After a fairly formal border crossing where we were greeted
by an unwelcoming border guard, we arrived in Slovenia and headed straight for
the capital Ljubljana. The terrain was visibly different from the moment we
crossed the border as we drove through beautiful countryside and dense
farmland. The country managed to avoid much of the trouble that plagued others
during the disintegration of the Yugoslav Republic and is now firmly integrated
within Western Europe.
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| This proud father was guarding his puppies along our route |
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| The route took us through the beautiful countryside |
152 km west of Zagreb we managed to find some parking around
the back of a bar/furniture shop/garage we paid 2€ an hour and were handed a
free beer with our receipt. Not the usual drill but we weren’t
complaining. We passed some beautiful shops along a large promenade
before reaching Prešernov Square. Overlooking the square is the Church of the
Annunciation, an imposing sandy red baroque seventeenth century structure. The
city centre was bustling but not stiflingly busy, there were people cycling
back and forth across the bridges whilst others sat chatting along the river’s
edge eating ice cream in the sun whilst the atmosphere was laid back and
relaxed.
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| Bikes are a popular form of transport in the city |
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| Ljubljana City Centre |
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| Ljubljana City Centre |
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| Ljubljana City Centre |
We crossed the River Ljubljanica via the Triple Bridge where
there were four men perched on a bench singing along to the most charming tune
with an accordion and a harmonica. People were generously dropping coins into
their hat as they happily performed. We visited St Nicholas’ Cathedral before
stumbling across Plečnik’s Colonnaded Market. A sea of canvas umbrella tops
hiding stalls upon stalls of the most beautiful bright flowers, everything from
delicate pastel rose bouquets to loud bulky bright sunflowers. They were selling the most unusual fruits and
vegetables, strange variations of what we buy in England and some things we’d
never seen before. We wandered around
looking for something to try and eventually settled for an unadventurous bag of
black olives and pizza flavoured Taralli. We slowly meandered further along the
river to Dragon Bridge where each corner pylon was topped by spitting dragons,
the city’s symbol, before slowly making our way back to the camper. Although
this was a fleeting visit we would like to come back and see more of Ljubljana
as we pleasantly surprised by its sophisticated beauty.
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| Plečnik’s Market |
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| Plečnik’s Market |
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| Dragon Bridge |
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| Ljubljana City Centre |
60 km North West we reached our next stop Lake Bled. We
checked in late in the evening and decided to hit the hay ready for an early
start the following day. We were up at the crack of dawn excited to see what
Bled had to offer. From the second we left the campsite it was clearly quite a
lot. A stunning mirror like lake with a romantic island, a medieval cliff top
castle set against a beautiful backdrop of the Julian Mountains, Bled is like a
real life fairy-tale. We walked into the town, past some beautiful grand hotels
and restaurants where we stopped at the village shop to fill our rucksack with
crisps and beer before heading back down to the lake the rent a boat. We rented
a small wooden row boat from a drunken man who told us all about the English
ducks on the lake. We rowed unsteadily across the lake towards Bled Island.
Oscar was so excited he was hopping from side to side whilst I screamed at him
to stop through fear he would tip us all out in the middle of the lake. We
reached the island where we moored up against a rickety wooden pontoon. Oscar
bounded off the boat whilst I slowly and steadily crawled to safety. We climbed
the 99 steps leading to the church entrance where we walked around the grounds
before hoping back in the boat and drifting back across the lake. We slowly
drifted (beer in hand) across the warm blue lake admiring the mountains,
thankfully Oscar chose to nap on the way back, this resulted in a much more
peaceful journey. We returned the boat and sat at the lakes edge to watch the
sun go down.
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| Up early and excited to row across the lake |
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| Lake Bled & Bled Island |
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| Beautiful lodges line the lakes edge |
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| Lake Bled & The Julian Alps |
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| Rowing across to Bled Island |
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| Climbing the 99 steps to the church of Bled Island |
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| Oscar enjoyed the trip across the lake |
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| Watching the sun set |
Excited at the prospect of a hearty meal after a long day we
returned to the camper to cook dinner. At this point things could not have been
more perfect, an amazing day exploring Bled followed by chicken tikka masala
and homemade flapjacks. Flapjacks in the oven smelling amazing and we are
counting down the minutes until its ready; suddenly the rice stops boiling in
the pan. Jac took a closer look and delivered the devastating news that we were
out of gas, half way through cooking dinner. I ran in desperation to the
campsite reception hoping they would sell gas, no such luck. I was tempted to
pop round to the camper next door, masala and flapjacks in hand and ask to use
their cooker but thought that might be a little too cheeky. We had no choice but to
eat at the campsite restaurant, with a dog, on a table for two, outside in the
cold. Not at ideal end to such a perfect day. The following morning I woke up freezing and decided it was
time for the spring/summer autumn/winter wardrobe transition. Jac lugged two
large vacuum bags of winter clothes from the roof box and I set about
winterising the wardrobes. It was sad to say goodbye to the longest hottest
summer ever but I was secretly excited to don a chunky knit and a woolly hat.
As per usual my idea seemed hasty later that afternoon when the sun came out
and I was forced to sunbathe in jeans. Typical.
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| Packing summer into vacuum bags |
The following day we
visited Vintgar Gorge in the outlying hills 4km north of the town. We paid 4€
admission and set about navigating the gorge via a series of wooden walkways
and bridged suspended from the rock face. A truly beautiful place with complex
water systems that were at times daunting due to their force and speed, the air
felt chilly from the fresh flowing water. What was meant to be a peaceful
afternoon bimble soon turned into an absolute nightmare.(This genuinely was as
dramatic as it sounds) Turning around to find Oscar has disappeared from sight
is a common occurrence due to his breed and his general disobedience however
this time a loud sharp whistle didn’t encourage him to reappear. I walked the
length of the gorge before a turn calling his name and couldn’t see him, other
than the thin walkways and bridges there was only one other place he could be.
Jac spotted him being carried along in the rapid current below heading for some
rocks, in a moment of panic he leapt down towards the water and stuck his foot
out to stop Oscar before he too fell in. After a struggle and what felt like
forever they both appeared and clambered up, soaked from head to toe onto the
jagged black rocks. We squelched back to the van so Jac could change and
attempted our walk again. This time it was much more enjoyable and both Jac and
Oscar stayed close.
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| Vintgar Gorge |
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| Dry clothes after their terrifying experience |
After an eventful couple of days we pretty much spent the
rest of our time in Bled relaxing at the campsite and around the lake whilst
waiting for yet more campervan repairs. We cycled into the town and around the
lake before spending the afternoon sitting outside a café in the sun. We
stopped for a browse in a couple of charity shops before collecting the camper
from the garage and heading for Austria.
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| Enjoying the sun at Lake Bled |
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| An early morning walk around the lake |
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| An early morning walk around the lake |
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| Watching the sun come up at Lake Bled |
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| Bled, Slovenia |
