Ljubljana - what a cool little capital! From the moment we entered Slovenia we have had one pleasant surprise after another. The dry, rocky Croatian scenery was replaced with lush green woods, fields of wild flowers, and gingerbread houses complete with well cared for geraniums in window boxes. Suddenly there were rubbish and recycling bins everywhere, public toilets and regular road signs! We saw a sign for a military history museum and decided to check it out. When the friendly English-speaking girl at the ticket sales desk said we could buy a family pass (saving us around 18 euros), we couldn't believe that we had at last arrived in a country that didn't try to sap every last cent from its visitors!!

The Military history museum covered Slovenia's history from pre-Roman settlement through to the country's independence in 1991. Most of the explanatory signs had English translations, so we were able to get a lesson in Slovenian history as well as appreciate the diagrams, models and weaponry exhibits. While some periods of the country's recent history were glossed over or a tad confusing for we westerners to comprehend, overall it was a well presented and interesting summary of how modern Slovenia came to be formed.

The museum is housed on an old military base and behind the main museum building are large garages holding the museum's tank collection. German, American, Soviet, Czech and Polish tanks are arranged with signs beside them detailing each vehicle's stats - top speed, weight, water depth it can operate in, what degree of angle it can move up or down etc... There is even a mini-submarine sitting on wooden blocks, over-looking the countryside below (disappointingly we couldn't take a look inside).

Our hostel in Ljubljana is more like a hotel, with comfortable sized rooms and pristine en suites (at last a shower that works properly and I can actually move in without bashing my elbows!) The walls are decorated with beautiful photographs of Slovenian scenery taken by the owner. The lovely girl who greeted us on arrival gave us a detailed list of recommendations, which she then marked out on a map. The old city is only a short walk from where we are staying and reminds me very much of Salzburg, with its castle on the hill above, it's river and it's twin steepled cathedral. As we entered the main square on our first evening, a jazz trumpeter was busking at the end of the nearest pedestrian bridge over the river. What was especially nice was that the streets were not jammed with people or traffic. We walked along the river past the marketplace and the three famous bridges - the triple bridge, the butcher's bridge, and the dragon bridge. There were interesting sculptures on the Butcher's bridge - some comical and some a little scary looking. My favourite was the fat little fish at one end that appeared to be sticking its tongue out! Many couples before us had left padlocks, with their names etched on them, attached to the bridge - some had even been left locked to the sculptures themselves.

We had drinks at a riverside pastel-coloured bar called Lolita, which had a mouth watering array of sweet treats in its cabinet and an impressive ice cream selection. We resisted the beautiful dessert creations for freshly squeezed juices and a beer for Tim. Beks - who is only just starting to recover from her English cold - had the 'Anti-virus', which contained carrot juice and lemon zest, as well as about four other vitamin-c filled ingredients which we couldn't decode from the Slovenian menu.

We walked back a block to the foot of the hill leading up to the castle and arrived in the square just in time to catch the glockenspiel in action - the two characters emerge from the clock tower, accompanied by jaunty music, every hour on the hour. Window shopping our way back towards the town centre we found one of the Slovenian restaurants recommended to us. We nabbed an outdoor table and Beks, Dale and Tim ordered some traditional Slovenian fare, while I stuck with salad (all that Croatian food and beer has added to my waistline). Dale's 'game plate' came with three meats - a deer medallion with sour cherry sauce, wild boar with green peppercorn sauce, and stag steak with porcini mushroom sauce - as well as servings of polenta, dumpling, and a cheese roll. Beks had the goulash, while Tim was the most adventurous with a 'country platter' which included various types of sausage, black pudding, sauerkraut, and a barley mash. I shared some of Dale's walnut pancakes for dessert - probably the best pancakes I have ever tasted - while Tim again ordered adventurously and ended up with a kind of strudel with layers of poppy seed, cottage cheese, apple and walnut.

The following day we continued our exploration of the old town and then caught the funicular up to the castle. From the top we had a fabulous view over the city and apparently on a clear day you can see a third of Slovenia from the castle's viewing tower. The castle was divided into segments, each with its own exhibition. Very little of the original structure remained untouched. Unlike other castle's in Europe which have been restored to look how they would have hundreds of years ago, the Ljubljana castle has been converted into a tourist centre / exhibition venue. In one hall some modern art had been hung - most of the paintings were horrid - in another tower we watched an educational film detailing the castle's history from an early Slavic settlement, through Roman times, the middle ages, Napoleanic conquest, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One of the towers housed a museum where we learnt some more about Slovenia's origins. Interestingly, a 5000 year old wheel and axle were discovered nearby - the world's oldest. It was also interesting to learn some more about how Slovenia came to be part of Yugoslavia. From the way the history was presented, it appeared as if there is still a certain nostalgia for the country's communist days (apparently the introduction of democracy has meant new challenges for the Slovenians such as rising unemployment and people making money by 'suspicious' means).

In the evening, Dale and Tim headed off on a man-date to see the new Batman film, while Beks and I made the most of the beautiful weather and strolled back to the old town for dinner at an outdoor restaurant. We found a Mexican place - the first time I've seen Mexican food since leaving London three months ago - and with the help of the cheerful waitress we ordered a jug of strawberry margarita and two of the recommended dishes from the menu which came with generous helpings of salad, guacamole, and refried beans. We shared an ice cream for dessert which came with caramel sauce, toasted coconut and ground almonds. As we were savouring the first bites of our dessert, the lovely waitress came over and told us it was on the house - I love Slovenia! Before we knew it, it was 8:45pm and time to go in search of entertainment. Being the summer festival period there are free performances scheduled for most nights. Tempting as it was to stop and watch some of the talented buskers dotted about the place, we continued across the river until we came upon a stage set up in a square surrounded by outdoor tables filled with diners. On stage were a flamenco trio who has their audience mesmerised by their skilful improvisation. The guitarist in particular was spectacularly good and so we joined the crowd standing at the edges, trying to catch glimpses of the stage through the bodies in front of us. It was a perfect temperature to be outside in and the atmosphere was vibrant. It was nice to see so many families out and about - the children jiving to the music. We had hoped to have had time to see a jazz performance in the next square along, but we ran out of time with our 10pm curfew looming... We made it back to the hostel with a minute to spare. Just enough time to find the Eurosport channel and the start of the Olympic opening ceremony on the massive flat screen TV in Tim and Beks' room. The boys joined us a few minutes later and we opened a bottle of Slovenian red wine to enjoy as we watched the Brits put on a show to be proud of. It was 2am by the time we went to bed.