A country where you can experience both the Mediterranean and the mountains – without breaking the bank? Try Slovenia. We decided to explore the country by bus: the prices are more student-friendly and the network denser than that of the railway. For some legs of the journey a train might be more scenic, but for the most part not even the motorways of Slovenia are quite so dull.
Starting from the coast…
Tucked between Italy and Croatia, Slovenia has only about 50 kilometres of coastline. One of the bigger towns by the sea is Piran. The town is not great with beaches – most of them are very rocky or really just ladders into the water on the side of the main street. As the town is not very big, you will see its sights in one day or so. Piran is however charming enough and its size makes it very easy to explore on foot. We went on a guided walking tour to learn more about its history. Here’s a fact for classical music buffs: Piran is the hometown of Giuseppe Tartini, the violinist and composer. The main square is named Tartini Square and holds a monument in his honor.
Some 7 km from Piran are the Sečovlje Salina salt-pans, well worth a visit. This nature park still produces salt through the traditional method of letting seawater evaporate and leave behind its salt on the bottoms of shallow pools. We hired bikes at the Piran tourist office and biked to the park along the beach. The bikes proved useful also on the pans themselves, as the salt pans area is a flat space of 650 hectares and the main visitor buildings some 200 metres off from the main entrances. Additionally, there are two entrances leading to two separate visitor areas, and the trip between the entrances is 4 kilometres. If you arrive by bus or you’ve got your own car, bikes can also be rented at the salt-pans ticket office.
Personally I found the salt-pans to be one of the most interesting landscapes that I saw during my stay in Slovenia. All the way to the sea in the horizon you can see the network of evaporation basins connected by wooden canals. The museums for visitors also tell you about the local flora and fauna – ornithologists will be especially interested.
… going through the caves…
Halfway between the coast and Ljubljana there is Postojna, which is famous for the Postojna caves. The caves in turn are famous for its olm, proteus anguinus or “human fish”. These pale-skinned salamanders, who live in darkness their entire life, can be observed in an aquarium in the caves. As you are not allowed use flash photography to get pictures of the olm, I recommend buying a postcard with a picture of one. In a good quality photo you can see them quite well, from their permanently closed eyelids to their teeny toes.
The tours in the caves are done in guided groups so you can’t wander off and get lost. The guide also briefly explains the history of the caves’ formation. Visitors are cautioned of the cold temperature (always less than 10 ºC), so it’s not a bad idea to pack an extra sweater. Still, to be honest, I felt the coolness was quite welcome after many days of 30 ºC heat, nothing you can’t bear for one hour while admiring the geological structures.
A practical tip: if you’re on a tight schedule and visiting during the high-season, buy your tickets in advance or you might get tickets only for a cave tour that is later than you had hoped for. You can also book a day-tour from Ljubljana, which might save you some planning.
Just 10 kilometres from Postojna there is another destination worth visiting: the Predjama Castle. We bought a combo ticket that gave us entrance both to the caves and the castle, plus a shuttlebus transport between the two destinations. The words pred jama literally mean “before the cave”, and what makes the castle so interesting is the fact that it is built into a cave: parts of its inner walls are carved and smoothed mountainside and its torture dungeon is a damp cave. The audioguide tells you of the castle’s history, focusing mainly on a local antihero, robber baron Erazem, who hid in the inpregnable castle in the 15th century. The castle is quite the feat and probably unlike most European castles you have seen.
…visiting the city…
Slovenia’s tourist slogan is ”I feel sLOVEnia”. To boot, the name of the capital, Ljubljana, contains the word ljub meaning love. Ljubljana is actually a quite lovable small city: much of its riverside is lined with trees and the old town is mainly pedestrian. The Triple Bridge and the iconic Dragon Bridge (see picture above) just by the market place in the Old Town are landmarks one should not miss. There is also a medieval castle on a hilltop. Architecturally parts of the castle were renovated in the latter half of 20th century and the castle is thus somewhat lacking in that medieval feel that you might experience in Predjama. However, there is a nice view over the city from the towers. Access to the grounds (albeit not to the viewing tower) is free so you might as well go. Also, if you’re interested in Slovenian history you should definitely go, as the castle hosts a good museum on the subject. As far as European capitals go, Ljubljana is a small one, but has enough to offer for a two days’ visit or so.
…ending in a forest.
An hour’s drive northwest from Ljubljana is Lake Bled, another famous location. It’s popularity among visitors is no surprise. Bled, a town by a blue lake hidden in the lush green forests that grow upon the mountainside is very picturesque. A lake and a forest are perhaps not quite so exotic to someone from Finland, but the symbol of the lake is Bled Island and the Church that stands upon it. For a small fee you can explore the Church and its bell tower. However, entrance to the island is free – apart from what you pay to get there! We saw some cheapskates getting to the island by swimming, but I would not advise you to follow suit, seeing as one is not allowed into the church wearing swimsuits. On the other hand, the gondola-like boats serving the route were a tad too expensive (13 € per person) for our tastes, thus leaving us with the option of renting a rowboat.
The second sight in Bled is Bled Castle. Located up on a hill, it has a nice view over the lake, but mainly hosts a regional museum and a few workshops (where you could find souvenirs, though).
Slovenia is quite cheap compared to Finland, so not a bad destination for travelers on a budget – especially if you go outside the tourist high-season (July-August) when accommodation is cheaper. All in all, with so many of the top sights being close to nature and the towns being quite small, Slovenia is a good destination for outdoorsy people who also like history.