Castles and Churches

Europe is famous for its castles and cathedrals and those who don't appreciate these structures and their history can find most European tours a drag.  Both Glen and I love history so visiting castles and churches is fun.  You can never have enough pictures of stained-glass windows, right?

Christian had hiked up to Ljubljana Castle the day he arrived and said the views from the top were great but we decided it would be more fun to take the funicular up.  Castle Hill has been settled since 1200 BC and was probably a Roman army stronghold as it has commanding views of the Ljuljanica River valley (see photo below).  First built in the 12th century, the castle has had many renovations over the last 900 years.  Each conquering army has put their stamp on the castle.  First the Bohemians then the Habsburgs ruled the city then in the 18th century, the French occupied the castle.  It was a prison in 1815 then again during World War II after which it fell into disrepair.  The city finally bought the castle in 1905 with the idea of creating a museum.  This never happened so it was used for subsidized housing instead.  A 35 year long renovation began in the 1960s culminating with the funicular which opened in 2006.

Today, the castle does house a museum and a small art gallery.  It has travelling exhibits (we saw one of mediaeval torture) and a restaurant.  The climb to the tower to view the city is worth it.  They have two circular staircases which meant we had no problem descending while a group of school children went up.  The museum tells a very succinct history of Slovenia in multiple languages and all the displays are labelled in Slovenian and English making it great for Glen who loves reading everything.  The torture exhibit was disappointing as we had seen a more extensive exhibit at the Doge's Palace in Venice years ago.  However, the sound effects sent shivers up my spine.

The cost of castle tour included the funicular, museum and special exhibit.  The senior rates begin at age 62 so we saved ourselves 8 euros ($10.00).  If you walk up, you must pay to enter the museum/special exhibits.

By the time we descended the funicular to Krek Square, it was time for lunch.  On our way to the castle, we took the route across Dragon Bridge passing the rear of our hotel.  That's when we noticed it had a terrace restaurant.  So, we returned there for a lovely shrimp salad lunch.  Salads in Slovenja seem to consist mainly of arugula (often referred to as rocket or rucola) and I love it but variety is the spice of life and I began craving other lettuce types.

Jet lag finally caught up with us so we spent the afternoon reading and napping.  We returned to the Zlata Ribica for supper and witnessed a road race up to the castle.  Later, several runners had celebratory drinks at the restaurant's outdoor bar.  Our server was excited when he learned we were Canadian (we've been mistaken for Russians) as Canada had just beat Russia to win the 2015 World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague.  He treated us to a very special Croatian olive oil, Veralda, which we had with their homemade bread.  The oil was light and fruity with a distinct flavour.  Now I'm not an olive oil connoisseur so this is how it's described.  "It's rich and opulent without heaviness, a burst of flavours blending green pepper, green apple, artichoke with a hint of cocoa."

We caught the 10:30 am shuttle to the airport then hopped the 12:30 bus to Bled.  Glen's meeting began at 2:00 pm so while he attended that, I walked along the shore of Lake Bled to the town church.  The Church of St. Martin is a neo-gothic building erected in 1905 on the site of a Gothic, 15th century church.  However, the first chapel on the site is dated to about 1000.  Inside, there are wonderful frescoes painted in the 1930s and lovely stained-glass windows.

I then retraced my steps past our hotel, Hotel Golf, and walked toward the other, more famous church, The Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary or Church of Mary the Queen, depending on the translation (see Weather for Ducks).  This baroque church (built in 1750) replaced a one built there in 1142.  However, it wasn't the first religious building on the island as a temple to the Slavic goddess, Ziva is thought to have stood there.

I didn't go over to the island as I just wanted to photograph it but many pletna boats glided to and from the church.  Their colourful canopies reminded me of the covered wagons of the wild west.