Running in Slovenia 1: Ljubljana Explorer Sightrun

Yesterday, Saturday, I was in Paris and I ran a great 50K training run from Paris (Charlety Stadium) to Saclay. It was great to be back on the Coulée Verte and I decided to push farther, pass the Massy-Palaiseau train station and discovered another great trail, the ID 35 for Itinéraire Départemental 35 on the Plateau of Saclay-Orsay. I will update my 2007 post to reflect this new extension. I ran 3:39 for 30.7 miles or a solid 7:11 min/mile average. Good training for next week's Ruth Anderson where I hope to run the 100K.

Today, different country, different capital and let's say a much smaller one, maybe the smallest European Capital: Ljubljana, with less then 300,000 inhabitants. A nice temperature of 68F, some breeze, a few clouds but mostly sunny, ideal conditions for sightseeing.

Let me give credits to the following site for both this post title and the places I visited while running 6 miles: Sight Running Ljubljana. It is great and very convenient for someone busy like me to find a compilation of the must-see in new city. It took me about an hour to spot the various locations on the map, here is the list which you will find in my photo album: Preseren Square, Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, Triple Bridge, Butcher's bridge, Primoz Trubar Street, Jože Plečnik river Dam, Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana's main market on Vodnik Square, The Cathedral of St.Nicholas, Ljubljana Castle, Upper Square, Old Square, Renovated banks of the River Ljubljanica, Bank of Gradascica River, Roman Wall complex, University of Ljubljana, Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra building, Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity, Slovenian Parliament, National Museum, National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Park Tivoli, Cekin Castle, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery. Phew!

Now, my sons are going to be proud, I'll keep this post really short for five reasons! First, I've a busy day in town with two customers tomorrow, it's already 11 pm and I still have a few things to prepare... Second, I took more than 140 pictures, added a few captions to make your virtual visit more interesting, so that's worth 140 time 1,000 words! ;-) Third, I'm not going to write a touristic guide on Ljubljana, there are actually a ton of information available on the Internet about this very picturesque and history rich city. Four, after this tour of the city, I went on to run the half marathon course of the Ljubljana marathon, I'll tell you more in a Running in Slovenia part 2 post later this week. Last, you don't have much time to read anyway, do you?

So, here is the link to my Picasa album, enjoy a virtual tour of Ljubljana, from your seat!