and I think 1929-1932, this architect wanted to spruce up that bridge a little bit
so he decided to add the two smaller kind of pedestrian ones on each side
and I’ve never seen a bridge quite like this.
No, it’s really unique.
It’s really unique and it’s full of people
and it’s really just a beautiful place to stand and get a nice view of what feels like the heart of the city.
I think one of the most historic buildings in the old city is this one behind us.
This pink Franciscan church. -It’s pink!
It’s…a pink church.
You can’t go wrong with a pink church.
I was excited to see this one.
It’s right when you walk across the Triple Bridge.
This is right what you see in the main square here in the old town.
And I feel like this church is one of the main images that you see.
Like if you Google Ljubljana, you’re going to see this pink church.
I was quite excited to see it.
Of course, I feel like when you have a river running through the main part of any city,
there’ll be multiple bridges and multiple well known bridges.
So we found our way to another one.
This is Dragon Bridge.
You can see the dragon behind us.
There are four dragons and I think that that’s really the symbol of Ljubljana.
You see dragons everywhere as you’re walking around.
And there’s a legend here that Jason is the founder of Ljubljana
and that he and his Argonauts slayed a dragon and that that’s how a dragon became the symbol of the city.
And there’s another legend that the locals say,
which is that when a virgin walks by one of these dragons, they wag their tails.
Believe which one you want.
I keep holding onto Marc extra tight today.
You’re doing really well.
Thank you.
Way high up there on the mountaintop is the Ljubljana Castle.
Mountaintop…you’re from Calgary.
Listen to this guy. -On the hill…on the hill.
It’s a mountaintop for maybe people from Ontario like me.
Anyway…mountaintop, yes.
And it’s originally a medieval fortress dating back to the 11th century.
Super, super old.
And it’s been restored many times throughout the centuries.
It basically got its new shape in about the 15th century.
Brand new.
And it really does sit high above the city so you see it from everywhere.
And it kind of grounds you that you’re in this very, very historic place.
And the other thing I love is that the coat of arms for Ljubljana
has the castle on it with a dragon sitting on top, which is…Marc’s a big fan.
The coolest coat of arms I’ve ever seen.
It’s got it all.
Dragons, castles, what more do you want?
Okay, wait...I’ve got to do the steps one at a time.
Heading down to our river cruise.
You’re doing good.
Good job.
Thank you.
Where do you want to sit?
Maybe just here?
Sure.
Ever since we saw the boats on the river, I wanted to come down and get on one ourselves.
So we finally did.
And plus my ankle could use a little bit of a break so that’s nice.
Actually, you could put it up here probably.
Yeah true, oh perfect.
Anyway, the sun is getting a little bit lower but I think it’s kind of the perfect time now…
It’s such a nice time to see the city.
Magic hour.
So we get to see it from the water.
This is the first bridge we were standing on where I saw the boat.
So this feels full circle.
Now we’re on the boat, on the river, going underneath the bridge.
I like you.
Thanks for helping me.
Yeah, of course.
I just want your foot to get better.
Yeah.
It is.
Good.
Marc has just said the words I love most, which is, “I brought chocolate-covered Oreos.”
I actually said, “the only thing that could make right now better are chocolate-covered Oreos.”
These are my favourite.
Here open up the…there’s two kinds.
There’s chocolate-covered, like regular chocolate...milk chocolate,
and then white chocolate-covered Oreos and the white chocolate are my favourite.
I love them so, so much. -There you go.
Look at that!
White chocolate-covered Oreos are the way to Eileen’s heart.
He’s amused at how happy I am.
Oh my god.
Happy girl.
Hi!
She’s waving!
So cute.
Perfect day for a cruise.
Perfect day.
I love being out of…out in the world.
It is pretty great.
Yeah.
I love the world.
We just went under the Triple Bridge.
Yeah!
It’s cool to see it from underneath.
Three times as much fun.
As going under a regular bridge.
We’ve come over to this art centre called Metelkova,
which was formerly an army barracks and a prison and now it’s been turned into this really cool arts complex.
There’s murals and graffiti and sculptures
and big stuff like this for adults to play on and it’s just a really cool, creative space.
I love repurposed buildings and this is a whole complex of repurposed buildings.
And I just love seeing how creative people get.
You know, it’s so full of colour
and all the different ways that they’ve creatively recycled materials
and made them into something new is really cool to see.
Lots of cool graffiti and murals.
And I think my favourite is the series of Gollums.
Or they looks like Gollum creatures over there, some of which closely resemble me in the morning.
This place is just absolutely drenched with creativity.
Like it’s crazy…everywhere you look, there’s something there to see.
I’m sure at night this place would be a cool place to come and hang out too.
We stopped into this cute little cafe because we really want to try Slovenian National Cake,
which is this with all of the layers.
It has cottage cheese, poppy seeds, apples and walnuts.
Sometimes the ingredients deviate a little bit,
but actually the name and the recipe are protected by law here so you can’t deviate too much.
I really, really want to try this.
It smells so good.
Oh, it’s good.
Unfortunately Marc and I got one to share.
Now I’m regretting that decision.
We can get another one.
It’s nice to be back on my feet.
It’s been such a lovely day exploring Ljubljana for the first time.
I really hope that you guys enjoyed it.
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We’re going to sit here and share this cake and we’ll see you in our next video.
Bye.