Nat & Ben Do Europe: I FEEL sLOVEnia

I FEEL

SLOVENIA is the clever marketing campaign they have on all the tourist brochures and signs around the country and both Natty and I really do love this place. Slovenia has surged to one of our favourite countries on the trip so far and it started immediately on our first day.

They are very much into the environment and sustainable development and you can see why when you drive through the country. Since I knew nothing of this country some of the info I read was quite interesting (and if I don't write it down I will forget), so....... some interesting Green facts that we have learnt:

Slovenia is the most forested country in Europe with 58% of its surface is covered in green forests and thus every year they plant areas with 1.2million tree seedlings to contribute sustainability to the preservation of the forests
36% of Slovenia's surface area falls within protected zones
Slovenia has the oldest grape vine in the world, a more than 400 year old black velvet!!!!!!
Slovenia has some of the cleanest water in Europe (and one of the most water rich countries in Europe) with little to no treatment required, it was once sent to Rome and used as medicine

With a population of only just over 2 million, all the cities are fairly small and all very pretty. Driving on some of the non toll roads was a little "white knuckle" but because the roads are not overly busy it really wasn't too much of an issue.

Anywho, on with the show..

9th to 11th April - Bled, Slovenia

The plan was to head for a camperplaats on a lake just outside of Tarvisio (Italy) which is near Fusine in Valromana. To do this we actually cut through the top of Slovenia and then back into the very north west part of Italy. It was on this drive where we both fell in love with Slovenia and its scenery.

Our Italy stop was in the mountains and through some stubborn snow (well ice mainly but for now we will say snow) and it was actually law to have snow tyres for another week. However all the roads were clear so we weren't fussed. The roads were very tight and the other drivers didn't really slow down when passing. One British couple were hooning down around a tight bend and despite me slowing down and moving over as far as I could he still clipped my mirror on the way past. Lucky there was no damage to the mirror and we just pushed it back out and kept on trucking, BB is tough.

We eventually made it Tarvisio and we decided to have our last Italian meal before we leave Italy. I of coarse had a pizza and Nat the risotto.

After lunch we headed towards the lake and through some awesome countryside, at one point we actually drove through the ruins of a small castle. It was all very nice and green with some snow on the sides, we admired the view and decided to move on.

Picture just for Dad

Our next stop was Bled in Slovenia which was really nice, we were some what relieved to end up there as we had again travelled through some very small roads causing some drivers to have to back up and move out of the way, and so they should as we are bigger. We set up camp and checked out the lake which included a beer and the famous Bled cream cake.

The next day we walked around the lake and through Bled which was on the other side. We must have taken a hundred photos which were all pretty much of the same thing. Still hard to capture it all with a photo but we certainly gave it a shot!

Bled castle on the left

Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church on the Island

We noticed a campervan, a few pitches away, with some Aussie flag stickers on it and struck up a conversation with them at about 5pm. Well that conversation, with a small half time break for dinner, ended after midnight with the main source of energy coming from the bottles of wine and good company!!

Dave and Michelle, with their son James and daughter Abbie, are also travelling for a year around Europe in their campervan, which they call "Frosty". Frosty and BB became good friends and at one stage Frosty, jokingly of course, called BB a feminine looking camper with a small fridge. To which BB replied "at least I don't have a big head and a large trunk", oh how they laughed through the night. BB laughed so hard one time windscreen cleaning fluid sprayed out. They also compared horror stories like when Frostie's arse had bottomed out and when BB nearly had is ears ripped off by a passing truck. They both love their owners but at certain times wonder what the hell they are doing.

The second day we also had a few drinks after dinner (so we weren't just a part of their 30 day challenge, cool!! sorry inside joke folks) and although there was an attempt to have an earlier night, some how it ended up going later than the night before. Since we had known them for at least 24 hours, we decided to talk about poo poo and wee wee and certain tactics when using the toilet. So you can gather the gist of most of the conversation, very funny. Michelle summed it up well, "they are our kind of people". We hope to catch up with them later on too, I know BB will be happy.

12th April - Ljubjana, Slovenia

In the morning, despite the headache, we walked up to the look-out point just near the campsite for yet another great view of the lake and the island (thanks Dave for the tip!).

We then said our goodbyes to Dave, Michelle and the kids and took to the road to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubjana.

So Green!!!

The joys of driving photography

We checked into the campsite and rode the bikes into the city. It is quite small but really pretty with a river flowing through it and cafes and restaurants on either side. We took the cable car up to the castle and walked around and then headed for a drink to see out the small thunder storm before we rode back.

Showering was interesting that night as we had to go to the nearby sports centre to use their showers. We walked into the room with our crocs and towels and received an odd look from the two massive gym goers who were having their protein shakes and admiring themselves. We were directed down to the basement and eventually found the showers with no doors or curtains or anything. Thank god there was no one else in there that's all I can say.

13th April - Dolenjske Toplice Camper Plaats, Slovenia

Today was a big day and something I have been looking forward to for a long time. We finally get to go to the Postojna caves which are located in the town of Postojna.

The caves are more than 20km long and consist of three levels with a flowing river on the bottom level. During heavy rain the second level can also fill with water. These caves were formed by these rivers many millions of years ago. 5.3 km of the cave are open to the public making it the longest publicly accessible depth of any cave system in the world and has seen over 30million visitors since it was open to the public.

You take a 10-15min train ride into the cave and then a tour guide takes you the rest of the way. Your not meant to take photos until the very last "concert hall" but I managed a few on the way.

One of the formations, Nat immediately said it looked like an ice cream

The Concert Hall - 10,000 capacity for events

As we were walking through the caves, all the lights went out and it was absolutely pitch black. At the same time the group of young girls in front of us all screamed at the top of their lungs like they were being attacked. Now I know what a stun grenade would feel like. Loss of vision, hearing and orientation all at once. I have never heard anything so loud. Later they actually all sang in the concert hall and sounded quite good.

After the caves we checked out the Predjama Castle which is ranked amongst the most fascinating castles in the world as it is built in front of a cave. It is one of the best preserved "cave" castles in Europe.

The Castle itself was cool with various rooms, many with open sections and not sealed so would be bloody cold in the winter. The best bit however was the passages into the cave itself. Inside the cave there are two other stairs up and out of the cave (not accessible) but were perhaps possible escape routes. The nature of the setting and surrounding made it very difficult to attack and had resisted a year long siege at one stage.

After the visit we went to find a place to stay for the night and headed towards Novo Mesto. Yet another beautiful drive through the country side and ended up at a 10 Euro camper place.

We met some fellow Germans and they invited us over for a drink by their fire, it was really nice. She was from East Germany and he was from West Germany so we also got a little bit of a history lesson, mainly because we were asking so many questions. They gave us some spots to check out whilst in Berlin also.

They live just near Koblenz and invited us to stay when we travel through there which we will probably try and tee up considering she makes her own alcohol and he makes his own bacon!

Thanks Michelle!

14th to 15th April - Kekec Camping, Maribor, Slovenia

On our way to Novo Mesto

We looked around Novo Mesto this morning, it wasn't overly interesting however. The whole town is surrounded by water and kind off looks nicer from the outside looking in. The streets didn't really focus on the water as a frontage, well not like we have been use to anyway.

We drove to Slovenska Konjice but again not really much to see and no need to even get out of BB, but we still enjoyed the scenery on the way.

Another Log, they don't complicate things here.

We then headed to Maribor to check out the campsite, nice little site right near one of the many ski slopes which provided a cool background. Bit of a wet evening so we stayed in BB with Nat researching and me on the guitar.

View from on the slope (BB behind the small red building)

View from down

The next day was a washing day, enough said. Although it was much better when Dave, Michelle and co rocked up in the afternoon which included a soccer match, some home cooked ratatouille, thanks to Michelle, and more booze and laughs.