Ljubljana.. 1/09

I never imagined communism could be this inviting!

Woke up this morning bleary eyed from a royal sleep, having used an actual pillow for the first time this trip, realising that I was in a wonderfully strange and different place with a whole day to explore!

The sun that had threatened to show its face today failed to materialise, so we donned jumpers and spray jackets and strolled out the hotel. Immediately outside are lots of huge, communist high rise flats covered in graffiti, but this town lacks the auror of threat so commonly associated with inner city neighbourhoods.

2 minutes walk from the hotel door was the river and the old town, and street after street of cosy, quirky coffee shops tucked inside wonderfully quaint and typically swiss-German buildings.

Granted, you don't have to look far to spot the grey, oppressive stamp of communism but this simply adds to the character of this place, a character that can be absorbed from no better standpoint than the castle at the heart of the city.

Besides, the coffee, pizza and beer is as good as any I've ever had, and the prices jaw-droppingly low (if only because of the proximity of this visit to our time in Switzerland) and there is a distinct relaxed and happy vibe about the whole place.

Postojna tomorrow, and muchos muchos country side.