Hello friends, this is our last day in Slovenia. It has been truly wonderful experience! I would recommend coming here to anyone. It is so beautiful, the people are friendly, it is less crowded than other big touristy areas and very affordable!

This morning we woke up and cleaned up our apartment that we had stayed in for three nights. I took in one last view of the castle from our window and then we hauled our bags down three flights of stairs to the car. Jacob maneuvered the car out of the garage and down the narrow driveway with ease and then we were off.

We first stopped to fill up our diesel VW Golf for $1.70 a liter. It cost around $80 to fill up but our tank says it will take us about 1,000 kilometers.

Today we decided to check out the Vintgar Gorge. This is near Bled, only about a 10 minute drive. We parked in a lot for $5 then we had to walk about 20 minutes in the blaring sun to the gorge entrance. One unique thing about the gorge is that it is one way only, so once we got out the other end we’d have to walk all the way back to our car.

After 20 minutes in the hot sun, and using sheer will power to get up the few hills, I was delighted to find the gorge was shady and cool. We decided to take a leisurely walk through the gorge since it was only 2.2 km or 1.3 miles. It cost $20 to enter the gorge and you had to reserve a time slot. I could not believe how many people were there!

Here are just a few photos from the walk!

Once we got to the end, we had about a 40 minute walk back to our car. Part of the walk took us through cow fields which warned us to walk through at our own risk. However, the only thing we were in risk of was walking on cow pies. We didn’t see any cows right away and once we did they were in another pasture. We did see goats along the way and one even BAAAAAAAA’d at me.

It was a beautiful walk but ironically much longer than the gorge experience itself, which again surprised me that there were so many people there. After failing to bring enough water when we hiked around Lake Bled, we made sure to pack plenty this time and boy did we need it! It was about mid-80s today with a light breeze. Parts of the trail were shaded but long stretches weren’t. Then we had to meander through town to get back to our parking lot and the heat was just radiating off the pavement. I watched as many people passed by us already gasping on their way to the gorge.

Once we finally returned to our car, we decided to swing by the market for some lunch and cold drinks. We had a short 45 minute drive to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. This is one of the smallest capital cities in the EU with just under 300,000 residents.

We’ve decided that I turn into a toddler when we travel. I need snack breaks, water break, rest breaks, nap breaks etc. or I will have a tantrum. So after lunch, it only made sense that I would fall asleep in the car. I woke up with just 15 minutes to go. Jacob said, “welcome back!” when I woke up.

We arrived at our hotel and were directed to go straight to the parking garage. When we buzzed reception they asked us to take the car elevator to the second level. We thought this was a lost in translation moment until we saw it. A car elevator!

We decided we were not fancy enough since we had clearly never used one of these. It didn’t work right away and Jacob had to back out and pull back in to get it to move. Then we went down one floor and backed out to park on the second level.

We were about 30 minutes early to check in and I asked if our room was ready, but it was not. We decided to walk around and see the sights for a little bit in the scorching 90+ degree weather. My breath was taken away by the beauty of this place! There was a market selling fresh fruit (which all the bees loved very much). Then there was a stretch where people were selling different products they’d made. Then there was a stretch of food vendors. All of this along the Ljubljanica river.

Before heading back to the hotel, we both got a cone of raspberry ice cream. It was so creamy and delicious and a much needed treat.

We checked into the hotel with ease and went up to see our room on the seventh floor. We had booked a room with a view of the castle and a balcony. The view does not disappoint! I took this from our balcony.

After another quick nap, I was now ready for dinner so we ventured back out to the city. Even though it was a few hours later it was still quite hot. I found a Mexican restaurant nearby called Cantina Mexicana and we ate there. Jacob had enchiladas and I had a quesadilla. I also ordered Sangria and Jacob had a coke. Service was quick and friendly, the server spoke perfect English and it was a breeze. It was so nice to be outside on a beautiful evening enjoying a delicious meal! After we ate, we returned to our hotel to cool off and get ready for our next few days.

Tomorrow morning we are going to trek up to the castle and use the train to get up and down. I checked with the hotel and we can leave our car in the garage until 1 p.m. That will give us plenty of time to explore the Ljubljana Castle, which was originally constructed in the 11th century. After castle adventures, we are on the road to Venice! This has been on my list for a long time and I’m glad we are finally going. We will have to figure out parking once we get there since we didn’t pre-book. If you believe in prayer, this might be a good time to send some thoughts our way!

Our apartment in Venice is the nicest one we booked and will have our first washing machine so we can finally get some laundry done. On our way to Venice, we are planning to stop and check out the Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle if we have time.

Until then!