03 June 2024

Being Young in Ljubljana (4,225 km)

(2024-06-01/03) “Going East by Heading West”, the motto of my tour, has come true after just over four weeks. We are now in the East, in Ljubljana, one of the smallest European capitals. Just like Czernowitz, with its architecture, Ljubljana cannot hide the fact that it once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although it has not (yet) been European Capital of Culture, it is all the more proud to have been nominated European Capital of the Environment in 2016. The city is green, sustainable and, above all, young. It is also alternative, as the colorful Metelkova Cultural Center proves.

Today, it is a creative space that was occupied by artists and activists in 1993 to save the empty barracks complex from demolition. These people, who were still part of the avant-garde back then, have reached a certain age themselves and their children and grandchildren are perhaps taking part in the annual science festival that takes place in June throughout Ljubljana's Old Town. The aim is to get children and young people interested in science and research. I leave Slovenia again, as I don't want to push up the average age in the country too much.

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