Places to visit before you die

It was love at first sight.
The blooming trees, the weeping willows overhanging the river, the street musicians playing classics, the smell of fresh baked bread and coffee filled all my senses and I was mesmerized by this place for life.
As an exchange student I felt as it’s my duty to travel around and in the first free days my friends and I immediately took the train from Zagreb to Ljubljana.
It seemed as a perfect weekend destination – small enough to be explored for a day but full of surprises. Being there was like a time machine for me, not only because of the fairy look of the city with all these stone bridges spanning the green Ljubljanica river, dragon statues, baroque buildings but the whole art atmosphere of the city. And the local people themselves are part of the total experience – bohemians! They were just chilling in the pastry shops, laughing loud. The bells of passing bicycles took me to the reality and we had to hurry up to see all the attractions.
On our way to the medieval castle, which is standing on a hill above the downtown, we passed by the Central Market. I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy from the fresh spices and home-made delights. Even now, if I close my eyes I can go back in time and feel the divine fragrance of spring flowers and the taste of heavenly good ice cream melting in my mouth.
A town of surprises, as I already said. It was a bit weird to see so many pairs of shoes thrown on the wires. And the tourists accept it as an attraction and leave their shoes, too. Also, somewhere between the street lamps and flower baskets on them, you can see, hanging on a street pole, a cage with skeleton in it. Actually, the night Ljubljana was a bit scary but yet charming. We went to “Metelkova” street - the only place that feels truly urban in the city. It is an autonomous social center and occupies former prison and military barracks which are transferred into hostel, clubs and art galleries. During the day it feels a bit sleepy but at night it becomes the most reliable place to find a party. And still it is not for long dress and high-heels. Most of the people there had some ‘metal’ look and heavy makeup. So we sat in a tree house, listened to live music and had a chat with locals. Pure joy!
Somewhere between the German conservatism, Mediterranean touch from Italy and the Balkan behavior from former Yugoslavia, Ljubljana still has its uniqueness. And just the mix of so many cultures makes it that interesting and worth seeing.