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When I was in Slovenia, I happened to have a friend who was living and working there. We met up for a night on the town.
Before heading out, we tried some of their national beer. It wasn’t any normal beer though – it was flavoured. Hungary has flavoured beer (apple, orange, lemon) as well, but the ones in Slovenia seemed so exotically flavoured. I tried the Red Orange one and it tastes much better than the ones available in Hungary.
Another drink we tried was Borovničevec which is a blueberry liqueur. It was very sweet, but also very strong. I actually quite like it, and it tastes much better than the palinka that Hungarians are so fond of. Mixed in with the liqueur are bits of blueberry that have soaked in the alcohol and sugar making it very strong.
That night, they took us to a neighbourhood called Metelkova which is an autonomous social centre in the city. Consisting of 7 buildings, the site became a communal space for artists, vagrants, musicians, outcasts and backpackers to exercise their free will and creativity. The grounds are former military barracks which were squatted in 1993. Now the site is home to a number of nightclubs, artist galleries, concert venues and a prison turned hostel.
Lots of interesting colours, patterns and textures! Photo: Chris Stevenson.
Prior to going, I had no idea what I was walking into or what to expect. The others had assured me that we were walking into a very alternative part of Ljubljana which didn’t help put me at ease. At first, I was a bit creeped out by the strange artwork and sculptures in the moonlight. Plus, it was extremely busy with tons of extremely drunk people wandering about and being rowdy. Once I relaxed and started taking in the atmosphere, it wasn’t so bad.
We ducked into a strange building full of graffiti, got our hands stamped and headed down a long hallway decorated with advertisements for bands and shows. Through an unmarked door and we entered a dark room with very loud Slovenian music. On occasion, a familiar tune would pop up, but mostly, it was music that I never heard before. With a beer in hand, I bobbed away the night.
Seeing this at night? Not so much fun. Photo: Michael R Perry
Under the cover of darkness, unpronounceable street names and twisted roads, I really had no idea where we were in relation to the rest of Ljubljana and our hostel. Of course, I didn’t have a map on me. My local friends wanted to stay longer, but my friend and I had a long day and decided to call it a night.
Getting back to our hostel was an adventure and a half. Wandering around medieval Ljubljana at night was a magical experience, though. All the bridges were beautifully lit with quiet cobbled streets. I didn’t have a camera with me so I wish I could share the pictures I have in my memories with you.
In the end, my night at Metelkova was a very cool experience. I have never seen anything like it. I wish I could have gone in the daylight as well just to see the different buildings properly. In many ways, it was almost like we were Alice stepping into Wonderland filled with bright colours and patterns, where up was down, and nothing made sense.
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I love reading your posts from Slovenia. I see you are really finding so much there and it’s really inspiring! well done. This space is really eye-catching! I think I’d have to say Ljubljana is a great city for artists!
Thanks Andrew! There is always something interesting in even the most boring of cities. You just need to look, though sometimes I can understand it can be hard! I’m all out of stuff on Slovenia until next time I visit which I hope will be sooner rather than later.
Oh man, I am just passing through Ljubljana when I go to Slovenia (we have an afternoon there, I think) and so I won’t get to experience this, but it looks awesome. Right up my street.
Except those creepy Gollum/ baby things :O
Those creepy Gollum things were the worse – especially at night. Looking at them now I’m still freaked out. I hope you get a chance to do a bit of wandering in Ljubljana though even if you don’t make it to Metelkova!
Metelkova sounds like such a cool area! But I’m with you guys. . .those Gollum things are creepy. Reminds me of E.T. – which also freaks the hell out of me.
Yup! Definitely not something you want to come across. Nightmares for days!
It sounds pretty interesting. I haven’t been to Ljubljana yet. Gotta get there and try some of that fruity beer.
They’re a bit strange at first (who in their right mind would combine fruit with beer?! Too strange), but they’re actually quite refreshing and slightly sweet instead of the super bitter flavour you get from some beers.
That sounds like such an awesomely weird place! But I can imagine how seeing those dried up doll things would be scary at night! And how weird would it be to stay in a prison turned hostel?!
Apparently that hostel is super popular. We considered it, but its too creepy for me. It’s definitely a strange place to be.
At first I thought it was a bunch of Gollums popping out! That seems like an interesting yet kind of odd place to visit. They stock the flavored Hungarian beer here!! Yeison and I tried it before and it was… different haha. There’s a Costa Rican version too which I tried. The raspberry one wasn’t actually THAT bad but it’s an interesting idea haha
Whoa! Hungarian beer in Costa Rica?! Hmm interesting. My boyfriend and I are considering running away to Costa Rica (you guys inspire us!) and something of home (even it it’s strange) for him would definitely help.
That sounds like an awesome night Ade, that Red Orange beer sounds really nice, not so sure about the Borovničevec – I’m not a huge fan of Liqueur, think I’d end up on my back haha! Often exploring a different part of a city with locals can make for a much more involving experience
The borovnicevec wasn’t so bad actually. Quite sweet and tasty, which could be a bad combo depending on how you see it haha! I really liked the red orange beer – one of the few fruit beers I really enjoyed in Europe.
Very unique.. I love it!!
It was an interesting experience that’s for sure!
Sometimes the unexpected things that happen are what makes the experience special – I’ll be you won’t forget that evening any time soon!
For sure! I definitely won’t be forgetting it.
Those faces at night would scare me so badly!!!
I was just in Metelkova, and it’s one of the coolest places in Europe. We have a similar area in Copenhagen called Freetown Christiania that has its own culture and set of rules. If you’re ever in Denmark, you should come see it. I don’t think there are any Gollum-looking creatures there 😉
Oh very cool! I haven’t been to Denmark, but I would love to visit one day. I’ll definitely keep it in mind and yay no scary things looking at me 🙂