As it was late and we were all tired, and the map of Ljubljana seemed more complicated than we expected or perhaps Su was just a terrible map navigator, we took the next best thing. The lady at Celica helped us contact BIT Center Hostel which was part of the IYHA, and lo and behold, there were bunks available for us! Although it was situated slightly out of the city centre, we took it anyway as we were too tired to look for anything else. Su was sent to the back of the car due to her poor navigation skills and I took over the job, found the road promptly and very soon, we arrived at our destination. Like any other IYHA, the place was clean but a bit “sterile”. There was no character to the place, unlike Celica Hostel. In any case, we just needed a place to rest our weary heads and bodies for the night.

After freshening up, we hit the roads again, this time scouring for food. Another recommendation from the forum was to try out Sokol, a restaurant for fine dining. By then, we wanted desperately to pamper ourselves and dine like a King! While we went a-hunting for Sokol, we managed to catch the city sights at dusk and night. The Lonely Planet writer likened Ljubljana to Prague ~ quote, “Ljubljana is a smaller Prague without the hordes of tourists.”

Ljubljana was really charming but rather deserted for a city. Being Asian and being used to hoards of people in shopping malls and encountering major jams around the city, Ljubljana was a refreshing change. While strolling along the banks of the Ljubljana River, we came upon a little Slovenian band playing in the open air. Ahh … it was music to feed the soul.

A charming Slovenian band.


Peik Lean Y.