Slovenia — Land of Wonders
After spending Three days enchanted by the Charms of Budapest, I jump on a train heading west towards the heart of central Europe, Slovenia. Slovenia strategically positioned between Austria, Croatia, and Italy , 70% of the country are filled with forest , you can enjoy the mountains on the north side of Slovenia sharing the Alps mountain range with Italy and Austria and just one and a half hour from the capital city , Ljubljana, you can enjoy beautiful panoramic view of the Mediterranean sea in southern-west side of the country. Slovenia are best known for producing natural products which are Salt, Honey, Wine, and Olives.
The Capital, Ljubljana
Ljubljana, The heart of Slovenia is located in the middle between the Mediterranean sea and the Triglav mountains . The city offers many interesting stories from dragons to Architecture. The city is quite small , populated with around 300.00 people , in the city you can enjoy beautiful buildings with the influence of Italy and Austria as both countries shared a long history with this city.
I came to Ljubljana in the early December where the weather starts to gets foggy and chilly but that doesn’t make the city looks dark gloomy instead it is full with winter and Christmas vibe, for Travelers visiting Ljubljana in early December, it means that you can enjoy the city with less tourist surrounding the city although many Italians tourist came to visit but still it is less crowded than in the summer.
With temperature ranging from -3 degree in the night to 10 Celsius in the afternoon, it is better to prepare yourself with layers of warm clothes as the weather can change pretty quickly especially during the evening, but you can also warm up yourself with a glass of hot wine or Kuhano Vino as what the local says which is sold along the street in the center of Ljubljana for just 1,5 euro for one glass of delicious hot wine while exploring the city or sit by the Lubljanica , the river that flows through the city. The best place to enjoy sunset is from the top of the Hill where the Ljubljana Castle is that offers panoramic view of the city and if the weather is clear you can see Triglav mountain on the horizons bath with purplish sunset sky.
Peaceful Bled
I took a day trip to Bled by train and went back by bus which costs around 14 Euro. Just one and a half hour from the Ljubljana by bus or Train, you can change the whole mood of the busy vibrant city life of Ljubljana to the peaceful and calming mood of Bled. This city is located near the Triglavski national park, this city is well known for its beautiful view of church in the middle of a lake which is true, but what amaze me more is the sunset view from the southern side of the lake where you can see the Triglav stand tall surounded by the color of vanilla twilight that match the whole tone of the city and the lake.
The weather in Bled is slightly colder than Ljubljana but still bearable with proper layering. If you take a Day trip to Bled , the best thing to spend your time is go circling around the lake then go visit the gorge which is one hour walk from the city , after that spend the afternoon siting by the nearby cafe enjoying Kremna Rezina which is a layer cake that can be enjoy in Bled where the recipe is remain secret from people outside of Bled for generations, finally end the day sitting by the docks on the southern side of the lake facing towards the city with Triglav mountains on the background.
Beautiful Coast of Piran.
Piran is one of the city in the coast line of Slovenia, you can go to Piran by bus which is a bit pricey for a one and a half hour single trip , the bus will cost you about 16 Euro but you can use cheaper alternative called Prevorze a local ride sharing community , you can ask your Hotel/hostel receptionist to book you a round trip from Ljubljana to Koper which cost only 10–12 euro , then took a bus from Koper to Piran which cost 3 euro ( 6 euro round trip), by that you can save 14 euros instead going there by bus.
Slovenia have a small coastline sandwiched by Italy and Croatia, the coastline of the three countries is one big region called Istria which produce excellent quality of Olives, Wine and Salt. Piran or Pirano is a Beautiful city designed with the influence of Venetian architecture, the city has a beautiful view of the Mediterranean sea which you can see from the the only town walls left in the city, this town walls was build from the 10th century and was used by the people of Piran to protect themselves from the enemies.
