Slovenia - Day 15: Last Day in Ljubljana

We decided to sleep a bit longer since it was our last day in Slovenia. Our flight would only be in the evening, so we still have almost the whole day to roam around. We've packed our bags the night before, it left us enough room to just relax and enjoy the remaining time in Ljubliana. Eventually, we still had to have breakfast, so we went down around 9:00 a.m. to have it. It could really get crowded at this hour where most of the guests just got up, some are still in their pajamas... (that left me wondering why)

We waited for our time to check out at 12:00 0'clock hanging around relaxing in our cozy room, then went down when it was time and stored our luggage for a later pick-up before going to the airport. The City Hotel Ljubljana is very close to the old town center, but since we have seen the main attractions two days before, we decided to just walk around a bit without the real aim of what to find. We started at the nearby square Presernov Trg, which leads to the bridges into the Old Town.

First, we came to the Robba Fountain. Then, more by accident, we went into the Town Hall at the fountain, where we admired an interesting art exhibition. They also showed pictures of the past. If you go through the area now, you can't imagine how it was before, unless you see the pictures. There was all the traffic leading through the streets, but today it is a beautiful pedestrian zone in the Old Town. They really improved the city a lot and the pictures they exhibit to show how much.

Of course, we had to buy some gifts and souvenirs on our last day, so we took our time at a honey shop, the "honeyhouse," to check on the honey with different flavors. Among the lovely little shops in the street (Mestni trg) was also a lavender store where I got some excellent lavender oil. Eventually, we came to St. Florian´s Church, St. James's Church and the Column of the Virgin Mary. Fortunately, also a bench, where we could take a rest.

We decided to cross the river and walked past the City Museum and headed on to the Parliament Building. Nearby are more attractions, like the National Museum of Slovenia and the Slovenian Museum of Natural History, but we were really only in the mood for relaxing and headed to a Chinese restaurant at the nearby Park Zvezda instead.  

Finally, we walked back to the hotel, took our luggage and waited for a group taxi (Vanpools), that we had booked at the hotel, to get us to the airport. Then it was goodbye, Slovenia. 

All said, I really enjoyed this small but diverse country, where you can go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea one day, and spend the next day hiking in the mountains. Slovenia also has so much culture to offer. Travelling independently through the country without a car proved to be no problem due to the many trains and especially the ever-reliable buses and, with some English, communication was not a problem either. My personal highlight was definitely Bled and the whole region, including the Vintgar Gorge and Lake Bohinj. While it is great to spend a few days there, it is also possible to go there for a day trip with one of the regular buses plying that route from just in front of Ljubljana's train station to Bled, if you're short on time.