Slovenian Countryside (Karst Region, Slovenia Coast, Julian Alps, and Lake Bled)

---

Day 16 (Saturday, September 20th, 2008)

After checking out of our hotel in Ljubljana this morning, we quickly walked a few blocks east in order to reach the car rental office where we picked-up our rental car. Somehow, although I had reserved the cheapest option possible through Gemut Auto Rental, we ended up with a small white Mercedes, which was a pleasant surprise!

We have rented cars several times during previous trips to Europe. Each time, even though we always had directions printed out, we would inevitably become lost. To help prevent this from occurring again, Mike purchased a GPS system before we left on the trip so that we would have a much less stressful driving experience. Once he turned on the GPS system, it worked flawlessly, each time bringing us to the correct destination in the shortest amount of time. Had we not had the system, I’m sure we would have gotten lost numerous times.

From Ljubljana, we headed southwest to Lipica Stud Farm, which was located just two kilometers northeast of the Italian border. The farm was started in 1580 to breed and train horses for the courts of Vienna. The Austrian Archduke Charles wanted to create a breed that was light in color and of a more elegant stature. It took nearly 200 years for the mix of local horses from the Karst region in Slovenia to combine with the Andalusian horses, eventually evolving into the famous Lipizzaner breed that can be found today. We arrived just in time for the 11:00 English tour, which took us all over the farm. We learned that the Lipizzaner horse is not white when born but actually a dark gray; over the course of five to ten years, they slowly change into the beautiful white color. However, we were also informed that one percent of all Lipizzaner horses born never turn white and instead remain a gray color. Today, the farm houses about 400 Lipizzaner horses.

Unfortunately, we were only able to see a few of the horses up close in the stables as the rest were out grazing far away in the pastures.

From the stud farm, we drove to the nearby Skocjan Caves, which was located in the Karst region of Slovenia. This area of Slovenia is filled with many limestone caves, a few of which can be toured by the general public. We chose Skocjan as I read that it was less touristy than some of the other caves and not as easily accessible, thus the reason why less people visit. We arrived about 45 minutes prior to our 13:00 tour. While we waited, I walked up to a nearby lookout point that provided a beautiful view of the deep river valley, including a town capped by a baroque church in the background.

When the tour finally began, we walked from the ticket office with the guide for 500 meters down a path along the main road, which eventually led to a gravel path, and later arrived at the main entrance of the tunnel. The temperature inside the caves is a constant 12 degrees Celsius so it was quite chilly, although we stayed warm due to the extensive hiking and climbing of stairs. To give a little background as to how the formations are created within the caves; as water seeps down into the limestone caves, the calcium carbonate that dissolves from the water dripping from the roofs creates stalactites and stalagmites. Sometimes, as the stalactites grown down from the roof and stalagmites grow upwards from the floor, they eventually meet together, creating what is called a column. We learned that the formations grow only one centimeter over a period of 250 years; some of the formations we saw were over 250,000 years old! Due to the high humidity in the caves, the ground is quite slippery and we were both glad to have worn our good hiking shoes. We were both blown away and mesmerized by the countless beautiful formations we saw in each of the cave sections.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures within the caves; I assume this is because the unnatural light of flash photography causes problems within the delicate ecosystem of the cave. However, I was unsure as to why they did not allow photographs without the flash. I was a bad visitor and managed to sneak in few shots of the first cave called Paradise, although to my defense, I did not use the flash! The entire tour took about 90 minutes and was much more physically strenuous than we had realized. After climbing several hundred stairs and walking uphill through many of the caves, we were quite tired by the end.

From Skocjan, we headed to the Slovenia coast on the Adriatic Sea to the Venetian city of Piran. The closer we got to the coastal region, the more apparent the Italian influence in this area of Slovenia became; we saw countless vineyards and red tiled roofed homes that filled the landscape of the beautiful rolling hills. This region was actually part of Italy until after WWII, when the borders were redrawn and it was given to the former country of Yugoslavia.

As we arrived in Piran, I was immediately brought back to the time I spent in Italy two years prior. The entire environment was complete sensory overload for me; beautiful ocean views, crumbling pastel colored buildings, and the overall “dolce vita” atmosphere of the town was all quintessentially Italian. The warm and sunny weather helped to place the cherry on top of an already happy travel experience. We parked our car and walked into the central part of town, eventually wandering around the backstreets. We bought some gelato, and later some pizza for an early dinner at a restaurant called Riva, which had gorgeous views of the sea. I would have loved to spend an entire day in Piran; it would have been wonderful to spend the night in this atmospheric city, but alas, we had plans to drive further on into Slovenia, and end our day in Lake Bled. I begrudgingly left, knowing that it would be two years before I would be able to see Italy again. I say Italy because I truly felt as though I was in Italy and not Slovenia; this town was one of the highlights of our trip!

After leaving Piran, we drove northeast for about an hour, later reaching the secluded Predjama Castle, which was located just outside the town of Postojna. The castle was built into the walls of a large cavern during the 16th century and it's sight was quite dramatic! Although the interior of the castle is usually open for viewing, we arrived after operating hours, so instead, we took photos of the exterior and enjoyed the views of the valley below the castle.

From here, we began the drive up to Bled, which involved driving over countless switchbacks whose lanes were only wide enough for one car; this made for an interesting experience when another car approached us on the road! We eventually arrived in Lake Bled around 21:00 and headed to
Penzion Berc, where we had reservations for three nights. One of the very friendly owners greeted us and brought us to our room, which was simple, but filled with lots of character, including wood paneled ceilings and rustic looking furniture. I was happy to finally be able to relax in our room after a long day of driving and sightseeing.

Day 17 (Saturday, September 17th, 2008)

Today our plan was to complete a full day driving tour of the Julian Alps. Slovenia has the very eastern end of the Alps, and they are called “Julian” after Julius Caesar. From Bled, we drove towards Vrsic Pass, passing through numerous green fields, immense mountains in the background, and many Slovenian hayracks. Because of the amount of rainfall the northwest part of the country receives, the hayracks are quite common as they allow hay to dry thoroughly because they are usually covered by a roof.

We reached Triglav National Park about 30 minutes later. The Vrsic Pass involved driving over 50 switchbacks (24 up, 26 down) that provided amazing views of the surrounding mountains and valleys below. Along the way, we stopped at several of the viewpoints to take some photos. We also stopped at switchback number eight to visit the nearby Russian chapel. The church was built in memorial of hundreds of workers who lost their lives on March 8, 1916 as a result of an avalanche and hundreds more who died of illness as they built the roads in this area.

When we reached the summit at switchback #24, I jumped out of the car to take some photos. The temperature up here was freezing (five degrees Celsius) with a fierce, bone chilling wind but that didn’t stop me! The view from the top was incredibly beautiful and truly a spectacular sight; I was able to see the surrounding area for miles and miles ahead of me and I was reminded of the mountains back home in Washington. If I saw only the end of the Alps, I can only begin to imagine how impressive the rest of the mountain range must be!

We headed back down the mountain, driving through the rest of the switchbacks, seeing a few pieces of WWI debris along the way including checkpoints and a guard tunnel.

Next, we drove through the Soca River Valley. This area saw complete and utter devastation during WWI. It was on the fields of the Soca River Valley where some of the most brutal fighting between the Allies and the Austro-Hungarian Empire (which Slovenia was a part of) took place. This part of the war is known as the Soca (Isonzo) Front. It was difficult for me to fathom how such a long war ragged in this part of Europe; its one thing when you can fight a war on level ground, but this area was filled with massive mountain ranges and uneven terrain. Most of the trenches had to be carved into rock instead of dug in mud like the rest of Europe. It was definitely not a friendly environment for any of the soldiers and made for a long and complicated fight.

While in the valley, we stopped in the towns of Bovec and Kobarid. In Bovec, we ate lunch at a restaurant called Letni Vrt Pizzeria. Unfortunately, we did not realize that the place was filled to the brim with a recently arrived German tour group of at least 30 people. Although the wait staff at the restaurant had friendly and efficient service, we had to wait at least half an hour for our food as the tour group had ordered just prior to our arrival. We both requested pasta (Spaghetti Carbonara and Spaghetti Bolognese) along with two small potato dishes. We were both shocked when the pasta arrived as the portions were huge and we had requested the “small” size; we did not want to imagine what the larger size would have looked like! The food was pretty good, although our favorite was one of the potato dishes (potatoes au gratin).

From Bovec, we drove to nearby Kobarid, where we visited the Kobarid Museum, which was created to present the story of the Soca Front. The museum has received many accolades, including being voted one of Europe‘s best museums in 1993. Although parts of the exhibits were interesting, neither of us felt like it was laid out in the most functioning manner. The first floor was mostly filled with photos from the war. The second floor had artifacts from the war, including several military uniforms and tools such as wire cutters, axes, shovels, etc.

From the museum, it was just a quick drive up to the Italian Mausoleum, which was located on a hill that overlooks the town of Kobarid below. This mausoleum was created in remembrance of the thousands of Italian soldiers who died in this area of Slovenia during World War I; the building holds the remains of 7,014 of these soldiers. In addition to being a somber site, the church also provides panoramic and unforgettable views of the Soca River Valley.

From Kobarid, we began the drive back to Bled. As we drove alongside the Soca River, we were both blown away by the color of the water; it was the darkest and most spectacular shade of aquamarine I have ever seen and almost appeared to be unnatural, as though the color of the water had been dyed.

From the city of Most na Soci, we boarded a car train (Autovlak) that took us through the mountains to a city near Lake Bohinj, where the drive to Lake Bled took only 30 minutes. Had we driven the roads through the mountains ourselves, we would have had to contend with narrow and twisty roads for two hours; the train sounded like a much better option!

Later in Lake Bled, we ordered pizza to go from a restaurant called Pizzeria Rustika. We had planned on eating in the restaurant, but all of the tables on the inside were full, and it was much too cold out to eat in their outdoor seating area. The pizza was reasonably priced and quite delicious.

Day 18 (Monday, September 22nd, 2008)

After eating breakfast, our first item planned of the day was to visit the lake and take a pletna boat to the island in the middle of the lake. Initially, we began walking around the lake, taking a few photos. The sun was just beginning to break through the clouds, so the beautiful reflection of Bled Castle was shimmering brightly on the lake. I can only begin to imagine how much more impressive the lake would have appeared had there been no clouds in the sky.

About ten minutes into our walk, we reached a pletna dock, but as Mike walked over to pay for the ride, he was informed that there must be a minimum of 10 riders. Since we were the only two people standing there, we decided to continue our walk around the lake and try the boat ride a little later in the day

As we continued to make our way around the lake, we eventually reached another pletna dock. This time however, there were several people already waiting to board the pletna, so we went ahead and got on. We were astounded by the price for the round-trip ride to the island; 12 Euros for each person, so 24 Euros total ($36 USD)! That seemed a bit steep as the boat ride only took about 15 minutes each way. Apparently, the pletnas have more in common with the expensive gondolas of Italy than I had realized.
The pletnas of Bled are comparable to the gondolas in Venice for other reasons as well; they are hand carved boats that are steered by an oarsman who pushes long and thick wooden handles through the water. Aside from rowing a boat yourself, the pletna boats are the only way to reach the island in Lake Bled. I just swallowed hard over the price and equated it with part of “the experience”.

Our pletna took off for the island with a total of 16 riders. As we approached the island, the sun began to disappear back behind the clouds, much to my disappointment. I attempted to relax as we glided through the smooth water, but my moments of reflection were frequently interrupted by a man sitting across from me. He was a young Slovenian who appeared to be leading a small guided tour for three other adults. He spoke flawless English, which became quite obvious as he rattled off well-known American quotes and sayings. The three people he was with asked him many questions about the lake, but he knew the answers to none of them, which I found strange. As the three would be in the middle of discussing something about the Lake Bled or Slovenia, the Slovenian would go off on a tangent and say the most random things; thank God we were only around him for a short time because he was driving both Mike and I absolutely crazy!

By the time we reached the island, the temperature had decreased and Mike was freezing, which is not a common occurrence. We had 30 minutes to tour the tiny island before the pletna boat would take us back. We walked up 98 steps to the church; the steps are famous in Slovenia as it is a wedding tradition for a groom to carry his bride up all 98 steps. Apparently, this tradition can be witnessed on most Saturdays, when weddings frequently take place.

We had planned on touring the interior of the church, but changed our minds when we found out that the entrance fee was 3 Euros each; this would have brought our total excursion cost to the island from 24 Euros to 30 Euros ($36 USD to $45 USD), so we figured we could skip it. Although we had budgeted very carefully for this trip, I noticed that we often found ourselves in the same predicament; was the cost of the visit/tour/excursion/etc truly worth the amount of money it would translate into? With the terrible value of the US Dollar against the Euro, we would usually agree to skip the lesser sights to save money.

On the way back on the Pletna, I decided to sit in the very front of the boat as I had hoped it would allow me to get some good shots of the island and other areas around the lake. Unfortunately, I did not realize that sitting in the front also meant that my hair would be blown around like crazy; after the ride was over, the back of my hair was sticking straight out, and no amount of combing my hair would fix it! Mike thought it was quite funny as I tried to pat the back of my head with one of my hands in an attempt to calm it.

From the lake, we walked back to our hotel, and then headed off in the car to the gas station. I experienced another bout of sticker shock when Mike told me how much he paid for the diesel; we had less than a ¼ tank left prior to filling up, and after Mike placed 40 Euros of diesel ($60 USD) into the tank, it was not quite full. For a little tiny car, I thought that was terribly expensive! As the diesel cost had placed a nice dent in our daily budget, we decided to pick up some snacks to eat for the rest of the day instead of eating out. We bought some bread rolls, meat, cheese, cookies, fruit, and juice, and only spent about 12 Euro ($18 USD) which was much less than we would have spent had we eaten at restaurants. Lucky for us, the bread rolls had just come out of the oven and were warm and soft. My sandwich of Milanese salami and a slice of Swiss cheese sandwiched together in the fresh bread roll was absolutely delicious!

Our next stop for the day was to Vintgar Gorge, which was sliced into the mountainside near Lake Bled thousands of years ago. Currently, the aquamarine colored Radovna River runs through the gorge. The entire length of the gorge can be hiked due to a boardwalk trail that has been attached to the sides of the massive rock walls. We each had to pay 4 Euros to enter the trail, all proceeds going to the maintenance of the boardwalks. The entire span of the walk was filled with gorgeous and impressive scenery. We saw more of the same stunning emerald green water that we had seen the day prior during our driving tour. We were both so amazed by the clarity of the water; it had to have been the cleanest and clearest water I had looked through. You could see everything below you; fish, rocks, sand, etc. The contrast of the water with the green vegetation and the gray wall of the gorge was quite spectacular. Towards the end of the hike, we reached the 13 meter high Sum Waterfall, which came cascading down into the river below.

After the hike, we drove to Lake Bohinj, which was located about 30 minutes outside of Lake Bled. Bohinj was much less commercialized and therefore, less touristy than compared to Bled. You won’t see high rise hotels or a plethora of restaurant options in Bohinj; the atmosphere here is geared entirely to the beauty and outdoor activity options of the lake.

We stopped in front of the lake to take a few pictures, and then continued heading on past the lake to the entrance for a waterfall hike called Slap Savica. We had to pay 3 Euros to park our car, and then another 2.40 Euros each to actually hike the trail. The hike is completely uphill, including 553 stairs. The steep incline was well worth all the hard work and heavy breathing as the view of the waterfall at the top was stunning. Opposite the waterfall, we could also see a fine view of the surrounding mountains, including a tiny glimpse of Lake Bohinj, where we had just come from.

After the hike, we drove back to Lake Bled. As this was our final night in the town, we both wanted to relax for the evening and did not make any other plans.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in tiny Slovenia, which ended up becoming the overall favorite country of the trip. I have never visited such a small country that has such a vast range of scenery, environment, cities, and activities to partake in. It's an incredibly diverse country that should garner more attention than it currently has.

---

Photos

Interior of Skocjan Caves
One of the few photos I was able to sneak, as we were not allowed to take photographs