Greetings from a sunny/soggy/sunny Slovenia!! I’ve been here a couple of days now and the crushing fog of jetlag has lifted enough so that I can share with you a bit of what I’ve been up to so far – and what’s to come!
I arrived in Ljubliana after a rather eventful journey – basically, I got delayed for almost 2hrs leaving Chicago due to weather – which pretty much ate up my entire transfer time in Munich airport. Those of you who have traveled with me know that a) I always like to get to the airport super early and b) I never book an international connection of less than 2hrs if possible. Airports are stressful, unpredictable places so I do everything I can to reduce the pressure of time so that at least I don’t have to worry about that. Well – not this time! I landed in Munich airport just 25mins ahead of when my connecting flight to Ljubliana was scheduled to leave! I’d basically pretty much already decided that that was not gonna be enough time so I’d busily been making alternative arrangements even during the flight. However, when I landed and deplaned and checked the departure board for the one direct flight a day to Slovenia, it turned out that that flight was also delayed – so suddenly it was game on!! As I would really rather not spend a day’s vacation at Munich airport if possible, I broke one of my cardinal rules and hauled ass to the gate! I sprinted my little socks off to the transfer desk (via a mercifully short immigration check) and threw myself on the mercy of the lady to check me back ON the flight (I had assumed I was going to miss it so I’d already moved my ticket to the next day). She looked up the flight, agreed I had enough time to make it, reissued my boarding pass, scanned my baggage tag – and I was back on my way! A few minutes later I got the gate – where everyone was indeed sitting around, bored and waiting, as there was another 20mins before boarding. I made it!!!! I even had time to have a pee and get some coffee and wait for my heart rate to go back to normal. So that was an interesting lesson for me – even if you are pretty sure you are going to miss it, it’s still worth holding out hope you might still make it – because sometimes the stars align and you get lucky!! Oh – and not to book that non-refundable ticket to the Hilton Munich Airport until you are 100% sure you are going to need it.
Anyway, the onward flight was short, less than an hour – and soon we were landing in Ljubliana. The scenery already, looking out from the plane (yey, exit row!) was spectacular – so green and foresty (I learnt later on from a tour guide that 60% of Slovenia is covered in forest). I know I’ve been playing too much Zelda because everywhere I look reminds me of Hyrule! One slight wrinkle – I got here – but my luggage did not, alas. Fortunately, the chap at the lost luggage desk knew exactly where it was (it was still having a beer and bratwurst in Munich) but he assured me it would come in on the flight via Brussels later that day and be delivered to my hotel first thing the next morning. So a bit inconvenient but not life threatening – and gave me the perfect excuse to go clothes shopping that afternoon.
The drive into the city took about half an hour (I arranged a shuttle transfer via the hotel) and so soon I was checking into the City Hotel. Unfortunately it was a bit too early to check in, so I had a coffee then headed into town to try and find a change of clothes. I have to say the combined lack of sleep, jet lag and probably post-adrenaline rush completely wiped me out and I struggled to barely function! My head felt completely disconnected from my body and my brain was so cottony, even walking around was kinda challenging. It was pretty hot and humid too so I was not in a good way! Fortunately, Ljubliana had a ton of great clothing stores very close to the hotel so I did manage to pick up a nice dress that I changed into right away in the store! At least that felt good (I was a bit ripe by this point) and I’d managed to kill enough time that it was now 3pm and I could go check-in.
The hotel was fine – a bit basic but the location was extremely convenient for the historic city center. After I checked in, I had a rest for a couple of hours before heading out for dinner at a close-by wine bar/bistro. It was quite trendy with a DJ and what appeared to be a home-grown paparazzi (I wasn’t offended by him neglecting to take any pictures of yours truly) but the food was good (I had a plate of grilled veggies with cheese) and it was only 3mins walk from the hotel, so that was perfect. 40mins later, I was back at the hotel , collapsing into bed!
The next day (Friday) was less active than originally planned. I was supposed to have been on a full day length hiking tour to a national park – however, due to my lost luggage, I’d had to cancel as I wouldn’t have had the appropriate clothing. I think it was probably just as well, as I did not sleep well at all and so was still completely jetlagged and feeling just weird. Fortunately my bag turned up at 9am (yey) so at least I was able to be reunited with my toothbrush and deodorant! I actually had to change rooms at the hotel (long story due to yesterday’s travel shenanigans) so I took it easy in the morning til 12pm, then checked out, stored my bags and headed out into the city again to explore a bit more and get some lunch. It was still very hot and humid and the historic old center was PACKED! Apparently there seemed to be some sort of festival going on in the city so there were hoards of people everywhere!! I have a city tour of Ljubliana later on in the week, so I’ll write more about the city then – but needless to say, there are a ton of old, beautiful historic buildings and bridges in the city. It really reminds me of a little Austria. After checking out the restaurants along the river, plus the food market, I ended up in a place that had gotten excellent reviews. I’d ordered the spring risotto and after quite a long wait (I figured they were busy, plus it was risotto so it takes its time) my food finally arrived. I took one bite – and my little heart sank. The rice was undercooked – not “al dente” but crunchy! I’ve cooked enough risottos in my time to know they shouldn’t have that much tooth to them – plus it was underseasoned and simply didn’t have much flavor at all. So, yes. I sent it back. I had also ordered a side salad and some bread – neither of which had turned up – so when the waiter asked if they could remake it, I’d basically had enough of the place and said no thank you. They comped my sparkling water so an hour after I sat down, I left – still hungry.
By this time, I was really running on fumes – but managed to find a Japanese place close by so had some soba noodles and tempura chicken (which was delicious) – before calling it a day and staggering back to the hotel to try and get a couple hours of rest. I checked back in (this time a room on the 2nd floor with a balcony) and hit the hay. I snoozed, read my book, played some Zelda and at 7pm, headed out again to get some food (this hotel doesn’t have a proper restaurant) – this time, Michelin-star quality vegan restaurant. Had the 4 course tasting menu and it was outstanding.
Anyway, fortunately I managed to get a “fair” night’s sleep according to my FitBit (who has been really quite disappointed with my sleep performance over the last couple of nights) so I had a bit more energy to enjoy the day’s activities. After breakfast (which is the best thing about this hotel, tbh – except for the lively yogurt which is right on the edge of “fizzy”), I met my tour group at 8.30am outside the hotel for a full day’s exploring! Today. we were to be visiting the Skocjan caves and the little coastal town of Piran. There were 6 of us on the tour, so it was nice not to be part of a huge group.
Now, unfortunately, taking pictures within the cave is strictly forbidden – so I only have a couple of pictures from near the exit point that are not all that exciting, to be honest. But there is no way that a picture could capture or replicate the experience anyway as it was just incredible. This cave system is HUGE with a river running in and out of it and its so special, it was added to UNESCO’s sites of cultural significant in 1986. The exceptional volume of the underground canyon is what distinguishes Škocjan Caves from other caves and places it among the most famous underground features in the world, with absolutely massive, mind-boggling underground chambers. The largest of these is Martel’s Chamber with a volume of 2.2 million cubic metres (78 million cubic feet) and it is considered the largest discovered underground chamber in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Despite the immense volume of the chamber, the level of the river that flows here can rise by 100 meters during Spring floods – which translates to an almost incomprehensible amount of water! Our guide pointed out a previous pathway and bridge system that had been washed away by one such flood back in the 60s. Since then, a new steel bridge was added – and it was quite the experience to be crossing over a river, 60m high, in a cave, 100m underground! Here is the Wikipedia link if you’d like to read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0kocjan_Caves.
After the cave – and the not inconsequential number of steps climbed – it was time to reward myself with coffee and a chunk of traditional Slovenian cake, called Gibanica. Now, it looks like a tiramisu – but its not. At all. Its a layer cake of apple, walnuts, cottage cheese (of all things) and some other stuff I can’t remember – and its disconcertingly served warm! As you would expect, its pretty heavy – but it was actually quite tasty – and was the perfect accompaniment to my excellent coffee! I ate a bit and boxed up the rest (I ended up having it later that evening for dinner!) as it was time to leave for our next stop – Piran – a small, picturesque town on the Istrian coast.
Piran was about an hour’s drive from the caves and, along the way, our guide Vesna shared great information about Slovenia, its history and culture, the climate and geography. She really was excellent so I learned quite a bit. There are only 2 million people who live in Slovenia so its a tiny country – but despite that, there are around 45 different dialects! More people live out villages than the cities (hence the varieties of local language) and the whole country is in a strategically important location both for trade and defense, especially the 45km Istrian coast. As a result, its been occupied by lots of different people (including the Romans) over the years (reminded me of Vietnam in that respect). You can certainly tell the Italian influence is strong – if for no other reason than the excellent gelato that is readily available! (yum!). Piran was very pretty – we wandered around for a bit, visiting the city walls first, before strolling down to the harbor. Its known for its world-class salt (apparently a favorite of Jamie Oliver) so of course I hit up the salt shop for a few gifts and souvenirs. Then it was time for lunch (I had some sea bass, as it felt fitting, being on the coast) before finally piling back into the van around 3.30pm and heading home to Ljbuliana. As I’d had a late lunch, no need to head out for dinner (hello, Gibanica leftovers) so I got an early night and prayed to the god of sleep to grant me a decent night’s kip.
Huzzah!! My prayers were answered – I woke up just before my alarm at 6am and was very happy to see my FitBit cheerfully recording my sleep as “good”. I definitely felt more refreshed this morning, and back in my brain (if that makes sense). Today is a transfer day for the next phase of my trip – but as I wouldn’t need to be at my next place until the afternoon, I’d actually booked another tour with Vesna’s company – this time, more caves plus a castle! Another early breakfast (I avoided the yogurt this time) and then I packed up and checked-out. The van picked me up at 8.20am and we were off to the Postojna caves – the #1 tourist attraction in all of Slovenia! This was to be followed by a trip to Predjama Castle before returning me back to Ljubliana by 2pm – so it was a perfect itinerary to round of this part of my visit. I originally hadn’t planned to see the Postojna caves – but, wow -am I glad I didn’t miss them. They were spectacular. EASILY the most impressive cave I have ever seen – simply jaw-dropping. This time, we were allowed to take photos (but no flash) so I do have some to share – but there are still a very poor substitute for being there. Our guide described this experience as being like Disney as, unlike the cave system yesterday which we explored solely on foot – this one had an electric train that shuttled you deep inside the cave system, before you then got out and walked round a bit loop to see additional sights. The train ride was a lot of fun (those ceilings were low in places!) and I did take a couple of videos on the train back out so you can get a bit of a feel for what it was like. The cave is 25kms long and is the biggest in Europe. When it was originally discovered back in 1818, the explorers assumed nothing actually lived in the caves (hence the building of the railway system and installation of electric lights by the Austrians (including a large chandelier made of Murano glass no less!). However, these very caves became the birthplace of speliobiology with the discovery of a beetle – which proved there was life in them thar caves! (there are actually 167 species of beetles). The other amazing biological discovery is of the “little dragon” or the Proteus – a type of salamander that locals used to believe were baby dragons who got washed up from the caves below to the surface during times of flooding. They only live in these caves plus a couple of other places nearby – and we were able to observe one in a special tank, so that was very cool to see.
The caves were divided into the “old” and “new” part – both parts are of course the same geographical age, but there was a gap of about 100yrs between when the first set of chambers were visited by tourists (from 1818) vs the second part (after the 1st world war). And – fun fact – Thomas Cook (yes, the Brit who invented the package tour concept) included the Postojna caves in his first ever journey around the world, as he recognized their significance as an incredible sight to see. The electricity was introduced into the cave for the visit of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph and his wife CeCe – as well as the installation of an underground post office! (now a gift shop!). The second part was split into three main sections – the spaghetti chamber (for obvious reasons), the white chamber and the red chamber. The red is due to iron oxide and the white color is due to pure limestone and formation of calconite crystals (which also means they sparkle in the light too). Included in the white chamber is a formation called the Brilliant – and its the symbol of Postojna Cave. There is also a “ballroom” (where the chandelier is) as well as an “Concert Hall” which can hold up to 10,000 people and where concerts – and even basketball demonstration matches! – have been held in the past! All in all, it was a spectacular place and I’m very happy I didn’t miss it!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postojna_Cave
After the caves, it was a fairly short drive to Predjama castle – also known as the cave castle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predjama_Castle As you might have guessed from the name, it is famous for – yes – being built into a cave, thus rendering it impenetrable to raiders and enemies. This time our tour was self-guided with little phones that were pre-loaded with descriptions of each area of interest. The castle became known as the seat of the knight Erasmus of Lueg, lord of the castle in the 15th century and a renowned robber baron. According to legend, Erasmus came into conflict with the powerful Austrian dynasty, the Habsburgs, when he killed the commander of the imperial army, Marshal Pappenheim, who had offended the honour of Erasmus’s deceased friend. Fleeing the vengeance of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, Erasmus reached the family fortress of Predjama. The emperor commissioned the governor of Trieste, Andrej Ravbar, with the capture or killing of Erasmus. Erasmus was killed after a long siege. According to a popular but unfounded legend, Erasmus was betrayed by one of his men and was killed by a shot from a cannon in his lavatory. The longer I am here in Slovenia, the more this place reminds me of Game of Thrones (dragons!) merged with Lord of the Rings fused with Hyrule.
Anyway, after the castle, it was time to head back to Ljubliana to collect my luggage and then get a cab to transfer to Kamnik, where my “real” vacation starts. I am here as part of a tour group with Atlas Obscura – and this is what is in store for me over the next few days. https://www.atlasobscura.com/unusual-trips/slovenia-culinary I’ve not done a trip with them before, but I have high hopes as they seem to specialize in off-the-beaten-path adventures – and this one has a very strong gastro-flair to it. The transfer out to Kamnik took a half hour – checking in to the guesthouse was a bit strange as there was no real clear reception area and nobody about to ask. Eventually I found what I assumed to be a reception desk as it had an envelope with my name on it, just sitting on the top – I opened it up and there was a room key and a welcome letter, so I guess that’s check-in sorted then!!
And I just got back from dinner where I met the rest of the group. Our guide Noah is fantastic – more to come on him later as its getting a bit late now. There are only 5 of us in the group – and fortunately it seems as if I won’t have to do any talking at all for the next 5 days as one of our group totally has that covered. Probably more to come on that later too.
But for now, I am enjoying the sweet sweet silence of my single room (that looks a bit like a monastery but is, as it turns out, a sanctuary) and looking forward to hopefully another lovely night’s sleep. All in all, a good first couple of days in Slovenia – and I am very excited by the foodie adventures to come!! Goodnight everybody!
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