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.
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