“When God Made the World, His Teardrop fell on Slovenia”*
- Candace Ahlfinger
- Aug 8
- 8 min read
I don’t want to tell anyone how wonderful and beautiful Slovenia is, because I don’t want everyone to come here and destroy its beauty and charm. However… I have to be honest and say that I love Slovenia.
We started our visit in Bled which is a beautiful city built around the magnificent Lake Bled, a glacier lake that is capped by a picturesque island in the middle. We stayed at Vila Alpina which is a small resort on a mountain, but within easy walking distance to the lake and the city. (Just a note: I’m a walker so please take my, “It’s in walking distance” with a grain of salt and check for yourself.) There are many hotels in downtown which are closer to restaurants, but we liked the atmosphere of Villa Alpina.
When we arrived, during a major European heat wave, we took advantage of the lake for a cooling swim in the crystal blue water. Dinner was at Sova which serves Slovenian food. We ate on the terrace a dinner of seafood risotto, karst salad, (good but still not sure what a form of limestone means in a salad!), and drank great Slovenian wine.
Next morning, we headed to the summer toboggan ride. Although riding up the ski lift may have been more challenging to some than the actual exhilarating ride on the toboggan, the adventure was definitely worth it! Riding down a narrow track while gripping firmly and fearfully to the single control, a go/stop lever, trying to read the signs while not getting too close--how far is 40 meters?!?!--to the next rider is a challenge for anyone! (I didn’t see any of the signs like brake or slow. I was too busy trying to see the next part of the mountain that I was going to hurdle down.) We not only survived the hurtling trip down the mountain, we loved it! We had only paid for one toboggan ride, but we all agreed we would do it again.
Next up in our day was riding in a pletna boat to the picturesque island in the middle of Lake Bled. The oarsmen wait until the boats are full to push off and row to the island. Once there, we paid to go into the church and ring the bell to ensure that our wish would come true. We walked up the bell tower and around the island before heading back to the boat. The oarsmen give visitors about 35-45 minutes to view the island before they have to be back. You don’t pay until you get back on the boat. Payment seems to be on the honor system, but I guess very few visitors opt to spend the night or swim back. The short time there was enough to see the major items. I think the charm of the island is best enjoyed from a distance.
We had one half day in this beautiful place before we left for Ljubljana, so we decided to cram in everything. We started our morning with a breakfast picnic at Lake Bled and being serenaded by a traditional Slovenian music group that was being filmed for some reason. After breakfast, we climbed into the lake.
There are multiple areas around the lake that are shallow to make swimming easy. At least two areas have public restrooms, bustling restaurants, and ice cream shops surrounding them. However, we chose to join many others on a seemingly random hillside as we spread our towels out and then slid carefully into the water in a quieter location. But quieter doesn’t mean no one is there. Residents flock to the lake on a regular basis. Many of them swim to the island while others enjoy paddle boarding or boating. The scene was so idyllic and peaceful.
We then took an Uber up to the castle. (Note: Although the Uber numbers are growing, drivers are now limited so allow a little extra time.) The castle is walkable, but please remember that we visited during a heat wave and the last part of the trip is steep. Of course, the steepness to the fortress is what made it an effective fortress!
The castle itself offers fantastic views of Lake Bled and its island. In fact, the views were my favorite part of the visit. If you aren’t going to do the hike to the island viewpoint, I would suggest the castle. The castle museum was interesting and the people very friendly, but, otherwise, I would save your time.
We had excellent food in Bled including at Carman Restaurant and Sova Restaurant. Slovenia food and wines are excellent. Of course, we had to try Bled Cake which is made with a puff pastry base, vanilla custard, and whipped cream. For picnics, we took advantage one day of the generous breakfast from our hotel and another we bought groceries at the market next to the lake. Good food was plentiful!
And, all too soon, our time in Bled ended. Yes, Bled can be done in a day trip from Ljubljana, but we loved the two nights there. (I rang the bell in the church, so I know I’ll be returning someday.)
From our two nights in Bled, we took a GoOpti driver to Ljubljana and the Occidental Hotel which is located just outside the old town. (You can take the bus, but we were all about easy at that point.)
By the time we arrived, cooler air had arrived and we were able to enjoy simply walking around and exploring the old town. We found the tourist information center to be very helpful in giving us maps and information about things to see. (Our GoOpti driver had also provided us with great restaurant information.)
We quickly found the Dragon Bridge and took our required pictures. Dragons are the symbol of Slovenia. Why? We heard differing stories. One centers around Jason and the Argonauts. According to legend, Jason sailed up the Ljubljanica River after stealing the Golden Fleece. There, in the marshy lands near what became Ljubljana, Jason fought a terrifying dragon that had been terrorizing the people. Another story involves St. George who is often pictured slaying a dragon. The tale we were told is that every year the dragon would require a young maiden be given in sacrifice. Finally, there was no virgin left to sacrifice except the princess. The king put out a decree that anyone who defeated the dragon would have his daughter’s hand in marriage. Knight George—so called because he was not yet a saint—swooped in and killed the dragon. Unfortunately, he was not interested in marrying the princess, so he left the area to pursue loftier goals which, of course, included becoming a saint.
There are several other stories. I’m not certain which is true, if any, but they make great tales! The dragon has continued as the symbol of the city. (The salamanders in the Postojna Caves were almost eradicated because people once thought they were baby dragons.)
After enjoying our exploratory stroll along the river, it was time for dinner—this time at Pop’s Pizza where the long line attested to the recommendation given by our driver. The line moved quickly and we soon found ourselves eating delicious pizza. Afterwards, we stopped at Vigo Sorbetto for lip-smacking gelato and then at Zvezda Park to listen to an amazing open-air musical performance during the Ljubljana Music Festival. The riverfront is a wonderful place to wander.
The next day, our first full day in this wonderful European capital city, we took the funicular up to the Ljubljana Castle. Like Bled Castle, the view of the city below is beautiful, but there is much more to do within the castle than in Bled. You can buy tickets just for the funicular or you can also include various activities at the top. (You can also walk up, but we opted to take the easy way.) My favorite thing we did was the 4-D movie narrated by Friderik, the castle rat, who shares the history of the castle. The castle holds a Michelin starred restaurant and a Michelin Bib Gourmand one in addition to the various cafes and coffee shops.
In the evening we had scheduled a food tour which was very enjoyable and featured excellent traditional Slovenian foods. Our final tasting was on the rooftop of the Ljubljana Skyscraper, Nebotičnik, where we ate surrounded by views of the city. The Art Deco building, which was constructed in 1933, was the ninth tallest building in Europe when it was completed, but the 13-story building seems short by current standards.
Our next day we took an excursion, through Viator, to the Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves with Yosif from “To Do in Slovenia” Tour Company. Our first stop was at the castle, according to Guinness World Records, the largest cave castle in the world. (I’m not certain how many there are, but the castle is a great place to visit.) The 800-year-old castle has an interesting history, of course. Knight Erazem of Predjama, who has been called Slovenia’s Robin Hood, lived in the castle. Legend has it that he robbed from the rich, but didn’t actually give to the poor so, according to our guide, Erazem was just “Robin.” Hapsburg forces lay siege to starve him out, not realizing that he had a long, secret cave system that allowed him to leave and return without being detected. The story continues that Erazem would even throw fresh cherries at the army below to taunt them. Unfortunately, after 3 months of siege, a disgruntled servant told the military that he would light a candle when Erazem went to the toilet. Sure enough, when the candle was lit, Erazem was killed by a cannon ball.
After the castle, we visited the nearby Postojna Caves, which were the first caves in the world to have electricity and a train. (The caves were opened for tourism in 1819. Electricity was installed in 1883-1884 and the train in 1872.) The cave entrance is next to the Hotel Jama which was used during the Cold War. They have found many secret rooms and a great deal of listening equipment.
The 3.7 km long train is the world’s only double-track cave railway and goes fast, actually a little over 6 miles per hour, but it seemed faster! We kept thinking we were on a very fast mini-mine train and spent most of the 15-minute ride expecting to pass through the Six Flags saloon and take a short dive downwards. Thankfully, it didn’t take a dive. Instead, the train slowed and we disembarked for our walking tour. At our first stop, our guide delighted in telling us about the many times the caves had suffered earthquakes and floods, before he finally admitted that the last records of these events had been in the last glacial period.
Interesting facts:
Slovenia has over 14,000 caves with more than 100 discovered annually.
Over 1,200 brown bears roam the forests of Slovenia.
France Prešeren, the national poet of Slovenia, wrote "Zdravljica" (A Toast) which became the national anthem of the country. It is always written in the shape of a wine glass.
Plečnik was the major architect of Slovenia. He was also involved in many of the buildings in Prague.
Ljubljana So who are the Slovenians? They have been the home of many peoples throughout history including the Celts, Romans, Hapsburgs, and Napoleon before becoming part of Yugoslavia under Tito. They gained their independence only in 1991.
And then, to our last meal in Ljubljana, a rather untraditional but excellent meal at Sushimama where we had great food and service. During our stay we also had a Slovenian wine tasting at Most Restaurant that caught our attention as we wandered along the river. (Don’t miss trying the orange wine!)
One thing we missed was the Open Kitchen (Odprta kuhna) which is held every Friday and features foods from many restaurants. We were told they open at 11:00, but I would suggest noon or later to sample all the tempting goods. Unfortunately, we left Ljubljana on Friday morning, so we missed it. Next time…
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*Quote from Yosif, our tour guide.
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