Slovenia

Day 3

We got our rental car in Venice and drove straight into Slovenia. Shortly after entering the country we were pulled over and issued a fine for not buying a vignette (a highway pass).  The total damage ended up being about $250.  This was not a good first impression and wasn't the best start of our day.  You live, learn, and move on.

Our first stop was Skocjan Caves, we weren't able to take pictures inside the cave, but we did get photos of the cave opening.  It was a 2 hour guided tour which seemed like a long time beforehand but the time went by fast.

After our tour we took a trail back to the car and the views were amazing. We got very lucky with the weather as it helped make the view even more beautiful.

We drove over to Predjama Castle next; a gothic castle built in the 13th century.  It was unique how the castle was built into the mouth of a cave in the side of the mountain. Talk about a man cave.

After leaving the castle we made our way to Mama's House, which is the Hostel we would be staying at for the next 3 nights.  The small town (Cerklje Na Gorenjskem) where the hostel was located was very picturesque and we were excited to be staying for 3 nights. After settling in, we walked to the local bakery. The walk was fun, but the bakery was farther away then what we thought, but it was worth the walk.  When we got back to the hostel we ate our goodies from the bakery, played a game, and then called it a night.

Day 4

We drove into capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana (pronounced lu-ble-ana), to spend the day. It took us a while but we eventually found a parking spot so we could walked around.

We walked over Triple and Dragon Bridge, then we hiked up a hill to visit Ljubljana Castle at the top. From one of the towers we had a beautiful view of the city. The castle did not provide much information oddly enough, but we took in what they had available.

The rest of the day we walked the streets of Ljubljana.  Near the Ljubljanica River there were some antique and craft booths set up on the walkway.  We enjoyed looking at all the unique items people were selling and were tempted to buy several times.  We visited the National Museum later in the afternoon and then ate dinner at a Greek joint for dinner. And of course on the way to the car we bought gelatos.

When we arrived back at the hostel we borrowed a pair of bikes and rode them around for a while.  It was fun riding and made us feel like children again.  Anyway, we were going to ride further but it was getting too dark and we were hungry too.  We visited the bakery again and went back to settle in for the night.

Day 5

Our last day in Slovenia was wonderful, we drove over to Lake Bled where there was an island in the lake where the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary was built.

We hiked up to Bled Castle to for an amazing view of the surroundings.

The rest of our day we drove the Julian Alps in Triglav National Park. We took amazing pictures and enjoyed the drive so much.  The road was nothing like how they are built in the states.  The road followed the geography (i.e. steep and curvy).

There was a stop along the way where people had stacked rocks into piles, so we followed suite and created our own little stack.  Ours is the picture on the right.

During our drive we stopped to have lunch at a random, isolated restaurant.  The old lady running the joint didn't speak English, so we just pointed at something and she made it for us.  We must be good pointers because the food was really good.

We had to get pictures of the this water because of the color.  It looks like it belongs near a beach in the Caribbean somewhere and Ryan took a hundred pictures of it.  Turns out the limestone makes the water look this way.  This was also my first draw bridge experience.  I am no Indiana Jones.

Our last stop of the day was Bohinj.  The pictures we took didn't turn out like we would have wanted them to.  For whatever reason the camera just couldn't capture the look and feel of the lake. 

We made the drive home in good time, and before we called it a night we made one last trip to the bakery. Ummm the bakery.