First of all, remind me to never again buy a tourist card! Being me, I felt I had to get my money’s worth but I haven’t been to this many museums in all of Chicago and NY (combined!) and in only three days. Yeesh.

And to be honest, they’re not that great. Though the buildings are huge. The exhibits are small. And they only feature Slovenian (and on occasion other Slavic) artists or artifacts. That said I found the more archeological-leaning places more interesting. The Ljubljanica River has been quite the place to find relics of days long gone (like a Neanderthal bone flute or an ancient wheel and axle). It used to be all marshland (the jury’s out but they think the town’s name comes from either Latin for overflowing or German for marshland). Anyway with the help of clever engineering they’ve built canals and kept the river under control. But one can only take so much of the museums. On the pleasant side, I started in Tivoli Park which is close to my Airbnb yet still only a 15 minute walk from the center. In fact I’m back there now, waiting for a brewery tour to start. It’s the last thing I’m using from the tourist card! A welcome respite (I hope) from the huge but empty museums. The art museums have a person in each room — I guess to be sure you don’t touch anything—and I think in most of them there were more employees than visitors. And in the other museums there are only ticket takers so it’s sorta creepy being in all these empty rooms with cases of exhibits from The Bronze Age or whatever.It’s my own fault. I should be having coffee or a snack on a piazza in the centre or anywhere! But I had to use the card. Highlights? I saw a nice temporary exhibit on a woman painter, Ivana Kobilca. She found work and inspiration elsewhere — she lived in Vienna, Munich, Paris, Sarajevo and Berlin — but returned to (and died in) Ljubljana. Anyway it was impressive that a woman accomplished so much in her time and I liked her work overall.

And just to give an idea on size. This monument was originally in Mestni Trg, in front of Town Hall, but they put a replica in the square and this is the original. It’s in the lobby of the National Gallery. It barely takes up any space there. And if you’re interested, it’s by Francesco Robba, an Italian sculptor who I’ve never heard of. But was well known in his time?!

Despite another 5 museums today (!), I went back to the castle for the views. The climb up the stairs to the tower was a little edgy and it was hazier out than I thought it’d be considering that it was sunny in Ljubljana by then. (Oh apparently because of the marshy land and being in a valley, Ljubljana is always cooler and foggy in the mornings but on lovely days it burns off by noon.)I was trying to capture (rather unsuccessfully) that there are amazing mountains in the distance — on all sides I think. To the north it’s the Julian Alps. And over the Alps is Salzburg. To the west is Venice and Trieste. All three cities are each about 2-3 hours from here (?!). To the east and south are Croatia. Zagreb is just over the eastern border.

Anyway after too many museums, I went to the aforementioned brewery which was a great way to wrap up my day and tours — it’s out of the center but near where I’m staying. Union beer (owned by Heineken as of 2016) has been a Slovenian brewery in the same spot since the late 1800s. Considering I’ve done bourbon, scotch, and in the way past, wine tours, I figured a brewery tour was due. (And I didn’t do Guinness in Dublin as I’ve heard it’s crazy crowded and not that great). They definitely had a lot of tastings. Too bad I’m not big into lagers or worse, IPAs. But they also gave a free mug (which like all my other booze souvenirs I’ll leave with my hosts). And you see some of the machinery although being a Saturday in winter, they weren’t running. These are old machinery in the museum part of the tour. We went on the manufacturing floor but couldn’t take photos there. Oh and our tour was overwhelmed by a 20-something group of Italians from Trieste who had their own translator. And I swear she was saying a LOT of stuff to the Italians that the English speaking guide did not say. So it was interesting!

And I managed to catch a bus back to my Airbnb even though I could’ve easily walked. It’s all good. And I’m ready for bed!

I’m hoping to go to Lake Bled tomorrow but it’ll depend on weather. I just know I won’t be doing another museum in Ljubljana!!!