Road-trip in Slovenia

From October 16, 2021 to October 22, 2021

Day 1: Ptuj and Maribor

Today we are going on a road-trip to discover this beautiful country called Slovenia. When a few days ago, we crossed the country by bus to go to Austria from Italy, we were surprised by the beauty of the landscapes. It was obvious that we could not just discover Ljubljana, the capital. And then, the call of the mountain, after these last days spent in the city was too strong to be ignored.

So here we are, on our way to pick up the car. This first step is not the most pleasant: the 5 kilometers that separate us from the rental agency seem endless. We didn't eat anything since the old one, and the nights in dormitories are always less restful than those in private rooms. We arrive finally at good port, with a good surprise: the rental agency offers us a free upgrade of vehicle: we shall cross the country in an Opel SUV. Victor is delighted (for the moment, because we shall discover some moments later that the gears pass very badly and make a funny noise).

We make some shopping for the lunches (we would like to avoid going to the restaurant twice a day in order not to explode our budget too much) and we go towards Ptuj, a small village in 1:30 in the East of Ljubljana. We visit the castle which allows us to admire the city seen from above. We are welcomed by musicians, a group of people on their 31 and a limousine: today there is a wedding in the castle!

This visit is very interesting: between the explanation of the tradition of the carnival in Slovenia, the exhibition of the musical instruments (with which we can have fun) and the discovery of the armory, we have the impression to have visited at least three museums. And all that in music (and yes, the bride and groom are taking pictures in the courtyard of the castle with their guests).

We finish this first day by the city of Maribor, the second biggest city of Slovenia. It shelters the oldest vine of the world, more than 375 years. And since we are there, we might as well buy some wine, right?

Day 2: The Logar Valley

After an early awakening, we go towards Velika Planina, a plateau perched at 1500 meters in the north of Slovenia. 30 minutes of walk and we are there. The place is peaceful: the grass is green and the light of the sun which rises illuminates the wooden huts inhabited by the shepherds. We walk, we enjoy the calm. And we eat our breakfast, a cereal bar.

The second stage of the day is the natural park of the valley of Logar, that we reach just for the lunch hour. We stop eating in an inn. The frame is magnificent: a wooden chalet overhung by the glacier. Inside, it is typical and the heat of the fire of chimney is very pleasant. Nobody speaks neither English nor Slovenian. Here it is rather German, we are only a few meters from the Austrian border. The main thing is that we manage very well to be understood!

The natural park of the valley of Logar is magnificent. We walk until the waterfall Rinka, then we try to find the way until one of the caves without success (we went up on more than 200 meters before realizing that Google Maps led us in boat).

To finish this second day in beauty, we take the panoramic road of Solcava which extends on more than 40 kilometers. And we continue with a road on the Austrian side which passes between two mountains. It is magnificent and that rests our legs and our feet.

We arrive just in time in Bled to admire the sunset on the lake.

Day 3: Triglav park

Yesterday, we admired the sunset on the lake of Bled. This morning, we contemplate the sunrise. We are not the only ones to take advantage of the spectacle: several photographers gave themselves appointment. The view is magnificent, we do not regret to have got up so early, nor to have climbed so much of early morning. By the way, one of Victor's pictures has been published on the official Instagram account of the city of Bled.

Today, we head to the Triglav natural park, located in the west of Slovenia. We start with the waterfall of Peričnik. Works on the road prevent us from reaching the parking, 1 km farther. We decide to continue on foot. And since walking on the road is not very amusing, we cut by the neighbouring woods. We climb, we climb, again and again... It turns out that we are now much too high compared to the waterfall. And besides, where is this waterfall? On the other side of the river obviously! We look for a place to cross, but the stones are too much spaced and too slippery. So here we are, the pants rolled up to the knees, the shoes and socks in the hand, and the feet in the icy water. We crossed without getting wet (except for the feet), to continue our walk from now on improvised.

We end up going down again and we find the marked out way to go to the waterfall. Result: we put two hours instead of 10 minutes.

We continue our journey of the day by the lakes of Zelenci and Jasna, which are of a magnificent turquoise blue. We would have bathed well there, if it were not so cold.

We finish this day by the pass of Vrisc. On the road, we pass by the Russian Chapel, built to pay homage to the 400 Russian prisoners (first world war) who died in an avalanche in 1916 while they built the road.

Day 4 : 7 lakes hike

This night, we slept in a hostel. It is very appreciable after two nights to camp in the car. We took a good hot shower and we could wash some clothes.

It is all reinvigorated that we move towards the chairlifts which must take us to the starting point of our hike of the day: the ascent of the mount Vogel which overhangs the lake Bohinj, the biggest lake of Slovenia. Our enthusiasm quickly fades: the chairlifts are closed for maintenance. It's a pity, it's one of the most beautiful hikes in the country.

But there is another one which tempts us well: the hike of the 7 lakes.

We walked during 7 hours. We ate next to one of the lakes. We saw villages, lakes (and yes, this hike is not called the 7 lakes for nothing), trees, rocks... We made a nap and we were awake by a helicopter. We went up 999 meters. We descended 999 meters. And we arrived at the car very tired!

Day 5 : Kosjak waterfall & Piran

This morning, it was a lie-in, we woke up at 9 o'clock, the legs all sore of the hike of the day before. On the program of the day: the Kosjak waterfall and the natural beach (on the Soča river), the castle of Predjama (embedded in a 123 meters high cliff), the bridge of Kanal, the city of Piran (on the Adriatic coast).

After breathing the mountain air for a few days, we now breathe the sea air.

Piran is an interesting city, the traces of its different occupations (Italian and Austrian) are very visible in the architecture. We do not know any more if we are still in Slovenia. We begin by going up on the ramparts, the view of the city is ideal. We admire the sunset on the port and we stroll in the narrow streets of the city center. Until we find a nice restaurant to drink a glass and to eat a plate of seafood.

Day 6: Return to Ljubljana

We had left 5 days ago from Ljubljana, it is now the moment to return there. Tomorrow, we shall return the car and we shall leave in direction of Zagreb, in Croatia. Then before making our bags again, we stop in a laundry. What is top in Slovenia, it is that the laundry is included in the price of washing. We also take advantage of it to make some shopping for our next lunches and we take again the road towards the capital.

This evening, we rest: just a bar to drink a hot chocolate for me and a gin for Victor, and to eat a good meal before going back to the car for a good night of sleep!

Adijo Slovenia, tomorrow we leave to discover Croatia!