Hostel Celica

Again, we missed a movie at the Ljubljana castle's open cinema on Friday. This time there were so many people there already, we didn't get our turn and will have to wait till next year (since the there are no more shows, at least none that would interest us). I guess more people show up, if the weather is nice. Although it did start to rain sometime in the middle of the picture, so they must had been a little disappointed, too. ;)

But we did get our turn at the free tour of the Celica hostel. Celica means "The Cell" and is so named because it used to be a military prison of the Yogoslav army. After Slovenian attainment of independence from Yugoslavia, the former barracks were "taken over" by various artist, squatters and they took matters into their own hands. The prison building has recently been converted to house travelers from all over the world in a truly different function that it used to have. It sports a flashy title of the "Hippest Hostel" in the world in the January 2006 edition of Lonely Planet Bluelist.

The picture above shows the side of the hostel, with the graffiti so typical for the area. The glass in the middle covers the outside restaurant.

Above is the hall on the ground floor. Through it you can visit a cafee in oriental style on the right and another one in western style on the left with a restaurant in the middle. The hostel tries to give a chance to many cultures and different points of view through the art in it. I haven't taken any pictures of the first floor, where the prison cells, now converted to rooms for guest, are. That's ok, since Boštjan Burger already took photographs of all the cells in 3D! You should check out his site for other interesting 3D photos of Ljubljana, Slovenija and other interesting places. Some photographs and of course other interesting stuff is also available on Celica's homepage.
The interesting thing about the rooms is, that each was designed by a different artist. Therefore, each is as unique as it gets. Another thing we found particularly interesting is a room of "peace" directly above the dungeon in the basement. It has six niches in the walls, five with artifacts of five major religions and one empty for an "unknown" religon. You can use the room for relaxation and meditation.
If you decide to stay in the cells, don't expect them to be very spacious. It was a prison, remember. It will be a memorable experience, though. I hear guest mingle and show each other rooms, when they learn each one is different. Note there is a wall with names writen on it in one of the cells - the names of former military prisoners. Some guest mistakenly think it's a wall for visitors and add their names :( The second floor has dorms for larger groups of people. It was quite hot there at the time (early afternoon), but the guide said the heat issue will be resolved shortly.
Do take a guided tour if you are in Ljubljana, it's free and you will learn more about the history and the efforts behind the hostel.

Trg revolucije

After a period of extreme heat, we finally had rain yesterday evening and through to the morning. It was much needed already; as many gardens will now be able recuperate. Unfortunately, it foiled our plan to see an evening movie on the Ljubljana castle's yard summer open-roof cinema.

We did cruise through Ljubljana on Saturday, taking pictures of stuff all around, that we will share with you through our upcoming posts. It was fun, but the heat gets to you – it is very hot and humid, and the sun gets hot at early hours (10 o'clock already). Make sure you have plenty of water with you (or buy some), but drink regularly and take other precautions against the sun. Weather reports say the heat wave will be back in the coming week, as in the rest of the Europe.

Among other things, we went by “Trg republike” or “The Square of the Republic”, which ends on one side with the TR2 and TR3 towers, visible on the first picture. One of the highest buildings in the city, they are visible from afar and the TR3 tower sports a digital clock and thermometer on the display at the top of the tower, so you can check if it’s time to move to a shade.

Above is the TR3 building in it’s full glory. There are elite business spaces and a number of foreign embassies inside. A side entrance between the main entrance and the “Cankarjev dom” cultural building leads into the “Centralna tehniška knjižnica”, the library used by students of the technical and nature sciences, and others thirsty for knowledge.

Behind the tower is the “Cankarjev dom”, the country’s prime location for various cultural events, some fairs, exhibitions, film festivals and such. Named after Ivan Cankar, a great contributor to Slovenian prose.

In front of the building is a cube that bears his name on one side and a silhuette of his face on another (as shown on the picture – notice the dark areas: the hair, eyes, moustache).

Looking across the square and the parking lot, you can see the Slovenian parliament building (“Državni zbor”). The parking lot is cleared for important national events, to accommodate for celebrations ceremonies.

The entrance to the parliament building with bronze sculptures by Karlo Putrih and Zdenko Kalin. The building was built in 1959 by design of architect Vinko Glanz. The parliament as an institution of Slovenian state was established in 1992.

The "Spomenik revolicije" monument on the side of the square pays tribute to the revolution (the fight against the axis powers in the Second World War and the establishment of the socialist state afterwards). Mind the missing letters “I” and “K” in the word “SPOMENIK” that perhaps hints at the path of the whole monument with changing ideology.

This sign next to it reminds us of the things written in the constitution (of the previous state): the farmers, workers, communist party, the liberation struggle, the falling of the social order based on exploitation, the conditions for the free and all-round development of the Slovene nation (to make it brief).

Fell free to comment. Expect further contributions in somewhat sporadic posts. But we do intend to cover important locations and events with photographs, eventualy covering Ljubljana and possibly other interesting locations in Slovenia. (Notice you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

The first post ...

This is our first post on our new blog, dedicated to capturing moments and images in Ljubljana and other places in Slovenia. Above is a photograph of the castle on the hill above Ljubljana, a prominent landmark of the city.