A Night in Prison

Once on my travels, I spent a night in prison. Mind you, I could come and go as I pleased.

A couple of years ago, while visiting family in Italy, Adriano and I took a road trip through Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. For those who are a little behind on the political turmoils that keep fragmenting countries, Slovenia is one of the countries (in the north west) that the old Yugoslavia broke up into. We visited the capital, Ljubljana, and stayed in an old prison, now called Hostel Celica. It is now a funky, young hostel but even though no longer young or funky, I couldn't resist it.

Each of the original cells has been uniquely decorated by different artists without any structural changes to the tiny cells. Much imagination was necessary to furnish them adequately and often beds are hoisted up high as was the case in our cell. Steep ladders led up on either side of the double bed which filled almost all of the upper cell area. The photo with the strange contraption that seems to be the ceiling is actually the underneath of the round double bed where we slept. I have also included a couple of other cells so you can see how different each one is.

The communal rooms were bright and fun. A band played for most of the night and it was impossible to sleep because of the noise the hostel guests were making so one night was enough but I would so have loved to see the other cells. By the way, everything was spotless and the communal bathrooms were excellent.

On our way out of Slovenia, we passed through the Julian Alps which border Italy. Spectacular. See the photos.

I'm not sure why I decided to post about this but I have just read a book about a woman who is unjustly imprisoned so maybe that's what triggered the memory.

Anyway, the hostel is worth a visit but don't expect to sleep. If you wish to find out more, this is their website. http://www.hostelcelica.com/en/index.html