Days 9-11 in Slovenia

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DAY 9 - LJUBLJANA

For some reason my body doesnt want to sleep past about 630am at the moment. Got up at 7am and tried to creep round the hostel room to shower which isnt easy, and was out by about 8am. Another one of the guys from the hostel was up so we went for a bit of a walking tour. Had the weirdest hot chocolate ever too!! It was almost like pure chocolate, only drinkable. Odd.

Anyway started a walking tour at the town hall, through the cathedral and then finally up the castle. Got the funicular up (lift type thing) and then had a wander round. Great view over the city and it was a relatively nice day. Little disappointed though as the castle wasnt that exciting and I couldnt go up the clock tower because it is closed for renovations. Not that I need to climb any more stairs in my entire life. Then we walked down the hill and I was very relieved that we had decided not to walk up it, was bad enough going down!!

After lunch I decided to hire a bicycle (yes thats right) and ride around. Rode through a park and the botanical gardens trying to find the zoo which was more difficult than it sounds. After about three hours I gave it, but it was a lovely cycle anyway! Was exhausted by the time I got back to the hostel. Place was packed with Aussies and Americans.

DAY 10, 7 OCTOBER - SKOcJAN CAVES, LIPICA, PIRAN and PREJAMA CASTLE

I booked myself onto an excursion the day before so got picked up from near the hostel at 8am. We picked up another few people on the way and then headed to our first stop, Skocjan Caves. They stretch for about 6km or something but we only walked about 2km of it. And over 400 stairs. I counted more than 500 although they swear that there are not that many. Caves were really slippery and we were in a massive group of people because they only do a few tours each day. On the way through, our guide turned off all the lights as we passed through each area, something I havent seen done anywhere else before! Something about moss growing I think. Tour took nearly 2 hours.

Our second stop was at a place called Lipica which breeds these white horses. Only they dont turn white until they are a few years old. Slovenia claims that they are their horses, but some other countries claimed they started breeding these ones first.

After watching the horses, we headed to Piran. Slovenia claims about 40km or something of coast, tucked between Croatia and Italy. From our view looking over the city of Piran we could see both countries. Piran is really quite a sweet little place, old city with the usual museums and cathedrals and quaint streets.

After that we headed back towards Ljubljana. On the way we stopped at Prejama Castle which is this castle built into a hill. Didnt go inside but apparently there are also some caves below the castle too.

DAY 11 - 8 OCTOBER - BLED AND BOHINJ

Again woke up ridiculously early despite having a late (but very sober) evening. No one in the hostel seemed to want to sleep.

I checked out of the hostel and checked into another one closer to the station. After dropping my bag off I headed to the bus station and got on a bus to Lake Bled. Bus ride was about an hour. Again it was a fantastic day weather-wise, despite a chilly start to the morning.

I didnt really feel like walking the 6km around the lake so instead walked part of the way then decided to go up to the castle for a view over the lake area. Silly move. It was basically climbing up the side of this massive hill. And when I got to the top, there were more staIrs to contend with to go through the castle. But the view over the lake was worth it, before having to go down which was nearly as bad because it was slippery. Basically Bled is this pictuesque little lake with an island and a church in the middle and a castle overlooking it on the hill. Everyone had said I should make sure I go out to the little island so I did. It was very relaxing going across on this non-motorised almost gondola type thing, although in reality the island wasnt that exciting, although very pretty! Lot of renovation going on as always so work men everywhere.

After grabbing lunch I jumped on another bus and went to Lake Bohinj which is also very scenic, not very far away from Bled and less touristy. It also sits within Triglav national park and you can get a view of the mountain. I had a stroll part-way round the lake before getting a bus back to Ljubljana. Arrived in after 7pm tonight.

Next stop tomorrow is Budapest!

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