Slovenia

This country was not on our itinerary until we were in Serbia. Nat’s Dad helped to rearrange our movement ideas by knocking some sense into us, explaining that we would be travelling too far if we did Bosnia now compared to after the cruise as Dubrovnik has plenty of day trips. Heading to Zargreb for a night then into Slovenia for a day or two seemed much more logical whilst en route to Split. We had the time too and Slovenia is the country where Nat has told us she would love to get married in and we would soon understand why.

We only went to two places; Ljubliana and Lake Bled, both of which were so magnificent and I would recommend anyone planning an Eastern Europe trip to stop over here. Ljubliana is the capital and it oozes with a friendly vibe. It’s rather hard to explain this but sometimes a town or city can make you happy just being there without it even doing anything. Whether it is the colours of the place, the structure of the city, its buildings, the presentation of shop windows, street sellers or the manner of the locals something will excite you and make you fall in love without you even knowing what it is. That is Ljubliana. We did a free walking tour and the guy was full of rich information, even throwing in some funny stories. It was a big group though and at times we felt like we were on a school excursion so we made the most of it.

My body is unfortunately still recovering from Ibiza and my immune system has hit a low so we had an alcohol ban for these two days to help repair ourselves. Instead, swapping the clubs for dinners and sleep. One afternoon we went up to the castle and watched the sunset over the city and what a lovely city it is. With a 360 view we saw the mountains, small outskirts and the busy city but panoramic views are often hard to capture in photographs so instead we enjoyed the peacefulness and sat in silence, watching the sun go down.

Off to Lake Bled the next day, a 1.5hr bus ride and we were there! We had seen pictures of this lake in magazines and never did I think that this place would look just as the picture did because they are usually so photo-shopped but boy was I wrong! This place was better than the pictures and my camera LOVED it. It is a large lake (358 acres) and contains a small island near the middle. On this island is a church and there are 100 steps leading up to the church. It is believed that if a man can carry his bride up these 100 steps and conquers this challenge then so too will their marriage.

We began by walking along the lake then trekking up to the castle where you have the most spectacular views and great photo opportunities. Next we had lunch by the lake and were about to go in the selected swimming area but soon realised that we were all low on money so had to decide if we would get the boat to the island or stay on the outskirts. We chose the island as the knew that we’d be able to jump in around there. The boat ride out was so divine and breath-taking but unfortunately all the hire boats were taken so we opted for the shared transfer. Our notebook scene was ruined haha because this is exactly the scene it reminded us of except without the hundred birds surrounding our boat.

Once on the island the first thing we did was count the steps (Nat 98 and the rest of us 99 and 100) to make sure this fairytale was accurate. Next, we checked to see if the church was available (Nat wanted to book in to secure her spot however didn’t have the deposit money and so far only has one part of the bridal party-herself) and finally after a quick tour of the island we jumped into the fresh water. This was the best swimming experience we have had so far. The water was perfect and we could stay in all afternoon. For those of you that know me you’ll be surprised to know that I have started to take up swimming. The girls have convinced me and been very helpful teaching me how to do this- yes I can’t really swim that well. We all had turns of swimming out as far as possible, taking some underwater photos and those ever so predictable jumping photos. We didn’t want this day to end but we had to get back before we were forced to swim back. On the bus ride home we begun summing up our European experiences thus far and a few of us came to the conclusion that today was one of our favourite days. So unplanned and unexpected, giving it all the more emotion once truly experienced.

Finally, before we departed Slovenia all together we stopped off in this funky part of town where the buildings are covered in graffiti, there are the most bizarre statues and what looked like a playground at first was actually a drinking hang out. We were told it was mainly goths that hung around here and that whilst it looked cool during the day the night was a much better experience but we had to go as Croatia is calling us for the next 2.5 weeks. Stay tuned for the cruise, a few birthdays and the Dalmatian coast.