Slovenia 2009

The photos in this post were all taken with a Sony T100, a neat little compact camera with a Zeiss lens. Most have been tweaked marginally in Photoshop.

Slovenia is a small Balkan country of 20,000 sq km, bordered by Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy, with a small stretch of coastline on the Adriatic Sea. It declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, joined the EU in May 2004, and introduced the Euro in January 2007. The Slovene language is spoken only by its population of about 2 million people, so they tend to be good linguists!

We found it largely unspoilt and the people friendly, the highlights for us however were the lakes Bohinj and Bled. Ljubljana was nice, but in early April when we arrived the café culture for which it is famous was not yet underway.

The Ljubljanica river, lined with cafes and weeping willows

The famous triple bridge in the centre of Ljubljana

One of the amazing bronze doors to the Cathedral

Beautifully painted buildings mixed in with the modern

 Leaving Ljubljana we headed north west to the ancient town of Skofja Loka

Plenty of meltwater swelling the river through Skofja Loka

An ancient bridge links the town

After a visit to the castle and museum we followed the valley floor North westwards again and over the 1200 metre high Bohinjsko pass to Bohinjska Bistrica and Lake Bohinj.
We arrived at this most beautiful of  settings in the Julian Alps around mid afternoon, snow still on the ground and not a breath of wind.

The branches at the bottom of the picture appear almost real although they are just reflections

The late afternoon sun is shining down the valley, yet the water is so clear the moss covered pebbles on the lake floor provide the richest colour
 

The relected white streaks in the rock seem suspended in air, almost ghostly

Driving to the western end of the lake we found a deserted campsite, closed for the winter but the foreshore still accessible. We stayed the night on a large dirt car park nearby - yes we were on National Parkland but the area was deserted and nobody bothered us.

Wanting to get some more shots of the lake whilst the water's surface was still like a mirror, I crept out of the van just as the sky began to lose its blackness. I was treated to one of the most beautiful dawns I have ever witnessed. Pale streaks of mist hung over the tranquil water and as the sun lifted it illuminated the mist with a fabulous peachy pink light

First light, even the ducks were still sleeping

Glorious pink sunrise

Double vision - surperb relections combined with a view of the lake floor, mist still in the air

The beach emerges from its shroud of snow

The sun reaches the end of the valley

Perfect peace

After a visit to the Savica waterfall another 5 km up the valley we moved on to Lake Bled. 

Lake Bled has so many picture postcard views it's hard to know where to begin with the church on the island and the monastery on a rock outcrop, all set against the snow tipped Julian Alps

Lake Bled with its island church

North of Bled is the spectacular Vintgar gorge and  Sum na Radovni waterfall at the end

The stream becomes a torrent as the winter's snow melts

Sum na Radovni in the late afternoon

On to Kranska Gora, probably Slovenia’s second biggest resort area after Bled.

The famous Zlatorog or mythical Chamois at Kranska Gora

Our plan was to go over the Julian Alps via the 1618 metre high Vrisc pass was thwarted as it was still closed, so we made a detour into Italy to Tarvisio and then back into Slovenia and over the Predil pass (1156 metres).
The valley drive down to Bovec was very scenic and we followed the beautiful Soca river to Zaga, Kobarid and Tolmin.

The turqoise Soca river is a meca for canoeists

After a night  in Idria, complete with castle and Mercury mine museum, we headed for Postojnska Jama, the largest complex of limestone caves in Europe. A massive tourist attraction, more reminiscent of Disneyland and with few photographic opportunities inside the caves.

A backtrack took us towards Cerknica and the small farming village of Dolenje Jezero, here we found a carpark nearby a vast shallow lake, surrounded by many walking trails.

Late afternoon sun weaves its magic

The next morning we drove south to Snezik Castle in an idyllic forest setting. Remarkably it escaped the destruction and pillaging of the last war, and now owned by the state it has been comprehensively restored, all the rooms containing original furniture and fittings.

Snezik Castle reflected in the remmants of its old moat

Moving back to Postojna we visited Predjama castle, a 700 year old castle perched in a niche halfway up a 120 metre cliff.

Predjama castle

Our next port of call was Kromberk Castle, just northeast of Nova Gorica. Its in a great setting, halfway up a vineyard covered hillside with views over Kromberk.

Kromberk Castle

After checking with the owner, we pitched ourselves in the car park for the night and enjoyed a wonderful meal of wild boar on the moonlit terrace, surrounded by fine linen, lanterns and candles.

Lantern's glow in the sweet liqueur