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Posts Tagged ‘Slovenia’

Art Nouveau Architecture Of Ljubljana, Slovenia

03 May
Union Hotel Ljubljana

Union Hotel, Ljubljana

In 1895 a large earthquake in Ljubljana flattened large parts of the city.  The timing of the quake was perfectly aligned for incoming architects to build excellent examples of Art Nouveau style buildings that were popular in many western European cities at the time.

Examples of Art Nouveau can also be found in throughout Vienna, Austria as well.

One of my favorite aspects of the Art Nouveau style is the ornate stone and plaster work on the outside facades of the buildings.  There is something about the mixture of the very geometric straight lines and the curving scrolls and organic forms taken from nature that make the style pleasing to my eye.

While we were walking through Ljublana I spotted the Union Hotel which was a great example of the style.  It is just a stones through from the main square in the center of town, just behind the church. Definately worth the short walk if you are in the area.

 
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Lake Bled, View From Mala Osojnica

08 Apr
View of Lake Bled, Slovenia

View of Lake Bled from Mala Osojnica

One pinnacle of our trip to Lake Bled was a photo shoot from the Mala Osojnica hill on the edge of the lake.  This hill (650m) offers one of the most photographic locations around the lake.  While we were at the top I captured a 360 degree panoramic image of lake bled.

The hike up was tough to say the least.  Being used to the trail markings in Switzerland we expected to find a very clearly marked path. Instead what we found were what seemed to be isolated trees several hundred yards apart with dots of paint on them.  Between the trees was little or no discerning path.  We ended up hiking in a generally uphill direction and I was pretty convinced we were not on a formal trail.  The terrain was extremely steep and my back was killing me as I was clawing at the loose leaves and dirt to pull myself and my 25 pounds of camera gear to the top.

At one point we were scrambling over a rock ledge, not very well marked and I had visions of my tripod pulling me off balance and falling down the mountain.

Having reached the view point, we were amazed.  Alone at the top, complete isolation.  I was imagining we would be alone for the entire time given the tough scramble to the top and the lingering burning sensation in my legs.

Then to my surprize walks up and older couple barely breaking a sweat.  ‘How did they get up here?’ I thought.  Sure enough we tracked the retiree crowd on the way down and discovered there was a better marked and more reasonable trail that we had totally missed.  It was of course much more fun, and a better story to admit that we broke our own new ground to get to the top.

 
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Posted in Photography, Travel

 

Easter in Slovenia

06 Apr
Lake Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

For the Easter weekend we took a trip to Slovenia. Our two stops were Lake Bled and the nations capitol, Ljubljana.

The 12 hour trip by night train was an adventure in itself.   Nothing like cramming yourself, a couple of pieces of luggage and a travel companion in a closet for a half a day of rail travel while you try to catch a few winks of sleep. While the bunk beds in the private sleeping cabin were manageable, the maintenance of the tracks in Slovenia was less than perfect.  The result, was a jarring ride from about 2:00 am until our arrival time at around 8:00 am.

As always the central activity of the trip was photography.  I looked like a sherpa climbing the Himilayas with all my gear.  At one point I was carrying

  • 3 lenses
  • 1 DSLR camera body
  • 1 panoramic tripod head
  • 1 pan/tilt tripod head
  • 1 full-size studio tripod

It was so ridiculous my wife mentioned that I should weigh all the stuff when I got home to see how much weight I was schlepping around.  Well the answer to that question is 25 pounds (11.3 Kg).

I managed to climb 2 hills both over 650 meters with the gear on my back. Accompanied of course by a bit of pain the following day, but it was worth it.  And at the end of all that I got permission to get myself a lighter carbon fiber tripod that I have been looking at.  The new tripod should reduce the load by about 1.5 kilos (4 pounds) for next time.  My wife said I earned it after making it to the top of the second hill.

 
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Posted in Travel