I have just read an article where Slovenia was being compared to New Zealand. They called Slovenia the New Zealand of Europe. And I thought, yes! Absolutely. Unspoilt nature. Hundreds of outdoor activities to choose from. Dramatic landscape. And living the slow life.
We didn't really know what to expect. We just booked somewhere that was not too far and looked relaxing for a short week. I have to say we were all very pleasantly surprised and will definitely go back.
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| Bled Island |
Day 1:
Our first day was spent taking it slowly around Lake Bled. The village itself was not that interesting but the lake's surroundings were stunning.
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| Rowing on Lake Bled |
In the morning, we rowed across the lake to the little island. The kids loved that, of course. The island is full of little legends and history. The many steps and slope make it tough but fun to explore with kids. We had a delicious ice-cream while there before going back.
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| Bled Island |
In the afternoon, we climbed up to the castle. It is small but interesting and there is the best view from up there, of course.
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| Bled Castle |
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| Bled Castle |
We ended the afternoon with a dip into the lake from the tiny beach near our campsite. A perfect slow and fun day.
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| Look at that water! |
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| Swimming in Lake Bled |
Day 2:
On day 2, we set off for Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is just over an hour's drive from Lake Bled. It is not a huge city so it is easy to walk around. We rode the little train up the hill to the castle and spent time munching on delicious and local cherries from the market.
The market is actually quite unique. It takes up a huge space in the city. Buildings along the river are full of small stalls on two levels and squares along the way are also filled with sellers. Each area has its speciality: from cherries to meat to flowers to clothing.
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| Ljubljana |
If you fancy trying typical Slovenian food, we liked
Vodnikov Hram near the little castle train stop (at the bottom of the hill). It was recommended to us by a Slovenian friend. It serves typical generous Slovenian food with a modern touch and is centrally located.
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| Postojna Caves |
After our lunch, we headed out to the
Postojna Caves about 30 minutes away. Caves are very common around this part of the world. But these are the must-see attraction of Slovenia. At 24000m long, it is the second largest cave system in Slovenia. They are karst caves. The site is huge and there are several other smaller attractions on site too. The tickets are not cheap (especially for a family). Is it worth it? Well, the kids loved the little train that you ride (for a little while) on to go deep inside the caves. They liked the hour-long walk inside the cave much less. Seeing the cave from the little train was enough. You get ferried inside and have to take a walking tour along with about a hundred other people. Even our 7-year-old had had enough. Caves are caves. Learning about them was fun but all of the formations look the same after a while. We would do it again but be more prepared for the long guided and very busy guided walk.
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| Inside Postojna Caves |
Day 3:
After a busy second day, we took it slow. We drove a mere 30-minutes to Lake Bohinj. The road from Bled follows a gorgeous river and the landscape is dotted with little villages and Alpine houses.
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| Lake Bohinj |
There are many outdoor activities on offer around Lake Bohinj (kayaking in particular). After throwing rocks in the lake and taking into the magnificent landscape, we found a stream feeding the lake (at the Western end of it). We set up our picnic blanket there and spent the day dipping our toes in the stream to cool off (water comes from the mountains so it was very cold in May), eating and playing. The water in the stream was amazingly transparent while we had found some spots around the lake to be a little dirty (near the shore).
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| Stream feeding in to Lake Bohinj |
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| Glamping in Lake Bled |
Glamping in Lake Bled: We stayed in a little hut in a corner of a campsite. It was fabulous. We had a great view and everything we needed. There are only 4 of these little huts so it didn't feel like crowded. The site is literally across the road from the quiet part of Lake Bled. There is a small supermarket and a restaurant on site as well as playgrounds. It was clean, very practical and ideal with small children. We would definitely go there again.
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Slovenia is one of my favourite places. It sounds like you had a lovely holiday. I love Lake Bohinj and can't wait to go back there, hopefully in winter as we have spent two summers there now. We found Postonja a little too manicured and the tour too short. We preferred the Skocjan caves which are wilder and more interesting, we spent about 4 or 5 hours exploring the. Other places we loved were Ptuj and Lipica and the Velika Planina alpine meadows. Worth mentioning that along with the sticker for Slovenia you need one in Austria and Hungary (if you are going there) as well. I think some other countries also require them but I can't remember the other places we bought them. We were stopped by a traffic cop on the Austrian border and had to drive back to the nearest petrol station to buy one. They warned us about the need for one in Slovenia as well. I think the cop charged us Euro200 for not having it so an expensive mistake.
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