Our fall break began last Monday, October 29. We rented a car and drove to Bled in Slovenia. Slovenia is one of the countries bordering Hungary on the southwest side. The day began with falling snow in Budapest, and as we passed through parts of the country, there was evidence of heavy snow that had fallen the day before. Our hotel was a five-minute walk from Lake Bled, so on three different occasions we enjoyed walking the four mile trail around the lake.
The castle above Lake Bled
The church on the island was built in the 15th century and is used today for weddings.
The trees were at their peak in color.
On Tuesday we drove about five miles to Vintgar Gorge. The crystal clear water was rushing through the gorge. This was truly an amazing hike!
One of the many falls in the gorge.
This is a typical scene in the farming area: the hay drying rack.
We found another hike to a small pond, where we had this amazing view.
We were not far from the Vrsic Pass, the highest mountain pass in Slovenia, so we decided to check it out. The elevation at the top is 1615 meters. The switchbacks on the road are numbered with signs, and there are twenty-four of them. There was about a foot of snow on the ground up there. Here is one of the switchbacks.
The view on the way down. Spectacular!
It was still Tuesday afternoon, and we had time to visit another natural wonder: the Pericnik Waterfall. The falls is 52 meters high.
The trail takes us BEHIND the water fall. It was deafening!
With temperatures around the freezing mark, the mist froze on everything nearby.
On Wednesday we took another side trip to Lake Bohinji and hiked up to another waterfall called Savica. The melting snow in the mountains made for a lot of rushing water!
The view from the hike to Savica Falls.
On Thursday we were faced with a wet, rainy day. Our hotel receptionist recommended the Postojna Cave tour about 60 miles from Bled. It was definitely worth the drive! At the beginning of the tour visitors get onto a little train that travels two kilometers into the cave, passing through stalagmites and under dripping stalactites. Once in the main area of the cave, we walked another 1.5 kilometers and saw some amazing formations.
After the cave tour we drove another nine kilometers to the Predjama Castle. The 700-year-old castle is built in the mouth of a cave, on a cliff 123 meters high. Some of the rooms are protected from the weather, but life in that castle would have been very damp and cold--lots of dripping water in the cave.
The stream running below the castle disappears into the earth under the castle.
We left Bled on Friday morning and enjoyed three hours walking around Ljubljana, the capital city. We really enjoyed the "old town" section of the city.
This is the well-known "Triple Bridge" crossing the Ljubljanica river. It was rather difficult for the photographer to get a good vantage point.
An outdoor market in the square; such a colorful place. Once back in the car, it was a five-hour drive back to Budapest. We are very thankful for the rich experiences we had in the beautiful country of Slovenia! It's a place we'd love to come back to!
2 comments:
Great pictures of Slovenia! I can't believe the snow especially up at Vrsic Pass! You dared to drive up there in the snow! Amazing! What a change from the weather we had while we were tin Slovenia. You certainly were able to see a variety of places near Lake Bled. It was very fun to see these pics. Glad you got to spend some time there!
Hey you two....This lovely picture seems to be missing one important vegetable....Celery???? Much Love from your Farming Friends!
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