I had a wonderful day in the Slovenian capital city, Ljubljana (Lou-blee-on-a)! We took a bus ride on the extremely twisty roads through the mountains and were greeted by a sunny and lively day in the city.

(you can click on the pictures and view them larger in a slideshow format!)

We traded snow and fog in Austria for the sun in Slovenia!

The roads were unbelievable and we were in a big charter bus! At times it looked like we were driving straight into the mountain side or that our tire was 4 inches from the edge of the mountain.

Below is a view of the Castle from the city park!

We took this glassed in lift up to the castle!

This is a view of the castle and courtyard from the castle tower.

The castle area has been continuously settled since 1200 BCE. It was a Roman army stronghold, player in medieval times, property of the House of Hapsburg, an army hospital, and a prison. It is now owned by the city of Ljubljana.

 On a clear day you can see 1/3 of all of Slovenia from its tower!

The crazy spiral staircase to the tower

I have never seen anything like this in my life!

We had coffee on a dock on the river! I'm sure no one caught on that
we were tourists :)

We had lunch at this great little cafe on the river. All the shoppers were walking by and the city was so alive! People were coming out for the sunny day.

Slovenian salad! I had no idea what I ordered, I just pointed to something on the menu..

As with most European cities, everything you could ever want to see is all within walking distance! We had a guided city tour and then had the whole afternoon to eat and explore the city. I can admit that I have never heard of Ljubljana (and couldn't have told you where Slovenia was located), but it was a beautiful and lively city that I am very glad I visited!

Lovers put a lock and throw the key in the river. It was really beautiful!

Another extraordinary Catholic cathedral

Here's a clip to set the scene: