Caroline’s horse riding is progressing well, as is Richard’s flying but the main event for this month was a holiday to Slovenia.
Alan’s dropped us off at the airport and we caught the little Embraer ERJ-145 a small regional jet. We took off from East Midlands and landed a little later at Llubjana the capital of Slovenia. From here we took the coach which went via lake Bled to our hotel on the shore of lake Bohinj in the middle of the national park.
We were booked into the lovely hotel Zkatorog. One week of rest and relaxation, nothing to do but enjoy the scenery, go for walks round the lake and enjoy the local food and wine. We arrived just in time for the evening meal, and after that it was time for an early night in preparation for our first full day.
Breakfast was great, I skipped the fresh pancakes but did have the cooked meats and fresh breads and fruit. We certainly would not be needing lunch anytime soon! After breakfast we had a meeting with the local holiday rep and they showed us what was in the area and the trips that were available. We decided to book there and then on the wine trip and also the cave and boat trip.
After booking our trips we decided we would take a trip to the source of the lake, the waterfall Slap Sabica. We started with a gentle walk round the east of the lake until we came to the small wooden bridge, which took us over the small river which was fed from the waterfall, then we followed the river up to the base of the mountain. After a short while we came to another bridge and to a road and small car park. The road ended here. One road into the area, where it finished here at the foot of the mountain. What followed was a steep climb, until we came to a small observation hut. From here we could view the waterfall, tumbling down the mountain to fill a small pool which then became the river we had followed up from the lake.
We had been continually surprised at the river and the lake. The water was so clear and you could see very large fish, wherever we went in the week, we found clear rivers and no litter. A gentle walk back and we retired back to the hotel to rest and laze around for the rest of the day.
The next day we decided we would walk the north shore of the lake to the village. Breakfast was the same varied selection and this time I did indulge and had the chef make me some fresh crepes. Fully fueled up we started our walk.
The views round the lake were spectacular, but one view we had not expected as we rounded the first corner of lake was a couple of large naked german men, swimming in the lake! They and there party on the shore looked like they were having fun. For us it looked far to cold in the water to swim, though we did indulge later in the heated pool of the hotel.
Along this part of the lake they were the only people we met. At least we had not met the bears, snakes or wolfs that still live in Slovenia! Once we had reached the 3/4 mark we joined a proper footpath and started to meet more people on the route, but no litter which was pleasing.
As we reached the far end of the lake we spotted some brave souls jumping off the top of the ridge above us, luckly they had parachutes. As we approached the village we spotted the landing area. We stopped for a while and watched brave or foolish men jump from the top of the ridge and parachute down to the spot before us. We then wondered into the village and had a bite to eat and drink.
After a fine lunch and cold beer we decided to catch the boat back to the other side of the lake. We were surprised to discover that the boat was electric. Only electric or hand rowed boats are allowed on the lake.
On the remaining days were walked the south lake route, visited the top of mount Vogel, visited the wine region and went into some caves. All in all a wonderful holiday.
For more pictures check out our Slovenia Gallery
that Caroline had from new was now 13 years old, so we finally said goodbye to it and bought a shiny two and half year old Skoda (no jokes), a nice little Fabia Estate.