The tour is in Slovene and English; in cases of organised larger groups other languages are also available. It starts in the city centre every Sunday at 10am, on a bright green bus, adorned with photos of cultural and natural attractions from all 26 municipalities of the Ljubljana urban region. The driver and a tourist guide welcome their visitors with bright smiles, holding the promise of the pleasant three hours that await visitors who opt for the tour.
Fun and Educative
Happy Johnny (Veseli Janez in Slovene) got its name from the most typical Slovenian male name"Janez". It first takes tourists around the centre of the city and later passes by the botanical gardens on its way to one of the focal points of the tour which visitors, often missed due to its out-of-town location - Plečnik's intriguing church in Črna Vas, which reflects the architecture of the first Roman Catholic churches and is set amidst the unique natural surroundings of the Ljubljansko Barje marshes. This is also the first stop of two, and thanks to the tour guide Alan visitors can learn a great many fascinating facts about the most famous Slovenian architect and his work,while admiring this very special piece of architecture, and also later during the ride as Plečnik's buildings abound in the Ljubljana area.
After a ride through the other side of the city centre and heaps of interesting facts about Ljubljana's prominent spots on the way,the bus heads to its second stop - the Ljubljana castle where visitors have an opportunity to climb the lookout tower, enjoy the magnificent view over the city and also visit the virtual museum to learn about Ljubljana's history. For most, this is the ultimate highlight of the tour; however, one should not neglect the rest of it as visitors are taken to nearly all parts of the Slovenian capital, including the embassy row, Plečnik's Žale cemetery, the new Stožice football stadium, the Trnovo and Krakovo neighbourhoods, the ancient Roman Emona wall and the gallery district to name but a few.
Enriched Tourist Offer
Matjaž Pavlin, director of Kompas Novo Mesto mesto tourist agency, believes that Ljubljana needed andalso deserved a tourist product like Happy Johnny, stating, "Our bus offers visitors a chance to experience an alternative view of the city. There is a huge difference between seeing it on foot or from a bus; the latter is also accompanied with an explanation from an expert guide."
Pavlin is also the man who has stood behind the idea for the tourist bus for over a year: "The majority of other European capitals have panoramic buses and I thought that it would be great if tourists in Ljubljana as well could have an opportunity to enjoy our beautiful capital on such a tour."
It is interesting that Happy Johnny appeals to both foreigners and Slovenians: "Groups can be very diverse and are composed of locals from Ljubljana, Slovenians from other regions, foreign businesspersons, and tourists. Also the age of our guests is extremely varied, from the elderly who have difficulties walking topupils on a school trip."
At the moment, the bus tours are not entirely occupied, but Pavlin says that it takes some time to make people aware it exists: "We are in the process of intensive promotion and our goal is to become an indispensable part of the offer of tourism services in Ljubljana."
That such an offer was missing is proven by enthusiastic faces of foreign and locals visitors. "We were born and raised in Ljubljana and have lived here for all our lives, but still we have seen and learned many new things about the city on the tour," said one of them and instantly made an enquiry about the date of the next ride.
You too can seize the opportunity to see a different side of the city as Happy Johnny takes its visitors for a ride until the end of September for €18 per adult and €10 per child. Like many others, you may be surprised by what you can find in a city that you perhaps thought you knew inside out.
SOURCE: The Slovenia Times
