September 7, 1998
Brnik to Ljubljana
After a great buffet breakfast (muesli, hard boiled eggs, cheese, sliced meat, juice), we biked the short stretch to the capitol, lengthening it at several points by unintentional detours. We followed a very pretty but convoluted route that mostly avoided the main, busy thoroughfare until we submerged ourselves into the Ljubljana street system. Penetrating the city by bike was fairly painless - we encountered a marked bike route which steered us from almost the city limits to the core.
We registered for the night at Pension Mraka, a rather characterless place but well located - and then commenced on a walking tour that encompassed old town and Ljubljana Castle. After that we returned to our room for a short nap to continue working out of our jet lag, and then resumed sightseeing. The city seemed much fresher and more interesting to me than the first time out - I think I must have still been in a bit of a fog earlier. We especially enjoyed some of the unusual art noveau architecture in the city core, stemming back to when a widespread restoration was required to rebuild after the devestating 1895 earthquake.
The highlight of our visit was as spectators to a fantastic street theater presentation which took place on Preseren Square, between the triple bridge connecting west bank to old town and the lovely facade of the Franciscan church. This specacle, which we later learned was part of the Lutke International Puppet Theater Festival, took place within a candlelit semicircle in front of the Preseren monument. It began with an instrumental overture played by a pair dressed in what to me looked like traditional Albanian garb. After about 15 minutes of dronish but increasingly agitated music, a sheet-shrouded sailing ship was drawn into the circle from across the bridge by three eerily costumed figures bobbing and weaving on stilts. For the next 15 minutes or so they enacted a dazzling myth of unknown origin, highlighted by a balletlike dance between two winged, hawk-headed monsters who then metmorphosed into what looked to be Byzantine kings. Two of them then enacted a battle with flaming staves which they lit from an assortment of torches. The battle included the torching of each others stilts, their demise, and their subsequent resurrection as hawks again. It was an eerie, dramatic and riveting performance.
Today's ride: 19 miles (31 km)
Total: 19 miles (31 km)
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