My Love For Slovenia ❤️

To be honest, Slovenia was the country I’d been waiting my entire travels for. Some of my friends who appreciate nature as much as I do had highly recommended exploring off the beaten path areas of Slovenia and they were right! Slovenia is amazing! First of all, their tagline is I Feel Slovenia (#ifeelsLOVEnia), LOVE is in the name ❤️, how can you go wrong?

To properly explore the country, especially in the off season, I decided to rent a car from Trieste, Italy. Since I’d be flying out of Venice, Trieste made a good location to make a full loop within the country and not have to miss out on any of the good bits. The one thing that can make driving in a foreign country solo without a GPS system a challenge is also not having internet or consistent access of Google Maps. Maps.me was the map app of choice among fellow travelers so I downloaded all of Slovenia on  my phone and headed north along the deep emerald waters of the Soča River. My ultimate destination was Bovec, the outdoor mecca of Slovenia’s Julienne Alps and Triglav National Park. If you’re looking for adventure and adrenaline or even if you’re seeking walks along the turquoise waters and hiking to a peaceful waterfall, this is the place for you. Bovec did not disappoint. The closer I got, the higher the mountain peaks became. The lush green landscape dotted with sheep, cows and horses was a perfect complement to the towering mountains. I wanted to pull over at every turn to take more photos!

I found myself at the one and only hostel in this quaint little town with an outdoor patio looking at the mountain landscape. They also had great local beers on tap, this would do just fine 😉 . I immediately headed out and along the river, cameras in hand to check out the crystal clear waters and bouncy “rope” bridges that crisscross their way along the riverbank. I’ve never seen turquoise water that was not created by glacial silt suspended in the water before and it was spectacular! The color of the water gave the entire experience a serene and peaceful feeling. Every time I walked along the river and gorge, it kinda made me feel like I was in an outdoor yoga or meditation studio! I loved it.

Having a car (I got the only automatic car they had, an Audi A3!) I made the most of checking out as many off the beaten path roads as possible. Along the way I found fairytale villages nestled into deep glacial valleys filled with beautiful homes all adorning overflowing flower boxes. It almost felt like a village competition to see who had  more colors, more varieties, more potted flowers, more window baskets, more beauty! I oooh-d and ahhhh-d at every single one! That’s my kind of competition!

One evening my new hostel friend, Samira and I drove up to Mangart Sedlo to view sunset. Since it was late autumn, the colors were still quite pretty with lots of yellows and reds. The drive was gorgeous! The 26km road is the highest pass in Slovenia and took about an hour to drive to the top of 6,798ft viewpoint. It was totally worth it, at the top we were rewarded with the most incredible scenery I’d seen in my entire trip! Nearly 360 degree view of the Julienne Alps in Slovenia and Italy. Absolutely breathtaking.

If I were to plan the Slovenian part of my trip again, I would take at least 14 days to explore rather than the 10 I allowed myself. At each place I went, I wanted to stay just a little bit longer. Actually, I could have easily spent my entire 2 months in Slovenia alone! Slovenia had my heart immediately. Not only for the landscape but also for the people. I met such wonderful locals traveling in Slovenia! The love that people have for their own country was something we could easily share. The other part that we always had in common was our hopes for future conservation of the country. Money can be pretty exciting to see flow into an economy but to what expense do the local communities and environments have to pay for that tourism development? I always prefer less touristy places over the well-known areas and seek them out when possible. Those small gems one way or another become discovered and they too experience the pro’s and con’s of tourism growth.

My time in Bovec was up and I continued on my journey to spend time in the Lake Bohinj area. Once again I was awe-struck by the beauty! It makes for a really long drive when you keep stopping to take more and more and more photos..hahaha! The area around the lake is home to the Slap Savica (slap = waterfall) which is one of the most visited natural sites in Slovenia. It was pretty amazing, check out the photo in the gallery!  It’s also home to Mount Vogel and the ski resort where a cable car will whisk you away to the to the lodge which stands at 5,036ft. On the way up the entire lake comes into view surrounded by mountains. Then as you gain elevation, the Alps make their way into view in the distance like kids hiding behind their parents. They all of a sudden they stand in all their glory surrounding every direction you look! It truly was a remarkable sight to see. There were plenty of walking paths around the resort and I headed out to check one out. I decided to take a path that didn’t look too strenuous but would give me great views, hopefully of the lake. That darn path had so many false summits, I couldn’t believe it! Just when I thought I was at the top it went up again and again and again. I finally got where I wanted to be and of course, no view of the lake. Instead I was rewarded with blue skies shining on one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever laid my eyes upon! Mountains, mountains everywhere!! Being up there was the most spiritual experience of the trip. It was just me, the crazy blowing wind and the mountains. A perfect place to reflect again on how grateful I am to be there right then. Taking this trip was the absolute best decision I could have ever made and this was pure proof of that!

I spent 2 nights in Lake Bohinj and was easily enchanted by it’s peaceful beauty. From the 7.5 mile walk around the lake, you could soak up the views and reflections from every angle. This is another place where I would have liked to spend a few more days exploring.

Lake Bled, Bohinj’s neighbor just 26km’s away is the most famous lake in Slovenia. Known for the iconic image of the Assumption of Mary church built on a tiny island in the middle of the lake with the Medieval Bled Castle in the background, the lake does not disappoint. If people know anything about Slovenia, they know about Lake Bled. It is the most heavily touristed area in the country and it shows. Even in late October, the area was hopping! I spent another 2 nights in the area, the first day being nothing but non-stop rain. The best part of the rainstorm was that the area was treated to a view of beautifully snowcapped mountains the next morning! Walking the 6km trail around the lake, it was easy to get lost in the photo opportunities. Apparently Lake Bled is pretty chaotic in the summertime. I would definitely suggest visiting the area in the off season for the best quality experience. And while you’re there, be sure to try the famous Lake Bled cream cake, it’s divine!

Off to the capital city, Ljubljana I went for the next 3 nights! All throughout the Balkans, the one thing I heard from everyone was how Ljubljana was their favorite city. I can see why! The only other city I’ve enjoyed so much was Krakow, Poland. This city was perfect (for me). Ljubljana was voted Europeans Green Capital, 2016. The city was immaculate! With a population of nearly 280,000 (the country has just over 2 million), there were plenty of green park spaces, outdoor cafes/restaurants, a castle up the hill, a river flowing through the center of the city, one “skyscraper”, pedestrian only downtown and garbage/recycle/compost bins everywhere. It was incredibly rare that I would find a piece of trash anywhere I walked. The free city walking tour was fantastic and offered really great knowledge on the history and current state of the city. If you’re going, be sure to make this tour a priority. It’s time well spent! After considering my future life in Ljubljana and planning out my future career path with the tourism department 😉 it was one again… time to move on.

My last Slovenian destination was Ajdovščina located in the Vipava Valley wine region. Not only are Slovenians known to be expert beekeepers, they are also known for their delicious wines and I was going to check them out. First though, it was time for me to see some caves. Slovenia has over 11,000 caves throughout the country and new ones are being discovered all the time. The Skocjan Caves are located in the Karst Region (the Karst limestone was named from this area) and is another UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated in 1986. You can only visit the caves by tour and for someone who thinks caves are pretty badass, this is a tour you’ll want to do cause it was pretty awesome. Not only full of stalactites and stalagmites, there’s a river flowing through the center of it constantly carving the porous limestone deeper and deeper. This tour was money well spent!

The other big attraction in the area is Lipica, home to the famous Lipica Stud Farm. The birthplace of the Lipizzaner dancing horses. The farm was built in 1578 by the Hapsburg rulers. Slovenia was part of and ruled by Austria at that time and therefore Lipica was an Austrian location. The history of the stud farm is pretty cool, you can read more about it on the highlighted link. The farm only offers practice viewing occasionally this fall due to construction on the farm and I chose to work my trip around the schedule so I could watch. Viewing the practice and touring the farm was really interesting to experience. The grounds are stunning. As you drive in you see mares and foals in the pasture grazing and onsite you can see studs in their stables and practicing with trainers. We were able to see, and pet the most prized stallions of the farm. These are the top of their breed and are continuing the life and family heritage for the farm. They must be exactly 15 hands in height and begin training in dance and carriage racing at 3.5-4 years of age.

Phew. Ok, last stop was wine tasting! I was directed to check out the Vinoteka Vipana and was able to try a number of really delicious whites including 2 different orange wines which I had never had before. She suggested that I check out  Tilia Winery which is exactly the info I was hoping to learn about! I headed over and since it’s off-season and the middle of the week, I was lucky enough to have a private tour and tasting with Mojca who was fantastic. We spent 3 hours talking, laughing and learning about wine, it was fantastic. They are passionate about their Pinot Noir’s and make some really lovely ones. I bought 3 bottles 🙂

My time in Slovenia had quickly come to an end and I was heartbroken to leave this beautiful place. With such a rich history, stunning landscape and beautiful people, it quickly became my favorite country of these travels. Each area I visited was a highlight, each one unique. I will forever be grateful for the time I was able to spend exploring the area and look forward to returning soon. I do hope that they are able to maintain a level of unobtrusive tourism to the area, it will be critical to their future.

Thank you Slovenia ❤️