Slovenia

Slovenia is a small Catholic country in Central Europe, lying in the eastern Alps at the northeastern end of the Adriatic Sea.  It's about the size of New Hampshire, but there's plenty of variety in the landscape - from the beaches of the Mediterranean to the peaks of the Julian Alps to the rolling hills of the south.  Slovenia’s history, dating back to the Sixth Century A.D., includes time spent as part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria and Yugoslavia.  Independent Slovenia was established in 1999. 

Bled

We began our visit in Bled, a romantic little town on the east side of Lake Bled.  Bled has natural hot springs and became popular in the 1800s as a fresh-air retreat.  We came for the scenery:  the town features a little white church on an island in the center of an emerald green mountain lake, with a castle perched high above in the Julian Alps – what’s not to like?  Our hotel overlooked the lake, and we could see across to the old town, with the church steeple above the trees and Bled Castle high above.

Lake Bled

Lake Bled is a jewel, pure and simple.  It was formed by a glacier and is fed by springs.  The lake is about a mile long and over 100 feet deep.  Swans and other waterfowl patrol its surface and gondolier-style boatmen steer their boats across the waters – it’s like a scene from a fairy tale.

Adding to the drama of this setting is a cute little island forming a perfect centerpiece - it turns out that this is Slovenia's ONLY island.  It sure looked mysterious in the fog ...

The traditional way to reach the island is by pletna, a boat which resembles a huge gondola.  There are only 18 pletnas on the lake, dating back to the 1700s when the original licenses were granted to operate boats on the lake.

On the island is the Church of the Assumption, dedicated to both the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene and built on the site where ancient Slovenes worshipped a pagan goddess.  People from all over Slovenia come here to get married, only to discover that the tradition of carrying the bride up the 99 stairs to the church is a tough job.  Another tradition is to ring the wishing bell – three rings on one pull and you are granted your wish.

We got a break from the earlier rain and took a walk around the lake,  It was supposed to take about an hour – it’s only 3.5 miles, but the view keeps changing, requiring a pause to have another look. 

One lakeside stop was for a short visit at Vila Bled, Tito's Summer Palace, now an exclusive hotel.  Tito was the President-for-Life of the former Yugoslavia and he spared no expense in building his little summer cottage on the lake. We particularly liked the grand staircase up from the lake ... quite a view. 

We also wandered through the old town section of Bled, for some hot roasted chestnuts and lavender in bloom.

Lake Bohinj

On a morning outing from Bled, we went to Triglav National Park, which covers nearly all of the Slovenian section of the Julian Alps. The park borders Italy in the west and Austria in the north; its centerpiece is Mount Triglav, at 9400 feet, the highest point in Slovenia. 

We took a nice walk in the woods, over a river and down to Lake Bohinj - the largest lake in Slovenia.  Since it is located in a national park, it is much less developed than Lake Bled.  Nice fall colors.

















There are a few small cottages around - most of them are renovated shepherds' huts.   There are very strict rules about renovation -- the huts cannot be enlarged and must be maintained in the traditional style.

The Park’s most revered animal is the chamois, of which only 2,000 remain in existence.  Legend tells of the Zlatorog, the golden-horned chamois that live on the mountains.  The only one we saw was bronze, but we'll keep looking - there are supposed to be more in Montenegro.

In the village of Bohinj, we admired the 15th century Church of St. John the Baptist. 

And then it was time for a break - we stopped at the local coffee bar for a warm drink and a taste of the Bled's area's specialty: a dessert known as "kremna retsina."  This is a cream cake made from a recipe created by the pastry chef in a Lake Bled hotel.  There are two layers of flaky pastry containing a layer of thick creamy custard and a layer of whipped cream.  Outstanding.

 Village of Fuzina

For a better feel for how ordinary folks live (outside of the cities), we went for a stroll in and around the village of Fusina. The old traditional design houses are endlessly fascinating - hand carved woodwork, lots of flowers, huge woodpiles and shrines along the roadway.

Further along we had a good look at hayracks - simple hayracks and double-linked hayracks - the very oldest ones are all wood, including the "nails" and the shingles.  The racks are used for drying hay as well as corn and other crops.

Also here we had the chance to see a traditional Slovenian bee house - a small building with colorfully-painted beehives at one end and a caretaker's room at the other.  The paintings depict folk legends and stories.  The owner of the bee house was busy cutting the grass, the old-fashioned way - with a long scythe which he had to sharpen from time to time.

Predjama Castle

Another outing took us to Predjama Castle, a Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth - it looks like it is growing out of the cave.  It was built in 1274 under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult.  It was home to the legendary medieval knight Erazem Predjamski, who was a sort of local Robin Hood. After a long siege by the Austrian forces, Erazem was betrayed by one of his men and killed.    The photo on the right is near the spot where he was killed - the round stones were used in catapults.

The original castle was destroyed and rebuilt in 1570 in the Renaissance style, pressed next to a vertical cliff under the original medieval fortification. Here are two views from inside - looking out toward the village from different vantage points.

The castle was a bit cold and damp, so it was nice to have a little brandy-tasting waiting at tour's end.

Postojna Cave

Not far from the castle, we had a tour of the longest cave system in Slovenia and one of the largest caves in the world.  Postojna Cave is a vast system of limestone caverns carved by ground water; it has been an official tourist site since 1818. It is located in Slovenia's Karst region, where the eroded limestone gives rise to large caves with all manner of stalagmites and stalactites, pools and other colorful formations.  It also is home to the olm - the largest cave-dwelling, blind, amphibian in the world. 

Our tour began with a 15-minute train ride into the cave system through several chambers.  Then we got sorted out by language - the English-speaking guide had a huge following so it was pretty much impossible to hear what she had to say.  However, it was very easy to see that we were in the most incredible cave that any of our group had ever seen.  The formations are beautiful, but what's amazing is that the display seems endless - we walked for an hour before hopping back on the train for the ride back to the entrance. 

Gingerbread Hearts

We enjoyed a visit to a "lectar" workshop to see how Slovenian gingerbread hearts are made.  Gingerbread made of durable pastry in various shapes and painted in bright colors is part of Slovenian tradition since the 17th century. These cookies are much too pretty to eat - Slovenians order them for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events.

Food Notes

We enjoyed several traditional meals while in the Lake Bled area, particularly two dinners at gostilnas.  A restaurant can be called a gostilna only if it has been operated by the same family for at least 100 years - to stay in business for that long is a pretty good sign that they're doing something right.  There's often no menu - you call ahead to see what's cooking or just take your chances.  So - two dinners to remember:

Gostilna Lectar fed us a 'country dinner' - fresh mushroom soup and salad for starters and then a giant platter containing beef stuffed with plums, local sausage, sauerkraut and sour turnips.  This was washed down with excellent wine and followed by ice cream served in a carved-out apple.  Every bite was delicious.   

Gostilna Union fed us 'lamb under the bell' - fresh lamb baked with vegetables in a big iron skillet, covered with an even bigger iron bell, and all buried under hot coals for four hours.  This was preceded by four appetizers - tuna on toast, caprese salad, grilled cheese wrapped in bacon, and smoked trout.  The main course was followed by a sampler of desserts - blackberry sorbet, chocolate mousse, and apple strudel.  Red and white Slovenian wine accompanied the meal, which lasted for hours ... we felt very European with this late and leisurely meal.

Ljubljana

To wrap up our visit to Slovenia, we visited the capital city, Ljubljana.  According to local legend, Jason and the Argonauts laid the foundations of the city 3,000 years ago as they fled along the Ljubljanica River from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea with the Golden Fleece.  On his way, Jason killed a monster that was Ljubljana's Dragon, whose symbol is seen all over the town.  Today, Ljubljana is a university town, a cultural center and in many ways, a fairy-tale city, complete with castle. 

Old Town Ljubljana, is located below the castle and on the eastern side of the River Ljubljanica.  It is a mixture of baroque, secessionist, and neoclassical buildings around a curve in the River Ljubljanica.  Old Town has city hall, monuments, and well-preserved old buildings and churches.  Life here seems defined by the cafe and bar culture and the bridges linking the two banks. 

The Triple Bridge, designed by home-grown architect Joze Plecnik, consists of three separate bridges located next to one another. There is mention of a bridge in this area as far back as 1280.  Plecnik's design added pedestrian bridges on either side of the old bridge, effectively widening it and preventing a traffic bottleneck.

The Dragon Bridge features four intricately sculpted dragons adorning each corner of the bridge. Legend states that the dragons wag their tales in the unlikely event of an old virgin crossing the bridge.  Some local people have nicknamed this structure "mother-in-law" bridge because of its fiery nature.

Preseren Square is considered the heart of Old Town.  It contains the statue of France Preseren, considered the 'Father of the Nation' and the poet who wrote the words of the national anthem.  The statue shows Preseren being inspired from above by a Muse.  This statue provoked quite a scandal and outraged the bishop when it went up a century ago - a naked woman sharing the square with the church!  For several years, they covered the statue with a tarp each night.  Today the place is full of people - it would be possible to spend hours sitting under the statue watching the constant ebb and flow of people. 

The Franciscan Church of St. Mary, also known as the Pink Church, is also on the square. It was built in about 1650 in the baroque style by the Augustinians.  It was later taken over by the Franciscans, from whom it got its name and its color. 

Nearby is the Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity, built by the Ursuline Sisters around 1720 and known for its Venetian-Baroque architecture.

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas is built in the baroque style, defined by its high dome and massive bell towers. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Nicholas, protector against floods and  patron saint of fishermen and boatmen. Bronze sculpted church doors were added for the 1996 visit of Pope John Paul II.

In Ljubljana's thriving Old Town market, everybody seems to enjoy buying directly from the producer.  Prices go down as the day gets late and as the week goes on.  The market's riverside colonnade, which echoes the long-gone medieval city wall, was designed by Joze Plecnik.  Along the river, the lower arcade features souvenirs and cafes; further in, the market is almost all local and the colonnade is full of butchers, bakers, fishermen and cafes. 




A market hall has vendors selling cheeses, meats, baked goods, dried fruits, nuts and other goodies. Behind the hall is a colorful flower market.  The main market square is packed with produce and clothing stands.   And of course, a few souveniers - including these painted wood from from the bee houses.

Ljubljana Castle is perched on a hill above town; it has been gradually added on to over the centuries until it fell into disrepair.  It has been rebuilt and renovated, but is technically still unfinished - can't ever tell when you might need another addition to your castle?

Slovenian guys hard at work?