Tom`s travels: Slovenia

Monday, July 15, 2019

Gorizian Hills (30/09/2018)

On this day I convinced my parents to drive eastwards and visit the area around my grandmother's hometown, Gorizia. After taking the highway we reached the small town of Gradisca d'Isonzo and parked our car right outside the old town. Part of the club "the most beautiful villages in Italy" its city center features a set of 16th-century walls, built by the Venetians, which used to surround the whole town but whose western side was demolished to grant an opening due to the pace of times. As we walked along the northern walls, we passed by one of the fortified towers, built so to stand up to the improvements of the period which consisted of firearms thus requiring a change of defense all throughout Europe. We then entered through the city gate, Madonna della Porta, and climbed a part of walls where I had a nice view of the surroundings. We then went back down and walked along the perfectly straight outline of the streets. We entered the Duomo, dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul, featuring a mix of Neoclassical and Baroque exterior and interior with some older features such as the 16th-century tomb of Nicolò della Torre. Then through the streets, we reached again the location of our car, passing by the theatre, which was built during the 19th century when the town was governed by Austrians which loved to have some entertainment and had several cafés built next to it which still remain to this day. After taking the car we then drove further and reached the city of Gorizia, the birthplace of my grandma from my father's side. After parking the car and continuing on foot we figured out the city was quite packed with visitors due to a multi-day event called "Gusti di Frontiera" which consisted of stalls all along the city streets serving food from all over Italy and beyond. We reached the Piazza della Vittoria, the city's central square which featured a nice fountain representing Neptune and built-in 1756. On the western side of the square was the church of Sant Ignatius, unfortunately, closed at that time, but featuring a typical Baroque structure found throughout the former Austrian Empire, which the city belonged to for nearly 500 years. From there we walked along Via Rastrello, the main street cutting through the old town sided by beautiful buildings ranging from different periods. Then reaching Piazza Sant'Antonio a stage was set up for the event and food and drinks were being offered at its side. We took a glass and a snack and enjoyed the sunny weather for a bit. Then we started to get hungry so headed back through the town to a place called Trattoria da Gianni where we were seated after a bit of waiting due to it being fully packed. After ordering our dishes we found out by surprise that the dishes were huge and some plates were even too much for two people. My huge dish of gnocchi with four cheeses filled me up to the brink as I barely managed to finish it. After lunch we then walked further into the old town, passing by the Duomo which was unfortunately closed, and then walking uphill to reach the upper part of town. We passed under the Porta Leopoldina, a 17th-century gate dedicated to the Hapsburg Emperor Leopold I and entered what used to be the oldest core of the town, where some buildings, together with the church of Santo Spirito, built at the end of the 14th century, and the castle, were located. We headed for the castle, located on the highest point of the hill, and found out that entrance was free. That, unfortunately, meant it was full of people but we nonetheless managed to enjoy visiting it. Originally built during the 11th century it was later modified when the Venetians took control of the city at the beginning of the 16th century for a few months and upgraded it to sustain more modern warfare. The interior, though remade, featured some nice rooms with medieval furniture; while the terraces and windows provided amazing views over the old town. From up there, the border with the Slovenian town of Nova Gorica, which was just a few hundred meters away, could be clearly seen as well. After the visit to the castle, we walked back through the old town and got into the car to drive further. We passed through an area known as the Collio, or Gorizian Hills, crossing into Slovenia and stopping at a small town called Smartno. This small hilltop town used to be enclosed by a set of walls which had been later demolished and just a few traces remain. We walked through the pretty streets admiring the architecture and the beautiful view over the surrounding hills covered in vineyards which at that time were ripe with grapes. Driving then back into Italy we descended the hills and drove through the plains formed by the many rivers of the area, and stopping at a small town called Clauiano. Part of the club "the most beautiful villages" it is rather like a spread out village with no central square but spreading out from a central street cutting through the center. After a little walk around I didn't find particularly interesting and suggested to continue further. After a little drive further, we reached the town of Palmanova, a perfect example of star fort of the Late Renaissance built by the Venetians in 1593 to defend the land from invading armies coming for the east. It never served its purpose but served as a precursor to the many star forts which were subsequently built all around Europe. This is why recently it had been put into the Unesco list together with other Venetian works of Defence along the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea. We did not get a full overview of the structure by driving through, though a satellite image can fully show its size and design. From there it was time to go so we headed back on the highway and in the direction of Vicenza.

The walls of Gradisca d'Isonzo

Entrance to the old town

View from one of the towers of the walls and old town

The northern entrance to the old town

A street in the old town with church of S Addolorata in the background

The fountain of Neptune in the central Piazza della Vittoria in Gorizia

The porta Leopoldina, entrance to the city's castle

The church of Santo Spirito

The castle

View towards the south from the castle

One of the medeival rooms inside the castle

The castle's small courtyard

View of the old town from the ramparts

Vineyards between Italy and Slovenia

The small hilltop town of Smartno

One of the streets in Smartno

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Maribor, Ljubljana,& Bled (8-10/01/2018)

After catching the bus from Graz we reached Maribor in Slovenia about an hour later. We had booked a room at a place called Anna House, and after the destination headed there to check in and drop our luggage. After the check in we were hungry as it was quite late however most places were closed so we decided to eat some food we had brought with us. After that, we went for a walk around the town despite the cold and foggy weather. We passed by the castle, more of a large palace, built during the 15th century and now holding the regional museum. right in front of it opens up the Grajski Trg, a triangularly shaped square with a column with St Florian standing at its center. We then walked through another square, Glavni Trg, and reached the Glavni most, one of the bridges spanning the Drava river. It was decorated with pretty street lights in the fashion of Christmas trees. From there we descended at river level and admired the Synagogue from the 14th century, one of the oldest in Europe. We were then quite tired so headed back to the accommodation to rest up for the next day. In the morning, after breakfast we headed out, the weather not having gotten better. We first visited the Cathedral, which stood right in front of our accommodation, built in the Gothic style with several Baroque additions including the bell tower. Then we again passed through Glavni Trg, this time admiring it by daylight. At its northern end stands the Renaissance town hall, from which supposedly Hitler addressed the local German population during his visit in 1941. In front, it and at the center of the square stands the pretty Plague Column, built during the 17th century to commemorate the stop of the plague epidemic that hit the city in 1680. From the square, we walked down towards the river and encountered a 16th-century house which holds attached to its southern side a vine which is considered to be the world's oldest being around for 400 years. We walked up to Glavni most once more and admired the view of the old town from the other side of the Drava river. After that, we walked back through the old town and the Grajski Trg and reached the train station where we took a train to Ljubljana.
The journey took a while, winding through hills and along small rivers and towns. After reaching Slovenia's capital we headed to our accommodation which was located a bit outside the city center. After checking in and leaving our luggage we headed out again and walked back to the center. It had started to rain, something which would follow us throughout the whole time in the city, and this meant drenched clothes and blurry pictures. We entered the old part of town by crossing the so-called Dragon bridge, built at the beginning of the 20th century under Austro-Hungarian rule. After crossing Vodnik square we entered the Cathedral, originally built as a gothic church it is now fully Baroque. As we entered, the interior was really dark and badly lit up and as the sun had set we could not see much of the decorations and paintings. Not much further we reached Mestni Trg, or Town square, where the town hall stands to the south. At the square's center is a replica of a famous fountain, now kept in the national gallery, the Robba fountain. This Baroque monument was made in 1751 by the Italian architect Robba and is one of the main landmarks of the city. Walking along the street lined with beautiful old buildings, Mestni Trg became Stari Trg which had the Hercules fountain at its center dating from the 17th century. We then crossed the Ljubljanica river and walked along the riverside admiring the historic buildings with the castle above the hill in the background. The riverside walk ended at Preseren Square one of the central squares of the city, where the Tromostovje or Triple bridge is located as well as the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, which had a nice Baroque interior. We then decided to visit the National Gallery which holds some interesting paintings including those of international and local artists. As mentioned earlier the original of the Robba fountain is also located inside the museum. After the visit, we decided to have dinner at a place called Sarajevo 84 which made a mix of Balkan food. I had Cevapcici while Ania had borek. We were then quite tired so we headed to our accommodation where we went to sleep early. The following morning we decided to head to the bus station and take a bus to the famous Lake Bled. The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origin and is famous for containing an island with a monastery at its center. Furthermore, the clear water and the surrounding alpine landscape make it an ideal location for tourism. After getting off the bus we decided to walk the entirety of the lake's perimeter. We started the walk by rounding the castle located on top of a hill giving us a nice view of the lake and then descending back down at water level. As we reached the western part of the lake we met some really hungry ducks which followed us around quacking out loud. Then we decided to climb the nearby hill which provided us with an incredible and picture-perfect view of the lake, monastery island, castle and mountains in the background. Back down from the hill we then completed the circuit of the lake and got back into the town of Bled, after hanging there for a bit we then took the bus back to Ljubljana. After arriving we walked through the old town and chose a small restaurant to have dinner, Second Violin. The dishes were huge and the prices were cheap, and I had a really tasty goulash soup. After dinner, we took another stroll and finally headed back to our accommodation to sleep.