S(love)nia

 17 - 21 August

The train from Zagreb to Ljubljana was just a few hours, and we'd arrived in Slovenia's small capital city. Dropping our bags at the hostel, we decided to make the most of the rest of the afternoon and headed into the central city and the hill rising above it, home to Ljubljanski Grad, the city's castle.

As soon as we got into the small centre of town, both Lindsay & I were quite struck by just how cute & picturesque it was - quite unexpectedly so. There were a number of bars clustered along the banks of the Ljubljanica River that runs through the centre of the city, and it had all the charms of a smaller, old European town. Even better - just like Budapest, this unexpectly wonderful gem was gratifyingly low on tourists!

The Ljubljanica River straight through the centre of town

As planned, we headed up to the castle, which was home to a good museum on Slovenian history (more on that later) and had lots of its own history, having variously served as a castle, a prison, a residence for Ljubljana's poor and a military fortress since the first known settlement there around 1,200 BC (!).

Of course, being on a hill by the city, there was also a fabulous view climbing up the hill and from the castle towers themselves. We were lucky enough to be up there as the sun set in the distance...

View of Ljubljana from Ljubljanski Grad

View of Ljubljana from Ljubljanski Grad

Sunset over Ljubljana

Dusk in Ljubljana

We headed back into the city to find some dinner, a takeaway kebab and a beer by the river - I'm definitely a fan of Europe's slightly more lenient liquor licensing laws compared to NZ! It was just as photogenic as earlier, but in a completely different way...

Ljubljanica River, Tromostovje (Triple Bridge) & Franciscan Church of the Annunciation (pink building) by night

Almost every European city of any size or significance has a free walking tour these days, and Ljubljana was no exception, so the next morning Lindsay and I joined the horde of young tourists to find out a bit more about this surprising gem of a city. Legend has it that a dragon once occupied the marshes around Ljubljana, and it's now become the symbol of the city - and this bridge:

Zmajski Most (Dragon Bridge)

As for the country of Slovenia, the area has been variously populated by Ancient Romans, Slavic tribes, Barvarians, Magyars, and Hapsburgs. The world's oldest wooden wheel, dating from about 2,500 BC, was found in Ljubljana. More recently the area was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and then the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, leading to Yugoslavia. During World War II, the country was occupied by Italy, Germany and Hungary in different parts before liberating itself.

Slovenia itself has only been around since June 1991, being the first to successfully split away from the communist Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav army came to try and keep Slovenia with them, but headed home just 10 days later - after the Ten Day War - with their tails between their legs and a treaty signed. Since then, the country has enhanced it's position on the world and European stage quickly.

More sights from the walking tour... Um... Shoes?

Tromostovje (Triple Bridge) & Franciscan Church of the Annunciation by day

The Triple Bridge is called such because their are actually three separate bridges. It used to be that this stategically significant bridge would allow foot traffic through the sides and vehicles through the centre. Historically, the bridge's predecessor was the location of a key trade route crossing between east and west, but in the modern world, and with the central city being pedestrian-only, the bridge is now more important as a monument and one of the most notable pieces of work of famed Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik.

The afternoon was a quiet one after the walking tour; with the lovely weather still in force, we ended up having a late picnic lunch in a city park, enjoying the sunshine. We booked a third night to stay there - why not, in such a lovely city - and took the opportunity to take a day trip to the famous Blejsko jezero (Lake Bled), just an hour or so north of the city.

Lake Bled was certainly worth the effort to go - I have never seen such a beautiful spot. It was very tempting to book a weeks worth of accomodation there to enjoy it better! The small lake is overlooked by the cute Blejski grad (castle), perfectly perched atop a vertical cliff. Gondolas ply the sparkling blue waters to the small island of Blejski otok in it's centre - the only natural island in Slovenia, and also home to the small Cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja (Assumption of Mary church).

Picturesque, beautiful, stunning, marvellous - these words hardly begin to describe Lake Bled.

View from Blejski grad to Blejski otok

St Martin's church & Blejski grad (castle)

Blejski grad perched above Blejski jezero

The sparkling waters of Blejski jezero, with Blejski grad & the mountain range forming the Austrian border behind

Gondola on Blejski jezero

Nearby was also the Vintgar Gorge, where the Radovna River quickly carves a wide cleft in the rock into a deep gorge, through which some enterprising person cleverly placed a wooden walkway, with the gorge ended in an impressive waterfall:

Soteska Vintgar (Vintgar Gorge)

Lindsay at the top of Slap Šum (Šum Falls), Radovna River

Lindsay & I at Slap Šum (Šum Falls), Radovna River

Back to Ljubljana, we took the chance to enjoy another beer on the riverside before reluctantly saying goodbye to my favourite hidden gem of Europe. The destination was now Izola, a small coastal resort located in Slovenia's ~45 km claim of Mediterranean coastline, as a stopover through to the north of Italy.

Unfortunately, the weather finally gave up and we were greeted with a windy, overcast coast. The hostel was a nice reprieve - a local's small set-up where Lindsay enjoyed the guitar available - and we did brave the coast for a couple of minutes, where it was possible to see Croatia and Italy to either side.

Avoiding the waves at the end of a jetty in Izola

The weather came right the next day, and off we were in the morning, across the border, ticking off another country and heading for one of Europe's most famous destinations...

Venice...