CHAPTER 27
DAY 1
It’s been some time since the last blog. We are deeply sorry for that. It happens. This thing called life. It’s not always all nice and comfy. Sometimes things get complicated. The story is pretty long and I honestly doubt that you want to hear it. It’s not exciting, it’s not adventurous, it’s not filled with love. I’ll pass it for now. Maybe one day you’ll hear it. Until then…
Žućko was supposed to be near completion until now; honestly it’s not. It’s not nearly done. Time is ticking and our great big trip across Europe is closing in. We really need to step it up and get the sh*t done!
All this time without blogs I was living in Ljubljana; Slovenia, while Lana was in Rijeka. It was a hard time for both of us, but it affected our blogs too. I decided to travel even tho she’s not around to accompany me and Žućko on our exploration. This blog was supposed to be about Ljubljana but again, it didn’t turned out how it was imagined. Instead, it’s about a park. One park. Not even the whole park. Just a part of it. It’s a big park in my defense! It’s called Tivoli. It was my sanctuary during these few months and I hope you’ll see why.
This was the first thing I was seeing every morning when I exit my apartment. An old church that is one of the oldest in whole Ljubljana. It was built more then 700 years ago and was even restored by the famous Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik! I hope I’ll show you more of his work in some other blog about Ljubljana.
What’s behind me? Tivoli. A sanctuary for humans. Green oasis. Forest as a heart of the city.
I decided to go for a ride with my bike through Tivoli and finally give you a new blog and also to show you what kind of beauty one capital city can hold. Fun fact – my bike was stolen just a couple of days after this picture was taken and it was this picture that helped me with the police. If you see this bike – it’s mine!
Back to the story. Tivoli is much more then a park. I call it sanctuary because it lifted me up when I was down and when I wanted to escape the busy streets of the city. You can find peace here and still be in the city center. You can’t hear cars or trains, all the noises are left on the entrance (except a few ambulances) and all the noise you’re hearing while walking the park (really a forest) is your heavy breathing while climbing the hill and bird twitter.
There are also a lot of cultural buildings like this building where the graphical biennial is happening…
…or a long path filled with beautiful photos where you can enjoy your evening walk.
The thing that fascinated me the most is not the peace of the park or the people enjoying the life in it. It’s not the cultural building or the path filled with beautiful photos. What fascinated me the most is the fact that this place really don’t belong in a city and yet – it’s surrounded by it. If you don’t believe me then explain me this, in which city center in the World you can see this scene while enjoying your walk through the central park?
Yes that was taken in the city park. I had to be quick because it left as fast as it came but it was precious too see that kind of symbiosis between the city and people in it and the nature ad it’s inhabitants in such a small space. I also saw a lot of different birds and a small squirrel in the middle of the path that day. It was a special day.
DAY 2
I spent another evening in the park, this time I had a company in form of my roommate Lucija. She was going around Tivoli much more then I was, and I really regret it.
This time we went West and explored the part of the park that have a fishpond. I thought that nothing can surprise me in this park but still, the amount of life amazed me once again. Ducks, water lilies, and much, much more.
At the end I must say; you don’t really need to drive dozens of kilometers from your town to be alone in the forest, sometimes even a few dozen meters are enough to find a peace to rest your mind and soul and to reboot again with more nature on your mind. It sure helped me push through some hard times, and Ljubljana definitely have what it takes. Just look at this deep forest!
Tivoli is yet to be completely explored. But at the end I’ll promise you one thing. I (we) will do my (our) best to throw much more content at you because you deserve it. And Žućko will be completed. Be ready, because content spamming is just starting!
Until then,
explore more.
Žućko, Filip, Lana & Zulu.
20.6. & 4.7.2019.