Caves of Slovenia

In the region of caves I booked a ticket to see the Postojna Cave and the nearby Predjama castle. From what I researched Postojna seemed like the lesser of the big caves in the region so I did not prioritize it, instead booking the Skocjan Cave ahead of time (scheduled tomorrow). After driving an hour away to the Postojna cave I am now thinking I have that reversed. Getting there early to not miss my start time I stop in for coffee and a strudel since I left before breakfast this morning.

I line up for my cave entrance time and they start scanning tickets about 15 minutes before start. All those that have requested audio guides go off into a separate room to pick up the guide. We also all enter the train together. Train? Yes there is a train to take us 3.5 km to the walking portion of the tour. This cave is the second longest cave system in the country made famous by its karst or limestone landscape. Formed by an underground river, the stalagmites and stalactites are quite impressive to look at. As I walk through the cave drops of water fall periodically from above proving the cave is still a work in progress. We walk 1.5 miles through the cave, get a look at a “dragon”-like cave creature and then we take the train back out.

During the tour of Postonja we end up in a cavern like area where there is good acoustics. It is common to have Christmas concerts here. Toward the end is a river running along the cave.

After my visit to the cave I hop in the car and drive about 10 km to Predjama Castle, a castle built into the rocks and around another cave system. It is pretty impressive how it is built, security being its top priority. Apparently it is too damp to be a permanent residence but it provided great protection to attackers for it being high up and its vast cave system that could be used for escape routes. I was able to visit a bit of the upper cave but I am too early in season to visit the caves below because bats use it for hibernation during many months of the year. The audio guide there talked about a couple of the past residents and uses but the most interesting is the Robin Hood like character that lived there for a while. He had quite the reputation for robbing the rich.

Tomorrow I go see another cave so we will see how it stands up to the one today.

I head back to Piran for some food and drink. I am craving some ćevapi and luckily they have a Bosnian restaurant in town. It is very good but some rude guy next to me felt the need to interrupt my meal and tell me I am eating my ćevapi wrong. I tell him I’ve been to Bosnia and know how they eat cevapi and can eat it how I please. He seems very proud of him self for “correcting” me. I basically tell him to mind his own business since he isn’t even Bosnian.

After eating I find a place at a cafe and have myself a happy hour and do some reading. It is a nice and relaxing way to end my day.

Škocjan Cave

In the morning they are setting up for a market. I hope it will still be active when I return to town later.

My tour for the caves starts at 10 am. I am early and I wait for the guide to gather us to walk us the kilometer or so down to the cave entrance. A group of men arrive as what seems like a stag party. There is a bar at the cave entrance. They start doing rounds of shots and cheering “OPA!”. It seems to be a lively group. They separate all of us by what language we understand for the tour. Each group enters a few minutes after the other.

I am visiting Skocjan caves and the first thing that comes into mind touring this cave is that this is some goonies sh*t. What I mean by that is that the high cave paths and views down below make me think of the movie Goonies, a favorite from my childhood. The cave was first discovered BC but was majorly explored in the 1900’s. It is culturally significant and added to the UNESCO list in 1986 (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/390/). We explore via a modern made path but as we walk along thee cave you can see the old path the explorers made, a pretty impressive feat. Unfortunately they have a very strict no photo policy inside (though ignored by the woman in front of me who made me stop constantly so she could take her illicit photos). I have borrowed a photo from the unesco site so you can get an idea of how impressive it is inside.

Photo of inside Škocjan Cave (credit to Borut Lozej from unesco site)

After our inside tour there are a couple different exit options. Don’t take exit 2 unless you just like stairs. Take elevator or long cave exit. Nothing to gain by exit 2 which I took. I felt I’d be too lazy to take the elevator and I didn’t have it in me to take the longer cave exit; although I regret it later. I do catch a little waterfall on my way out.

Afternoon in Piran

I return to Piran for the afternoon. There is a band playing with an accordion and tuba and I’m eating pizza at an outdoor cafe. I’m confused if I am in Slovenia, Italy or Germany right now, there seems to be a mix of cultures here. There is a flea market going on. People are selling various things like antiques, light fixtures, baskets, and jarred foods. Along with the band people are singing in the courtyard.

I take some time to do my laundry since I’ve been sweating through everything here near the sea. While I wait for my laundry I watch the singing groups perform at the square outside. It must be some sort of informal music festival, or do they do this every week.

I finally eat at the recommended restaurant in that very same courtyard. There is very strange way of getting a table compared to the rest of town. I wait in the unmarked line like I am told and watch at least two couples “steal” tables anyway, even after learning the rules. Once you have a table you can go order from the window. There is a waiter but that is for drinks only. You must pay attention for your number to be called. I eat one of the best plates of fried calamari I think I’ve ever had. If I had more time I’d come back and order the grilled ones.

I take it easy the rest of the evening. Tomorrow I am heading back to Ljubljana to return the rental car and explore some more

Piran, truffle hunting, and hair pin turns

I’ve checked into my hotel in Piran and settled in. It is a small hotel and I am the only guest for right now. I have a room on the top floor with windows that open up to the outside. It’s early in season but still very warm out so I take advantage of the air conditioning while inside. I do sneak some views from my window into the town center.

After a rest I go out for dinner, a drink, and a walk around town.

Finally found some good mussels and of course fresh fish is always a good idea.

I finish off the evening watching the sunset at a cafe along the water. The water gets rough and some of the tables in the cafe are in the splash zone. I see what looks like cruise ships off in the distance. We are nearby to the town of Koper which has a large port.

In the morning I get to sleep in a bit. I head downstairs and order breakfast at a nearby cafe. This is sleeping in for me but the cafe is barely open when I order. This is not an early morning town.

This afternoon I am heading to the town of Gazon to have a truffle hunting experience.

If you remember my previous post I was afraid I left the rental car unlocked. Obviously people are honest around here because when I get to the rental car in the garage it is unlocked. Would never trust an unlocked car in the USA.

This parking garage is bad for my nerves. Tight ramps that are too close for comfort are stressing me out. And seven floors of this! I hope navigating this gets easier.

I white knuckle it down narrow curvy roads with steep inclines between vineyards; at one point I am on a dirt and rock road. Not sure what is happening with google but these routes suck. I know there are highways I could be taking but google is giving me these goofy routes.

I finally arrive to the meeting place: a small, full parking lot across from a bus station. I park illegally until someone shows up to tell me where I can park instead.

I meet my host for the outing, Jerneja, who directs me to a parking lot I can legally park in. From there we walk to a wooded area to meet the truffle hunter and his dog. She tells me that she runs her own travel company and along the way she is greeted by people in town setting up for a party. It is one of those towns where everyone knows each other. She will be stopping by later after she completes my tour.

She also tells me that truffle hunting in Slovenia was illegal until 2012, even though it still occurred. My host tries to explain that the land for hunting is pretty much open for all hunters even though the land is private. I am not sure if I understood that part correctly. I do learn that white truffles are more expensive because they are more rare. We won’t be hunting those today because the season is September through January and we are in May.

I meet a Sheepdog named Lilly and her handler. Sheepdogs are very good at this but also golden retrievers are fine hunters too. Any dog can be technically trained for it. Lilly is 4 years old and trains every day. Her handler basically does this as a hobby.

Truffle hunting has its good and bad days. To make it enjoyable for visitors some truffles are pre staged for the dog to discover I find out later. However it is a good day because the dog finds many more after that.

We go back to Jerneja’s house where we I try some local products: wine, truffle sausage, truffle cheese, white truffle spread, black truffle spread, and homemade elderflower water. She also shows me how to make the popular local dish of istira truffle pasta. I help grate the truffles and she instructs me on pasta cooking and the importance of combining the truffles with fat to make the flavors appear, in this case it is butter. She later adds egg yolk and cheese as well. It is simple but perfect. We share a meal and a nice conservation. I learn a better way to drive back; in fact she discovers that I had asked google to avoid highways that was the reason why I had all these ridiculous routings. It must have happened when I was trying to avoid driving through Italy a day ago.

I head back to town and back to the dreaded parking garage. I find a parking spot but its too tight for me so I give up and drive 3 floors down. I find a better spot but still takes me ten tries to get it to where I am sufficiently away from accidently “door damage”.

For the walk from the garage to town I take a different route – this time down a bunch of stairs. The town of Piran is beautiful at night. I can hear people partying in the plaza so I have to close my window for the night. I am getting up early tomorrow to visit one of the caves of the area.

Vintgar Gorge and Radovljica

I thought I heard the man at the front desk of my pension tell me Vintgar Gorge was one and a half hours away but I misunderstood him because google is telling me a ten minute drive. Fortunately I can catch breakfast and still make it in time for the booked visit time. The parking lot they push you towards is a satellite lot which a bus that comes periodically and for this you must get there thirty minutes earlier than your entry time. Since I have one of the earliest appointments I decide to try for the lot closest to the gorge. Luckily it is still fairly empty for the day. Also at one point there is a sign on the road that lets you know how many spaces are open approximately in each lot. I figure with fifty I should be fine and I am.

I have a few minutes to wait for my entry time but it goes by fast. I try to let a tour group get ahead of me to avoid a crowd but there is no avoiding them since they are stopping for many photos. I have better luck passing by the groups. I am traveling at a swift pace through the gorge but I still think I am getting a great experience. At about a mile long the gorge is beautiful and formed by the Radovna river and Bohinj glacier.

The day is beautiful and accompanies the gorge visit perfectly.

There is a beautiful rainbow at the last waterfall of the trail.

The path through the gorge is one way. In order to get back to the parking lot I have to follow a trail back to the entrance that is about a 45 minute walk. It starts through a rural part of town and then ends up on a nature trail. There is an area at the exit where buses pick up groups but since I am by myself I hike back.

I pass by some creepy old houses and tunnels in the path. I also meet a very cute snail along the way.

I make it back to the parking lot. Since it is still early in the day I decide to drive to the nearby town of Radovljica, known for its gingerbread and well preserved medieval architecture. On the way I drive down very narrow roads.

Last hours in Lake Bled

My last hours in Bled are spent relaxing, avoiding the rain, and watching the rowers practice on the lake. I take it easy on this last day, leaving lots of activities left in case I wish to return another time.

I try the popular Bled cake, not unlike the cream cakes I’ve tried across the Balkans. This last time it is decent but believe it or not the best I’ve had so far is the one I bought two days ago at the grocery store. It was the best and only cream cake I’ve eaten with my bare hands (no forks or spoons in sight 😆).

Tomorrow I am driving through Soča Valley on the way to south Slovenia. Looking forward to the mountain views.

Lake Bled

I am leaving Ljubljana today and because I like to save money I decide to walk twenty minutes to the bus station to take the four euro bus to the airport instead of taking a taxi that would cost me almost fifty euros. One could call me cheap but I will blow one hundreds and fifty euros on a Michelin restaurant on occasion – in fact I will be visiting a Michelin restaurant when I return to Ljubljana in a week or so.

From the airport I pick up my rental car for the driving portion of Slovenia. I am leased a brand new car with no scratches or dents. I am not thrilled at the thought of having to be extra careful with this rental; so different from Split where we definitely rented someone’s personal car. Luckily the roads in Slovenia are pretty straight forward.

It takes me about fifty minutes or less to get to Lake Bled. Lake Bled is a beautiful area popular for weekend vacations about an hour from Ljubljana. People enjoy trails, water sports and relaxing in the surrounding town. I am too early to check in so I drive a bit to where my wine tasting will be later just to see how far it will be to walk. I stop briefly in a parking lot to google some things and I realize I don’t know how to turn my car off. The car is one of those fancy self starting type cars. After some YouTube videos and trial and error I finally figure it out.

There is no one to check me in yet so I walk to town to eat. Finally my room is ready when I return. I don’t have much time to rest before I need to go to a wine tasting in a couple hours. I am tired and don’t feel like going but since I’ve paid already I’ll force myself to attend. The wine tasting is at a hotel a thirty minute walk away from where I am currently staying.

I am glad I make it to the wine tasting. All of the wines are quite good (forgot to take picture of the bottles). We (other guests from Australia, UK and I) enjoy making fun of USA politics while trying new wines in a wine cellar.

After being successfully filled with wine and very good local cheeses I walk 30 minutes back to the B&B where I enjoy some of the wine I have leftover from my Ljubljana stash and take in the sounds of the birds and the cool air. It is a longer walk than I like into town but I am really enjoying the quiet and peacefulness of the area. I really like my porch views.

My energy levels are quite low lately so instead of driving to another lake in the morning I decide to enjoy things in town locally. I’m going to be closer to my pension and can bail out of the day at any moment if I feel like it.

I start the day with Bled castle on top of the iconic hill seen from around the lake. Hopefully a morning visit will let me avoid larger crowds. It is possible to drive up and park towards the top but everything I read says spots are limited and I don’t want to move my car and have to possibly deal with tight parking (brand new car, ugh). I walk thirty-five minutes to the top following a path behind a building. Approximately twenty minutes of the walk is uphill. The hike up isn’t too bad – I am sweating of course but on a hotter day I would probably be cursing the gods.

Bled castle is nice but it is far from being the most impressive castle I have seen during my travels. But what is really nice are the views that you get of Lake Bled below. It is peaceful up here looking down. I visit the museum and walk the walls a bit. Tour groups start arriving as I am leaving. Looks like I timed things correctly.

There is a small history museum inside the castle.

I ride a traditional pletna boat to Bled Island: Pletna boats are traditional wooden boats that are unique to Lake Bled. They take visitors to Bled Island, where you can visit the Church of the Assumption and ring the church bell for good luck.

I head down to the lake side to catch a boat to the island in the middle of Lake Bled (the island in the famous pictures). I see Tito’s former residence now hotel along with other hotels and homes along the water while a guy paddles us slowly out the island. Seems like a real strenuous job.

We only get 40 minutes on the island, I guess it is enough if you are too cheap to pay to visit the church and museum on the island. I get some gelato and walk around and enjoy the views. Nothing life changing here but a nice place to visit for 40 minutes.

After we paddle back I have my eyes on this restaurant for a late lunch but it closes at three so walk swiftly in that direction while admiring the lake from the shore.

I once more order a very rich and heavy truffle pasta. The pasta good but that with the olive oil and bread accompanying has me very full. I feel like I could sleep at this table or at least grab some grass by the water and pass out.

No matter which direction I go I am still at least forty-five minutes from my pension by foot. I make the decision to continue walking the rest of the six kilometer trail around the lake, ignoring my fullness and ignoring my tiredness. I am glad I do because there are so many more nice scenic views around the lake. I now understand how important rowing is to this town (and this country for that matter). There is a large rowing center set up at one point in the lake where competitive rowers come to row. I notice on the schedule there will be rowing here early evenings this week. Perhaps I can come back and watch another day. I did row one year in high school but I have a feeling this rowing is at a completely different level.

I complete the loop around the lake and on the way out of town I finally peek into the large church in town. It has an interesting chandelier and even more interesting artwork on the walls. One of the paintings that is supposed to represent a famous verse looks like a lion giving a guy cpr.

I have a timed reservation tomorrow for the nearby gorge. More on that later.

Part 2: Ljubljana

In the morning I set off for coffee again and decide to visit the Metrolicko art center, a very funky art area. The area seems lively at night from all the beer cans around and bars nearby. I must return in the evening sometime.

I take a quick stop into Ljubljana Cathedral while it is open.

I have a restaurant picked out when I am reminded about the Friday food market very close to my apartment. There are so many food choices to purchase as well as wine and beer. The market is crowded making it hard to find a seat initially. Do people here work on Fridays?

I stop by a popular cafe to try the local dessert called prekmurska gibanica. Made with poppy seeds, walnuts, and cheese among other things this semi-sweet dessert should be something I like but I don’t really care for it too much. I guess I have finally developed a sweet tooth due to eating so many goodies while I am out traveling.

I end my day with visiting a rooftop bar. There is a nice view at Neboticnik but I am actually a little chilly outside and have to move indoors when a table opens up. I am chilly today but not complaining because I like the cold when I can get it. I know it won’t last long.

Back to my room to get ready to leave tomorrow. I am heading to the Ljubljana airport to pick up a rental car. I will explore more of Slovenia on the road. Luckily I’ll be back in town in about a week.