LJUBLJANA COFFEE AND DRAGONS

Many thanks to Tomislav Takač: the photos he sent me show his first coffee of the year and his trip to Ljubljana.

The coffee in the image below the title is accompanied by a characteristic dessert: Kremšnita – Cream cake. Did you know it? It looks very inviting 😉

I always enjoy talking about the first coffee of the year, but, despite all our hopes and repeated good wishes, 2026 has brought us immense sadness.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stop thinking about it and I feel like I have a wasp’s nest in my head.

For this reason, I thank Tomislav once again: your coffee photos are always a great gift to me, and his give me the opportunity to discover almost completely unknown places through very interesting images.

Here are a few, starting with Subotica:

Coffee van with Santa Claus

Christmas tree at the Folk Theatre

Have you ever seen a “kiosk” like this?

Tomislav tells us that “kiosks” are usually red, white, or yellow, and that the green one is “new.”

Literally kiosk. 

It is an iconic element of typical Central and Eastern European architecture, ‘modernist’ modules designed to be integrated and at the same time to simplify direct sales.

Design works created in 1966 by Slovenian architect Saša J. Mächtig, identified with the initials K67, which are particularly characteristic of the former Yugoslavia, also exhibited at MoMA.

Speaking of art, Tomislav Takač‘s first coffee  bodes well: the new version of his comic strip will be published in the British magazine Schlock in February.
Congratulations!

Tomislav tells us that espresso usually costs Eur 2.50, but in one café it cost Eur 2.20.

On Lake Bled, he found a restaurant that serves Turkish coffee for Eur 3.

Doesn’t the castle immediately make you think of a fairy tale or an adventure?

Some examples of truly unique architecture in Ljubljana are very interesting, such as the building that houses the cooperative bank, built in 1921

and the Art Nouveau palace designed by Emil Medvescek.

The Dragon Bridge:

The green dragon is the symbol of Ljubljana: from a monster, as it was initially depicted, the dragon gradually transformed into the protector of the city, embodying power, courage, and wisdom.

The legend dates back to Jason and the Argonauts. Who can tell me this story?

Once again, we find ourselves reflecting on the concept of monsters and how real monsters appear to be not very scary, “normal”… although we could open a wide debate on what is “normal.”

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”
Primo Levi

How and where did you have your first coffee?