What you see is what you get

Ljubljana, Slovenia, Nov. 2007

As I said before, Ljubljana gets filled with friendly ghosts that wander the streets at night, looking for a place to sleep and trying not to disturb the new owners of their previously owned houses (when they were alive, of course).

But those are not the only ghosts you get to see around here.

A ghost can be an image that reminds us of somebody from the past. They are there because we still fear them, or because we just cannot let them go. Those ghosts are around because we want them to.
But if ghosts are an image of something that existed in the past, then we may be surrounded by ghosts all around.
Centromerkur (or Urbanc House), for example, is both a ghost, and a real presence. It's located in the corner of Presernov trg. It's a beautiful and well preserved building, constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century, with the only purpose of holding the first department store in Ljubljana.
Why a ghost? Definitively it's an image of something that existed in the past. It's an image that brings us to the present the daily life of people living hundred years ago in this very same place. Looking at it, we see the image of a lifestyle that, having physical presence in the present, has been long gone in the past.
But if you still need a scary look to properly call it a ghost, just stand below the glass canopy and look upside down. That will give you the effect, and validate the definition.

Frozen Ljubljana

Ljubljana, Slovenia, Nov. 2007

When you come from places with mild winters, you are scare of this moment. You know it's going to come, and you know that you will survive it. But the fear doesn't go away.
The cold has come to Ljubljana. Real cold, the one that puts the thermometer upside down, with temperatures below zero. But instead of being a moment to suffer, it's just another moment of beauty. The color of the light change its hue to a colder palette, the naked trees show forms that reminds mathematical graphs, and all things around go through this metamorphosis that slightly shifts the way they look. In this way, the fear leaves its way to curiosity.
Stay tuned. More winter to come.

Ghosts in Preseren square

Preseren Square, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Nov. 2007

When night falls in Ljubljana, people go to sleep. They don't go because they are tired, or because they have to wake up early the next morning. They go to sleep because the city doesn't belong to them at night.
At night, previous owners of the ancient buildings wonder around the city, at slow pace, asking themselves were to sleep. People in Ljubljana are friendly. Ghosts are as friendly as they were in their human lives. That's why they don't show themselves on their previously owned houses. They don't want to scare new owners, or their kids. That's the secret of the pact. People stay in their houses, so ghosts are free to wonder around the city. That's the least they could ask for.

Things that happen while you're at home watching TV

Ljubljana, Slovenia, Nov. 2007

Actually, I was at home watching TV. Luckily I realized that a funny light was coming from outside, so I took my 'always ready to shoot' camera and came up with something like this.

Clouds over Ljubljana II

Ljubljana, Slovenia, Nov. 2007

Now it's rainy, almost snowy outside. My eyes can hardly go beyond 10 meters. Everything else is white. White fog, white snow, white vision. But sometimes, when it's not like that, it looks like this.

Moonlightning

Tivoli Park, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Oct. 2007

I went back to Tivoli today. We went together with Kam, to take pictures and learn a little bit more. This night, the same one that started in Tivoli a few hours ago, it's already in Flickr. Forever. Pretty good, isn't it?

Tivoli (III)

Tivoli Park, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Sep. 2007

It looks like a setup. Those colors cannot be natural, and the same applies to the simmetries. But things are there to proof that we are wrong. In its unpredictable sort of way, life gets organized from time to time.

Ljubljanica river side

Riverside, Ljubljana. Summer is long gone, and first signs of real cold are making serious appearances, specially in the morning.

But we still have the afternoon.

In the afternoon we can still seat at the side of the river, next to the weeping willows, and enjoy some time thinking that the good times are not really gone. Of course, until the sun falls and the good times are off, at least until tomorrow, same time, shorter length...

Tree on fire rehearsal

Sometimes things happen without us having any notice. Is this an evidence of the existence of a parallel world? Maybe. Or maybe somebody up there is making us part of its rehearsal, on this big scenario of life...

PS: This foto is for real, not a Photoshop creation or something like that. Same sunset moment as the posting with the dragon...

The Dragon is back

Not in the mood. Holidays, laziness, lack of subject, blah, blah, blah
But now I am back. As a dragon, to spit my fire!

Micro climate

Summer in Ljubljana. Hot temperature, as the almighty sun heats the city during the long hours of daylight. Not so many cloudy days, and even fewer rainy ones. This, could be well said, is the general situation in Ljubljana at the end of July 2007.

But let me correct myself. I would like to emphasize the word general. When I say general, I might say average, or maybe "the situation that you might find almost everywhere in the city". So, almost everywhere in Ljubljana we get good weather is a better way to say it.

The areas excluded by the word almost are the ones that we want to talk about. The ones with their own micro climate just inside the city. Up to now I only know one of such areas, and as far as I am concerned it's a brand new one. And it's in Prešeren Square, just in the city center.

How is it like to be there? Doesn't matter how hot and sunny the city is. In this small portion of the square, you will get rain. Unfortunately, weather forecasts on Internet and on TV are still not aware of it, so pay attention while walking in this area! Fortunately, some signs are there to warn us about the possibility of getting wet.

Unlike other micro climate areas, this an artificial one. It was created by the hand of clever Slovenian artist Zmago Modic, responsible of many other performances and installations in the city center. One of the signs states "The area with Ljubljana's own weather", so let's consider it the name of the œuvre. Well done!

Forbidden project - Part 2

Back to forbidden things to do or bring while entering shops in Ljubljana.

I've doing some research around the city, with very interesting results. I was not sure how to publish this. Should I do a statistical count of forbidden things? Should I just focus on some outstanding cases? Well, let's see, I am not sure yet.

Generally speaking, it is forbidden to smoke inside places. This, we could say, it's the common rule. You won't find a place that forbids to enter walking upside down with your hands, without also forbidding to smoke. So, remember, don't smoke, even on cigar shops!!



Second general rule: Dogs. You can have a dog, that's not a problem. But you cannot bring it into places. You can be with him only at your house, or in the street.

Let's say you come back from work and you want to award your dog with a nice walk. Let's also say that, while your dog is doing his thing under a tree, you notice that wonderful shirt that you wanted to buy on the shop window across the street, with a nice discount on the price. So, you pull the dog's lead and run with him to the shop, to buy the shirt. Here, my friend, is when you have to stop and think. This is "the" crucial moment. Even though you're all excited about the discount, and you get anxious because they might run out of shirts for your size in any second, you have to calm down and carefully watch the shop's door before entering. Look thoroughly. Are you 100% compliant with the rules? Do you have any cigarette lighted in your hand maybe? Or maybe a dog? Do you have a dog with you? Ok! Let's get rid of him, because he cannot come in with you! Unless, of course, you want to push yourself into a violent situation with the employees.
Let's be honest. This rule does not apply only for Ljubljana, it's common to find it in many other cities, specially in food places like bars or restaurants.

But in any case, if you have a shop and find yourself needing to forbid dog's entering on it, would you use this sign?:



Besides the pipe and the roller blade, you have a beautiful little puppet with a red forbidden sign on it. That's not just a dog. It's a little puppet. And if you look closer, you'll see that he's moving his tail. This is mean!! It doesn't just imply that you cannot enter with dogs. They want to emphasize that, even if you have an innocent small, super cute baby puppet willing to play and make new friends, it is FORBIDDEN to let him in. Doesn't matter how cute he is. Yes, that's cruel and, of course, mean.

Same applies to this one:



Again, look at the dog. What does it mean? Does this apply for all dogs? Or they have specifically something against fox terriers? (well, it seems like a fox terrier to me!) It's not clear at all.

But let's put dogs on the side for a moment, and let's focus on other dangerous things that are more specific to Ljubljana. Roller blades, for example.



You will find it's forbidden to enter roller blades almost everywhere. So, why roller blades and not ostentatious multi colored Nike boots, for example? Well, because they are not forbidden based on fashion horrors (although they should be). Since the city has reserved paths, it's common to see people using them everywhere to move around. Everywhere, but on shops. I mean, the idea is great. You want to go to the grocery store, so you put your roller blades on, use the designed path and get there in a couple of minutes. Once there, you have to take them off to enter the shop.
The basic message would be: You can hurt yourself, hurt anybody else or break anything while using them on the street, but don't even think about creating any kind of problems inside my shop. So, even I know it's very uncomfortable for you, if you want to enter, take them off!!
Very impolite, don't you think?

So, up to now, no smoking, no dogs, no roller blades. Anything else? Yes, still a few things to take care of before entering a shop. One of them it's also very common in Ljubljana and if you are into details, you may have noticed a couple of them on previous pictures. Yes, we are talking about ice creams.



I have an explanation. Maybe it's not the right one, but let's give it a try. For what I've seen, people in Ljubljana like ice cream very much. They eat lots of ice cream. During hot season you can buy it everywhere, almost in every corner. Of course, that's only during the hot season. Since here in Ljubljana hot season doesn't last for long, they need to satisfy their need for ice cream in a short period of time.
Why is that a problem? I guess that the problem is not related with people eating ice cream, but with people having ice cream in their hands, but not eating it. It basically melts. And melted ice cream is known to be dangerous.



So, if you want to stay safe, DON'T enter with ice creams!!

Finally, a couple of additional things. Let's say it's ok to have some common rules to avoid problems. But what happens when you get picky?






At the end, you need a tutorial book to enter each place. Sounds a little bit rude. Why being so specific? What do you have against hot dogs or plastic cups? And mobile phones?

Last, but not least, people has its own judgment about what is the right or wrong thing to do in certain places. This was found on the street:



That's it for today!!

Ljubljana rain

It could have been a simple, unpretentious rainy moment.

But instead it was a shiny, bright, delightful rainy moment in Ljubljana, city of wonders.
That's how things get done here.

Prešernov trg

It's highly probable that you have no idea what I am talking about. Of course, that's only if you don't speak Slovenian.

Prešernov trg, or Prešeren Square, is the main square in Ljubljana. It's also the heart of the city, and where most social events happens. This is the most common meeting point when you go out with friends, and also the place where you find the biggest number of tourists. If you have not seen Prešernov trg, you have never been in Ljubljana.

The square's name is a tribute to France Prešeren, considered the most important poet in the history of Slovenia and one of the most important european poets that followed the Romantic school. To complete the tribute, a huge statue with his figure stands erected below his inspirational muse at one of the sides of the square.



Besides Prešeren statue, the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation stands as an icon in front of the square, flooding it with its eclectic character, a mix of solemnity coming from its baroque architecture, and informality provided by its pinkish color.

Other important buildings, like the Central Pharmacy and the first department store of Ljubljana complete the architecture of the square on the east side. On the south side, the Ljubljanica river shapes the other end of the square, crowned by three bridges that connects it with the old town.

On my way to Pula (or not!!)

These are definitively hot days in all eastern Europe. Very hot. So hot that it's difficult to live without any type of refreshment. Air conditioner, ventilator, swimming pool, beach... any of these are necessary to survive during the daylight.

At the office the situation it's not easy at all. Since the heat only last for few days, nobody worries much about having a good air conditioner system. It's ok while it's not hot. But it's terrible when it is. So the only thing you can think about while sweating like a pig at work, it's how you're going to enjoy your weekend at a relaxed beach in Croatia. It's close (little more than two hours distance by car), and seems like a perfect solution to cool down.

The idea was to spend saturday and sunday on the beach at Pula. Unfortunately, it stayed only as an idea. I could never reach Pula. As you see it seems that I was not the only one thinking about cooling down for a bit. A few other thousands were thinking just the same. Germans, dutchs, austrians and italians (among others), use this same route to go down to Croatia and spend their holidays at the beach. After my fourth hour in the car, and being unable to see how far away I was from the border, I turned the car back home.

Next time maybe...

Secret gathering over Ljubljana

This is the view I get from my office.

Below, the Tivoli Park rarely changes its form or color througout the time.

Above, well, that's a different story.

I do some programming at work. IT programming. That means that I give instructions for things to behave on a certain, controlled way. And that's basically all I can control. Or maybe not even that.

Everything else is on hands of chance. As it is the sky on the picture above. Impossible to control, and impossible to know when it will happen. So, a picture like this is the result of a baggage of facts:

1. things are happening
2. I watch them happening
3. I realise that they are happening and that I should register that moment
4. I have a camera with me
5. Batteries, memory card, etc. are in place
6. I am willing to take the picture
7. I am lucky enough to set up a nice composition, exposure, etc.
8. I do want to work this picture in order to show it in Internet.

Enjoy the hard work.

Forbidden project - Part I

Ljubljana is a friendly city. Very friendly, in fact.
Everything is prepared for you to enjoy: bike and roller paths are all over the place, bars around Ljubljanica river are wonderful to be around, Tivoli Park is a forest that invites you to get lost just a few meters next to the center, and a freedom feeling is in the air wherever you go. You can even feel that in the mood of the people; everything seems very relaxed. Everything but just one thing: Rules for entering shops, museums, houses and any kind of building.

Julio Cortazar, one of the most prestigious argentine writers, wrote a short story called "Vietato introdurre biciclette", about how these rules seem to be nothing more than a discrimination. Of the infinite possible actions a person could be doing while entering a place, only a few of them are specifically forbidden. Why? In this case, Cortazar speaks about entering places with a bike. Here is a short extract, in spanish:

“En los bancos y casas de comercio de este mundo a nadie le importa un pito que alguien entre con un repollo bajo el brazo, o con un tucán, o soltando de la boca como un piolincito las canciones que me enseñó mi madre, o llevando de la mano un chimpancé con tricota a rayas. Pero apenas una persona entra con una bicicleta se produce un revuelo excesivo, y el vehículo es expulsado con violencia a la calle mientras su propietario recibe admoniciones vehementes de los empleados de la casa.

Para una bicicleta, ente dócil y de conducta modesta, constituye una humillación y una befa la presencia de carteles que la detienen altaneros delante de las bellas puertas de cristales de la ciudad. Se sabe que las bicicletas han tratado por todos los medios de remediar su triste condición social. Pero en absolutamente todos los países de la tierra está prohibido entrar con bicicletas. Algunas agregan: "y perros", lo cual duplica en las bicicletas y en los canes su complejo de inferioridad."

Shop owners and other kind of administrators in Ljubljana seem to have a clear idea of what they don't want to see in their places. These series of posts will document the wonderful list of things that could lead you into trouble. Take note.

What a forecast!!!

It's a very hot week in Ljubljana. Maybe in all eastern side of Europe. Even the weather forecast bar in my navigator is extra shiny, as you can see:



Difficult to think about a rainy weekend, isn't it?

Mestni trg

A little more about Ljubljana.

Now we know it's the capital city of Slovenia. We should also know that this is not a crowded country. In fact, estimated population is a little bit over 2 million persons for Slovenia, and over a quarter million of them live in Ljubljana. Counting also that the biggest university (University of Ljubljana) is in town, the approximately 60.000 students enrolled on it help to bring the average age of the city inhabitants to one of the youngest ones in Europe. Facts translated: lots of bars and night entertainment for young people can be found easily.

But lets focus on the picture. I took it in Mestni trg, which is the old center of Ljubljana. In front, you can see the Fountain, which is a brand new duplicate of the original one, and behind it it's possible to see the towers of the main Cathedral.

This is what the official site of Ljubljana has to say about Mestni trg:

"Since the 12th century, the Mestni trg square (Town Square) was one of the centres of medieval Ljubljana. A large number of medieval buildings destroyed in the earthquake of 1511 were replaced by Renaissance and later Baroque buildings, which still give a special character to the square. The best known among them is the Town Hall building (Magistrat) with the famous Fountain of the Three Carniolan Rivers in front of it, built by Francesco Robba between 1743 and 1751. The Town Hall complex also includes the flanking buildings, which were purchased by the municipal government in the 17th and 18th centuries. The building located at 2 Mestni trg square used to belong to the distinguished Dolničar family. Its façade was redesigned around the year 1780.

Giving a special character to the Mestni trg square are also a whole range of other buildings, including Haman House (Hamanova hiša), which presently houses the Municipal Gallery (Mestna galerija), Lichtenberg House (Lichtenbergova hiša) with a façade which was in 1540 decorated with reliefs by the sculptor Osbalt Kittl and a staircase dating from the 18th century, Skoberne House (Skobernetova hiša) with a façade dating from the same period, Rakovec and Obrez Houses, which were built by architect Matija Persky, and, the highest of all the buildings in the square, Souvan House with an Empire style façade. The reliefs decorating this façade, which was designed by Francesco Coconi in the 17th century, represent art, trade and agriculture."

This is the exact location of Mestni trg on the map:

Back to: Basics - Where am I?

First comes first.

I am based in Ljubljana. Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia.

Enough? Maybe not.

Slovenia is not Slovakia. This is the first mistake that people do.
Slovenia was a former Yugoslavia state, actually the first one to be declared independent, back in 1991. It's limited up north by Austria, east by Croatia and Hungary and west by
Italy.

Let me show you in the map:


So, I am based in Ljubljana. But I am from Argentina. I am assigned here only for a short term, so everything I learn from this wonderful country will be shared on this blog as soon as I get it.
Now, let's continue with more pictures and info.