European Tour Sep 08

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T K Breg - Brda Hills

No eggs for breakfast, which was a bit strange, however we made ourselves bread and pršut and copious amounts of tea and coffee. We resorted to boiling our little kettle upstairs on top of a wood burning stove (not lighted) using the portable gas stove, as sadly, the electric hob takes an age to boil anything.
When Saška arrived, we learnt that the chickens had gone off the lay, as the weather had turned cold.
After another long chat, we decided to go to Postojnska Jama (Postojna Caves) and then see what happened after that.
The trip there was not too stressful baring the fact that the SatNav decided to route us via a motorway, which we didn’t realise until we were on it. So a quick stop at the first service station was called for to purchase a vignette (35€), which we had been trying not to have to buy. It did mean that the rest of the journey was very rapid.
The caves were quite a large operation, with stalls selling ‘souvenirs’ and various coffee shops.
The entrance fee was a bit steep (19€ each) but as we had come this far we went for it and arranged to go on the 1300hr tour.
This left us about 1hr to kill, so lunch called. As mentioned there were a number of coffee shops as well as burger/pizza bars, plus a strange little bar/restaurant which appeared to be open. One thing we have found in Slovenia is that none of the shops etc appear to be open; they all look dark and closed.
This was open though and it was like stepping back to the early seventies. The ceiling was covered in dark brown, square, tiles, not dissimilar to the inside of the Dr Who Tardis, plus the rest of the decor was black vinyl and dark walls. Even the lights, which had dark brown shades, had had dark purple material draped over them.
The husband and wife team who were running it were friendly, and we ordered their ‘Tourist Menu’ (very adventurous). It was very good, vegetable soup, grilled steak and pork, side salad and fries and either strudel or ice cream to finish. So from an unpromising start it turned out alright.
With lunch safely eaten, we headed to the cave entrance, not quite knowing what to expect. We cued, along with about 60-70 other people and were ushered into a cavern with a ‘train station’ in. They took our pictures as we walked in, and a little sign on the carriage we were sitting in, told us to remember the colour of our seat. All very strange. The train was not unlike a fair-ground ride, pulled by a small electric engine.
We set off and almost immediately we saw stalagmites and stalactites. The little train hurtled down this track, every bend I thought I might bang my head, but obviously not. About 9 minute later we arrived in a larger cavern, where we disembarked and were ushered to stand by a lighted sign with a language on it, this determined what language the guide would speak, as we were about to go on a guided tour!
Our group of English speakers consisted of six Americans, four Dutch and a number of other people whose nationality we were unsure of. The German group accounted for most of the other people!
The tour was impressive. We travelled through about 2km of tunnels, there were further 25km. The river which had made the caverns was now on its fourth level, we stayed on the first. At the deepest point we came across a land slip, where some of the roof had also collapsed, this was following an earthquake a few years ago, just what you need to hear when your 40m underground.
The caverns were immense, the final one is used to hold concerts at Christmas time, I’m not sure how many people it could hold, 600 or so, but the sound must be incredible.
The train journey back, was equally as exciting and long, so all in all, the 19€ entrance fee was well worth it.
With the vignette stuck to the windscreen, we now headed to the far south west of Slovenia, to Hrastovlje and the port of Portoro.
The village of Hrastovlje has a wonderful, small, 15thC church dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It is enclosed by a high, fortified, stone wall, and inside the walls and ceilings are covered completely in frescoes depicting scenes from the passion, the 12 months of the year, the dance of death (which shows all people, regardless of class, end up the same, i.e. in a coffin) plus many other images. As we were the only people there, we were played an English version of a guided tour, which took us around all the various frescoes. They had remained hidden for many years under layers of whitewash, until rediscovered about 40 years ago.
Considering this was really a small stop off on our way elsewhere, it was one of the highlights of the whole trip.
After this little gem, we travelled onto Portoro and a Nature Reserve on the coast, which used to be used for making salt. It was an interesting area; though the bird life could have been better (they probably knew Clare was coming!)
It was now getting late so we got back onto the motorway and made it back to Breg, via Italy again.

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