December 21, 2020
Except for the fact that my wife’s Grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Slovenia, I probably would not have paid much attention to it. It is located above the eastern Italian and western Croatian border.
So we started in Zagreb, Croatia* where we stayed at the Esplanade Hotel, a wonderful and elegant hotel at an affordable price. Unfortunately, Zagreb is a big city with little to do besides launching and ending your trip. Having done that, we then drove to a tiny village where Grandma had lived. It was fun to imagine what life was like there 110 years earlier—just how much had changed over the decades. After exploring for a few hours, we headed to Ljubljana, capital of the country with a picturesque downtown highlighted by a river through the center. The city looks very cultured with a lot of statues and sculptures. The Grand Hotel Union is very comfortable but if you prefer a Western style stay, there is a close by Intercontinental Hotel.
(*An alternative launch spot that is just a little further is Venice, Italy. It is a very nice drive and if you have not experienced this masterpiece, spoil yourself. (See blog: The Magic of Venice).
But the 100-mile drive between Grandmas’ hometown and the capital was like a drive through Disney World. A well maintained four lane highway sits in the middle of a valley dividing beautifully manicured farm fields. The drive is easy, even if you have not driven a lot in Europe. The highway is a mile or two from a hill and almost every mile or so, there is a tiny village on the hilltop. Center and highest in the village is a church surrounded by homes of the villagers. On closer look, the homes sit on the second floor above the livestock barn which opens to a pasture in the farmers’ field. It is organized, clean and could easily appear in a fairytale book. This is the way these people have lived for centuries—all without the pain and strain of the big cities elsewhere on the continent. The pattern repeated all the way to Ljubljana, and we think it probably crisscrossed the country. So if you want to unwind after a long trip, this drive will help achieve the laid-back feeling.
From Ljubljana, after a comfortable 65-mile drive, we arrive in Bled, the photo capital of Slovenia with a blue lake smack dab in the center of town. (PGG 6437, PGG 6443). The walkway around the lake is enhanced with boat docks, some for private use and some used as boat taxis. There are periodic snack shops to get a bite to eat, refreshments or adult beverages. An island in the center of the lake is home to a church, thus the need for the taxis along with canoes and other watercraft. The church has been there for several centuries, so they have the system down pat, none of the taxis bore the Uber or Lyft logo,
Background to the lake and about a mile across is a sheer cliff, a couple hundred feet high, topped with a castle (PGG 6440). To the right, perfectly placed is another beautiful church. The castle is probably where Cinderella or one of her ilk lived.
While we picked a different hotel on our first visit, we scoped out better hotels for the next time and it will be the Grand Hotel Toplice—on the shores of the lake. A restaurant in the back overlooks the island and cliff. It looks special. We swear this hotel was not on the website we visited before the last trip but over the years we have learned that it is not unusual for locals to keep the “treasures” for themselves. Really cannot blame them
If you want to plan a short drive and visit another country, going around the lake can put you in Austria in less than 30 minutes.
But then, why do you want to leave Bled?