Thanksgiving Vacation 2013: Trip to Slovenia

Up until a few days before we left for Italy, we had no real plan on how we were going to get to Slovenia. We knew we wanted to see the Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle. We also wanted go to Slovenia because it was a new country for all of us and only a two hour drive from Venice. If you search the Internet on how to get there, you'll find that there is no train or bus. Most people suggested driving, saying that once you get out of the city driving in Italy isn't that bad. But none of us really wanted to rent a car and drive. So luckily, my brother found a company that provided tours of Slovenia called Slovenia Explorer. A trip from Venice was not one of their standard trips, but they do have custom trips for a higher price, which was well worth it.

The tour guide was going to pick us up in Venice at the bus station near our hotel at 8:30. So we were up earlier to get our free breakfast at the hotel. This hotel had less of a selection than the one in Bologna, but there was enough food selection to fill me up, plus they also made fresh Cappuccinos. After the usual trip back to the room to gather our stuff for the day, we headed outside where it was sunny but very cold. We were told to meet by the information center near the bus station, and we found it and then waited in the cold. The tour guide called and said she'd be there soon and she would be driving a van with brightly colored decorations on the side. Sure enough, we saw the decorated van pull up and we quickly got in out of the cold. Our driver and guide, who's name was Ivana I think, was very nice and spoke perfect English, with a bit of an Australian accent. Once we paid her in cash, we were on our way.

The first hour of the ride was just getting out of the city and traveling along a very busy highway where every car and truck was speeding. As we got closer to Slovenia, Ivana started talking about Slovenia. She had a microphone that was piped to the speakers so we could hear her better. The van wasn't that big, but could hold six people, and with just four of us there was plenty of room. As we got closer to Slovenia the landscape was more mountainous and green, and there was less smog or smoke. One interesting fact we learned is that Slovenia has the most bears per area of any country, as well as caves I think she said there are 10,000 caves with like 50 open for tours.

Crossing the border into Slovenia was easy, as there was no border checkpoint, just the old buildings from the days when it was part of Yugoslavia. Once in the country, it took less than 30 minutes to get to the caves in the small, quiet city of Postojna. When we parked, there were almost no cars and no buses. Our tour started in 45 minutes, so we had time for a snack. When we got our tickets, we headed to the entrance of the caves. During peak tourist season, they can have groups of up to 500 people at a time. There were about 50 people in our group, which was nice.

This cave was like no other I had been in. It started with a three mile ride in on a small Disneyland type train. I was surprised how fast the train traveled, or at least it seemed fast because some of the tunnels didn't have much head clearance and I felt like I had to duck. The caves were well lit in places so you could see the formations. Also, because it was winter, it was actually warmer in the caves than outside. Then the train stopped and it was time for the one mile walking tour. Here is where they break you up into language groups, and the English group was the biggest. The group leader was Slovenian, I assume, and spoke pretty good English. As we followed him, he would stop and explain the features of the cave. He pointed out the usual formations that all caves have, such as stalagmites and stalactites. These caves had no stairs, but some of the walkways were steep, but luckily had some kind of anti-slip coating as they were wet from dripping water. No photos were allowed in the caves because the flashes would kill the plant life inside, algae, I think.

Near the end of the walking tour, they had a tank with a very unique salamander that only exits in this cave. The salamander has no eyes, and can live up to 100 years, and more amazingly, can go years without eating. The ones in this tank get feel three times a year, so they are happy. And yes, they get released back into the caves after a few years and replaced by new salamanders.

So before boarding the train to go back out, they have conveniently build a gift shop inside the cave. Also, this area of the cave is the one place where they kind of let you take photos. The room was huge so most of the photos I took didn't turn out that well. The one posted above is the best one. So then they ring a bell and everyone heads back to the train where you once again are whisked away back out, and once again I kept ducking thinking my head was going to hit the caves.

Back outside our guide was waiting for us. We had time to do some shopping in the gift shop outside the cave where I bought my traditional magnet for the city or country I was visiting. Then she drove us to a restaurant for lunch. It wasn't very busy, but with only one waitress they were a little slow, especially when it came time to pay and leave. The food was good and we had time to talk to Ivana. I asked her how many languages she spoke, and was surprised that Italian wasn't one of them, but I'm always impressed with people who can speak three or four languages.

Once we finally paid, and yes, we bought her lunch, we got back in the van for a the 15 minute ride to the castle. She told us the history of the castle, including a story about one of its "rulers" that may or may not have been true. I enjoyed the ride there just looking at the small houses along the green hills. Upon arrival, once again the parking lot was almost empty, which meant no crowds in the caves. In fact, we only saw four other people inside. This castle had no guided tour, you are free to wander around. But like the reviews said, you don't need more than one hour to see everything. There were stairs and walkways everywhere, and it would be easy to miss a room or passage way if you didn't look at the map, which we almost forgot we had.

One of the passageways led up to the inside of the cave that the castle was built in. We almost missed this part of the castle. Each room was decorated with furniture, artifacts and mannequins like the one being hung by chains in a torture room. After we saw all the room and took many photos we headed out just to find the entrance gate closed. Apparently we were the last visitors of the day. Ivana was waiting for us once again. It was already starting to get dark, so we finished the tour just in time.

The ride back was uneventful, and I briefly fell asleep along the way. Luckily there was no traffic most the way, expect as we entered Venice, and we arrived there around seven. We thanked our guide and said goodby, and then walked back to the hotel for rest before dinner. Since we had a late lunch we weren't all hungry, but I was. So we walked around looking for restaurant and finally found one that had a good menu and at least some people eating inside. I ordered a Calzone, which was just enough food, along with an Italian beer. They got us our food very quickly once we ordered. After we finished, we walked around the city a little more and bought some Gelato for dessert.

We still had a half day in Venice the next day, plus a half-day in Bologna. So we went to our rooms where I used their free WiFi to upload all my wonderful pictures I'd had taken. This day was the best part of the trip. Nothing wrong with Bologna, Venice or Italy, but I never thought that I would be spending a Thanksgiving exploring caves and a castle in the country of Slovenia! In fact I knew nothing about Slovenia before this trip. I'd encourage anyone to take the time to see Slovenia if they have a chance. Someday I'd like to go to the capital as it looks interesting as well.