Slovenia's natural beauty

Dober dan dear readers!

Friday we said Ciao to Italy as we crossed the Slovenian border, a country new to both of us. Although our initial plan was to mission straight through to Lake Bled, we decided to avoid another 5 hour + ride and set up camp near Postojna Cave (which we wanted to see anyway). There was just one campsite in the area: Pivka Jama. Jama is Slovenian for cave, so no surprise that the campsite had it's own cave. Unfortunately it was closed (high season only) but nevertheless it was a great campsite in the middle of a forest with great plots and facilities (swimmingpool, tennis courts, beachvolleyball pitch, kitchen ovens, etc). Even though fires/bbq's were not allowed, the guy allowed us to have one anyway, which was cool.

It had been a hot hot hot day and in the evening it was nice and warm too. When it was bedtime we decided not to wrap up too warmly due to the temperature and said a content 'Good night'. A few hours later we were awoken by rain and roaring thunder. We assumed it would pass shortly but it was just the beginning of the most impressive thunderstorm either of us have ever experienced. The flashes lit up the whole sky and could be seen even with our eyes shut. As the light/sound intervals got closer and closer, just a second apart, the roars got louder and longer. It was like a aeroplane taking off right next t our tent. The initial rip would lead to a prolonged rumble lasting for what seemed like forever. Our hearts beat faster and faster as the roars thumped through our bodies. There was no chance of sleeping this one off! We just listened to the magnificent power of nature in our vulnerable little tent.

The next day was a lot cooler but that worked out well as we were going to visit the Postojna Cave which is always 8 degrees so we had to kit up warm anyway. This part of Slovenia has lots of interconnecting caves, Postojna being the largest and longest covering 20km and has 3 levels. We did the tourist guide (part train, part walking) which was fun. Unfortunately, we could not take pictures in the cave. Postojna Jama

After a quick lunchbreak back at basecamp, we headed towards Predjama: a castle which was built into a cave in the middle ages. One of the most significant and earliest inhabitants of the castle is Knight Erazem (Erasmus). Legend has it that he was beseiged at Predjama for a year and a day as the enemy's army patiently camped outside the castle waiting for the inhabitants to run out of supplies. However, there was a secret passage through the cave so Erazem happily feasted on fresh food and water while his rival's men suffered outside (he did tease them with freshly picked cherries which he threw over the walls). Predjama Castle

We finished the day with a walk through the forest, where we came across this rather weird and large snail/snake thing...

After a short but active and fun stay in Pivka Jama, we continued our Slovenian adventure and headed towards Lake Bled on sunday afternoon. Lake Bled is much smaller than Lake Garda but equally as beautiful, in a completely different way. The picturesque scenery and natural spa's makes it a favorite with tourists. Luckily the high season is still a few weeks away so it's not suffocated by tourists yet.

The campsite is just seconds from the lake and we found a great spot to pitch our home, away from the other campers higher up in the mountain site between a huge rock and the forrest. When over campers do notice our tent, they just stare for a while. They must think we are crazy, but we love it as we've been able to build huge fires without disturbing others. We are just loving this camping experince.

That's enough blogging for today. You'll hear more about Lake Bled in our next post!