Slovenia

Although we had passed through Slovenia a couple of times on our Western Balkans road trip, we had not visited anywhere before we went to see the caves at Postojna.

I was a bit sceptical how good these caves would be as I have visited cave networks in a number of different places previously. Suffice to say, these were exceptional, impressive and extensive, as well as very accessible.

They are tastefully illuminated, so making it easier to appreciate the natural spectacle that they are, with chamber after chamber filled with stactites and stalagmites.

There are some salamanders that live in the darkness of the caves that I think are quite cute.

Ljubljana is a nice town and for a capital city, the centre is nice and compact, easy to walk around and pleasant. The castle atop the hill has nice views across the city and beyond and there are nice bridges and buildings throughout.

Lake Bled is a spectacularly beautiful lake with a small island in the middle and the Julian Alps in the background. Castle Bled is perched atop a nearby cliff and the whole setting is very lovely. We got there nice and early to avoid the crowds and the heat and we got to really enjoy our walk around the perimeter of the lake and appreciate the serenity of the place, as well as the clarity of the water before the hordes arrived.

After we had some sustenance, we went for a swim in the lake, which was chilly and fun and frolicked a bit.

On my first visit to Slovenia, as part of a roadtrip in 1996 before Slovenia was part of the EU let alone Schengen area, I didn't get to see a lot of Slovenia as the border guards were convinced that my friend Waz who was in the car with me was an international terrorist and spent hours going through all the Interpol files to try and nab him. After some time stood in the bloody freezing weather, waist deep in snow listening to Slovenian cover versions of Elton John's greatest hits whilst getting funny looks from a border guard that could barely move due to all the guns, knives, bandoliers and grenades he had strapped to himself we headed back to Italy. These pictures speak for themsleves.