Day.3 #Ljubljana #Koper & Slovenian artists

Koper, a town just 3h away from Ljubljana

# Ljubljana

I have always thought that many capitals are overrated. Wherever you go - London, Paris, Madrid or Rom - there will be always too many tourists and too much crowd. Nonetheless, the capital of Slovenia - Ljubljana  - impressed me with its unique ambient, friendly people, alternative culture, various architecture styles and both - mountains and sea in a close vicinity. 

Entrance to the hidden world of Metelkova

My time in Ljubljana would not have turned to such a nice experience, if not for Couch Surfing and people who I met thanks to the website. Although I have traveled and hosted people for over six years, I keep being surprised, how kindly your hosts can treat you. I requested a Ali's couch, but ultimately me and Jenni (another couchsurfer) stayed at the place of his best friend - Dejvid. You can check out his you tube channel, where together with friends he shoots prank movies or interviews in Ljubljana. My favourite one is the murder prank that I got seriously scary about! The story about guys shooting (video and each other) was definitely worth listening - and yes, I met all of the actors! Also the unforgettable killer!!!  (Jože! When your Dog will be finally shooting with you? ;). 

 

I had also pleasure to meet the grey eminence himself, to taste his icecream-melasa banana shake (I know, vegan means complicated ;), not to mention listening his bravura music performance!

 

What truly surprised me, was that you keep meeting there the same people on the street almost constantly. Violinist or other street artists - they keep coming back! It was not different, when we went for a walk to the castle and met (of course accidentally) a street musician, who was a friend of the guys. Ali ashamedly asked him whether he could play a bit on the guitar. With some hesitation and a clumsy preparation, he has finally started to sing an old Bosnian song  - Telal vice od jutra do mraka (originally sang by Himzo Polovina) that since then I must always associate with Ljubljana.

Listen,  enjoy and please ignore my and Dejvid's silly comments.  

UPDATE: For more music of Ali check this out: https://soundcloud.com/alirtaha

I will not be wrong in my statement that this performance brought quite an audience. Who would say that this modestly looking guy is such an attention whore (xoxox).

# Koper

In Polish you cannot be serious while saying that you are going to "koper", because koper means dill. I was determined enough to check whether the biggest port at the very short Slovenian coastline (only 47 km!) has a great deal of this plant. Mission accomplished. It doesn't! What it has, however, is a beautiful 15th-century Praetorian Palace and ancient settlements.  Mysterious name comes from latin Capodistria and indicates the ancient past of the town.

One day trip in a very sunny weather brought me a bit of tan and two quick sketches.

Colour added later.

# Slovenian painter 

Just after coming back from Koper (3h by bus), I went to the old square to sketch a bit and kill time while waiting for Dejvid. It was my third sketch that day and it wasn't good. Wrong subject or maybe lack of attention - difficult to say. I was sitting bored at the church and listening to some noise of drums of another street performer, when an elderly man approached me and asked what am I drawing. His German was full of hesitation, he chose his words carefully as if he was driving a car for the first time since very long time. Frequently used English words let me thought, he must have stayed abroad for longer. 

That was a Slovenian portrait painter, who you can frequently meet there on June and July at the various bridges of Ljubljana. Within couple of minutes I was granted a great trust that can be shared only by the people of the same profession. I was flattered a bit and felt privileged to have the opportunity to listen his personal story about love, life and art. The mix of melancholy and on going dreams of him made me think that there is never time to stop dreaming. If you once find your passion, it will never die.

The painter turned out to be a sailor in the past. While traveling around the world, he had a vivid recolection of his old Polish friend, also sailor, who he wished to meet once again in his life.

Dear Reader! If you happen to hear about Mr Frank Lipiński from Gdynia, a sailor, say hello to him from an old friend - Slovenian painter Rade.

Guess which sketch of mine he liked the most?

Obviously the one with the sea.

That was the last day of sun in that week in Slovenia.

After it came huge storm and I decided to head to Belgrade to fish for some better sunny weather...

Day.2 #Ljubljana. Violinist at Trubarjeva cesta

Trubarjeva Cesta

I strongly believe in a special aura of some places. Not without a reason I tend to collect in my memories favourite places, hidden streets, abandoned houses or churches that very often have nothing much in common with tripadvisor recommendations. With Trubarjeva Cesta I felt in love from the first sight, or better say - step.

Slovenian cesta or ulica stands simply for a street. The meaning of the word Trubajevo remains still mysterious to me though, particularly after checking it in google translate (just try it!)! Nonetheless, it surprised me with a picturesque ambient, not to forget two vegan restaurants over there and plenty of nice cafes!

 Yet Trubajeva cesta is one of the oldest street in the city (1809). It leads directly to the central square Prešernovi trg on one side and to the Dragon Bridge on the other.

The oddity of this street is magnified by couple of cables that bridge two parts of the street in various places and serve as a perfect place to hang shoes. I was considering even exchanging my old converse for somehow newer version.

However, instead of looking for a ladder and a pair of shoes my size, I sat down and sketched. What drew my attention was the violinist that I had been seeing all over the city from the beginning of my stay in Ljubljana. Such a romantic spot he has chosen this time! He sat quietly  in a frame of window probably being absolutely aware of a beautiful acoustic that this place can offer and tremendous influence it has on the by passers' souls. I sketched patiently sitting on the other side street and hiding myself before accidental gazing. 

The night before, around midnight, me, Dejvid and Jenni sat at the  Prešernovi trg and listened to the music of the very same violinist. He sat partially in the shadow of trees and light of the full moon, just in front of rose facade of the baroque Franciscan Church of the Annunciation. From there his music easily conquered the whole emptiness of the square with the famous three bridges. Although, we were going to try Human Fish,  a local brand beer that was cheekily named after a blind amphibious creature found in Slovenia's Karst caves, we could not help stopping and listening to the violinist. Human fish will not float away.

Having that memory in my head,  I went there during the day and committed my first sketch of trees - those in front of the rosa church (if anyone knew what type is it, please comment!). Surprisingly, at the end of Trubarjeva cesta, on the stairs of the church I heard no sign of good violin music. Instead I saw a group of people who love to occupy this place with beer and their life stories.  A living evidence to a governmental failure to reduce the level of alcohol problem in the country. The Square was full of noice and touristists.

No sign of the violinist who love to play for romance far away from crowd.
I realised that Lubljana's beauty is hidden just as all those dragons, oysters, human fish - possible to find at the break of dawn or in light of the moon.

Outlook from the stairs of the church

[Apparently I was so busy with sketching that I havent noticed Dušan passing me by, what I still feel sorry about. In order to justify my rude behavious a litte , I shall recall here an old Polish superstition that my mum still keeps saying - if you met a friend on the street and did not recognise him, it brings him wealth!]

Cologne. Welcome back.

After two weeks of backpacking, getting back to the reality is never easy. One day you are laying down in the beautiful sun at Geneva's Lake, another -  you freeze out of autumn wind in Nothern Germany with running nose. One thing from the journey remained constant and cheered me up  - sketching.

 

in the middle of trash

At the Rhein river I welcomed surprised a wide smile of my friend who brought me coffee and nice photograph. Nothing more was needed during this windy rainy weather. On the sketch - water again and another bridge. WITHOUT cathedral.

Quick sketch

 

If you happen to come to Cologne (Köln) for the first time, you will most likely belong to that huge amount of tourists who gaze astonished at the shape of the Cathedral (Dom), while your train is entering the Bridge of Hohenzollerns (Hohenzollernbrücke). This is the most extensively used train connection in Europe - nearly 1,200 trains cross this bridge every day! Myself, I cross this bridge twice a day! During the second world war it was still one of the most important bridges. Perhaps for this reason it avoided huge damages and bombing. Since 1907, after couple of renovations, it still serves well to the city and visiting lovers, who for some reasons enjoy locking the padlocks with their names on it and throwing the keys into the river. Such a romantic reason to distroy the enviroment...

coloured
 

 

Day.1 #Ljubljana

In Poland we have that old song from 80s.

Take any train you see ("wsiądź do pociągu byle jakiego").

It goes further in my rough translation:

run away from friends,

enemies, bills and phones

don't think twice,

it's enough to step out of home. 

(...) Watches will be needless, 

I will lose all my calendars.

Fo such a trip I want to set off,

Not sure though whether I dare once.

 

 

Perhaps that was one of the motivations for me to take a train and get off at early morning at Ljubljana main train station. The capital of Slovenia that counts not more than 285,000 inhabitants welcomed me on Sunday 6.30 a.m. Peacefully. Closed cafes and stores, empty streets, thick fog rolling in from the castle hill. At the central square with three bridges (Prešernov trg) I spotted a polish guided-tourist group that were probably the only people willing to sightseeing at that moment. In my desperate attempt to run away from them, I luckily stumbled upon a charming cafe Promenade next to the river Ljubljanica.

[unfortunately I did not take any photos from there...]

Even more bridges are going to built here!

At 7 a.m. in front of the wall with a miraculous manifest JOŠKE, you could find there only the denizens - three grandpas sipping their coffee at the table next to the river and lazily discussing with the owner the politics and family's problems (as far as I understood thanks to my non existent Slovenian). They cherished, just as much as I did, this morning's tranquility that was disturbed only by chirpping sparrows. Owner of the cafe brought me soon a cup of espresso (and yet another one). Small-size sketchbook and a bunch of rapidographs appeared on the table just after it. For the first time since very long I started to draw again. Undisturbed. Although at that moment I had no idea that this place is going to turn into touristic centre just within 3-4 hours.

Dejvid. Thanks for enlighting me. It means "boobs" :)!.

It felt unusual to draw again. Hands where stiff and firm. Results not quite satisfying. Line not even, rough and lazy. Attempts to make it the way I saw it in my head - desperate. After first go, I immediately started the second - and so it has started. In that very moment I decided to draw every day at least one picture. I kept my word and results you are going to see in the blog.

Black&white.

From the first moment I was fascinated with clocks and cathedrals. Hence, the first picture - the clock of the Saint Nicholas's Cathedral (Stolnica svetega Nikolaja, 1461). From the river bank I saw only one tower, but there are two, not to forget the green-shaded dome. Maybe next time I dedicate them separate picture...

I added colours already after coming back home.

The spot at the river offered also a beautiful view for the Butcher's Bridge (Mesarski most), relatively new (2010) in comparison to all the other bridges that connect the two side of the city.

Lovers lock their dreams about romantic eternal future in the padlocks that hang miserably on the steel wires. The bridge itself shelteres a couple of bizarre creatures that were put there by Jakov Brdar, Slovenian artist. Ostrich, frog or humanoid dragons were only some from the throng of phantasmagorias I saw in that city. Later on, I learned they supposed to be actually Prometheus, Adam and Eve and Satire... maybe Ljubljana shall create their own mythology?

frogs?

This morning was crowned by meeting with my couchsurfing host that happened to wake up my hidden addiction to morning coffee and slovenian / balkan music & folk dance.  Dejvid - Hvala :) !

Bonus - song that we couldn't stop singing for three days... well.. enjoy! :)

First lines, first confession

I owe you a confession. Neither I am a professional artist, not I have any inclination to become one. For the last four years my hands not even once got dirty of ink or paint! Trip to Balkans changed it a bit and my sketchbook became my best companion during the long hours in trains, buses and in the cities I have never been before. 

 

My overall experience is not that long. In the past I happened to sketch hundreds of technical drawings for Museum of the Earliest and Ancient History of Thuringia in Weimar (there is still some blog about this project online). A great deal of middle-aged potsheds, broken pieces of ceramic vessels, carafes or iron tools of daily use (spurs, nails, hammers etc.) passed through my hands. With  care and attention due to the history, I draw each of them and learned how to depict sand, iron, clay using linear and render technique. Yet I hoped to draw more of different subjects - trees, water, mountains or birds.

So it started, at the beginning of September. I set up for two-week journey to Balkans with my sketchbook, four rapitographs and hope for honing the forgotten skills. I didn't know exactly where I will go, but I aimed to draw at least one picture a day. So I did.

However, this is not the bunch of sketches that made this journey so unique for me, but all the memories and social interactions that revolved around them! Different people happened to cross my way, gazed at my scrawlings, talked and very often accompaned me while I was drawing. They unexpectedly started to share their stories, being enticed by the subject of the picture and whatsoever. It felt as if these couple of sketches could open the window to their soul a bit wider. I was surprised to be given this kind of trust just because I have nothing else to do than sit and draw :)! All those people are the biggest part of the story and particularly about these tiny memories I wish to tell you here about.

I hope you will enjoy my small memoir :)!

After two weeks this sketchbook looks pretty scruffy

lines out, out lines

Welcome to my sketchbook!

Some travellers write, other take photos, shot videos or blog. I have started to sketch. If you are here, it means you have already seen that girl with a sketchbook who might have even not noticed your puzzled gaze at the ink scrawling of her. Maybe you even belong to those who accompanied her in her travels, inspired to draw particular subjects or were an important part of the picture's scenery. Maybe you belong to those who motivate her to share these memories. 

Please, be my guest and follow the sketch story of my journeys and the memories they convey. As soon as I come back, I will update you with my journey sketched diary. For now, please subscribe to not miss it :).

All the best

that girl with a sketchbook