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Published: August 5th 2015
I have to be a little diplomatic here. I think there is some ongoing animosity between Croatians and Slovenes. When I told my Croatian friends I was going to Slovenia for a couple of days, they rolled their eyes or worse. At dinner in Vis with my friends' friends, one girl had brought her Slovene boyfriend to dinner and she told me that Slovenia is actually quite lovely and gave me recommendations on restaurants.
So, I was very curious as to what I would find. When I got let off at the bus station it was about 11pm, so I quickly found a taxi to take to my hotel. It was very quiet and I did not feel quite comfortable wandering around by myself; also, it was noticeably cooler. So I asked the taxi driver if he took Croatian Kuna - the look and response he gave me was priceless. Apparently the feeling is mutual between the two countries. I just fell out laughing and asked him to take me to an ATM; he did not know what that was, but would take me to a cash machine. When he dropped me off, he said I needed to walk 200m
to my hotel, the Best Western. I was curious and a little too tired, but whatever. It is an entirely pedestrian only area of town, which was nice.
The hotel staff were quite friendly and my room was very nice. They had elephants everywhere! Best Western basically bought the Hotel Slon, which was an hotel built upon the location of the first hotel ever in Ljubljana. Slon is the Slovene word for "elephant" and is based upon the legend that the Future Emperor Maximilian II stopped at this site on his way from Spain and brought his elephant, named Suleiman after the Ottoman enemy (a domesticated majestic animal). There were elephants all over the city because of this incident but it was especially relevant at this hotel site.
I slept so soundly and woke up the next morning around 8:30 and ate a good included breakfast. I was going to ask about a tour group to take me to the caves, but figured I would walk to the bus station and see what's up (still have not recovered from the scams in Prague last year). It was about a 7-minute walk to the bus station, with lots of
beautiful (beautiful!) architecture along the way. At the bus station, I went up to the window and was able to get on the 10:10 bus - just a few more minutes of waiting. When I was on the bus, which apparently had its stop in Ljubljana, an argument broke out between three girls and an older man about assigned seats. I was a bit worried, but they left me alone and I enjoyed my 45 minute ride next to an elderly lady.
They dropped us off in Postojna and left - about 8 people got off, including the three girls who had fought earlier. I stood for a moment and saw some street signs up the hill and just walked there like I knew what I was doing; everyone followed. The sign said left to the caves and after that there were no more signs. The girls asked some random guy and he walked with them so the rest of us followed them. The couple I was near further verified at a local home and soon we saw signs saying the Postojna caves were 600m away. Yay!
Let me just say up front: this is one of the
prettiest, most efficient and tastefully done parks I have ever experienced. I saw some negative comments here but I have no idea why. I bought a ticket for just the cave when I got my bus ticket and was given a 12:00 English language tour time. I got some lunch during the 40 minutes to kill - delicious pork roast at their well done cafeteria. At the cave entrance, there are signs for English, Italian, Slovene, and German tour groups; English was by far the largest and we were allowed in first. When you go into the caves, they take your photograph with no warning, which was weird.
The trains are there at the entrance to take you into the caves. I really like this, especially as a geologist, as it limits the number of people not only going into the caves but where they can go. Sorry, humans are dirty and thoughtless creatures; they really can destroy an environment like this. Also they take you to the best rooms so you can get the full experience. I love the trains. And man was it cold! 9 degrees (Celsius). The train takes you a couple kilometers in and then
you walk with the guide for about 40 minutes and experience some of the stalactites and stalagmites and the giant concert hall. It was very well done. Even coming out, the souvenir shops were also set up very well with very friendly employees.
I had initially planned to just see the caves, but I got to the free shuttle service just as they were loading to go to the Predjama Castle, so I bought a ticket and hopped on. I am really glad I did because this was another area that was a pleasure to see. It is approximately 9km away or a 20 minute bus ride and ran every hour. So, I hopped off and was spellbound by the castle in the distance. I had not planned to come, thinking about how many castles I had seen in my last few years. It was totally worth it. I got an English audio guide, which described the castle and caves very well, including the history of Erazem, the robber baron who owned the castle and made it legendary. He had incurred the wrath of the Holy Roman Emperor in the 16th century when he killed the Imperial army commander.
Ljubljana
Beautiful architectureHe was able to hold off the imperial army, and even harassed them by escaping through many of the caves, before he was betrayed by his own servant and was killed while he was in the most vulnerable part of the castle: the toilet.
I returned to Ljubljana, on the same bus as the earlier couple, who turned out to be from Madrid. Then I tried to get a train ticket to Budapest the next day, but the ticket counter was closed. I saw there was a bus available at 3pm - perfect! I was so excited to get to see more of this beautiful place and planned to explore Ljubljana more. Just in case, I on my way back to my hotel, I detoured to the old town center. Amazing. Just absolutely beautiful. As mentioned earlier, the old town center is pedestrian only and is full of cobble streets, musicians, and nice shops. There are the "three bridges" from near the main church to cross the Ljubljanica River to the old castle on the hill. It was drizzly and I was exhausted, so I missed the castle. Plus, my camera died. So, I went back to my room
and passed out.
The next morning after breakfast, I went to the bus station to get an afternoon ticket to Budapest. Sadly, none were available at any time during the day, so I had to get a 10:25 train instead. I had to run back to my hotel room, shower, pack and take a few final photos before making my way back for the train (I actually barely made it). All the seats were in cabins and I verified with a guy sitting in a cabin alone if I needed a seat reservation. He informed me I did not and asked if I was an American. We chatted the whole 8 hour trip about travels, Americans, business and whatever else. He was traveling to Japan for a month. It was a nice final show of Slovenia - seeing the absolutely gorgeous mountainous countryside outside while chatting to a Slovene who was typical of the culture - very nice in his own way, is the best I can describe it. They are very nice, but not overly friendly, if that makes sense? He also explained to me about their educational system - they pay for all Slvoenes education, including the
majority of it even if they go out of country. I have to say, I was very happy with Slovenia and would love to return one day. I highly recommend it, especially to take at least 3 days there or more.
Ultimately, Slovenia quickly has moved into my top ten, maybe even top five!
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