Slovenia Whirlwind

Triple Bridge in Ljubljana

As with most trips, we never have enough time to do all of the things we'd like to do. We've quickly learned that with Slovenia.  We only budgeted two days here and it should have been more.  We started our day in Ljubljana at the market next to the river.  For the past few years, Ljubljana has had Odprta Kuhna ("Open Kitchen") every Friday during the warm weather months where a number of local restaurants set up shop in the square and Ljublanans flock downtown to partake.  

The food choices run quite the gamut.  You can get local Thai street food to complement an octopus burger, try ice cream bombs or chocolate bon bons, savor many different local wines while eating paella, or simply have a meat extravaganza with every kind of meat cooked over open coals.  There is live music and DJs and it's a very festive atmosphere.  We had to stop by when they opened at 10:00am and the place was already hopping.  I can't imaging what the atmosphere must have been like later in the day and evening once people were off of work.

We left Slovenia and headed north to Lake Bled.  Lake Bled is a popular resort area at the foot of the Julian Alps.  We've heard how wonderful Lake Bled is and it did not disappoint. There is a walking path that circumnavigates the entire lake and plenty of places to jump in for a swim.  It was another hot day and  many folks were enjoying the cold water.  I was able to fly my drone and get a great picture showing the turquoise water and the little island in the middle with the Church of the Assumption.

Predjama Castle

We only had a short time at Bled before we had to drive south back to Croatia.  On the way, we stopped to see Predjama Castle which is partially built into a cave in the side of a mountain. The visual setting and exterior are very striking.  We decided not to tour the interior, both because of time constraints and because we'd read the interior isn't all that exciting.  The exterior however, was worth the detour. 

From there it was the final push back into Croatia.  We're spending the final days of our trip on the Istrian Peninsula, with our base in the town of Rovinj.  Slovenia was great and we need to find a way to make it back. It definitely had its own unique culture reflecting its varied historical influences.