We were in two countries and two capitals in one day-Ljubljana, Sovenia and Zagreb, Croatia!
Passport stamps-in and out HR(Croatia), in and out SI (Slovenia)...they take up a lot of space in our passports and we don't have many pages left---time for new passports!
We covered a lot of territory in our last few days in Slovenia even dipping down in Croatia to some hill towns in the Istria Peninsula. Two medieval towns, Motovun and Groznjan were way up on hills with cobbled streets and some of the best preserved walls anywhere.
(L) Motovun shield with 5 castles & (R) Lion of Venice
Motovun-a medieval town just perfect for walking and exploring
Motovun is also the birthplace of Mario Andetti!
Truffles
This is a very popular area for truffle hunting, but they use dogs rather than pigs like in France. There are two seasons for truffles-spring for black truffles and winter for the white truffle that are about 4x more expensive! We did try some pasta with truffles at a small remote restaurant that was delicious.
Zito pasta and thinly sliced truffles
Ljlubljana was a delightful city full of international visitors, university students and bridges! There are many bridges over the River but there are three that are picture perfect!
Dragon Bridge
if you haven't photographed one of the dragons on Dragon Bridge, you really haven't been to Ljubljana!
Dragon Bridge 1901-largest spanning bridge in central Europe
Butcher Bridge (new bridge on the site of the old one)
More commonly called "Love Bridge"-symbolicly locking their love with padlocks
We searched by several minutes to find a geocache among hundreds of locks!
Triple Bridge
The middle bridge was built in 1842 and the two side bridges in 1929-now all three are pedestrian-only
We have had a variety of overnight hotels, pensions, rooms and bed n' breakfasts.
one of the nicest, modern stays but sadly only for one night
Rain in Zagreb so it was a good day to wash our clothes
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretch from northeastern Italy to northern Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m (9,396 ft) at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia and of the former Yugoslavia. We had read about the Vrsic Pass over the Alps and really wanted to drive it but not sure if it was clear of snow. Most people said "maybe" so we took off. The route was clear and it was a gorgeous sunny day, just perfect to really enjoy the 50 hairpin turns!
1917
During WWI, 10,000 Russian POWs were put to work building this road. After an avalanche killed over 100 Russians, and some Austrian guards, the survivors built this chapel in memory of their fellow soldiers.
The curves of the switchbacks are cobblestone apparently to give more traction although they were so sharp and often steep, I can't image anyone speeding around them...well we did see a lot of motorcycles who looked like they were really enjoying it! There was a hairpin turn about every 1/3 mile. It isn't necessarily dangerous, just steep and breathtakingly beautiful.
This is recorded from our DashCam going around some of the curves-there were 50 turns
The Karst region is a huge limestone plateau in the southwest part of Slovenia. The word Karst is used around the world but was actually first used here in Slovenia. Rivers, ponds and lakes can disappear and then resurface in the Karst’s porous limestone through sinkholes and funnels, often resulting in underground caverns like the fabulous caves at Škocjan, a UNESCO site. We took a strenuous 2 mile tour that led us deep underground on steep trails and over 1,000 steps. What makes this cave so special and unique is the colossal underground canyon in the "Murmuring Water Cave" that the Reka River flows through. It is one of the largest caverns in the world. It looked like we were in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars! We crossed a bridge that was 150 feet above the raging water; the bridge was completely submerged just 3 months ago after extensive rain flooded the cave. No photos were allowed inside but I did take pictures of a poster.
the bridge over the Reka River that we walked over
these were century old steps-now paths & steps all have railings, lights and are larger than this
coming out of the end of the cave
the paths were all lit which gave a very eary feeling looking back into the cave
There are many other unique geographical and cultural features in the Karst region.
one of the oldest and origian Karst farm homestead with a stone roof
(there was a geocache here!)
15th century Predjama Castle built into the cave of the mountain
we saw many abandoned homes from when the Italians who lived in the area fled to Italy after WWII
One of the highlights for us was the Lipica Stud Farm where the magnificent white horses have been bred and trained since 1580. The soil & climate of the Karst is very similar to Spain which is why the Archduke Charles chose to build the royal stud farm in 1578 in the Karst in the abandoned summer residence of the Bishop of Trieste. Here 30 Spanish Andalusian horses were imported and bred into the original Lipizzaner horses that were supplied to the Habsburg court in Vienna. We were fortunate to attend a special performance added for the Easter Monday holiday and have a tour of the farm.
the babies are born black and change to a gray/white as they age. They remain with the mother and frolicking in the fields until age 3-1/2 when they enter "school" for the traditional training.
Only the best "athletes" move on to perform dressage. The others, mostly the mares, are used for riding. Assuming you can prove your capability, you can actually "apply" to ride one of these great horses around the estate
this is one of the mares that are used for riding. They are very gentle and love the attention they receive for visitors
the training is systematic and takes about 5 years and these horses have a longer than average lifespan
the "Pesade" is part of the airs-above-the-ground movemens where the horse "sits" and lifts both front legs off the ground in a high rear. They can take steps and even spring forward.
These horses make wonderful carraige horses because they are stong yet agile and regal-looking.
I can just imagine them pulling royal carraiges!
We have really enjoyed traveling in this part of Slovenia. We have discovered that it is one of the easiest "off-the-beaten-track" areas for us to explore because just about everyone we encounter speaks some English. While we have come across very few North Americans (maybe less than a dozen), English is the most common, universal language for multi-national travelers. For example, our tour into the Skocjan Caves was presented in English and of the 50 people in our group we were the only North American english speakers-all others were European, Australian or Asian -- but everyone understood English!! This is truely a super place to visit!
Slovenia! We are now into another "new" country for us, this time Republika Sovenija. Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia and achieved independence for the first time in 1991. It's a small country about the size of New Jersey but one-fourth the population and borders Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy with only 29 miles of Mediterranean coastline.
Our first night was in Ljubljana ("lube-yana") at an old Coachmen Guesthouse with a restaurant where we had our first Slovenian traditional food. We enjoyed a quick walk around the town but we will be back for several days next week.
Our first night in Slovenia
Goulash with big dough balls served in the individual pot
third floor up without elevators are very common
twin wooden platform beds with the shared bathroom down the hall
Picking up our car the next morning we headed out towards the resort town of Bled which lies on a small lake, 1.5 miles long, that is extremely popular with tourists from everywhere. We were there on Easter weekend so it was even busier with families and young people. Slovenians are very active sports people and Lake Bled is the training ground for Olympic rowers boasting several medalists.
Bled is famous for its Cream Cake-puff pastry, custard, whipped cream, puff pastry, and icing sugar
Our bed and breakfast accommodations were about 1/2 mile uphill from the lake which we walked several times, easily getting in 15,000+ steps on our Fitbit pedometers - thank goodness!
We hiked one day to the Vintgar Gorge where the River Radovna has carved a mile-long gorge into the mountainside. Boardwalks hanging on the rock ledges and bridges crossing the rivers where really picturesque. We discovered the day we went was the seasonal opening day and was absolutely jammed with people on the way out but did thin out on our return.
local Bled cheese and Slovenian beer
A visit to the cliff-hanging Bled Castle (Blejski Grad) was a must although after the hike in the Gorge we chose to drive up rather than walk the steep hill trail. The castle perched 426 above the glacial Lake Bled is the oldest in Slovenia and has been occupied by several different rulers and bishops for over 1,000 years.
Now the castle is over run by travelers in big bus tours!
Finally we were treated to a free evening performance of tradional Slovenian music and folk dance in one of the bigger hotels.
And Jack even joined in on the last "dance"!!
We enjoyed all the traditional foods for Easter-hard boiled eggs that are colored red using natural dye of the red onion, potica sweet bread, ham baked in pastry with horseradish and delicious desserts.
Potica-delicious creamcheese filled bread
traditionally colored eggs
ham baked in bread loaf with cabbage & horseradish
Bovski krafi-a boiled sweet dough stuffed with a Bosc pear mixture
Cockta is a herbal-based drink that is similar to Coke-it was made in the 1950's before Coca Cola could be imported into Yugoslavia
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