Europe – Page 14 – TRAVEL WORDS

Postcards from Around the World

This week we are remaining in Slovenia, but heading to the capital city the delightfully named Ljubljana, the city of the dragons. And there are literally dragons everywhere: guarding the bridges, flying high on the city’s official flag, and even adorning the drain covers throughout the city.

Dragon bridge

Not to mention bridges. There are in fact 17 bridges crossing the Ljubljanica River.

Triple bridge – Prešeren Square which is actually oval shaped and the centre of the historic old town. The pink church is the Franciscan Church of Annunciation.

Cobbler’s bridge built by the architect Jože Plečnik between 1931 and 1932, was formerly occupied by a covered wooden bridge connecting the Mestni trg and Novi trg squares, two major parts of medieval Ljubljana. The bridge provided space for cobblers’ workshops – hence the name Cobblers’ Bridge.

Triple Bridge. Between 1929 and 1932, the side bridges, intended for pedestrians, were added to the original stone bridge to a design by the architect Jože Plečnik, who thus created a unique architectural gem of Ljubljana.

Between Castle Hill and the Ljubljanica River is the city’s Old Town, defined by three ‘squares’, which are actually more like narrow, cobbled streets. The whole area is pedestrianised and easily walkable with lots of charm and history.

I have blogged about this city before, but let me introduce you to some more of the interesting and quirky sights on my wander around.

Križanke – Knights of the Cross monastery. The architectural complex of Križanke is a popular open-air venue for performing arts in Ljubljana. The architect Jože Plečnik converted this former monastery between 1952 – 1956. The conversion of the Križanke complex was Plečnik’s last project.

The town hall

The fountain of three carniolan rivers

Skeleton in a cage

Slovene poet France Prešeren and his Muse

The Križanke Summer Theatre with a capacity of 1,400, regularly hosts concerts of various types and is one of the main venues for the summer Ljubljana Festival.

“Locksmith Street,” is a narrow alley in the medieval old town in the Slovenian capital city. The entrance is marked by a key. In the middle of the cobblestoned street is a gully that appears to be flowing with hundreds of strange little faces. Some happy, some sad, some rather strangely distorted. There are 700 of these bronze faces running through the centre of the alley, culminating in a drinking fountain and a couple other odd sculptures, namely a bronze hand and a skeleton trapped in a cage.

Ljubljana Grad, is the castle on top of the hill in the centre of the city. It was originally constructed in the 11th century as a medieval fortress, but most of the current structure dates back to the early 16th century, when most of the castle was rebuilt after a devastating earthquake. It’s been used for everything from a military defence fortress to an army hospital and even a prison; as late as the 1960s it was even used as public housing.

Funicular to castle

Castle

A good thing about this European city is that it is not overrun with passengers from cruise ships so although there are tourists it still very much feels like a city where locals live and work and have fun.

The city has a vibrant café scene and one of the best places to be on a sunny day is sitting outdoors by the riverside watching the world go by. It feels a bit Mediterranean crossed with eastern European with street cafés, bars and restaurants, lovelocks, open air markets and Viennese Secessionist architecture and 19th-century wooden shop fronts, quiet courtyards and cobblestone passageways.

Postcards from Around the World

If you ever decide to visit Slovenia (and I recommend that you do) then Lake Bled is a must, located in the Julian Alps in the Gorenjska region of Slovenia, not far from the Austrian and Italian borders. The circumference of the lakeside is an easy flat 6km stroll with beautiful views in every direction.

A castle view of Lake Bled and the island with the Church of the Assumption (which demands a climb up the 99 stone-step staircase).

The fairy-tale castle is perched atop a limestone cliff towering 130 metres above the lake and also worth a visit. It’s a steep climb up there, but the views from the top are far reaching.

The castle is an interesting medieval fortress dating back to 1004 and was extended and fortified in the Middle Ages though extensively damaged by an earthquake in 1511. It was rebuilt much the same as we see it today with the castle buildings decorated with the images of coats-of-arms, painted in fresco technique, some are engraved in stone.

The castle was restored between 1951 and 1961 and the Bled Castle Printing Works was integrated in the building for servants at the lower courtyard, and the castle wine cellar has also been added slightly higher.

Nowadays there are exhibitions and cultural events held in the tower gallery and the castle courtyard.

There is a shop, a museum and a restaurant as well as a preserved Gothic chapel in the upper courtyard, dedicated to Bishop St Albuin and St Ingenuin.

It was built in the 16th century; a baroque image was added to it at the end of the 17th century and was decorated with illusionist frescoes.

Postcards from Around the World

Whilst wandering around Cascais we found a short cut to the coastal road north past the interesting bold pyramid shaped towers of the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego which led into an extensive park (Marechal Carmona Park also known as Gandarinha Park) with gardens, architectural and sculptural interests and where we came across a peacock with the largest / longest tail I have ever seen.

We also came across the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães – a charming fairy-tale example of the revivalist architectural style built in 1897.

The museum’s exhibits include an impressive art collection, rare pieces of Indo-Portuguese furniture, a few prehistoric archaeological remains and a library and if you climb up to the tower there are impressive views over the Santa Marta bay and the Santa Marta Lighthouse.

Views from the tower to the Santa Marta Lighthouse

After visiting the museum and the pretty Chapel of Saint Sebastian, which is close by, we walked down to the lighthouse to have a closer look before going for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay.

There is a lot more to this seaside resort than you might first think, plus it is an easy train ride into Lisbon and also a cheap bus ride to the historic town of Sintra. A perfect base in my opinion.

Postcards from Around the World

After spending several days in Lisbon we headed out of the city to Cascais for a few days, to a charming guest villa/hotel set amidst lush gardens (with a pool) and within 10 mins walk to the old town along a tree-lined street.

We happily wandered around exploring the maze of cobbled streets, finding authentic restaurants (including a marvellous steak restaurant Armazém 22 which is a little off the beaten track), secluded courtyards, benches with views.

As well as the usual Portuguese tiled façades the street signs are rather beautiful too.

Marina where fishermen still mend their nets

There is more to Cascais than meets the eye. We enjoyed the few days we were there, mostly walking, and we discovered a lovely park with the most beautiful peacocks I have ever seen. More of that next time.

Postcards from Around the World

From Spain we are moving on to Portugal and the capital city of Lisbon. A compact city which despite its hills is very walkable, but you can also get onto one of the historic trams which is a common mode of transport for Lisbonites. The no. 28 is the best known, but there are others.

And don’t miss the Glória funicular which leads to the São Pedro de Alcântara Miradouro overlook above Lisbon or the Santa Justa elevator designed by Ponsard, a disciple of the great master of iron works, Gustave Eiffel, more than a hundred years ago.

I spent a few days exploring, mainly walking around the various districts of Alfama, Bairro-Alto, Baixa-Chiado and Rossio and admiring the views from the various viewpoints around the city.

But do not miss a visit out to Belém where you will find two unique monuments: Jerónimos Monastery and the Tower of Belém which are World Heritage Sites. This historical and scenic district, along the River Tagus, is about 3 miles (5 km) west of downtown Lisbon. Getting there by the 15E tram (which goes to the tower) proved difficult from the train station Cais Sodré, as by the time it reached this stop it was full. Patience paid off though and just when we were considering catching a bus, one came along with standing room.

Jerónimos Monastery in the Gothic Manueline style

There was already a queue to get into the monastery and with time being short we opted to just look from the exterior and instead visited the nearby Maritime Museum which is a World of Discoveries. It reflects the importance of the experience and knowledge that the pioneering Portuguese navigators brought to the world. Great if you are fascinated by the Portuguese explorers (as I am).

The Museum of Contemporary Art is worth a look too before crossing over to the Jardim da Praça do Império (Empire Square), built for the Portuguese World Exhibition (1940) which commemorated the 800th anniversary of the independence of Portugal and the 300th anniversary of the Restoration.

Because of a main road and railway lines you need to use an underpass to get to the area along the waterfront which is lovely.

A symbol of Portuguese flag, the armillary sphere, place close to the “Padrão dos Descobrimentos”. By Edgar Barreira

Here you find the extraordinary Monument to the Discoveries / Padrão dos Descobrimentos which was first erected in 1940 in a temporary form, as part of the Portuguese World Exhibition, built with perishable materials. The 171 ft (50 m) tall monument was reconstructed in 1960 to remember the 500th anniversary of Prince Henry the Navigator’s death. You can go up to the top but again be prepared to queue.

The figures includes explorers like Vasco da Gama and Magellan, monks, cartographers, kings, writers, navigators, and missionaries among many other professions. At the base of the monument is a large mosaic with a world map showing where the Portuguese explorers landed and important dates during their expeditions.

And there is a lovely walkway alongside the River Tagus to the Belém Tower,

Of course our last stop was to the popular Pastéis de Belém patisserie which is the original home of the delicious Pasteis de Nata or Pasteis de Belém (custard tarts). Good coffee too.