Slovenia!

I was fortunate enough to get to see a lot of Slovenia, a slow paced Eastern Europe country! Starting near the Austrian border in Maribor I was already charmed by the good weather and scenery. Things got better as I moved toward the slow moving capital and then to the iddy biddy little stretch of Slovenian coast!


Maribor hosts some of the countries oldest buildings but is also home to the world's largest grapevine (planted around 400 years ago). If you think you will be able to sneak a sip of wine produced from the oldest vine in the world, think again. Only the mayor is allowed to give away bottles (of which only 100 are produced every year) of the precious vintage and it is kept for their most valuable guests.

Beyond the wine Maribor is a great place to simply move at a leisurely place sipping of cocktails next to the river or strolling through the old quarter. It was a fantastic introduction to Slovenia.

Moving to Ljubljana, the country's capital, I was expecting a little more city mayhem but the capital moved slowly as tourists and locals alike enjoyed its cobblestone streets, open air market, and plethora of cafes.

Ljubljana is a romantic city, the type you want to walk hand and in hand with someone special while oohing and aahing over one of it's many pretty shops or fancy statues. However, without a doubt, the highlight of Ljubljana is the Ljubljana Castle. Not only is the castle surrounded by beautiful forests it also hosts a gallery and an interesting museum! But the best part of the castle is going up the tower to get a breathtaking view of the city and beyond!

Despite being a fantastic city you can't help but feel your feet itch after being there for two days.  So, with a serious case of itchy feet I headed down to Postojna to have a look at Slovenia's most visited tourist attraction, the Postojna Caves.

You enter the caves on a small train which takes you through some impressive cave chambers before a walking tour takes you to the most impressive parts of the cave including the spaghetti room, white room, red room, and concert hall. I have visited caves before but I must say that despite the hoards of tourists and annoying people who took photos (with flash) when instructed not to do so it was an immensely interesting cave experience and a glimpse at the human fish at the end was a cherry on the top.

My last stop, on the Slovenian itinerary was Koper. This harbour town has decidedly different architecture to the other places I had seen in Slovenia. The Italian influence was everywhere! The harbour itself was great to stroll though with an ice-cream in hand and ending my time in Slovenia watching the sun set in Koper was a blissful experience.

But the best place I saw and experienced during my journey was just a bus ride away from Koper, Piran. Piran is an ancient town which leaves you gasping. It is stunning! The weather was gorgeous on the day I went to Piran leaving me to swim at will! After a short walk through the old town I took a dip near the restaurants off some rocks but a little later I went for a walk up to the tower but on my way I got distracted by another stretch of beach, a pebble beach this time. There were a fair amount of naked people on the beach but noone seemed perturbed and sitting on the pebbles in the water making creations of my own was just so peaceful.

After spending I don't know how long just lounging in the warm water I finally went up the tower and got one hell of a send off with views that were simply beautiful!

Slovenia was a lovely place to visit, it was relaxed but interesting all at the same time! The diversity in the little country was also surprising and I would suggest it to anyone looking for a different holiday destination.