A weekend in Slovenia.
I've just gotten back from my most recent adventure: three days in Slovenia with my parents.
In my family there's a tradition of leaving for a trip at the beginning of September, and we've been doing that since I was five without ever missing it; this year we had planned to go to Portugal, but in the end we realized we were too low on money to do that. Almost as a last resort, because I was scared we would end up staying home, I tried to convince my parents to go somewhere nearer, maybe some place we could reach by car. That's how I got the idea of visiting Slovenia; and I'm so happy that I did!
The most fascinating thing about that country is without any doubts the nature. Every corner is green and lively, and even in the middle of cities I never felt disconnected from the forests around. People are very nice too: everyone was so helpful whenever we needed help or got lost. I know I didn't get to see much of Slovenia in just three days, but it was enough to make me fall in love completely.
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We spent our first day in the capital, Ljubljana. The weather was amazing and we walked around for hours without stopping. The touristic part of the city is pretty small, but there are many things to see nevertheless. Most of those gravitate around the river Ljubljanica, which represents the heart of the city, together with the Castle that stands above it.
The first thing we visited was the skyscraper Nebotičnik, on top of which there was a nice café where we ate a sandwich and admired an incredible view of the city.
After that, we finally reached the river and walked along both of its sides, enjoying the best of Ljubljana. One of the best sensations ever was wandering around in the Open Market, listening to the lively banter all around me, taking in a thousand different smells and colours.
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On our second day, we visited the Lake of Bled.
It is a super touristic place, but in my opinion that doesn't ruin its natural beauty. There's a little island in the middle of the lake, and one of the main activities there is to go visit that island by boat. Me and my parents did it too, but instead of taking the traditional "pletna", we rented our own small rowing boat and made the trip ourselves. It was super fun, and also cheaper. I almost preferred the time we spent on water than the time we spent on the island, because even though it's super nice, there's not much to see there.
Another attraction is the Castle of Bled; sadly we couldn't go and visit it, so I've only seen it from afar.
I walked a lot that day, because I decided to walk all around the lake by myself. The nature was just amazing, and there were so many different perspectives that the landscape never became boring.
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On our third and last day, we visited the Caves of Postonja and the Castle of Predjama.
The caves were absolutely stunning. Visiting them was incredibly expensive (the most expensive thing in our journey) but so, so worth it. The temperature down there is constantly at 10°C, and I love the cold, so I instantly felt super comfortable. The visit started with a brief ride on a train; a long walk followed (roughly one hour), and then we got back to the entrance with another small train. Our guide was nice and funny and made everything even better by cracking jokes every five minutes.
Sadly it was very dark, so most of my pictures are too blurry or just too ugly to look at; however, I'll keep the images I saw into my mind and heart forever.
The last thing we visited was the Castle of Predjama. It is holder of a Guinness World Record as the largest cave castle; in fact, half of the castle is composed by a natural cave, while the other half has been built by men. The two halves merge so harmoniously that it's sometimes impossible to notice the difference. This place's history is very rich too, especially around the figure of Erasmus Lueger, called "the Slovenian Robin Hood".
I really enjoyed the visit and all the helpful information from the audio-guide.
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And that's it! Three days passed way too fast for my liking.
I really had a wonderful time and I hope I'll go back one day and discover even more of this amazing country!
In my family there's a tradition of leaving for a trip at the beginning of September, and we've been doing that since I was five without ever missing it; this year we had planned to go to Portugal, but in the end we realized we were too low on money to do that. Almost as a last resort, because I was scared we would end up staying home, I tried to convince my parents to go somewhere nearer, maybe some place we could reach by car. That's how I got the idea of visiting Slovenia; and I'm so happy that I did!
The most fascinating thing about that country is without any doubts the nature. Every corner is green and lively, and even in the middle of cities I never felt disconnected from the forests around. People are very nice too: everyone was so helpful whenever we needed help or got lost. I know I didn't get to see much of Slovenia in just three days, but it was enough to make me fall in love completely.
-
We spent our first day in the capital, Ljubljana. The weather was amazing and we walked around for hours without stopping. The touristic part of the city is pretty small, but there are many things to see nevertheless. Most of those gravitate around the river Ljubljanica, which represents the heart of the city, together with the Castle that stands above it.
The first thing we visited was the skyscraper Nebotičnik, on top of which there was a nice café where we ate a sandwich and admired an incredible view of the city.
After that, we finally reached the river and walked along both of its sides, enjoying the best of Ljubljana. One of the best sensations ever was wandering around in the Open Market, listening to the lively banter all around me, taking in a thousand different smells and colours.
Triple Bridge - Tromostovje.
Dragon Bridge - Zmajski most.
Robba Fountain - Robbov vodnjak.
Franciscan Church of the Annunciation - Frančiškanska cerkev Marijnega oznanjenja.
Cathedral of St. Nicholas - Stolnica Sv. Nikolaja.
The market.
Another place that really deserves to be mentioned on its own is Metelkova, an autonomous social centre that has transformed an abandoned place into a work of art.
Lastly, we visited the Castle. It was a little different than what I'd expected, but I liked it anyway. Basically there's not much to see as it is, because the Castle itself has been renovated many times and many spaces look quite modern now. However, its rooms always host many different expositions: for example, I visited the Puppet Museum, which explained the evolution of Puppet Theatre, and I also visited an exhibit about dragons, which are a distinctive symbol of Slovenia. Instead, my parents visited a Museum which narrates the history of Slovenia from the very beginning to modern times.
However, my favourite thing was climbing up to the highest tower to admire the stunning panorama.
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On our second day, we visited the Lake of Bled.
It is a super touristic place, but in my opinion that doesn't ruin its natural beauty. There's a little island in the middle of the lake, and one of the main activities there is to go visit that island by boat. Me and my parents did it too, but instead of taking the traditional "pletna", we rented our own small rowing boat and made the trip ourselves. It was super fun, and also cheaper. I almost preferred the time we spent on water than the time we spent on the island, because even though it's super nice, there's not much to see there.
Another attraction is the Castle of Bled; sadly we couldn't go and visit it, so I've only seen it from afar.
I walked a lot that day, because I decided to walk all around the lake by myself. The nature was just amazing, and there were so many different perspectives that the landscape never became boring.
-
On our third and last day, we visited the Caves of Postonja and the Castle of Predjama.
The caves were absolutely stunning. Visiting them was incredibly expensive (the most expensive thing in our journey) but so, so worth it. The temperature down there is constantly at 10°C, and I love the cold, so I instantly felt super comfortable. The visit started with a brief ride on a train; a long walk followed (roughly one hour), and then we got back to the entrance with another small train. Our guide was nice and funny and made everything even better by cracking jokes every five minutes.
Sadly it was very dark, so most of my pictures are too blurry or just too ugly to look at; however, I'll keep the images I saw into my mind and heart forever.
The last thing we visited was the Castle of Predjama. It is holder of a Guinness World Record as the largest cave castle; in fact, half of the castle is composed by a natural cave, while the other half has been built by men. The two halves merge so harmoniously that it's sometimes impossible to notice the difference. This place's history is very rich too, especially around the figure of Erasmus Lueger, called "the Slovenian Robin Hood".
I really enjoyed the visit and all the helpful information from the audio-guide.
-
And that's it! Three days passed way too fast for my liking.
I really had a wonderful time and I hope I'll go back one day and discover even more of this amazing country!
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