I had no pre-set ideas about Slovenia. Some areas that lay behind the iron curtain
are, to be frank, pretty ugly - so perhaps my expectations were inclined in that direction. But actually, this charming little
country resembles nowhere so much as Switzerland, although thankfully with
better prices. It is so clean, green and mountainous, with crystal
clear lakes, snowy Alps, history – seriously, it makes for a great
destination! It's not as cheap as some of the surrounding countries,
but it's still reasonable enough. The capital, little jewel that it is,
is far from undiscovered and the Slovenians are well aware of the
value of the tourist dollar. Bordering on Croatia, Italy, and
Austria, it is as you can imagine rife with culture. We decided to
visit Ljubljana, a word which took us weeks to master,
as well as the lakes district, specifically Bled and Bohinj. We had
the added bonus of an unwanted visit to the seriously ugly city of Maribor,
about which I can only say, should you be tempted, don't bother.
Fall is so beautiful in this part of
the world. The sun is shining, the air is crisp, and in the morning a
golden mist rises from the ground. It is quite heavily forested and the leaves are shades of red and
yellow. I love autumn, and this is autumn at its most perfect. All of this beauty also makes it a great time to travel because the
tourist hordes are thankfully elsewhere. I feel that by
describing how Slovenia looks I am trying to write
some bad romantic novel, but I promise that this really is the truth!
The drive from Vienna to Ljubljana
winds through sublime scenery, crossing a mountainous Austrian state
known as Styria. Styria is covered in vineyards, neatly groomed
little farmlands, and rocky outcrops topped with ruins of old
fortresses and castles. The landscape remains much the same once you
cross the Slovenian border although the building styles do start to
take on an eastern appearance.
In Ljubljana we booked ourselves into
the Jazz Hotel, a tiny little jazz themed house close to the castle
and old city. When we arrived we were told that the owner wasn't
there yet so we had to sit in the coffee bar and wait, and wait...and
wait. Apparently they were trying to 'call' someone to help us,
despite it being a mid Saturday afternoon and a group of some 12 people
all wanting to check in. About an hour later, after a number of
complaints, a man who had been sitting beside us at the coffee house the
entire time stood up and finally decided let us in. Who was he? The owner. Who didn't seem the least bit bothered by the line of travellers who needed to access his establishment. So,
the first lesson learned was that no one is in a hurry here – ever. They will do things in their own time, when they are ready. I'm not even sure what you would call this mindset apart from bad for business. Anyway, at least he was nice and made up for this first impression by setting us up with
a driver to visit the two biggest lakes the next day.
The city itself is really pretty,
filled with winding cobblestone streets and colourful old buildings.
A castle sits atop a very steep, forested hill in the middle, a river
lined with weeping willows runs through the middle as do canals. The
buildings are old and just so perfectly shabby with many featuring
interesting traditional Slavic designs. The regional food was also
for the most part really good, especially the fresh cheese dumplings
with wild mushrooms. The wine was a bit on the too dry side however,
and the local take on Mexican (which replaced the rice in a burrito with boiled cabbage...yah, a style of cuisine that could be
described as Moscow meets Mexico City) was lacking. The
desserts were divine, especially at this one cafe called Cacao. If you
ever go to Ljubljana, you MUST go here and try the sacher torte
flavoured ice cream. I think they import it...from heaven ;). If you have gourmand leanings then you would also appreciate that around Slovenia's borders
with Italy and Croatia lies truffle country. Both the black and white delicacies were ubiquitous and so, so tasty. Just smelling truffle takes me to my happy place, I swear. At one of the local market stalls we
bought something called Ghee, a type of clarified butter made with
truffles. I have been experimenting with it since returning and must
say that it makes roast chicken much more interesting. Even
cooler, I found a fresh dairy and cheese vending machine in the
middle of town.
We also made trips to the two main
lakes in the country, Bohinj and Bled, chauffered by a mirrored aviator
sporting - and admittedly kind of sexy – chain smoking, Led Zepplin loving driver who moonlighted as a commercial pilot and engineer. Interesting how you often meet people with these eclectic skill sets when you head east and
south in the world. I guess tourism is where the real money lies. Our first stop Lake Bled is around 60
kilometres, or halfway across the tiny country, from Ljubljana.
Bled is also a picturesque little resort village that lines the
lake's shores. Above the lake on a rock promontory towers a medieval
castle and in the middle sits an island that is home to a 17th
century church featuring a baroque 99 step staircase to the top. There is
not a scrap of garbage to be seen anywhere in the area and water is
glacial run off from the surrounding Julian Alps, crystal clear and
emerald green in colour. To get to the island you must take a
little wooden gondola steered by a local, because no power boats are
allowed to spoil this pristine wilderness. This means that a visit here is an incredibly peaceful experience. The second lake, Bohinj, was still further into
the mountains along a route that really, really looked like
Switzerland. It was more natural than Bled, lying in a national park
and apart from one tiny cafe on its shore, without signs of humanity.
We sat at the lakeside enjoying our lunch in the sunshine, discussing
how being surrounded by such beauty makes you feel lucky to be alive.
Honestly, these are some of the most beautiful spots I have ever
seen. Be warned that if you do go, there are not really reliable bus
lines to get around the country, so you will need to either find a
driver or rent a car yourself to get to these places. The good news
is that the drivers in Slovenia are very civilized so you don't need
to be scared, unlike in say Romania.
I can only highly recommend Slovenia.
Whether you like culture, food and historic cities, or you prefer hiking
and being out in nature – it offers all of them in equal measure. And
despite moving at their own pace in the service industry, the people
were generally nice and interesting to talk to too – just don't get them
started talking about their arch nemeses the Slovaks ;)
Actually, one warning I will give: beware of gypsies here! I caught one with her hand right in my purse. It was a close call.
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