Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia. The symbol of the city is a dragon, as can be seen on Dragon Bridge.

There was a food festival happening when we got there. The sucking pig was very good.

Ljubljana was pretty hipster; a substantial amount of the food stands were "all-natural" and "organic."

There was also an ice-cream-roll stand.

The doors on Ljubljana Cathedral were pretty intense.

A pretty talented bear.

Ljubljana castle overlooks the city. You can take a funicular up the hill.

Even the manholes have dragons.

In antiquity, Ljubljana was called Emona; traces of it still exist around the city.

A street bordered by the old Roman wall.

Dairy vending machines are always a good idea.

Ljubljana castle has many attractions. The one that is seared into my memory is the puppet museum.

Now you can't unsee it either.

The castle has the best views of the city.

Nature finds a way.

The castle also has some great interactive historical exhibits.

Strelec restaurant in the castle is not to be missed.

The wall tells the story of Ljubljana's history, which was sometimes unfortunate.

The local food pairs well with orange Slovenian wine, white wine with the skin left in.

Some street art has the same theme as the puppet museum.

It's time to go to Hogwarts.

Bachelor parties in Slovenia seem pretty fun.

Predjama Castle

Predjama Castle was built in the 13th century and is attached to a cave complex.

Predjama Castle is most famous for being inhabited by robber baron Erazem Lueger, son of the Governor of Trieste, in the 15th century.

Erazem was killed in his private toilet by a cannon during a siege of the castle. The toilet is the farthest left small attachment to the castle.

The castle was nationalized by Yugoslav communists and turned into a museum.

The torture chamber.

An unfortunate family's crest.

The inside of the castle.

Bern

Bern is the de facto captial of Swizterland, and one of my favorite cities in Europe.

Switzerland technically has no capital among its Cantons, but Bern is centrally located, so they put the Swiss parliament there.

Bern also has excellent fountains. The Kindlifresserbrunnen is over 500 years old.

MUST FEED!

The Zytglogge is a 15th century clock tower.

The symbol of Bern is the bear. Here is one of many depicted in the city.

Bern's History Museum is one of the best museums I have ever visited.

This is a Greek vessel from 570 BC that made its way to Bern through trade.

This sword with Greek writing from 100 B.C. is one of the oldest examples of writing north of the alps.

Bern's 15th century cathedral was marvel in its day. They put this stone block in it, stating "copy if you can."

The original statues from the cathedral are preserved in the museum now, with copies taking their place in the church.

The Dance of Death is an artistic genre of the late Middle Ages.

Bern conquered many territories surrounding it with its legendary pikemen, including the Hapsburg's ancestral lands. Enguerrand Coucy of France, a prominent French leader of the 100 years war, tried to claim these lands, and was repulsed by the Bernese in the 1300s. This is his captured battle standard from the Gugler War. A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman is an excellent book that details Enguerrand's life.

Swiss mercenaries loved their codpieces.

Gotta weigh your cannons.

Bear squires are the best squires.

All Swiss marriage contracts and peace treaties bear the seals of the signatories on the bottom.

A Swiss heating apparatus.

Coconuts were incredibly valuable in 16th century Bern.

Owl cup.

A great room of old oddities of the rich.

Rich Swiss had custom waffle irons made with the two family's insignias for their weddings.

Bern has historically kept bears as mascots. When Bern was conquered by Revolutionary/Napoleonic France in 1798, France took the bears to humiliate the once mighty Bernese. They left the bear cub, which was stuffed.

This is the Burgundy room. The Bernese beat Charles the Bold of Burgundy in combat in the 15th century, and obtain many of the treasures of that dying dukedom, which is never bothered to give back.

A view of old town Bern.

Bern has a bear pit. Bears have been kept in Bern since the 1500s. This pit was built in the 1800s.

They have a much larger enclosure now, but are still put in the pit when the otherone is being maintained.

There is a great brewery next to the bear pit.

We got to see some bears up close.

It was pretty hot that day.

Another first-rate bear statue.

Did I mention Switzerland is expensive?

Just a normal Sunday outside the church in Bern.