Ljubljana Local Custom Tips by Dabs

Beehive panels

One of the most common souvenirs we saw in Ljubljana was replica beehive panels sold in what I presume was their original size plus much smaller versions and even refrigerator magnets. We had a laugh over many of the designs, old women being milled into pretty maids, bears with guns robbing the beekeepers, a devil sharpening a woman's tongue. There are also religious panels, folk art panels, historical panels and ones with mythical figures.

The beehive panel is a painted wooden board that was surrounded by other wooden boards that make up the beehive. They can be found on the beehives that are stacked on top of one another a bee-house. The panels 20-30 cm wide, 10-20 cm high, where the bees entered the hive were painted, so the bees could recognise their hive. Most of the original panels were created during the 1800s up through WWII. You might find an authentic panel for a lot of money at an antique store, what you'll find in the souvenir shops are replicas.

Even if you don't plan on buying one, take a look at them should you find them at a souvenir shop, I guarantee you'll laugh at least a few of them.

Superheroes!

Not once but twice on our visit we ran into an interesting collection of superheroes walking down the street, no one but us paying them much attention. They weren't handing anything out, they weren't talking to people, just walking the streets of Ljubljana as if it were perfectly normal to be wearing a costume midday nowhere near Halloween.

I can only identify one of the four we saw, Batman, and I have to wonder what kind of cartoons kids in Slovenia are watching. A giant happy bear with a cape? What kind of super powers does he have? And then there's the one with the beak on his head and what looks like a puzzle piece on his chest. Is he Birdman? Puzzleman? And the 4th one's costume looked like he was shopping at the discount costume store because I can't even hazard a guess....

Art in Preseren Square

In what I presume is a seasonal art display, there were a couple of pieces of outdoor art in Preseren Square. The 1st photo shows a cascade of rocks, at the bottom there was a sign in English saying "Danger! Falling Rocks!" The other was a series of people in a trajectory.