We awoke, clean and refreshed, to a beautiful, sunny, Ljubljana day. We took another shower (thinking forward to the night, when we would have yet another overnight train) and went downstairs for our complimentary breakfast of cereals, meats, cheeses, and eggs.
A note on our hostel: it was constructed by Austro-Hungarian soldiers in 1882, and used as a military prison until 1991. Our room had bars on it, and was left as it would have been (but a lot cleaner and brighter) as a prison. Despite the history, it has a very vibrant community built up around it, and every night there is some activity going on in the hostel amongst its young clientele group.
 |
| Our room, or cell, in Hostel Celica. |
 |
| Earlier in the day, James scared Erin by telling her that the hostel didn't have walls - only steel bars. To Erin's delight, the room actually did have walls and was very nice. |
After packing up, checking out and pac-safing our bags in the luggage room, we walked out into the sunshine. We first headed to Ljubljana’s Dragon’s Bridge, where Tabitha first met the mother of all scary dragons, and then made friends with someone her own size:
 |
| Tabitha, on the Dragon Bridge. |
 |
| A view from the Dragon Bridge looking up at the Castle in the distance. |
From the Dragon’s Bridge we walked through the Flower, Fish and Fruit markets in Vodnikov Square, and stopped in the tourist office for information about the city – as well as a well-marked map:
 |
| One of the many food stalls in the Ljubljana open-air market. |
 |
| How many varieties of cabbage do you need? |
Vodnikov Square is very close to the base of the Orlov Mountain, on whose summit sits Ljubljanski Castle. We could have taken a dedicated train to the top of the Mountain, but we knew that even though it was sunny out, it was still chilly, and that our outdoor time today would be limited. To maximize our exercise, we decided to climb the hill. It was well worth the effort – it was an absolutely beautiful climb, filled with as much fall color and views as we would have liked:
 |
| The approach to Ljubljana Castle. |
Once at the castle, we set out exploring. We saw an art gallery housed within one of the castle’s subterranean rooms, comprised of a photo exhibit and an interesting “candle-like” grotto:
 |
| One of the art installations - this one in the "grotto." |
 |
| Tabitha takes up residence in Ljubljana Castle's courtyard. |
After the gallery, we found the castle’s viewing tower. After yet another climb, this one up a circular staircase, we arrived at the best views of Ljubljana we’ve seen:
 |
| James and Erin on the top of the Castle. |
 |
| A view down from the Castle onto the whole of Ljubljana. |
 |
| James walking back down from the Castle - we have definitely enjoyed seeing the Fall colors. |
We descended the tower, and walked along the Ljubljanica river, where we saw a number of small cafes and lots and lots of people out walking. We again crossed the river and headed west towards Tivoli park. We saw the house of the US Ambassador (and were again told not to take photos, this time with a wave across the street) and also glimpsed the cultural center of Ljubljana, its dance and music theatres.
 |
| Erin and James steal a kiss on one of the many Ljubljana bridges. |
We were in no hurry, as our train this evening would not leave until close to midnight. We walked through some malls, and escaped the cold for a bit in a very-high-end four-story boutique. We had heard of a recommendation for a meal from “Romeo Plus.” Once we were hungry enough, we made our way back to the river to Romeo, which sits close to its sister restaurant, Julia (exactly – Romeo and Juliet). We both ordered salads, and they were absolutely terrific:
 |
| Our sister salads at Romeo Plus. |
 |
| As the sun began to set, we crossed the "Lock" bridge - there were hundreds of locks left on the bridge from prior crossers. |
 |
| As it got cold at night, the outdoor cafes each had blankets and heaters at each table. |
After dinner, we wandered some more, but as the sun began to set, the cold set in, and we escaped back to our hostel to sit down and finish catching up on our blogging and work.
