Metelkova City is a centre of art and craftsmanship in Ljubljana. It was created sixteen years ago because there was no space like that in the city. Over this few years it has become an autonomous centre. When Slovenia became independent different personalities of the country tried to convince the government to do something that was not a shopping centre. After the negative and a couple years later, artists and different groups decided to occupy it – and created what we know today as Metelkova Mesto.
Welcome to Metelkova Mesto
There’s art, music, theatre, sculpture and painting among other arts. It’s located 15 minutes walking distance from the pristine Austro-Hungarian Empire look of Ljubljana’s city centre. Taking 12,500m2 of an abandoned military base, the occupied buildings have become one of Europe’s finest art spaces. Metelkova Mesto hosts more than 1,000 different events per year.
The space has been created by a number of groups that established the economy of the Metelokva city. When I was there I was the only tourist around. Seriously though, how many times has this happened to you? I’m pretty sure it was, if not the first, on my top 3 of first times.
There were groups of people hanging, but they either seemed locals or people who has visited long enough to feel like they belong there. However at night it is the place to hang around: exchange ideas, listen to music, attend to a lecture or visit an exhibition. The alternative city of Ljubljana comes alive with the last light.
I took pictures (of course!) and walked around the area mesmerised with every piece of art I could see.
Inside of this alternative city we can find a big amount of graffiti and different art. The walls are full of paintings, tiles making big puzzles of images or baby heads in a mostly alarming expression hanging from different ropes.
There are playground structures you can chill on, and different materials making a big spider shape.
Hostel Celica
Inside of Metelkova Mesto we can find the Celica Hostel. It was a former prison that is now a hostel. Various artists have decorated each cell of the prison and their names are on the door.
I really wanted to see the inside. At least two different cells to know exactly what the pictures on the website sometimes don’t explain. So I entered the hostel and kindly asked the receptionist for a tour. Apparently they do tours at 14h00. It wasn’t that time of the day. But one of them was finishing her shift and offered to show me a couple onnes that were ready for check-ins. So I had a private tour around four or five cells. And I really liked it! If looking to sleep in a prison in the artist area of the city, that is certainly your place!
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia. It is also their biggest city and is located in the heart of the country. When the bus from Venice arrived at 2:30am at the bus station, we walked to Hostel Trevor and during our short walk I already decided that I loved that city. The vibe of it (very quiet at night) and the look of the buildings already made me feel happy.
Barely 6 hours of sleep later and we were ready to explore the city. First of all we had a chat with the hostel receptionist about Ljubljana facts to know before going out and places to visit.
3 FACTS TO KNOW ABOUT LJUBLJANA
1. It was awarded European Green capital in 2016. The city has drinkable water everywhere, the street fountains are perfect to refill your bottle without spending money or plastic in a new water bottle every time. The riverbanks and the city centre are made for pedestrians. Nowadays cars are not allowed which makes it easier for a stroll or sitting down on a café terrace overlooking the river Ljubljanica. Public transport can take you anywhere in the city. It is also the first European city to be in the “zero waste” programme and in 2016 had a 63% of separated waste for recycling. The city has trees and green areas everywhere.
2. Ljubljana was also awarded in 2015 with the Destination Award by Tourism for Tomorrow Awards for its sustainable tourism.
3. Ljubljana is known for its dragons, that we can find on the Dragon Bridge and the castle. The legend of the founder of Ljubljana talks about Jason, a Greek hero. He stole the Golden Fleece from the king of the Black Sea. He was sailing with a group of people called the Argonauts. In fact, the legend is “Jason and the Argonauts”. They were sailing along the Ljubljanica river when they decided to camp in the riverbank because it was winter. They were to continue their journey by dismantling the ship and carrying to the Adriatic Sea so they could return to Greece. One day, when their village next to the river was built, a dragon emerged from the river spitting fire. He killed many people but Jason defeated him. Jason is supposed to be the first citizen of Ljubljana. The local legend says that every time a virgin crosses the Dragon Bridge (Ljubljana), the dragons will wag their tails.
PLACES TO SEE IN LJUBLJANA
We started the day walking along the Prešernov trg, which is the main square of the city. We crossed the triple bridge and went straight into the old town. The triple bridge is one of the main attractions of the city, and connects the main square to the old town and the market. The old town is a pedestrian area.
We walked up the castle, the street is steep but it is a short walk. Once there we entered and discovered the castle. The entrance fee for the Ljubljana castle is free for most parts and you can pay 7,5€ per adult to gain access everywhere. There is the option to pay for the funicular to get you there as well.
From the castle we could see the whole city, and as the first lookout of the day it looked amazing. We had the feeling of a city built inside a forest.
We strolled down to the city again and visited the central market. After that we walked not more than 15 minutes to arrive to Tivoli Park. The park is beautiful. It has inviting tree shadows and benches. It is the perfect spot to read a book or in my case plan the next thing to visit.
After some chilling we had a pit stop in a beer garden. Later we went to one of the highest skyscrapers in the city, Neboticnik. We had a drink admiring again the city from high up and this time the views of the castle as well.
To finish the day we walked along the river, visited the dragon bridge and the Butcher’s Bridge.
Have you ever visited the lovely town of Ljubljana? Share your loving experiences with me!
Venice is one of the most well known and preferred European capitals. It has a special charm.
Between canals and colourful houses, spectacular architecture and typical italian food, the city of Venice is one of the most important destinations in the world.
Its canals make it unique and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Do you want to visit Venice and avoid the masses of tourists? Here’s how to do it.
Where to stay in Venice
Venice consists of 118 islands connected by canals and more than 400 bridges, known as the old town.
They also spread to the surrounding land, touching the islands. If you have a limited budget and want to save money on accommodation in Venice, look for a hotel outside the old town/islands.
We stayed next to the Mestre train station, so we could catch the first trains to the city in the morning.
The Redeemer festival
During our visit they celebrated the festival of the Redeemer (Festa del redentore) and the Venetians consider it as important as the carnival.
The festival is held every year on the third weekend in July and commemorates the end of a plague in 1976. We decided to go to the old town to see the fireworks, which lasted 45 minutes. Locals and tourists strolled and stared at the sky from bridges and squares with good visibility.
How to avoid the masses of tourists in Venice, complete guide
Morning
Start the day early in the morning. Our mission was to avoid the masses of tourists in Venice and see the whole city. We basically wanted to see what everyone wants to see and do it without a lot of people.
The reason for wanting to start the day early, around 6am, is easy. When you arrive in Venice, you arrive at St. Lucia train station. From there, all tourists take a leisurely stroll taking photos of the canals and bridges and heading south.
That’s where Piazza San Marco is. That is why tourists arrive at the square at daybreak.
Walking fast, on arrival we headed non-stop to Piazza San Marco. The square was almost deserted and we could enjoy the views without much people or heat.
If you’ve been reading me for a while, you’ll know that I love seeing cities from high points (Rome is one of my favourites). Mountains, castles or bell towers serve perfectly. The Campanile (bell tower) of Venice is in Piazza San Marco.
A slightly expensive ticket costs € 8 per person and you can take a lift to the top. The views are still worth it.
When you finish visiting the Campanile, walk in the opposite direction of the people, back to the train station. You will see that everyone is on their way to the square.
Doing the route in reverse, we saw the gondolas and took pictures of canals where no one was there. We arrived at Ponte Rialto and watched the gondolas begin their journey from there.
The bridge allows you to cross one of the widest canals in the city. Not only gondolas are seen but Vaporettos and other boats.
Once you arrive at the train station again, look for an alternative route, get lost in the streets and canals other than the main ones, walking back to Piazza San Marco.
When you arrive, you will see that it is full of people. Piazza San Marco is the most famous spot in Venice, where most tourists want to get to. Going there early, very fast, will allow you to avoid crowds.
There’s a beautiful book store near the street, about 8 minutes walking, called Libreria Acqua Alta. It is self proclaimed as the “most beautiful bookstore in the world” and many would agree.
With their enchanting books in waterproof basins, let the charm and decor get to you – and get a book for your afternoon sit down!
Afternoon
If you visit during the warmer months, noon is the critical time. Walk to the gardens of the Biennale and stroll through the shade to regain your energy.
When you feel like looking for a local restaurant, walking down the main streets you will have more options to find one at a good price.
Early Evening
At the end, I recommend that you get lost in Venice. Yes yes, you read that right. At noon you will have seen the great attractions and canals of the city, having made the most famous route.
But Venice has something special that is not seen by this route. It feels like you’re lost in areas with playing cards, between its islands.
Tour the streets and alleys and corners. There you will discover the local Venice, without tourists. Walk through the islands of Murano and Burano, known for their vivid colors on the facades.
See clothes lying on the streets and old people talking on the benches in the squares. The life of big cities full of people, like Barcelona or Venice, always has a part for locals and one with more tourists.
Visiting both gives you a more general view of the city’s atmosphere.
How to avoid the masses of tourists in Venice: start early and go in the opposite direction to most! Bring a reusable water bottle / water bottle and enjoy the city.
If you’ve never heard of it AfrikaBurn, it is not a festival. It’s a community of people that create mutant vehicles, artworks, theme camps and music by volunteering.
It is a radical self-reliance event: you bring everything with you and take everything back as well, you leave no trace after you’re gone. There is nothing for sale: everything works as a gifting economy. People gift cold fresh fruit to people queuing in the hot desert, some of them build incredible structures that will be burned, there is no organised entertainment but blasting music and different party vibes are all around the area day and night. Fairy lights and torches are seen in a variety of colours through the night as people move around. Joling, missioning around, volunteering, watching artworks burn and getting dusted – we’ve all been there and loved every single moment of every day.
Until next year Tankwa Town!
And after the long-ish drive to get to AfrikaBurn I found myself in the middle of quite literally nothing: Tankwa Town. Around us the flat desert and made up streets for all 13000 people camping.
It was 5:30 am and the sunrise was starting, beautiful colours lighting up the sky while some burners came home and some woke up. Setting up the camp with the firsts lights and using the not so hot hours for the first mission: discovering the Binnekring.
The Binnekring is the central area in AfrikaBurn. The artworks are located there. The Binnekring is, as overheard, “the adult playground”. All camps are around it in what could be seen as a question mark with a little bit of imagination, see map below:
For a first timer at AfrikaBurn, seeing all the art and structures around me was quite a shocking moment. We were camping at 10ish in the loud zone. Short walk from there I could see the Train Station, one R2D2 and one C3PO about 2m tall. People where dancing in the most absolutely fabulous outfits I have ever seen in my life. In addition there where kids playing around and riding bikes, groups of friends dancing and people walking around to admire the artwork.
After the artworks probably the biggest impression were the outfits. A good friend told me I could go crazy with my outfits, that the Burn is THE place for that. But until I got there and saw it with my eyes I really couldn’t imagine. Speedos swimsuits with fur jackets, crochet tops with goggles and animal horns, belly dancer’s outfits with astronaut outfits, foxes and tigers with all white looks… everywhere you can look its filled with colours and different fabrics.
I found incredible how the self-expression in Tankwa is so pure. Everyone is on their own journey around the artworks, dancing until sunrise or past noon even. Things like sending postcards from the desert to anywhere in the world, refreshing in the cold-dusted water of the swimming pools or just driving around with mutant vehicles – all of those were possible.
And after the hot days around the Binnekring the sunset came followed with the dark and the fairy lights. You could walk everywhere for music, you could even go to the cinema! Yes, there was a cinema to go on dates. You could dance to the latest techno and drum and bass or dance to the 70’s music.
Tankwa is the perfect playground for anyone wanting to give something back to the community. Especially relevant how sharing and caring humans can be. You could express yourself in the purest of settings.
I know it sounds difficult to understand if you haven’t been there. Hell, I have been hearing about this for a year and I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. But I promise when you are there for the first time, first minutes even, it will all make sense!
About a month ago I was visiting a friend that lives there, and so I had the chance to get out and explore the city by myself every morning while he was working. Learning about history and finding cool graffiti art.
I have always been a big fan of free walking tours: the tip system makes the guides give their best and adapt to the audience, you see places of the city that are cool and the big plus for me is that you get to know the history behind each of the places. In a city like Berlin, with loads of recent history, it was more than worth it to go on two of those offered walking tours.
One day I took the general tour where we saw the highlights of the city and learnt about history.
I came to Berlin expecting beautiful pieces of street art and graffiti, and I got to find some of them. Most of my pictures where taken at the East Side Gallery, some spots I can’t remember the name of during our alternative tour and Dead Chicken Alley.
During my last day, when I had lost all faith in finding more cool and new graffiti, I visited The Raw Temple Bar Alley. It is an alley FULL of graffiti. I was walking there during my day taking pictures, and at night there is a good vibe as well. If you have been to the Raw Temple Bar alley please comment your opinions below!
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I found incredible how the self-expression in Tankwa is so pure. Everyone is on their own journey around the artworks, dancing until sunrise or past noon even. Things like sending postcards from the desert to anywhere in the world, refreshing in the cold-dusted water of the swimming pools or just driving around with mutant vehicles – all of those were possible.
