Slovenia is a relatively small European country with approximately 2.05 million population, bordered by more well-known European countries such as Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Slovenia became independent since 25 June 1991. It was recognised as an independent state by the European Union and accepted by United Nations as a member in 1992.
People who loves outdoor activities or simply enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer will fall in love with Slovenia. Slovenia has everything: lakes, caves, mountains, waterfalls and sea too. Speaking of lakes, the most famous lake in Slovenia, Lake Bled is not to be missed.
Pletna and boats are the most common water transport on Lake Bled. Pletna is a special boat with roof, conducted by one rower and two oars.
Most visitors will visit Bled Island by Pletna.
On Bled Island, one thing not to be missed is to ring the wishing bell in the church. It is said that whoever rings the bell will get his/her wish comes true.
Like any European countries, castles are common. Bled Castle is another major attraction in Bled.
Bled Castle opens from 8a.m. to 9p.m. The entrance fees is adult 9 EUR, children 4 – 14 years old, 4.50 EUR and children under 4 is free. Slovenia has been using the Euro currency since 2007.
Because it is perched high up on the rocky cliff, Bled Castle offers great views of Lake Bled and Bled Island.
The castle dates back to 11th century.
Bled Castle has a printing shop with traditional manual printing procedure.
This is a great place to get souvenir. Bookmarks and certificates printed using the wooden press are sold here.
I printed a certificate which marks my visit to Lake Bled, complete with names and date.
What else can you do at Bled? Plenty, actually. You can take a tour on a hop-on-hop-off bus and camp in one of the many camping sites in Bled.
When the weather is great, you can hike around Bled.
Or cycle…
Or just laze on a sun lounge.
Swimming and kayaking in the lake itself.
Bohinj is another great place nearby Bled for outdoor activities. Lake Bohinj is the largest permanent lake in Slovenia. During winter, skiing is a popular sport.
Taking a cable car to the summit of Mount Vogel is recommended for its amazing view over the Alps and Lake Bohinj. The cable car operates from 7.30am to 7pm and operates in every 30 minutes interval.
Vogel Mountain measures 1,922m high and the cable car brings you up to the height of 1,537m.
The view of Lake Bohinj from the top.
Up close with Lake Bohinj.
If you have time, be sure to stay and explore Triglav National Park. If not, at least visit Vintgar Gorge in the park.
The 1.6km long Vintgar Gorge carved by the Radovna River is equipped with wooden observatory walkways and bridges, making it easily accessible by the public.
The gorge actually terminates at the Sum Falls, the largest river waterfall in Slovenia.
And of course, one shouldn’t miss Ljubljana, which is the capital and largest city of Slovenia.
St Nicholas Cathedral or better known as Ljubljana Cathedral is an easily recognizable landmark of the city with its green dome and twin towers.
Ljubljana city has many bridges crossing over Ljubljanica River. Triple Bridge, which consist of 3 bridges, is a major landmark and meeting point of Ljubljana.
The Butcher’s Bridge is easily recognised with glass walking belts at both sides and two fences with steel wires and wide top shelves. Many couples latched their love pad locks on the steel wires as their symbol of love.
The Dragon Bridge is another iconic bridge over Ljubljanica River.
The city doesn’t have any world famous attractions but the Napoleon Monument (erected in 1929) is the only monument dedicated to Napoleon outside of France.
Ljubljana Castle on top of Castle Hill is a popular destination for locals and foreigners alike. The castle which has completed its long and extensive renovation works looks new.
From time to time, the museum will host some temporary exhibition. During the time of my visit, the exhibition was the barbarism of torture. Although I wouldn’t spend too much time here as there wasn’t much to see at Ljubljana Castle.
I would rather spend more time at Postojna Park. Postojna Park has attractions including Postojna Cave, Proteus Cave Vivarium, Predjama Castle and other caves.
A combination of different attraction packages were offered for different price. Attraction No. 1 is Postojna Cave, No. 2 is exhibition hall, No. 3 is Proteus Cave, Vivarium where one can see the “baby dragon” (olms) and No. 4 is Predjama Castle. My advice is to check your tickets before leaving the ticket counter. They got my tickets wrong and I ended up have to buy tickets again for Predjama Castle and paying more.
Well, I have to say taking a train is a cool way to visit a cave. Postojna Cave is the only cave with an underground double tracked railway and it has been a tourist attraction for 200 years!
Needless to say, the cave is beautiful. Of the 24km length of the cave, only about 5km is opened for tourist. The temperature in the cave is around 8-10°C. So a warm sweater and comfortable shoes are recommended.
The guided tour are available in 15 languages. The guided tour took around 90 minutes.
The most beautiful stalagmite in Postojna Cave is aptly named “the Brilliant”. It measures five meters high.
Predjama Castle is situated 9km from Postojna Cave and 11km from the town of Postojna. The castle was made famous by Erazem, the robber baron, whose life tragically ended in 1484 after the castle which he was hiding at the time was being besieged.
Erazem’s toilet is the highlight in the castle as this is where the besiegers demolished a wall with a projectile, killing him, after his servant betrayed him by receiving bribe.
Cave of Predjama Castle. It is the largest cave castle in the world.
After enjoying the serenity of lake, views from the mountains and exploring the caves, it’s time to unwind at a coastal town, Piran. Piran is just located about an hour drive away from Predjama Castle.
Tartini Square is the main square in town. Concerts are usually held here in summer.
Rows of boat parking along the waterfront.
The light house and swimming piers along the coast. Piran only has rocky beaches and people usually just jump into the sea from the swimming piers.
The bell tower and Church of St. George are two main attraction in Piran. The climb up the bell tower was worthwhile as you can see the entire town from the top.
Beautiful interior of Church of St. George.
If you want to see the panoramic view of the whole town of Piran, then climb onto the city walls.
I had a great time in Piran.
Portoroz is another coastal town in Slovenia. It is famous for its casinos. Portoroz is just located about 10 minutes drive from Piran.
If you feel lucky you can try your hand at one of the casinos in Portoroz.
Or just enjoy your time beside the sea.
Boats parking at the canal in Portoroz.
The hotels in Portoroz are even more and bigger compared to Piran.
Opened since 1910, the Palace Hotel is a luxurious hotel located in central Portoroz.
I only stayed two nights in Slovenia. Below are the two hotels that I’ve stayed and I would recommend both.
The first one is Hotel Slon, under Best Western group in Ljubljana city.
It was undergoing renovation when I stayed there.
Hotel Slon (which means elephant in Slovenian word) is named after an elephant called Soliman. In 1552, Maximillian II, the Archduke of Austria, stopped at the best inn in Ljubljana with his escort and the elephant. The hotel Slon was later built on the site of this inn.
The hotel room was comfortable and we didn’t hear the disturbance of the renovation works outside.
The buffet breakfast at Hotel Slon was quite impressive.
We stayed at Hotel Giuseppe Tartini in Piran for the second night.
The corridor of Hotel Giuseppe Tartini.
My room was facing Tartini Square. Really nice view. But if you want to take a nap, simply close the window. The double glazed window complete with another louvered window will keep your room quiet.
The room was clean, nothing to shout about but nothing to complain either.
Hotel Tartini also offers delicious buffet breakfast.
Enjoyed the breakfast at the outdoor patio of the hotel.
Don’t miss eating the trout and ice cream while in Bled.
Hot Horse which sells horse burger is an exotic food sold in Ljubljana.
Pictured here with me is Gorazd. I engaged him as my tour guide for the whole duration of my stay in Slovenia. You can visit his website at www.slovenia-private-tours.com and can he can be contacted at his email address slovenia.private@gmail.com.
My stay in Slovenia was short but really enjoyable. I wished I stayed here longer and would definitely recommend at least 4 days in Slovenia.
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