Slovenia

Day 13
After a last look at the "Ossiachersee" we continue our journey. We leave Carinthia (this travelogue can be found on the Carinthia page) and through the Karawanken tunnel we drive, very curious and a bit excited about what we will see (it is the first time we visit this for a long time), into Slovenia.

Tip: don't have a toll ticket for Slovenia yet? In the last petrol station in Carinthia, where the roads split towards Austria, Italy and Slovenia, you can buy this at the official price. It is here that we bought our sticker.

The visibility when exiting the tunnel was impressive. A beautiful valley hidden between the high peaks of the Karawanken Mountains. Our first stop: camping Bled on the equally named lake. We can just get a seat and settle in for the next three nights.

The idyllic Lake Bled is one of Slovenia's main tourist attractions. You have to take the busloads of Chinese there. They are omnipresent on every visit you make.

We walked around the lake in the afternoon. Meanwhile it was tropically warm. It is truly wonderful.
On the way we were brought to the island in the middle of the lake by traditional pletna boat. After bridging 99 stairs, you can visit the beautiful church of the Assumption of Mary. The bells are ringing continuously. Not surprisingly. The rope to set it in motion hangs in the middle of the church. Every tourist, and there are many, wants a photo while he or she is ringing the bells.
With the same boat we return to the edge of the lake. We settle on a terrace. In addition to the large air-coolers, we find a little refreshment there.
Time to taste one of the national delicacies. The “Kremna rezina”: a custard cream cake, very popular and apparently best here in the Bled area. It is really a very delicious pastry!

Day 14
Today the Vintgar gorge is on the program. We are looking for a parking space for our motorhome in the area. Small signs refer to a vacant piece of land slightly higher up at the gorge. The very friendly parking attendant, who only speaks Slovenian, explains to us with hands and feet where we can get a parking ticket (we eventually understood that this was with his colleague, who was at the parking lot at the entrance of the gorge). To enter the gorge you also need to have an entrance ticket. We happened to be able to buy this at a discount from a Dutch tour guide who had a surplus!
We start the impressive course. Via narrow paths and wooden bridges between the high rocks, sometimes with our backs glued to the rocks to allow returning tourists a passage, we reach the Sum waterfall at the end. It is a bit disappointing. It is not as impressive as described.

On return to Bled it turned out that there were rowing races on the lake on weekends. The Hungarian team had installed next to us at the campsite. They came from the University of Budapest. Twelve tents, set up around a central shelter, under which a long table with benches was placed.
All friendly people, but very noisy until the late hours. Not that they deliberately made a lot of noise. The next day they were already on the road from five o'clock and sleeping was no longer an option for us.

Day 15
Another beautiful day. Despite the early hour, it was already a very pleasant temperature. Yet I had to wait until eight hours before the baker made his rounds at the campsite.
The intention was to visit Lake Bohinj today. And this on the west side in the town of Stara Fužina. However, due to local road works, we ended up on the other side of the bridge. A bridge under which the water from the lake ends up in the river, the Sava Bohinjka. We could see the church on the other side but could not reach it. We could not cross the bridge with the camper. There was also not a single parking space available for our motorhome on site. We kept on touring fruitlessly. The small parking lot for motor homes was completely occupied by passenger cars.
We then drove only a few kilometres further, and via a very narrow ascending road we reached the parking lot from where you can start the walk to the Savica waterfall.
A torture for untrained calves. The route goes up steeply. After bridging 563 stairs you reach the double waterfall. This very beautiful waterfall of 78 meters high is powerful and descends in two streams. The waterfall is also the source of Lake Bohinj. You also have a very nice view of the surrounding area. After resting for a while in the shade of the existing trees, we start the journey down. Another 563 stairs! Fortunately, there is a restaurant with a large terrace downstairs. After the necessary refreshments we drive back to the campsite.
Back at the campsite it appears again, just like at the last campsite in Carinthia, that our place was taken by others. Again, it appears that administrators do not have an overview of their own registration system. Someone just drives around, sees a free place, then places a motorhome, tent or caravan on it. The fact is that the Bled campsite is full every day.
Back to reception to complain another good. As compensation, we are allocated a premium place for the price of a standard place. An additional advantage was that we were not woken up at five o'clock the next day by enthusiastic rowers.

Tip! When our place has been taken by someone else, we always hear the same from the campsite managers: Why don't you place a chairs or table when you leave your place? In principle, we do not do that. Their job is to keep an overview of the places taken.
We have now purchased a placard with the mention reserved in different languages and we have also affixed our number plate. Every time we leave our place at a campsite, we put this sign in the middle of our pitch. Wondering how long it will take before our sign will disappear!

Day 16
Via a panoramic road we drive around the Triglav National park to the picturesque Kranjska Gora - Slovenia's main winter sports centre. The town is located close to the Italian border. A very nice, quiet village, where you can walk over the heads in winter, located in a beautiful valley, between the high peaks of the Triglav mountains.

A fun fact is that the Triglavberg, at 2864 meters the largest mountain in Slovenia, is also mentioned on the Slovenian coat of arms in the top left corner of the Slovenian flag.

We make a short stop at the edge of the Triglav National Park, to take a walk at Lake Jasna. In front of the lake is a statue of a Zlatorog. A mythical ibex with its golden horns.

We continue the panoramic road, briefly across the border with Italy, and further along narrow roads full of hairpin bends. We cross coaches and trucks, effortlessly, but with the necessary caution. Until a little further on an old bus camper, fully loaded with surfboards above and along the sides, manages to hit our door mirror at a whirlwind. The blow was enormous. We have to drive a little further to find a parking space. The German van decides to return and stops at our parking lot. Fortunately our mirror was not broken. Only the built-in turn signal was destroyed. The counterpart's mirror was completely tattered. We saw that his mirror on the other side of the camper had also known its best time. It hung with duct tape.
After filling in the accident form, we continued our way. (Counterparty, however, was not allowed to continue driving because he no longer had a mirror on the driver's side. His vehicle had to be hoisted!)
We will stop for the night at a camper place in Bovec.

Day 17
Through the picturesque Soca valley, fortunately along slightly wider roads, we drive towards Lipica. For the next few nights, we install our camper at Brajda farm campsite in Sezana. A small-scale campsite with very friendly owners. Before giving us a tour of his campsite, he handed over a carafe of home-made wine. An important ritual for him.

By noon we visit the 400 year old stud farm of the world famous Lipizzaner horses in Lipica. This is the oldest stud farm. The first horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna - Austria come from this stud. Now Vienna has its own stud farm where they select the horses for their world famous riding school. As you well know the horses are born with a black or brown colour. Only after four years do they start to get their characteristic white fungus coat.
The horses have plenty of space in the stud farm and lead a luxurious life. They determine the rhythm of the day. From their beautifully decorated stables, they leave in the morning, completely unaccompanied, via a marked road, to the meadows. They also return independently in the evening. Accompanied by an English-speaking guide, we explore the domain. It is a very interesting and educational tour.
Many horses are also trained there. Reason is the exclusive, breath-taking show! This show is the apotheosis of the visit. Must see.
Attention! The show is not daily. This is done deliberately to give the horses the necessary rest breaks.

Op vrijdag 04/05/18 vertrokken we vol goede moed voor een initiatieweekend voor beginnende kampeerders. Dit op Kompas Camping Nieuwpoort, en ingericht door Pasar. We laadden de motorhome zoals we op een 14 daagse reis zouden vertrekken. Met volle watertank en volle brandstoftank. Vooraleer we naar de camping rijden gaan we toch eerst langs bij een weegbrug. De openbare weegbrug in Aalter. Kostprijs 2€! Je raadt het nooit! Te zwaar geladen; 20 kg te veel! Volgende keer vertrekken met een 40-tal liter water i.p.v. een volle tank. Dat scheelt ook weer 80 kg. Hoe doe je het als je met 4 of 5 aan boord bent, fietsen en speelgoed in de garage en misschien een bak bier?

Day 18
Today we are looking to cool down. We do this in the caves of Postojna.
The Postojnska Jama or the Postojna Caves are one of the most famous and most visited sights in Slovenia. The cave system is therefore the longest in Slovenia and is the second largest dripstone cave in the world!
We enter the cave. Brr, what a temperature difference. It is 12 ° C. Of course we brought a sweater. Many tourists were shivering. They visited the caves in T-shirt and flip flops! We immediately board a train. This takes us through a network of corridors three kilometres further into the cave. Then we continue another mile through the caves and imposing halls, until we arrive back at the train that takes us back to the entrance of the caves.
What is striking in Slovenia is that they charge high prices for their attractions. They know they attract crowds of tourists and they benefit from it!

Day 19
Temperatures have since risen to over 30 degrees. We drive towards the coast of Slovenia. Hopefully we'll find some coolness there. We install our motorhome in a beautiful location in the marina of Portoroz. Our first stop on the Adriatic sea. Portoroz is also called the Saint-Tropez of Slovenia.
We were two meters from the sea with a view of the entire inlet. A small downer on the joy was the price! Very expensive. We paid 46 € for 1 night!
But do not be sad. We strolled along the beach, where every square meter was occupied by frying Slovenes.
The town itself is actually just one wide avenue, which is the shopping street. With the beach on one side and the residential areas with very large holiday homes and hotels on the other, all built in Italian style.

Day 20
Koper, the second coastal city where we stay, on the other hand, is a very pleasant old town with many nice little restaurants where we had a very good meal. Be sure to visit the tourist office to get a city map, and visit, as we did, the historic centre and St. Nazareth Cathedral. Wandering through the narrow shopping streets we discovered the many small eateries where they serve very tasty, local dishes. For very little money you get very generous portions.
The harbour is also worth a visit. The imposing cranes dominate the skyline.

Day 21 - 22 - 23
The intention was to visit the old town of Izola. However, the weather had changed during parking. It was still warm, but it was raining. It was raining hard! Since dog weather was predicted, we decided to continue our tour to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
On the way it became as dark as night. The heavenly locks opened completely. Thunder and lightning were not left out. Upon arrival at the Ljubljana resort, our stay for the next few nights, the sky cleared and the sun came out again.
Time to visit the city. Ljubljana could of course not be missing from our program. We took the bus, which we could take just outside the campsite, to the centre of the capital.
More about this public transport can be found in the overview of overnight stays.
We will also spend the next two days in Ljubljana. The old centre and the many sights invite you to visit for several days.
We move between the many tourists. Despite the crowd, there is a pleasant bustle. The main squares we pass are Prešeren Square, Vodnik Square, Congress Square and Republic Square.
It is extra busy at "the Three bridges". Further along the river Ljubljanica you will find the dragon bridge.
Immediately in the vicinity of this we pay a visit to the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, a baroque building with a very beautiful bronze main entrance.

The last day of our stay in the city we go to the "Ljubljanski Grad". Ljubljana Castle that towers over the city.
You can of course choose to go up via the path, but we chose to take the "funicular", a kind of sloping lift, to the top of the hill. It is a funicular, with a large glass cabin, that runs over a steep sloping track on the rock. Thanks to the large windows of the cabin, you have a beautiful panoramic view of all of Ljubljana during the ride up. Just like you have on top of the wooded, steep hill.
The castle can be visited as a museum.
In addition to this museum, there are many other museums that you can visit in Ljubljana. The largest museum in the country is the National Museum where you can admire archaeological & cultural-historical collections. The architecture museum, Tivoli gallery & the Municipal museum are other more famous museums.

General impression Slovenia

We were very pleasantly surprised on our tour. It is really recommended to visit Slovenia. When you are outside the major tourist centres (where prices rise very quickly!), everything is still cheap. Local shops are still exceptional, but you can find everything in a local supermarket.
The Slovenes are friendly people who speak good English and help you with a smile.
The traditional dishes, served at very reasonable prices in the numerous restaurants, are very tasty, full of seasonal and forgotten vegetables. The typical desserts and pastries are delicious.
Slovenia is not that big (5000 km² bigger than Flanders). Which means that most sights are not that far from each other.
The east and south of the country are not yet so touristic, which means that it is wonderfully quiet. The population is still authentic, with a lot of Slavic and Hungarian influences. Most still grow their own vegetables, in small gardens, neatly protected with flowers and shrubs; or in one of the numerous allotments.
It is a very green country. 58% of the land is forest! A paradise for those looking for peace and quiet in the middle of real nature.
We ourselves have not visited the forests of the south and Kozjanski regional park in the southeast. At the time of our stay in Slovenia, the temperatures rose to over 38 degrees! Plus that you can reserve more than two weeks for this section.
Slovenia has really stolen our hearts. A country to return to for sure.

Day 24
Today, 25 June is Slovenia's National Day. We camp in Ptuj on the Drava river. It is the oldest city in Slovenia and is described as the most beautiful.
We walk along the river, cross the bridge and enter the town. Given the National holiday, we expected a lot of people. But… the opposite is true. No one to be seen. No cat on the street!
We stroll along narrow cobblestone streets through the rather beautiful town. The old town hall and the Georgius church. In the centre there are beautiful medieval and baroque buildings. It does give a strange feeling. All shops, cafes, restaurants and public buildings are closed. There were no tourists either. A dozen in total.
We then continue along an ascending street and thus arrive at the castle that towers high above the city. People can be seen here. Apparently all visitors to the city have gathered here.
For € 6 you can visit the entire castle, plus five exhibitions. There is, among other things, an exhibition with the famous carnival masks.
Ptuj is the carnival capital of Slovenia. Here the carnival is called 'Kurentovanje' and annually about 100,000 people attend the party. Carnival here revolves around the impressively dressed “kurents” (traditionally dressed characters). The Kurents walk in costumes with masks representing bears, chickens, devils, old people and fairies. There are many hours of work in making a costume. The kurent that has been around since 1880 is a devil who chases away winter.

It was scorching hot again. Fortunately, a large terrace was open in the courtyard of the castle. In the shade of the large umbrellas it was nice to relax with a local beer in hand.

Day 25
The last stop of our tour: Maribor.
An old and beautiful city centre, surrounded by high-rise, high-rise and high-rise. Typical of Slavic cities. It is nice to stroll around in the car-free centre. Remarkably, there is still a lot of greenery in the centre of the city. Of course we find again a nice restaurant. Here they mainly serve Italian dishes.
The waiter who took our order heard we were foreigners and asked where we are from. When he heard that we were Belgians, he was shocked and said, "Oops, I'm afraid we don't have a beer as good as you guys ... But can I still suggest a local beer?" Amused of course I ordered the local beer from Maribor: "Pivovarna Maribor". It is an unfiltered lager. Very delicious! Afterwards he came to ask if it was a good beer after all. I had no choice but to compliment him.
Finally, we walked around the old harbour district. There you can taste the better Slovenian wines in the water tower, the "Vodni Stolp". The area around the city is known for its viticulture.

Day 26
It is time to start the return journey. Just like during the outward journey, we will take it slowly, and return home with two stops.
In the afternoon we stop for the night at a beautifully situated motorhome park on the river in Leit-im-Winkel.

Day 27
Via the "Deutsche Alpenstrasse" we arrive in the rural village of Rothenbuch.
The quietly located camper place was for us alone. No other campers in sight. The only company were the numerous aggressive flies. I got bit six times!

Day 28
After a cool night (the first of our entire trip) we drive home. On the way we look back on our very successful tour. We also got to know an exceptional country - Slovenia! Be sure to visit before the masses flood the country.

In Slovenia we also mainly stayed at campsites. With the exception of the coast, the range of motorhome pitches with amenities is not that great. We didn't make any reservations here either! In the summer months it is usually not possible to make a reservation for a few days and you get the message full. It is best to always drive to the campsite and ask if they have a place available. They usually still have spare places!

Campsite Bled - Kidričeva 10 c 4260 Bled - all amenities - spacious pitches - acsi 20 € / night - we paid 60 € + 18.78 € TT for three nights! - located directly on Lake Bled. Very nice location. Because it is one of the busiest tourist locations, the campsite is full every day. It is best to arrive by noon.

Official motorhome stopover - Alpski turistični centre - Dvor 43 Bovec - officially there are only 12 (very narrow) places, but the rest of the parking is also taken to stay overnight - 20 € / night - all amenities - pay in the canteen

Farm campsite Brajda - Štorje 5 Sežana - small-scale 20 places - 16 € / night - all amenities - very friendly owners, on arrival you will be welcomed by the owner and you will first receive a carafe of wine, then the formalities follow, we paid 46 € for 2 nights, TT included. In the evening, the manager comes by to take any order for sandwiches, cakes or bread - Very beautiful, lovely campsite. The adjacent road is very busy in the morning

Official camper stop - Marina Portorož on the marina - Cesta solinarjev 8 6320 Portorož - 60 places - all amenities - you can use the showers of the marina, but these are located 500m from the camper place - very expensive camper place, but on a sublime, idyllic location, directly on the Adriatic sea - 44 € per night TB included

Official camper stopover - Ljubljanska cesta 13 Koper - 39 spacious places - 10 € / 24h - all amenities, including showers - a lot of noise from the adjacent motorway!

Campsite Ljubljana resort - Dunajska cesta 270, 1000 Ljubljana - acsi 20 € / night - all amenities - nice quiet campsite - there is a very good bus connection from the campsite to the centre of Ljubljana (every 10 minutes) - for 3 nights we paid € 83.65 including TT and our bus card for 2x4 rides (2 pers) that you could buy and load at the campsite

Camp Ptuj - Pot v Toplice 9 Ptuj - acsi 20 € / night + 4.5 € TT - all amenities - quiet campsite with spacious marked out pitches

Campsite Centre Kekec - Pohorska Ulica 35c Maribor - acsi 20 € / night + 3 € TT - very nice nice campsite - not big - all amenities - very friendly owners