Europe trips

Early in the morning we checked out and went on our way to the south. The roads are beautiful and easy to drive and because it was only may, the traffic was very light. Our destination for today was Piran on the peninsula of Istria, at the Mediterranean Coast. Slovenia is unique in the sense that it has it all: mountains up to almost 3,000 meters, hills, plains and coast, all packed in a country about half the size of the Netherlands!

On the way we made a stop to see the world famous Postojna Cave, one of the most stunning examples of how caves are formed in a karst landscape. Postojna is the best known of Slovenia's caves, but there are other choices including the Skogdar Cave which is a World Heritage Site and reportedly less crowded than Postojna. However, because it seemed so quiet on the roads, we believed we would still enjoy Postojna without crowds. We were not disappointed.

It is obvious that Postojna Cave is fitted out for receiving huge numbers of people. There is a very large parking area and reception center, including eateries, an exhibition hall etc. The exhibition about the geology and the backgrounds on the cave is quite interesting. The little trains take people into the cave every hour or so, and visiting the exhibition is a nice way to spend the waiting time.

(Will upload video about the train ride into the cave later).

There were not many people and the organization of getting people onto the little trains was smooth. They group the visitors according to language, not so much for the train itself but for the guided tour once inside the cave.

Postojna Cave was already discovered in the 13th century but it took until the 17th century until they were for the first time scientifically recorded by Johann Weikhard Von Valvasor, a scientist from Central Slovenia, which in those ages was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The cave is the second largest stalactite-stalagmite type of cave in the world, with an overall length of more than 20 km. of which almost 6 km accessible to the public.

It is an amazing, wonder world. The train ride is quite interesting and at the end, there is an underground "station". From there, visitors are guided along a labyrinth of well paved, but steep paths. The explication by the guides is good. But the things you see are even better than the explanation by the guides. Stalagmites and stalactites in many sizes, forms and shades all around. Many parts of the ceilings are literally covered with thin, delicate white stalactites that look as if they started to grow yesterday, although of course this is a process of decades and centuries.

After our excursion in the cave, we continued our trip to Piran. On the way, we just made a brief stop at Predjama Castle. This castle is built half inside of a cave, or better an arch inside the cliff. The original castle was first referred to in journals of the year 1274 A.D., but has been destroyed during a siege in the 15th century when the Governor of Triest together with the Austrian emperor were chasing the lord of the castle, a notorious knight and robber baron called Erazem Lueger. A second castle was built at the same place in the early 16th century, but this one was already destroyed after fifty years. The ruins were then leased by the Archduke of Austria, who rebuilt it between 1567 and 1570 A.D. The present castle has been unchanged since that time. In the time of the Yugoslav federation it became property of the communists, and has been turned into a museum.

Slovenia, Predjama Castle

We continued our trip to Piran, where we reached our hotel (Hotel Fiera) after about an hour's drive. The location of the hotel at a bay, with the city of Trieste (Italy) at the horizon is very nice, and the fact that it is a short but very nice walk away from Piran's high town made it even better.

The day after having visited the gorges, we decided that we would try if it was possible to walk along the other side of Lake Bohinj. Two days earlier from the road along the south side of the lake, we had seen people hiking on the other side, so thought it should be possible. Because we had no idea how long the hike along the north side was going to take us, we decided to drive to the west end of the lake, and then walk back along the north side to the village. Then we would find a way to pick up the car later.

The road along the south side is quite nice, and for some part there is a well maintained walking path. However, it doesn't follow the actual bank of the lake. We had been driving there several times now with stops to walk around.

We found a suitable parking place and started our walk. It is indeed possible but it is not an easy trail everywhere. There are several places where the trail is interrupted by creeks ending in the lake, often these are places where you have to step or climb from rock to rock to get to the other side. It is doable, but good hiking shoes are a must. We brought our picnic lunch and during our walk we made several stops to admire the view. This turned out to be a good idea, because on the north side there are no restaurants or shops.

Although it was not a warm day (it was only May) the sun was out and it turned out to be a beautiful walk. Lake Bohinj is located at 520 meters above sea level and is the largest lake of Slovenia. It is fed by a river coming straight from the Triglav mountain massif, called Sava Bohinjska. In the middle it is 45 meters deep.

From west to east it measures about 4.5 km. and from north to south about 1 km. However, given the irregular shape of the north bank of the lake, the route that we walked was probably more like 10-12 km. The many places where you have to find your way across the creeks stepping, jumping and crawling the rocks, make that a hiker's average speed will not be that high either. We spent all together some six hours doing this walk, but we made many stops. The views are stunning, and what we found very interesting along this path is the variety of wild flowers, so we took quite a few pictures along the way.

When we finally arrived back in Ribčev Laz we found out that the last bus to the west side (where the waterfall is) had just left, so we had to use a taxi to get there to pick up the car. All together it was a very nice day with our good share of physical exercise, so dinner was well deserved again.

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

A day on which we visited two very different Gorges.

Mostnica Gorge is a deep and very narrow gorge of which the entrance is in the village Stara Fužina, just two kilometers from Lake Bohinj. There is a parking place (Euro 1.50) and the entrance fee is Euro 3.00. From the parking you follow a little river, cut very deeply in the rocks, following a gorge that is so narrow that there are no paths. From the path you can look several times into the gorge. Further upstream the path gets closer to the water. It is quite wild but the path is easy to do. We walked it up to the restaurant (about 2.5 hours for getting there and back). At the end, you approach more open and flat land, but you can further follow the part and get to a waterfall. That would take another hour or two. Because we had seen the most interesting part, we did not go that far. Mostnica is not as well-known as Vintgar, but we really loved it.

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge - Elephant Rock

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj Lake - Mostnica Gorge

Vintgar Gorge is a little more to the east. Somewhat north of Lake Bled. In Vintgar we followed more the bottom of the gorge, where they made wooden boardwalks. There are quite a few wooden bridges until you reach the end of the walk at a restaurant. It is absolutely beautiful, and the color of the water is stunningly blue, turquoise and green at many places. At the place of the restaurant there are some rapids and waterfalls, creating rainbow effects when it is sunny. It was different from Mostnica, but very very beautiful.

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar gorge

Slovenia, Bohinj - Vintgar gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Vintgar Gorge

When we arrived in Ribčev Laz at Lake Bohinj we immediately loved this village by the water. It was already getting dark soon, so we took our time for dinner before having a well-deserved sleep.

The next day would bring us to two beautiful places in the mountains. Now, for a flatland's person like me this means struggle. Our feet are simply not created for climbing more than a few flights of stairs. However, with some perseverance it would all end well...

When we woke up and looked from the balcony, the immediate impression was that of a pretty, neat little village. And the second observation was that it was going to be a nice day of weather.

The village is located on the east end of Lake Bohinj. It did not take long to drive to our first destination of the day: Mt. Vogel, which is a mountain station and ski resort. From lake level, there are cable cars going up there. Once the cabin had reached half way up, we could feel that it was getting a lot colder, and on the top it was quite cloudy. There was still some snow, and some people even went for nordic skiing. We spent an hour or so walking around, when we realized that this shape in the clouds far away was Mt. Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak.

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Mt. Vogel Ski area with Mt. Triglav in the clouds

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Mt. Vogel Ski area

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Mt. Vogel Ski area

After lunch in the restaurant at the top (a hearty goulash soup), we walked back to the cable car, the sky started to show more blue, and we enjoyed a stunning view of the lake and the village.

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Lake and village seen from Mt. Vogel Ski area

Next destination would be Savica waterfall, a few kilometers beyond the western end of the lake. We parked the car, and walked the path to the entrance where you have to pay a small amount to get on to the path up to the waterfall. It started off as a mild ascent, but on several places the path was quite steep, and the steps carved in the stone were quite high at some places. Add to that the fact that the temperatures started to climb faster than we climbed the mountain, and you can imagine the shedding of sweat for someone from a country where a mole heap is a hill, and a dune is a mountain...

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - on the steep path up to Savica falls

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - view from the path up to Savica Fall

But once we were up there, it definitely was worth the effort. The waterfall is actually a double one, with the water falling down in two steps. From Mt. Vogel we had been able to see it far away, and it didn't look that impressive. But when we were there, it was more impressive than we thought, and quite wild too. At the point where the path ends, there is a kind of observation hut, to keep you a bit dry from the mist that blows over from the falls. A monument commemorates that Archduke Johann of Austria had been here. Not that I had ever heard of him, but it made me realize that we had just completed a monumental effort... well, at least for me :D

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Savica waterfall

Slovenia, Lake Bohinj - Savica falls - monument commemorating the visit of Archduke Johann of Austria

That night we had dinner in a rustic little restaurant in the village of Stara Fužina, called Gostilna Mihovc. It was getting cold outside, and we needed the warm food and a good glass of wine. The friendly owner told us stories about the old times, including a legend from the time that the local pagan people were christianized, and en epic poem that Slovenia's greatest poet had written about it. It was already late when we returned to the hotel. Tomorrow would be a day visiting two gorges... hiking again!

Early Sunday morning we went to the car rental facility next to the station to pick up our car. It took very little time to get things done, so we were on our way while the road was still almost empty. The advantage of such a small country is that you never have to spend too long in the car before reaching your next destination.

We decided to pick up some bread, cold cuts and drinks, so that we could have our lunch outside, because the weather forecast promised a nice day. Driving north, the scenery got more and more mountainous. Having had breakfast so early already, we had our picnic lunch early as well at a nice spot after we left the motorway. Shortly thereafter we reached Lake Bled. In spite of the nice weather, this otherwise touristic area was not crowded at all. It seemed that Slovenian people took a slow start this day.

Lake Bled is a picturesque lake with a little island and a church on it. It does indeed look idyllic, although we understood from some reading that the island is more a wedding picture spot than anything else. We decided not to do the touristy thing, but take a good hike on the north side of the lake. At the start it was still a bit cloudy, but the sun came through and the temperature went up to a comfortable 20 °C or so. The walk along the lake is quite nice, especially after passing the rowing club, from where you see the castle high on the cliff overlooking the lake. We walked off quite a few calories, so we rewarded ourselves with a local specialty: Blejska kremšnita. It's a calorie bomb with feuilleté dough, lemon bavarois and whipped cream. Not something I should make a habit of, but we felt we had deserved it.

Slovenia, Lake Bled - local pastry

Later that afternoon we drove on into the mountains, and the scenery got really pretty. It did not take too long until we arrived in Ribčev Laz, the village that would be our base to explore the area of Lake Bohinj and the mountains surrounding Slovenia's highest peak (and symbol in the Slovenian flag): Mount Triglav.