From Ljubljana to Piran and on to Rovinj

Today was a drop-in visit to Lubljana and a stop in Piran where we had thought to spend two nights. It turns out Lubljana needs more than two hours, and Piran, where we thought, was fine with just a 2-hour visit!

In Lubljana, we crossed the Dragon Bridge with the wonderful dragons at each end to walk the colonnaded area designed by Slovenia’s famous architect Jože Plečnik.  It houses a gallery of shops and small restaurants.  The flea market and vegetable and fruit market were outside at one end, followed by local artisan vendors, including a winery from eastern Slovenia that offered tastings (crisp and soft Rieslings), then the food market, with several different food vendors selling things Egyptian chicken and many versions of grilled pork.

As promised by guide books, the river behind the building was lined with outdoor cafes with a sunny seat and great people watching, some tourists but most seemed to be workers having lunch, and everyone enjoying the beauty of the city and the weather.

The Dragon Bridge is iconic for good reason.  The dragon is the symbol of Lubljana, originally a monster to be slain in ancient times and ” gradually transformed into a symbolic protector of the city, embodying power, courage, and wisdom.”

Overall, the city has a good, energetic yet somehow relaxed vibe, and I could see spending more time there.

But we carried on to Piran, because of a picture that I had seen a few years ago.  \it is a cute seaside little town but felt slightly claustrophobic, like everything was squeezed tightly and then stuffed with tourists.  I am happy to have seen it, but am also happy to have carried on to Rovinj, which is beautiful and spacious.

And as we found out, Rovinj has very kind people.  We booked an apartment but when we showed up, we were told that there was a problem and it wasn’t available, and the owner sent us to the man across the street.  And though his apartment wasn’t suitable, the man called the original owner and sorted things out.  She then took us across the street and we ended up with a wonderful apartment.  Some might say that it was their duty, but I think the three people who sorted it out were all very kind and went out of their way to help us.  And such as been my experience with Croatians on other occasions.