Friday September 20th. Lay Day in Ljubljana
September 20 Friday. 11kms.
Lay Day in Ljubljana
The silver grey granite to the North is catching the sun and reminds us of Torino. It’s an easy 3.5km ride in to the city and we come to a stop in a busy square in front of the Franciscan church. There are many fluoro jacketed school children milling with their bikes at stands set up for their “cycle week” activities, older student groups on the church steps, and assorted tour groups with their guides. Across this space is the river and the three pronged Triple bridge, designed by Jacob Plečnik, an architect who had quite an influence on Ljubljana’s development. We find out that he studied with Otto Wagner, one of the driving forces behind the reform of Vienna. These links make sense of what we have learnt from our museum forays.
Friday is Open Kitchen day at the market. A great range of tastes are to be had. Our Kenyan samosa is a good starter and we move on to the fruit and vegetable stalls.
With bikes secured safely we wander up to the castle, walking the narrow streets near the bottom of the hill to ascend via a green path with splendid views of the surrounding mountains.
The ramparts are golden stone and the castle houses an exhibition centre. Our goal, apart from enjoying the sun, (it’s cool in the shade), is the Museum of Contemporary History which is beyond the old city, in the Tivoli gardens, so we come down to the market again. Lunchtime crowds have grown, so a detour through the indoor market allows quiet choices of cheeses , sausage and bread that will see us through the next day or so.
Our cycles are still where we left them and it’s off to Tivoli. It’s a big green area and finding the Chateau which houses the museum gives us a short work out. No load though, so it’s a breeze.
An exhibition from the photos of Edi Selhaus (1919-2011), are an engrossing introduction. His work covers the impact of war on civilians: tragic pictures as people left their burnt villages, internment camps, and partisan groups. He also enjoyed sports, and worked in the film industry immediately post war.
The next few hours are spent on a journey from the start of WW1 through to the formation of an independent Slovenia.
It’s 5pm rush hour as we head home but the lights on Dunajska Cesta are green most of the way.
Today's ride: 11 km (7 miles)
Total: 2,364 km (1,468 miles)
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