Metelkova Mesto: Ljubljana's place to be

Metelkova Mesto: a free and artistic place in Ljubljana, where nothing is impossible and nothing is regulated by laws or restrictions. By day it is a colorful arty place with weird buildings, sculptures, mosaic and local artists doing their things. At night the whole area is taken over by partying people, locals and tourists drink cheap beers together, there is no door policy or dresscode, there are no closing times and mostly there is freedom, in many, many ways.

Take a look at the slideshow and you get an idea of how it is during the day, use your imagination to see how it is at night, or take a train, plane, bus to Ljubljana to find out for yourself. Stay over in Hostel Celica then which was a militairy prison from the Yuguslav Army years ago. You can stay in a prison cell for the night and just roll your way home after too many cheap beers, because it's also located in Metelkova Mesto.

There will be more updates about Metelkova Mesto in a short period of time, and also my blogs about Wroclaw, Olomouc, Kosice, Ljubljana, Prague and Stuttgart.

A night in jail in Ljubljana

The cell door closes with a squeaking and creaking sound, you can hear the key turning in the lock. There we are, in a prison cell, all three of us... With internet connection, laptops, cellphones and all of our luggage, at least we have that. And of course we have our own key for the cell door. Oh, and we paid more than twenty euro's just to sleep in the prison cell for a night. This was one of the strange experiences in Ljubljana, as there are many more to come.

Earlier this week I already mentioned the free and unlimited atmosphere in Metelkova Mesto on my blog. This squatted place in Ljubljana has no rules, the police will not check the area, so everything is possible here. It once was the property of the Yuguslav Army, with barracks, storage space and a military prison. The whole area was squatted in 1993, after Slovenia freed themselves from Yugoslavia in 1991. There is not much left of the buildings that remind you at that time since everything has been changed over time, but the one thing that kind of stayed the same is Hostel Celica.

This hostel was once proclaimed to be the most hip and funky hostel in the world by the Lonely Planet and they might be right about that. Over eighty artists has been working on the different prison cells to change them in to artistic hotel rooms. Each room is different: with round beds, glass floors, stairs and ladders, paintings and photo's on the wall. If you ever visit Ljubljana, you should definitely book at least one night in one of the prison cells of Hostel Celica. In the hostel there's also a bar and a restaurant, a terrace and a garden with hammocks and beach chairs. It's a perfect place to chill out after a night out in Metelkova Mesto.