Ljubljana, Slovenia
Cappuccino
Hotel espressos: convenience wins.
Art Hotel, Soteska 8
Today was a true adventure. We knew there was a lot to see within Slovenia, and since this was our only full day, we had to figure out how to spend it wisely. We had received a number of recommendations to go to Lake Bled. Yennie, ever the trip sleuth, also found a hiking area around the city of Tolmin. The area was famous for its gorge, and had a lovely park situated at the confluence of two small mountain streams. We made the decision early on, and then had to find a car.
It turns out we’re in high season for travel (not a big surprise), so finding a car proved to be a challenge. We went to Avis, Europcar, and Sixt, and each one told us right away that they had no cars available, not even for a day trip! We were about to give up, but the Sixt clerk corrected himself and said that they had one car left. Bryan was crossing his fingers it wasn’t an SUV. It was, in fact, a perfectly acceptable 2016 Skoda, and an automatic at that. Saved!
Off to Tolmin. The drive took around two hours. Slovenia is a beautiful place. It’s bordering Austria, so if you can imagine the Sound of Music, with what’s her name twirling in a field of flowers, you’re pretty close. The roads were surprisingly well-marked for being out in the country, and were definitely easier to navigate than, say, Majorca or Menorca.
When we got to Tolmin, we paid a small 4€ entry fee and headed in. The hike itself is a relatively small, self-contained experience that can be seen in an hour. The water is shockingly clear, and cold: anywhere from 5 to 9 degrees Celcius. We dipped our toes in briefly and could immediately feel them starting to numb. That being said it was a pleasant way to cool down while climbing rocks.
The gorge used to have a visitable hot springs, but the cave at one point collapsed ¯_(ツ)_/¯. We also walked to see a wedged rock in a crevasse and “Dante’s Cave,” who (apocryphally) visited the city, saw this place, and was inspired to write his Inferno after it.
After getting a “taste” of that fresh Slovenian mountain water, we knew we had to swim in it. We found a town about half an hour south of Tolmin called Kanal. There we had a totally out-of-season, meh, fixed course menu at a roadside café, including carrot soup, beef with gravy, rice, salad, and a hot strawberry crêpe for dessert. 😕 Eh, I guess this is what “seasonal” and “local” means out here.
The swimming proved to be much better. The Soča River runs through many villages in Slovenia, and each village has some hidden, local swimming spot. In Kanal, some enterprising folks had set up a bespoke diving board and a small wooden café. There seemed to be a fair number of townsfolk just hanging out, from little babies, to dogs on surfboards, to toddler boys spraying each other with water guns, to teenagers trying to out-do each other with precarious dives. Yennie got the itch at some point and dived in too.
The water here was milky blue and warmer, but still extremely cold. However, at this point it was the perfect way to keep cool on this hot day, and we alternated between drying off and diving in for the next few hours.
Since it was getting late, we headed back to Ljubljana, sneaking in a quick visit to Kavarna AVE, a bar with an impressive and comprehensive list of Slovenian craft brews. We sampled Pelicon beers, named “3rd Pill,” “Yes Boss!” and “Out of China.” We also sampled some more Bevog and Reservoir Dogs. There is an emerging craft brewery scene in Slovenia, which has lots of loyal fans. We’re lucky to have found all of these beers in one place!
Today was the EuroCup Final! We dropped off the car, and hurried to the nearest decent-looking pub to watch the game; of course, not before getting tasty, tasty, Slovenian döner at some random place along the way. At the bar - England Pub, we settled back with Union beers and watched Renaldo get a moth stuck in his eye, and Portugal clinch their victory. Bryan was rooting for the underdogs, Portugal, and took some kind of perverse satisfaction in seeing all the French tourists moping around after the game was done.
We were exhausted at this point, so we started to head home, but not before Yennie found some terrible Asian food at “The Wok,” which inexplicably was blaring the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. She is so starved for Asian food that she’ll basically eat a “stir fry” of random vegetables, doused in soy sauce and be okay. This simply can’t go on.
Yes, Boss!, Pelicon Brewery
So many Slovenian craft brews under one roof!
Kavarna AVE, Lavričev Trg 5, Ajdovscina
