Love Notes From The Road: Hello From Slovenia!

While trying to describe this country, it seems as if I’m always using the word “beautiful.” But, it’s difficult not to because at every turn there truly is another beautiful site. After two nights in the small alpine village of Kranjska Gora, we are on our way to Lake Bled. The sun is shining and we are following a bike path along the turquoise colored Sava River with a constant view of the Julian Alps.

Day 2: Lake Bled, Slovenia Our Investigative Visit For an Upcoming Trip!

We stop for lunch in a quaint little hamlet that is well known for its superior cross-country skiing. There’s only one restaurant, a small handful of homes resembling cottages with fresh turned ground ready for planting and laundry hanging on a clothesline. Our friendly waitress suggests a couple of specialties, and we are once again enjoying a new Slovenian traditional lunch. Before we finish the day, we stop at Vintgar Gorge, a 1-mile long canyon with powerful waterfalls with boardwalks crisscrossing the entire way. It’s hard to imagine that the scenery could get any better, but by days end we arrived at Lake Bled. Once again, we gaze at one of the most beautiful views imaginable! There’s a hilltop castle overlooking the turquoise lake, a monastery perched on top a small island and just below the castle a church all surrounded by the Julian Alps. Could it get any better? Yes! It was also the view from our hotel room.

Rafting the Sava Dolinka River

We are once again blessed with blue skies and a sunny day, perfect for our rafting trip in the Sava Dolinka River. Keep in mind, it’s been chilly and raining so we are a bit nervous about the water temps. “Is the water really cold we ask?” Their reply being, “it’s very fresh today”. Not to worry, our guides had neoprene suits available and we were perfectly comfortable until we accepted the challenge of a little body surfing lesson. Oh, what the heck, let’s give it a try! It was just as they said…quite fresh, also exhilarating and fun! Later on, we spent the afternoon exploring the small town and enjoying new and different Slovenian food and wine selections.

Biking in Triglav National Park and Lake Bohinj

Our next bike ride begins with a private transport outside the city and up to the top of The Triglav National Park. As we were getting our bikes ready another couple close by were also gearing up and we could here them speaking English. We holler out, “hey, where are you from”. They reply, Denver!! They are neighbors and live nearby to where we reside. Too funny, we all become fast friends and will continue to see them along our same route.

Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate with our plans and we got drenched as we made our way to Lake Bohinj. We decide to wait out the rain and stop at the lake where we discovered Kremsnita, (Bled Creme Cake). Sometimes good things come from challenging situations. Next day, amidst blue skies our bike ride begins with a 10 minute train ride to the small village of Podbrdo. We had an easy 20-mile ride on an undulating road that winds through the countryside, along the Soca River. We pass by more turquoise blue lakes and into the Brda region. We are now officially in wine country. This area has been ruled by the Austro-Hungarian empire, Italy, the former Yugoslavia and now is part of Slovenia. It feels and looks a lot like the wine region of Italy.

We’ve enjoyed our encounters with friendly, local people. There are an abundance of unique Slovenian specialty menu options and nice local wines. We have also found Slovenia to be very inexpensive, gotta love that!

Diana