Slovenia – Day 1
The One With… The Campervan Kip, the Mixed Semen & Far Too Much Food
📍 Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
🥾 Itinerary: Settle in & Walking Food Tour
The Short Version
After a few hours’ sleep in Sid and an early flight from Gatwick, we arrived in sunny Ljubljana ready to begin our Slovenian adventure.
Our first afternoon involved exploring this beautiful, spotless city through its history, bridges and, most importantly, its food.
Sausages, pizza, traditional Balkan dishes and an enormous layered pudding meant that I finished the day very full, very happy and completely ready for bed!
The Long-Winded Version
🚐 Last night, I drove Sid the Campervan to Cobham Services, about 25 minutes from Gatwick Airport.
I found myself a quiet corner, paid £10 and managed to get a few hours’ kip before my alarm went off at 3.15am.
After grabbing a coffee from McDonald’s – I actually quite like a Maccy D’s coffee – I made my way to the North Terminal Long Stay car park.
I took a quick selfie on the airport shuttle bus and posted it in the group with the message:
“On my way…”
🍳 6.05am – The gang assembles
We all congregated for breakfast in the departure lounge.
It’s a small group of just eight of us, so I have a feeling this trip is going to feel more like I’m on holiday with a group of mates than hosting an Adventure Geek trip.
Bring it on!
🇸🇮 11.15am – Welcome to Slovenia!
The flight went super-fast and, before long, we were landing in Slovenia.
The hoodie came off and I instantly understood why Americans call joggers “sweatpants”.
I needed to get these things off!
We were greeted by Arne, who, I would soon discover, wears many hats.
For now, he was Arne the Driver, but later that afternoon he would become Arne the Walking Food Tour Guide.
When we arrived at the hotel, two familiar faces appeared wearing Adventure Geek T-shirts.
Emma and Julie had been enjoying their own little adventure for the past few days, travelling through several countries before meeting us in Slovenia.
Our group was now complete, and we listened to Emma and Julie’s stories involving castles, funiculars, trams, little tourist trains, free buggies and, most importantly… beer!
They had been taking their research into local beers very seriously.
12.30pm – Following the Pied Piper
Arne gathered us in the hotel’s little courtyard for a quick briefing.
He explained that he would be with us throughout the trip and that our first adventure would be a walking food tour of Ljubljana.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but we all followed him as he turned right outside the hotel, like the Pied Piper of Slovenia.
And off we went…
🍕 Ljubljana – One Bite at a Time
Ljubljana is Slovenia’s capital, but it doesn’t feel like a big, hectic city.
Its centre is compact, green and easy to explore on foot, with the Ljubljanica River winding through it and café tables spilling out along the banks.
There are bridges everywhere, colourful buildings, cobbled streets and lots of little lanes to explore.
The centre is largely pedestrianised too, which helps explain why everything feels so calm and clean.
If today’s tour were a dinner menu, it would look something like this…
🍷 Starters – Sausages & Questionable Wine
We walked to a little café that specialised in sausages.
Our first course consisted of sausage, bread, a mustard mixture and hummus, all washed down with a rather unusual red wine.
Let’s just say it wasn’t the best wine I have ever tasted!
Snay is vegetarian, so she was served a warming barley broth instead.
⛪ Cathedral of St Nicholas
The tour continued and we stopped outside the Cathedral of St Nicholas, where the enormous bronze doors tell parts of Slovenia’s Christian history.
They were added in 1996 to mark 1,250 years of Christianity in Slovenia and the visit of Pope John Paul II.
Parts of the doors have become bright and shiny because so many people rub them for good luck.
Naturally, we all had a rub. We weren’t taking any chances!
🚶♀️ The Market Discovery
The tour then took us through an indoor market, where I heard Claire Whitehead’s laugh from what felt like a mile away.
Curious, I wandered over to see what had amused her.
She pointed towards one of the market stalls, which appeared to be selling bags of…
Mixed Semen.
Only €5!
I’m fairly certain something had been lost in translation, but it certainly gave us all a giggle.
🐉 Dragon Bridge
Next was Ljubljana’s famous Dragon Bridge, guarded by four large green dragons.
According to local legend, the Greek hero Jason – the chap who stole the Golden Fleece and sailed with the Argonauts – encountered and defeated a dragon in the marshes near Ljubljana.
Over time, the dragon became the symbol of the city, representing courage, strength and greatness.
It appears on Ljubljana’s coat of arms and all over the city.
There’s also a cheeky local legend that says the dragons wag their tails whenever a virgin crosses the bridge.
I can neither confirm nor deny whether any tails moved as our group walked past!
🔐 Bridges, Padlocks & a Very Clean City
We continued past Ljubljana’s lovely bridges, including the famous Triple Bridge.
This is actually three bridges side by side, linking the old part of the city with Prešeren Square.
Nearby, Butchers’ Bridge is covered in padlocks left by couples as a symbol of their love.
One thing I kept noticing was just how clean everything was.
Even though Ljubljana is the capital city, it felt calm, relaxed and incredibly well cared for.
🍕 Second Course – Pizza!
We sat down at Ljubljana’s oldest pizzeria for our next course.
The pizza bases were cooked in an electric conveyor oven.
It reminded me of those hotel toasters where you put your bread in at one end, watch it disappear and hope it eventually comes out of the other side.
The pizzas tasted amazing!
I did chuckle when Julie and Emma ordered beers and enormous tankards appeared in front of them.
Their important beer research was clearly continuing.
Naked Statues, Balkan Food & The Pudding That Defeated Me
Republic Square
Our next stop was Republic Square and the Slovenian Parliament building.
Wow!
The building itself is quite plain, but its entrance certainly isn’t.
It is surrounded by a huge collection of intertwined, mostly naked figures created by sculptors Zdenko Kalin and Karel Putrih.
The figures represent different parts of everyday life, including work, family, learning and caring for children.
They caused quite a stir when they appeared in the 1950s, partly because of the nudity and partly because they showed family roles and everyday life in a way that wasn’t commonly seen at the time.
There was so much going on in the sculpture that you could stand there for ages spotting the different people and stories.
🥘 Third Course – Čevapčiči
Arne led us to our next food stop, where we were served čevapčiči – small grilled rolls of minced meat that look a little like skinless sausages.
They are a popular Balkan dish and were served beside warm flatbread with raw chopped onions, ajvar – a red pepper relish – and kajmak, a rich, creamy cheese.
It looked a little like a kebab, but it certainly wasn’t the sort of kebab we are used to at home after a night out!
🍰 Dessert – Prekmurska Gibanica
By the time dessert arrived, I was already completely full.
Then Arne introduced us to Prekmurska gibanica, a traditional Slovenian layered cake containing apples, walnuts, poppy seeds and sweet cottage cheese.
It was delicious, but incredibly rich and filling.
I gave it my best shot…
But it finally defeated me.
🛏️ Time for Bed
By now, I was seriously starting to flag.
I knew I was talking rubbish because I was so tired, and my brain had officially stopped working.
When we arrived back at the hotel, I announced that I was heading straight to my room for a very much-needed nap.
What a first day 🇸🇮
A campervan kip, an early flight, a new city, lots of laughter and enough food to feed us for the entire week.
Ljubljana had been a fabulous introduction to Slovenia – beautiful, calm, ridiculously clean and very easy to explore on foot.
But tomorrow, we leave the city behind and head into the mountains.
Now the real adventure begins!
