From Krakow to Ljubljana, Bled in Slovenia, a family trip through central Europe
This time we decided to go for cities in central Europe, discover this side of the continent.
Terminal 2
2 minutes on the airport shuttle and we arrive to terminal 1
From there we have 3 alternative of busses going to the city center.
The landscapes in the outskirts of Kraków remind me a bit of Cuenca in Ecuador
40 minutes later we arrive to the train station in the city center, a big, modern building with connections to other transportation means which is near a 3 level shopping mall, Galeria Krakowska.
Book a tour
If you don´t want to go through the planning and logistics, want to have a guide by your side, then I recommend you book a tour in Ljubljana here.
This is a shopaholics Mecca and reminds me of Quicentro shopping in Quito. Most stores are local, but there are also franchises, such as Zara, H&M, Starbucks, Benetton, Sepphora, Relay, and many more.
We had to stay inside a little bit more time than planned, as rain poured down the windows.
Outside the shopping center crossing Pawia road we crossed a green area surrounded the center, called planty. From there er arrive to:
St. Florian’s gate
Barbican
Czartoryski Museum
Down Floriańska street headed to the main market square
Cloth Hall
St. Mary’s church and Town Hall
We took some pictures and enjoyed a light meal in the main square, while waiting the heavy storm to stop or decrease.
I got a beetroot and egg soup. Interesting as it was just the juice or water from the root and a hard egg, with nice seasoning.
After this we went to take the tram.
To Schindler’s factory take tram #3 from outside the shopping center, opposite side. Then get off at stop Pl. Boharterow Getta, and on the same side go downstairs to cross to the other side in the same street to the right, on K street. Follow the signs from there.
You have to cross this bridge
Here are the opening hours:
We came carpooling from Kraków, it is a great way to help the environment and also a low-budget one. We used blablacar, a website which allows drivers to let people know their route, price and time of departure for anyone to contact.
The trip was through lovely scenery, castles and some interesting cities, mostly in Check republique.
Kaiser23 Used to be a hospital and has been nicely adapted and decorated to make it into a Hostel and Guest House.
There is a basin and small IKEA closet with towels, and you get basic toiletries.
The lobby/ reception and cafeteria are decorated with bright colors, chandeliers and they have nicely made this open space a cozy, inviting atmosphere to guests.
The Blablacar was our option today regarding transportation, due to price and time. We got to share the ride with a student, with a friendly lady behind the wheels(A).
The scenery along the way is gorgeous, it is less flat, at least in the Czech Republic. It is a nice highway, the condition of the roads is really good, and most times the speed limit is 140 km/h.
For a reasonable fare of 9 punds per person we got in 4 hours to Ljubljana and straight to our final destination.
We arrived at 20:15, and went for some light dinner just 5 blocks away from our AirBnB.
As we arrive we notice that most buildings are covered by grqfitti, and then find some sections and even trains also full of them. We are not sure why, but had never seen a city with so many.
Facts about Ljubljana
The city center can easily be explored by foot, there are 300.000 inhabitants and the total population is of 2 million
The country side is filled with lots of farms and green.
During WWII the city was divided in 2, part against and others supporting the nazis.
We order by advice from the girl we shared the ride with a traditional dish: cevapćići.
We just got a first impression of dragon bridge and a bit of the city.
The dragon is found in the coat of arms and in the bridge, they represent courage, power and greatness.
We were gladly surprised, although we had done some research and most travel guides were suggesting to visit Central Europe this summer. We had a great time and loved this smaller cities, which were easy to visit by foot.
Thank you for reading.
Cristina
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