Slovenia: Europe's Best Kept Secret

Destination: Slovenia
Travel Companion: Graham
Duration: 4.5 days (4 nights)

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This past April, we decided to finally visit Slovenia which had been sitting there on my list for far too long. My verdict, it is a must visit. What a beautiful country, an amazing blend of Austria's nature, Europe's great food and Italy's venetian vibes, of course this all depends on where in Slovenia you are going to be. 

Old town Ljubljana

I didn't have specific expectations as I didn't know much about Slovenia other than Lake Bled which shows up in many screensavers on TV and computers. But there is definitely so much more to Slovenia than Lake Bled (which is still deservedly a worthy spot).

From the moment we landed until the moment we left, I couldn't stop wishing I could just live there. The views from the airport were break-taking. After we landed and went through passport control rather quickly, we went to our car rental booth and got the rental car. It is something I recommend as it gives you quite a bit of freedom to move around. Slovenia is rather small, driving there is quite safe and smooth, and we had no issue finding parking (paid). Of course, you can also just use public transport and do tours and I assume the experience would be equally enjoyable. 

Let's start with what we did and whether we would recommend it or recommend adding more to it.

Our itinerary:

• Day 1: After checking-in our apartment in old town early afternoon, we pretty much just walked around Old Town Ljubljana which is a really lovely city, more of a small town feel, beautiful river with restaurants and many public benches by the quays, a lot of trees around, and just pleasant vibes everywhere. We then had dinner at Slovenska Hisa Figovec which serves Slovenian food, beer and wine. We really enjoyed. 

Bled Castle

Bled Island

• Day 2:
• We decided to go out of Ljubljana and venture towards the famous city of Bled. It was a bit over an hour drive where we first started with Bled Castle, then went down to Lake Bled and did a boat tour that dropped us off on Bled Island where we had around an hour to walk around and eat ice cream. Honestly, super enjoyable as the weather was great and the ice cream was very good. Bled is quite gorgeous as when you're in the lake, the view of Bled castle with the Alps being a backdrop is just really breath-taking. You can also go paragliding near by and just have the same view but from above! 
• Other than taking a boat in Lake Bled, you can also rent kayaks, SUPs and other types of small boats. You can even swim there!
• For those not driving there, you can book a similar (Tour) instead. Later on, we drove through the national park where we did few stops to take in the beautiful views, then did a long stop near Lake Bohinj, where we went for a nice walk. You can also take a cable car to go up to Vogel viewpoint which is at an elevation of 1,534 meters and gives you a view of Lake Bohinj.
• Day 3: 
• We started our trip by visiting Predjama Castle which is around 90 minutes drive from Ljubljana give or take, a really beautiful castle built into the rocks / cave, and then drove back down (15 minutes) to visit Postjama Cave (note that you need to book a specific time and be there 15 minutes early) which is 24km long cave, the second largest in Slovenia, and home for an amphibian called the olm. 
• We then went to a city by the sea, a peninsula, called Piran, an ancient city with a lot of Venetian architecture as it came under Venetian rule in the 13th century. And as any city by the coast, you can expect great seafood. We recommend trying Cantina Klet where we had lunch. It had a view of a courtyard, and felt like you were in Italy. We also just walked around by the beach and through Piran's narrow alleys. I would recommend maybe spending a night there. Here's a tour you can check.

Predjama Castle

Piran

• Day 4: 
• The 4th day, was pretty much a food day. We started with a small group food tour which turned out to be an excellent tour as our guide was extremely knowledgeable, not just in food but in wine as well, and the food we tried were all really delicious. We visited the weekend markets, new modern restaurants and just your typical traditional foods and desserts; it was all very enjoyable. 
• For the evening, we had wanted to try a Michelin starred restaurant as there is a couple of them in Slovenia. Originally, we wanted to dine at Strelec which is located in the Ljubljana castle, I mean what more can you hope for but they had no availability that day. We ended up going just a tad bit further (45 minutes drive or so) to Grice which is located on a beautiful hill with great views and locally sourced food. It was a 10 or 11 course meal. I must say, maybe doing a food tour on the same day was not the best idea. I am not the most adventurous when it comes to trying out new foods, but overall it was quite an interesting experience, enjoyable but yes, there was a lot of food!

Charcuterie board, but this time, it's bear meat!

Saturday market and so much cheese!

Grice restaurant

• Day 5: We had few hours before having to check-out and head to the airport, so we finally made the trek up to Ljubljana Castle which was less than a 15 minutes walk uphill. Once up there, you're treated for a nice 360 degree view of Ljubljana and more. Our 5th day was also Sunday, so this means a lot of great markets are open, not just food markets, we also got the change to see some local businesses and Music focused markets. Like most cities that have a river flowing through them, you can do a canal boat tour. We sadly didn't do this, but I think it would've been a lovely thing to do!

Where we stayed:

We stayed in City Oasis Apartment in old town. I think the location was perfect. The streets were not open to cars, and only residents can enter with their cars. So it was quite a quiet area. And then, after just a 3-4 minutes walk, you're in old town by the canal. It was perfect.

City of Ljubljana

Beautiful city of Ljubljana

Where we ate or wished we ate:

• Cantina Klet in Piran (Fish and seafood).
• Pastries and danishes at Pekarna Ana and Brot Pekarna in Ljubljana.
• Slovenska Hisa Figovec in Ljubljana (traditional Slovenian food and drinks, wine & beer).
• Verace in Ljubljana: Napolitan Pizza.
• Strelec (Michelin star) in Ljubljana Castle. We didn't try it, but suggested it to a friend who said it was excellent!
• Don't forget to try their wine (Vepava valley etc..) and beer. Did you know that Slovenia is considered one of the most important producers and exporters of hops, which led them to brew and make their own beer. So for beer lovers, might be worth going for some tasting.

Traditional Slovenian food

Here are 8 things to know about Slovenia:

• is a haven for cyclicsts as there are a trails everywhere all over the country and it's a really green country
• is backpacking friendly, half of Slovenia is mountains and forests with Swiss styles Chalets available for overnight sleeps
• has a gorgeous capital. Ljubljana is small but mighty, it is very beautiful, walkable and full of nice spots. 
• has great quality of produce hence good food all around
• has a small access to the coast thanks to Piran where you can enjoy tasty sea food, and take a dip
• is a perfect destination for pastry and bread lovers
• has two Michelin starred restautants
• is a place where renting a car has been the easiest and is recommended as the country is not large and it is nice to drive from one spot to the other

#FromSloveniaWithFunk