An overlooked country and an overlooked film

As I discussed in my earlier post, I am trying to visit new countries where possible so the latest trip was to Ljubljana in Slovenia. I took with me my trusty Canon EOS 1N and 24-105mm F4 L Series lens, which in my view are a winning combination for a few holiday snaps.

Armed with Kodak ProImage 100 and Kodak Portra 160, I started with the ProImage 100. Gatwick airport was as easy as ever when travelling with film. Security staff were happy to take the films for a manual check so it didn’t get damaged by the scanners. Top tip here; make sure your camera doesn’t have film loaded and ensure it’s just the films themselves, it just makes it a smoother process and less to remember in what a lot of people find quite a stressful experience.

Arrival

On landing there was incredibly dense fog. Despite this, I took a chance at getting on a bus to visit Lake Bled, and what a great choice. The airport is half way between Bled and Ljubljana, so if you arrive on a morning flight and are travelling light, it makes really good sense to take a bus straight to the lake first, then from Bled to Ljubljana later. This is especially handy as you often can’t check in to a hotel until late in the day anyway.

Lake Bled

By the time I arrived in Bled, the fog had cleared to a wonderfully sunny day, emphasising the clear blue waters of the lake. Densely forested hills surround the lake with a stunning backdrop of the snow-capped Karavanke mountains. It was warm during the day, easily T-shirt weather, a lovely walk around the lake and not too crowded. I later discovered it got cold at night and was somewhat unprepared.

Parts of the path are currently closed to pedestrians (with hefty fines too!). This meant it wasn’t possible to walk the full circuit on my visit. It’s a shame as that would have been a lovely circular route.

A lovely café next to the Olympic rowing centre provided a friendly spot to sit and enjoy a coffee. Its terrace has views looking down the length of the lake, towards the clifftop Bled Castle. After retracing steps back to Bled, it was time to hop on a bus to Ljubljana. This one took somewhat longer; it was a little confusing as there doesn’t seem to be live statuses like in a lot of places and I couldn’t find any of the service numbers that the Google Maps guidance provided, so I ended up getting on the slower bus.

The city

This probably turned out to be the better option, as it took a meandering route through several smaller towns and was a nice way to see more of the countryside without just a standard route down a motorway. Bled to Ljubljana only around 7 Euros, for more than a 50 kilometre journey. It’s worth carrying some Euros in cash, by the way. Luckily I (randomly) keep a few Euros in my wallet and it came in useful because the buses didn’t seem to accept card payments.

After checking in to the hotel which was right on the river bank in the heart of Ljubljana, it was time for a wander around the city centre to get a feel for the area and where things were located. Then came time for dinner and on to a couple of bars for a few local beers.

As always when I visit a city, I try and check out some of the best rated specialty coffee shops to start each day off. I discovered two wonderful places on this trip. Črno Zrno is a real gem of a place, with a knowledgeable owner who is truly passionate about coffee. Mala Pražarna is also definitely worth a visit.

The Castle

The steep climb up to Ljubljana Castle is a must. It is possible to access the castle grounds for free. The ticket prices seem a little high for what is a fairly small castle but there are quite a few things to see, including a small museum of puppetry, a lovely immersive art display projected to the walls of one of the old halls, and the opportunity to climb to the very top of the castle tower with incredible 360 degree views of the city and surrounding mountains.

As an aside, these immersive art experiences, where digital artists use well known old paintings and animate, them are wonderful experiences. I have visited several. They are all unique and bring the art to life, allowing those who wouldn’t otherwise be interested to enjoy art in a wonderful new way.

There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, and a seemingly disproportionate number are very highly rated on Google. This is great news because I reckon you can just pick one at random while walking around and get great food and great service from friendly and welcoming staff.

Kodak ProImage

Back to the overlooked film. I’m very much not a professional photographer. Although I shoot film, the goal really is to get some memories to look back on. I am essentially using a film camera to capture holiday snaps here. Have a read of Why I shoot film too for more background on my film photography habbit.

I’m not going to review Kodak ProImage 100 here, that’s not my thing. I’m not a good enough photographer to be able to analyse and compare anyway. Plenty of better experts have done that already. Also, are you reading this for the photography or for the travel journal? Briefly though, Kodak designed the ProImage 100 film for hot and humid climates and specifically market this film stock as such when choosing their geographical market area for it. Crucially, it’s a great budget alternative to the more pricey Portra films and you can buy it for as little as 7GBP per roll when it goes on offer. More typical pricing is a box of five rolls on Amazon for around 43GBP.

My previous post mentioned wanting to write and publish more spontaneously. My desire to shoot film and use the photos continues to prevent that. When I’m back from a trip, it takes several days for the negatives to be developed and returned. Then I have to scan and prepare them. One of the many reasons I like film photography.

In summary

Everyone I’ve spoken to before and after this trip expressed surprise that I went to Slovenia, but Ljubljana is an absolute gem. It is definitely overlooked. When I mentioned Ljubljana people didn’t know what country it’s in. When I mentioned Slovenia people couldn’t name the capital. It’s a really beautiful city, fairly compact and easy to navigate on foot. If you’re from Slovenia and reading this – thank you, it is a very special place.

Selected gallery