Franciscan Church

This day, we drove from Zagreb, Croatia, to Ljubljana, Slovenia, where we would spend two nights. Ljubljana (pronounced “Loob–lyah–nah) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. Slovenia was a part of Yugoslavia before it broke up. Slovenia is part of the European Union and its currency is the euro.

We walked around the beautiful old section of Ljubljana with its Art Deco, Baroque, Venetian, and other architectural–style buildings. This is a photo of the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, built between 1646 and 1660, with its front facade built between 1763 and 1706. Baroque. Red is a symbolic color of the Franciscan monastic order. A monastery is nearby.

Art Deco Building

Ljubljana has many beautiful Art Deco buildings such as this one.

Hauptmann House

Another great building in Ljublijana: the Hauptmann House. It was built in 1873 and rebuilt in 1904 in the Viennese Secession style. Its facade is decorated with ceramic tiles in a geometric pattern.

Adam and Eve

One of many sculptures in Ljubljana. This is of Adam and Eve being banished from Paradise.

Dragon Bridge

One of the dragons on the Dragon Bridge.

Cathedral of St. Nicholas

Photo: inside the Cathedral of St. Nicholas with its fresco ceiling painted in the early 1700s.

Town Hall

The Ljubljana Town Hall, built in the late 15th century with its present Venetian appearance from between 1717 and 1719.

Ljubljana Scene

In the photo, the Robba Fountain and the steeples and dome of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas.

Rain

While we were eating lunch, the beautiful blue sky turned gray and we had a very heavy rain shower. We had to walk through the rain to get to where our bus was going to pick us up. Alison, our tour director, did warn us that it might rain. I brought along an umbrella but it was only a small travel–size one which did not protect much except my head as the rain was really coming down. We had a pretty much soaked tour group.

I have put my photos of Ljubljana on two slideshows. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/ljubljana–1/ and http://www.peggysphotos.com/ljubljana–2/

(Slide Shows, Eastern Europe, Slovenia, “Ljubljana–1 and –2”).

Alpine Bled and Dinner

Later in the day, we had an optional Alpine Bled and Dinner in the Julian Alps. Lake Bled was pretty much a washout as it was still raining. Photo of boats on Lake Bled taken from the bus when we arrived.

Lake Bled

You can take one of these boats to view the lake and to go ashore. In the background, a church.

Lake Bled

Closer–up of the church.

Bled Castle

Bled Castle on a hill above the lake. It is the oldest castle in Slovenia, dating back to before 1004.

Bled Castle

On a clear day, this is what Bled Castle would look like (from a postcard).

Bled Island

There are several buildings on Bled Island, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built near the end of the 17th century. You can take a boat out to the island.

Bled Island

This postcard shows how the Bled Island looks like on a sunny day. It was very disappointing that we had such awful weather here as I had seen many photos of Bled Island and how pretty it is and what good photos it makes.

Ducks

The ducks here were enjoying drinking from the rain puddles.

Souvenirs

Inside the dry souvenir shop in the village.

Souvenirs

More souvenirs.

Souvenirs

And more souvenirs.

Radovljica Restaurant

We next had snacks, dinner, and entertainment at a restaurant in Radovljica close to Lake Bled. This was our greeter with some snacks.

Wine Cellar

The first event was in the wine cellar with snacks, music, and dancing.

Wine Cellar Music & Dancing–MOVIE

A movie of music and dancing in the wine cellar. If you cannot view the movie on your computer, try viewing it on an iPod or tablet or go to YouTube: https://youtu.be/xg33TWuVENQ

Snacks

We had delicious snacks of sausage and cheese. Also, drinks.

Dinner

I had pork and potatoes for dinner.

Entertainers

A photo of our entertainers. The woman on the left and the man in the center were the dancers. The man on the right played the accordion and sang.

Alison and Csaba–MOVIE

Alison and Csaba were polka partners of our dancers.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlNBkQDnzh0

Hat Game–MOVIE

Some of my tourmates joined in on a hat game to music.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/trGBwK5r0kc