Medieval Charm … Kranj, Slovenia

Posted on by

Last September we spent a couple of hours in the historic medieval centre of Slovenia’s fourth largest city, Kranj.

Located approximately 20 kms northwest of the capital, Ljubljana, Kranj, with a population of 54,000, is mainly an industrial city with significant electronics and rubber industries. It’s also well known for its modern sports facilities, including the largest aquatic centre in the country.

But my interest, as a traveller, lay only in its medieval core where antiquity lay a path for my romantic imagination to wander.

Please enjoy these images and, if you get the chance, pay a visit one day. It’s quite charming.

View of an inner courtyard off the main old town square.

Kranj medieval town square.

Passage off the town square.

The more windows you had the more taxes you paid. …

Steeple of St. Mary’s Church.

One of many beautifully adorned windows on a fresco-painted wall.

Thanks for visiting …

Dorothy 🙂

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

On my Bucket List … Bled, Slovenia

Posted on by

In an earlier blog post I mentioned a trip we’d taken to Slovenia last fall. One of our stops was the beautiful resort town of Bled which is set in the Julian Alps about a one hour drive north of the country’s capital, Ljubljana.

Bled is nestled on the shores of glacial Lake Bled, a remarkable body of water when you consider it has no large tributaries and is fed only by a few natural springs. It reminds me of the glacial lakes I’ve seen in the Canadian Rockies — calm, peaceful, tranquil — notwithstanding its characterization as a spa resort.

The waters on the lake are pristine and still. No motor boats are allowed so the tranquility of the setting cannot be disturbed. The lake is Slovenia’s rowing centre and has hosted many regattas and championships.

During our morning in this picturesque medieval town we enjoyed a 20-minute ride in a “pletna” (a boat seating about 20 people and rowed by one person … see adjacent photo) across the lake to a tiny island which is home to the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church. It’s from this island the first image was taken.

Perched on the rocky outcrop overlooking the lake is Bled Castle, a fixture in the area in various guises since the 11th century. A complete history can be found here.

The view from the castle to the lake is spectacular, looking for miles into the horizon and, of course, down toward the lake and Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church. It’s certainly easy to imagine why a stronghold would be positioned in such a location. You can see for miles …

Our short visit only gave us a taste of this beautiful area and didn’t really allow us to benefit from its relaxed ambiance.

Should we ever have a chance to return to Slovenia, Bled will be on our bucket list of places to stay … I’m thinking at least four days.

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012

Love Locked in Ljubljana

Posted on by

Love Locked in Ljubljana

“Ljubljana? Where’s that?”

That was my first question when I found out we’d be heading there for another one of my husband’s international business meetings.

“It’s in Slovenia.”

“Where’s that?”

Now, I pride myself on having a relatively informed geographical knowledge of the world, but when I first learned of our trip to this European nation, I was stumped. Eventually, however, because of its name spelling I guessed that it must be located somewhere in the Baltic region. I was right. It borders Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Austria, with a small piece of coastline on the Adriatic Sea. Ljubljana is its beautiful historic capital.

In Fall 2011, we spent a lovely week in this picturesque country and I, of course, took many photographs.

This photo was taken at Butchers’ Bridge over the Ljubljanica River which flows through the centre of Ljubljana. Officially opened in 2010, one of the footbridge’s claims to fame, apart from its impressive sculptures by Slovenian Jakov Brdar, is the padlocks that couples in love lock onto its steel wires, symbolizing declarations of eternal love.

While we were admiring the view from this footbridge a city worker was cutting off some of the padlocks. What this means to the eternal nature of the love they represent is beyond the scope of this blog … 😉

 

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012