Slovenia
Summer 2020
After two weddings, one in Italy and one in the Allgäu, we travelled to Slovenia for a week. Our first stop was at a campsite on Lake Bled. Luckily we had reserved a pitch as it was fully booked when we arrived.
From the campsite we went on a day trip to Lake Bohinj. There we went on a short hike in the Mostnice Gorge. This ends at a waterfall. The water in the gorge is a beautiful turquoise blue. We took a lunch break in the cool shade at the small waterfall. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to put our feet in the water. We then travelled from Bohinjska over a pass to the south side of the Triglav National Park in the Soča Valley. There we visited the Tolminska Gorge. Here we did some more hiking. The nice thing was that you were allowed right up to the water’s edge in this gorge. The water of the Tolmin was crystal clear. In some places the stones were very light-coloured, so you couldn’t see where the water started.
We drove back to the campsite via the Vršič Pass. The route took us along the Soča River for quite a while. In the light of the setting sun, the mountains and the river were bathed in beautiful light.
Mostnice Gorge
Beehives
Lake Bohinj
Tolminska Gorge
We spent our second day in Triglav National Park on a canyoning excursion. We set off in a group of 12. Fortunately, the water wasn’t that icy cold. The abseiling and sliding were great fun. There were also two jumps, which fortunately we were able to avoid.
We spent the afternoon at Lake Bled. We had brought our inflatable kayak with us. We took the kayak around the island in the lake until we arrived at the big staircase. We moored there and pulled the kayak onto the jetty. We quickly explored the 0.8-hectare island. There has been a church building there since 1465. We then paddled back again. In the evening, we climbed the 139 metre high rock with the medieval Bled Castle. We had a picnic with a beautiful view of the lake and its island.
The bled lake with its island
After a few days in the national park, we headed towards the capital. Our first stop of the day was the small town of Radovljica. The village was first mentioned in 1296. Some of the house facades were painted. We strolled through the streets at our leisure and enjoyed a coffee. It had already become very hot and humid in the late morning.
We decided to continue our journey by taking small country roads. These led us past the former iron mining town of Kropa. As well as being mined, the iron was also processed there. All the garden fences and street lamps in the village are made of wrought iron. Marco was keen to visit the small museum.
The route continued through small villages to Škofja Loka. The Bishop of Freising sat there from 973. There is the bishop’s castle and a few other old houses. The little town looked a bit deserted. The tourist information centre gave us a good tip for lunch. We stopped off on the terrace of Pr`Pepet and savoured the food.
Well fortified, we set off for Ljubljana. The journey was quite short and the city traffic was very relaxed. We found our hostel for the next few nights without any major problems. After a short break to relax, we set off on our first tour of the city. We passed Prešeren Square, the Tromostovje (Three Bridges), the Dragon Bridge and the Town Hall. Tromostovje is a complex of three bridges that cross the Ljubljanica River from Prešeren Square, the town’s main square, at the bend in the river under Castle Hill. the Dragon Bridge and the town hall.
The city Radovljica
The former iron mining town of Kropa
The city Škofja Loka
The river Ljubljanica with the castle
Dragon bridge
Some cooling off?
It had rained heavily during the night, which fortunately cooled things down a bit. The first thing we looked at this morning was the castle. The individual buildings are from different centuries and it looked a bit jumbled together. As the castle was still closed, we sat down in the shade and enjoyed the view of the city. We stopped at the weekly market for some fresh fruit. We also discovered a milk vending machine there. You can simply fill up your own bottle with fresh milk. A great thing.
After a coffee break, we visited the Metelkova City Autonomous Cultural Centre in the centre of Ljubljana. There was nothing going on there at this time of day and we were able to take a leisurely stroll through the former barracks area and look at the graffiti and art installations.
Marco took part in a freewalking tour in the afternoon while Freddy strolled through the shops. After we met up again, we climbed the 13-storey Skyscraper apartment block with its rooftop bar. This was the tallest residential building in Ljubljana in 1933.
The castle
The Skyscraper built in 1933
The Tromostovje (Three Bridges)
The Metelkova City Autonomous Cultural Centre
We sat down by the river with a cappuccino and croissant, enjoyed the quiet morning and had breakfast. For our second day in Ljubljana, a visit to the Skocjanske Cave was on the programme. This is located 1 hour’s drive away in a typical karst landscape and is huge. The river Reka has created the underground canyon. The river flows all the way to Italy and ends in the Gulf of the Adriatic. The cave has been explored for 200 years and new passages are constantly being discovered. The ceiling height in the Murming Cave is 120 metres. It was breathtaking to walk through it. In another part, you cross the river on a 50m high bridge. Last year (2019) the water was 10m above the bridge. Such floods usually occur every 3-4 years. At the end of the tour, we were able to ask the guide a few more questions. It was a pleasant 12 degrees in the cave and when we came out again we ran into a wall. The midday sun was shining down from the sky and it had become very humid again. We hiked up to a viewpoint. That was quite strenuous in the temperatures.
In the evening, we walked back to Metelkova. The bars were now open and all kinds of people were meeting there, including drug dealers. Freddy found the whole atmosphere a bit creepy and so we didn’t stay there too long.
