Lazy Sunday afternoons in Ljubljana

When you find yourself in the position of an Erasmus+ student in Ljubljana, you might start questioning yourself, what can I do on weekends? Surely, there are many clubs which you can visit in the night, but what to do during the day? There aren't that many entertainment facilities around.

Option 1: enjoy the peacefulness of nature

Head to the Tivoli park. It is right next to both the Modern and the National Gallery, as well as the city centre with all the stores and food places. On a sunny day, it is also a great idea to make your favourite sandwiches and pack other types of your favourite snacks and come to the park with your friends. You can have a great picnic in the heart of nature!

Option 2: get classy next to the river

Dress up and head up with your friends to one of the hip brunch places in the Old Town or next to the river Ljubljanica. There is a good chance you will meet some people that you know from faculty there because this is the place to be on the weekends. Try Ek bistro or the pancake place at the river Makalonca.

Option 3: take a riverboat tour

There are few companies that offer this service, and if you walk along the river during the daytime in the weekend, you will probably soon meet some of the representatives that will invite you for a ride. The ride won't be that long, but it offers a different perspective on the historical parts of Ljubljana's history. Additionally, you can enjoy sipping a hot beverage while on the boat!

Option 4: invest in yourself

Despite the fact that Ljubljana is colourful and vibrant, it is still nevertheless small. After a month or two in the city, you will already know your favourite spots and places where you will meet friends, have lunch or a coffee. And when you get to know the city well, you can use other options that Slovenia provides for you. Many faculties provide sports activities for students – find out with your coordinator if you can put them in your Learning Agreement and earn some credit points by getting fit. Gym and fitness memberships are also quite cheap, as well as healthy eating outside. There are public libraries lying across town that offer a variety of books in English too on all sorts of topics. In the spring and summer, you might find some book stands in the Zvezda or Tivoli park along with comfortable chairs. You can just borrow a book for the afternoon, relax on a comfy chair or on the grass itself and dive into some knowledge. However, don't forget to return the book – this type of open library in a park is built on trust and it shouldn't be abused.

The time you spent on Erasmus+ exchange is the time you can really build yourself as a person. Without all the social and work obligations that you face at home, you will have more free time and the ability to choose how you wish to spend it. You should use it in different ways, but save some time for self-exploration and growth. The year or semester that you spend abroad can define your future and lifestyle if you do it right and you might finally find your calling.

Option 5: invest in your health

Head over Mesarski most (The Butcher's Bridge) over to the market place, where you will find the freshest and ecological fruits and vegetables straight from the farmers. A lifestyle of Erasmus+ student can be exhausting sometimes, so some vitamins won't hurt you.

Afterwards, you can go to Vigo for ice cream or stop at one of the artisan chocolate shops in the old town, Rustika or Curkček (Small sugar). Everybody wants to cheat sometimes, after all.

Option 6: get out of Ljubljana for the weekend

Grab some of your Erasmus+ friends that are willing to expore with you and get into a bus or a train. All the public transport in Slovenia is quite cheap, but the trains can be a bit slow. If you want to achieve your destinations even faster, you should definitely get to know this site: prevoz.org.

Prevoz in the Slovene language means transport. This site helps people that commute regularly to work in other cities to offer a spot in their car to other people that need to travel too. That way they save on the gas, and the passengers get the cheap ride. On the site you will find their profile with all the information about where each person is going, the car brand and model and the plate number. You can then arrange the details of the transport over the phone in a text message or call. You will usually pay around five euros, even if you travel quite far from the capital. Sometimes the prices can be lower or higher, from 3 to 7 euros.

There are several typical destinations that you should definitely include in your exploration of Slovenia, and there are of course many more that you will discover on your own.

1. Piran

It is an adorable historical city next to the seaside that lives mostly from tourism and fishing. Nevertheless, don't worry, it will not be too many people unless you go really at the peak of the summer. You can try the best traditional sea fruits dishes here, sitting just a few meters away from the Adriatic Sea, and in the afternoon you should definitely jump into the warm water. If you are gonna stay more time, you should also take a walk to the nearby city of Portorož. This is where you can go in the evening, to have some fun in the bars.

2. Lake Bled

It is a great romantic spot to take your potential romantic interest. There is a lovely lake with a small island in the middle of it, and you can also eat the best traditional »kremšnita« in the country there. »Kremšnita« basically means the slice of cream. The word is a literal transcription of the German word »Cremeschnitte«. It is very puffy, juicy and fulfilling because it contains a lot of eggs, and you might have trouble finishing it all by yourself. That is why it is great to come to this place on a date: nothing ignites a spark quite like sharing a dessert.

3. The Postojna Caves

Some say, there is just as much Slovenia underneath the ground as it is above. There are plenty of caves in our country, as well as many rivers that sink and reappear (like river Ljubljanica with its seven different names). The caves are beautiful and mysterious and provide a huge contrast to all the green nature on the surface.

Option 7: go climbing

Slovenians traditionally love heights and much as descending into the darkness of the underground. We like skiing and slalom, but also just getting on top of different hills. There are many different hikes that you can take, but beware of your capabilities and don't wander off the marked paths. Take good shoes with you and a sufficient amount of water and you can enjoy many lovely views! Slovenia doesn't have much of the really high peaks except our national symbol, Triglav (literal translation: three heads, for the three peaks in our flag), but it has many different hills.

Have fun! And keep exploring.