SLOVENIA: Ljubljana – The Slavic Salzburg

I’ve been looking forward to returning here since my first visit in 2015. You can find it in the Blog Archives under July 2015. I’m pleased to be back and look forward to some new attractions as well as revisiting a few of the old. It’s just nice being here, and hanging out in this charmer of a city. There’s always some fun goings on or something tasty to chew on.

A third visit is definitely somewhere in the future. You would be well advised to stop by if you happen to be in the neighborhood. There are plenty sights to take in and the people are welcoming. You will find that most Slovenians speak English which certainly makes things easier as well.

MAIN SQUARE

 

GALERIJA EMPORIUM – Department store on the square.

NICE ART NOUVEAU ENTRY

Pink Church

 

PATH TO THE CASTLE

LJUBLJANA CASTLE – Clocktower and Ramparts facing the town below.

Medieval Courtyard

Restaurants, Art Exhibitions, Puppet Museum, Viewing Towers, Shops, Etc.

One of the many art installations throughout the castle.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC – DISAPPEARING PEOPLES

 

 

                                       CASTLE ART EXHIBITION SPACE

AS WITH SO MANY AREAS OF THE CASTLE, THIS SPACE ENHANCES THE ART THAT IS DISPLAYED WITHIN IT

Milena USENIK – That Is It – 2005

Milena USENIK – Moulin Rouge – 2005

Milena USENIK – Yellow Staircase – 1993

Milena USENIK – Istrian Staircase – 1986

Milena USENIK – Triptych – Memory, In This Colored Light, Smile – 2015

Milena USENIK – Olive Tree – 2017

 

Emerik BERNARD – In a Spatial Bed 1 – 2004

Emerik BERNARD – Roman’s Portal – 2007

Emerik BERNARD – A Dividing-Uniting Procedure – 2015

Emerik BERNARD – Kotiga’s Garden II – 2016

Emerik BERNARD – From Inside Out – 2014

Emerik BERNARD – Kotiga’s Icon – 2016

I look forward to my next visit and the next exhibition.

In July there is a “Cinema Under the Stars” in this courtyard. Locals are as fond of this place as the tourists. There is even an office here for planning your wedding here at the castle.

SLOVENIAN FLAG

 

 

BACK TO TOWN

After The Market

Restaurants and walkways line the river.

Lovelock Bridge

DRAGON BRIDGE

 

The Dragon is the symbol of Ljubljana.

Skateboard Shop Art

WHERE’S TESLA?

 

 

 

 

Artists in this area do not appreciate having their picture taken.

 

 

TINY BIKE

 

DETAIL OF HOUSE

DETAIL OF HOUSE

DETAIL OF HOUSE

 

MIXED MEDIA

“STREET ART”

This is a combination of “GRAFFITI” and “STREET ART”. I really dig the frog.

This is not graffiti. This is “TAGGING” or pure vandalism and territorial pissing. It is most disturbing when it is found on beautiful or historic architecture which unfortunately is commonplace throughout Europe. They should start jailing these criminals.

PUF69! – This is an example of graffiti.

HARE KRISHNA – Founded in 1966, the Hare Krishna cult was a fixture in the seventies, with yellow-robed disciples panhandling at every major airport and intersection. The epitome of hippie idealism, Krishna followers believed utterly in the God “Krishna” who was actually a character created for a novel, Mahabaratha. The distinctive, relentless chanting practiced by followers of this cult actually meant “the energy of the Lord”. Krishna followers lived a hardscrabble, Spartan existence, with the barest level of sustenance, and very little sleep: they suffered for their religion, believing that they would be rewarded by an ascension to a spiritual paradise after many reincarnations.

However, not every member of the Krishna organization suffered: the higher echelons were well fed, housed in luxury, and surrounded by women catering to their every need. Although the Hare Krishna’s may also escape “doomsday cult” status, there are dark tales of disciples willing to do anything for their religion, including robbery and murder. Mostly they just shave their heads, bang on cymbals and drums, chant their mind-numbing Krishna mantra, and lose themselves in their cult pursuits. Don’t let the joyful song and pretty girls fool you. This is a pernicious cult. Good for a laugh, but they have ruined many lives.

Buried in a burkha and flanked by her mother-in-law and master, her cold, dead eyes betray her reality. I saw her earlier and the misery was palpable. Clearly, her life is over.

SAD EYES OF A HOPELESS WOMAN REDUCED TO CHATTEL

AMERICA’S FIRST GOLD DIGGER

Here’s a shallow, unhappy trophy wife who traded in her life and self-respect for the sake of riches and a life of comfort and luxury when she was running out of money and was on the verge of returning to Slovenia. Of course, the Donald was a bit less repellent at that juncture, but I don’t think there are currently many envious ladies, vying for the opportunity to share a bed with our repellent, bloated, orange, so-called leader. Clearly, she is eagerly awaiting her husband’s imminent demise.

Why she would ever leave a beautiful city like Ljubljana to end up in a tacky penthouse with our shared national disgrace is a mystery to me. She could have easily hooked up with a handsome rich guy right here in Slovenia that was born in the same decade with some modicum of ethics and loyalty. There should be no tears for Melania especially in the wake of this “Let them eat cake” tone deaf Vanity Fair cover.

She is aiding and abetting a tyrant in the making who has also lent legitimacy to and emboldened the white supremacist movement in the United States. The hateful and dangerous rhetoric her husband spewed during his campaign rallies is really coming to fruition as demonstrated in Charlottesville this past weekend. His true colors also came to the fore with his tepid and ambiguous response to Nazi/White Nationalist/ KKK gathering that took the life of a peaceful demonstrator.

Many in the press and both sides of the political arena were swift to point out the cowardly and pathetic response that the president put forth. It was clearly an easy task which he botched either due to his own racism or fear of upsetting any supporters at a time when his approval rating is already in the dumpster. After two days he rendered the wooden response of a recalcitrant schoolboy forced to make amends. To make matters worse, it did little to undo the damage he had already done which had shined a light on his bigotry challenged administration which includes the likes of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka who all have questionable prejudicial behaviors in their collective pasts.

Never mind that our commander in chief was raised by a man who was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally. The Donald also was fined for denying housing to African Americans, demanded the execution of the now-exonerated Central Park Five, and spearheaded the racist “Birther Movement” against Barack Obama. These are just a few of his greatest hits, but they are just a few examples in a lifetime pattern of racism. I think it’s time we just acknowledged that we have a racist in the White House with fascist aspirations who has surrounded himself with people of his ilk. Clearly, it’s time to clean house.

WORLD’S GREATEST TROLL

My arrival in Ljubljana coincided with Trump’s ill-advised nuclear antics with Kim Jong Un so it really has been an action-packed week for the Orange Sphincter. As irony would have it, my post at the time of his inauguration included a mushroom cloud to go along with some very distressing commentary.

Nukes, Nazis and a nimrod in the White House. I’m beginning to wish it was all fake news. The reality is becoming oppressive. Hopefully, he can stay out of trouble for a while so I can focus on France.

So much for that wish. The president went completely off the rails again today by reasserting his view of moral equivalence between the Neo-Nazis and the people protesting against them. As I and many others suspected, his conciliatory remarks yesterday were completely hollow and forced. He is quickly losing the moral grounding to lead the country. He even equated George Washington with Robert E. Lee.

David Gergen thinks that this insecure man-baby is no longer fit to lead the country. I predicted that he would be out within the year. I hope that I am correct and that he can be removed without serious earth-shattering incident. The Republicans have sold their souls by hitching their wagon to this nightmare of a human being. Hopefully, they will mitigate the damage yet to come.

 

 

 

                                 PREDJAMA CASTLE

 

THE LARGEST CAVE CASTLE IN THE WORLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                  POSTOJNA CAVE

TRAIN IN A CAVE!

CRUISING PAST FORMATIONS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD

THEN DISEMBARK AND TOUR THE CAVE FOR AN HOUR

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ENDED UP LOSING MY GROUP. ACTUALLY I PREFER DOING MY OWN THING ANYWAY.

 

 

 

I never did find my group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was at this point that I found myself completely alone in the cave. I couldn’t hear anyone in front or behind me.

 

Eventually I ended up at the train for the ride out of the cave.

 

 

 

 

 

SOKOL RESTAURANT – The Hunter’s Platter – Deer, Stag, Boar

ONE LAST STROLL ACROSS THE BRIDGE AND THROUGH THE SQUARE