Nov 19, 2017

Lake Bled, Slovenia / Ljubljana, Slovenia



A blurb from my instagram post closer to the date of travel pretty much sums up this trip: " Easter in Slovenia. The sour of the trip was dropping my cell phone in the toilet and zapping it for good. Omg who has done this??! Please take my advice and do not place a cell phone in your back pocket, it's probably the worst place for it. The sweets of the trip were riding bicycles through the farmlands and getting caught in the rain, reading scriptures about the resurrection with Alex, hiding easter eggs for Brecken, watching him totally crush easter candy, annnnd listening to hours of awesome podcasts on our road trip home." 

I am just now revisiting Easter weekend past, when spring was starting to peek out and we were finally thawing from a long European winter. Chatting with a few local friends about our holiday weekend plans, they were surprisingly curious as to why we would even be slightly interested in traveling to Slovenia. Our good friends are German natives who have traveled many parts of the world. They turned up their noses when we said our destination country for Easter would be Slovenia. "Why on earth would you waste your time going there?" one exclaimed. I responded, "Have you traveled there and had a bad experience, please tell!" Ya'll.. She had never been there. Just assumed it was a poor Eastern European country not worth visiting. 

Here's the first hand scoop from our personal experience in this country. We spent six hours in the car from Germany to Slovenia. Anyone who has driven through Austria knows that the jaw dropping scenic views will keep boredom at bay. If that doesn't keep you entertained, get your learn on by listening to podcasts. Slovenia's scenery seemed like an extension of Austria to tell you the truth. It had emerald green lakes, caves, mountains, castles, and beautiful green forests. Slovenia was much more inexpensive and less crowded with tourists. I rented us a modern studio apartment in a rural setting directly in-between Lake Bled and Ljublijana. To give you an idea of how inexpensive Slovenia was, our apartment for the weekend only cost 50 dollars per night. Activities for the weekend included row boating on Lake Bled, walking around Lake Bohinj, hiking through the Skocjan caves, touring the city of Ljublijana, setting up an Easter egg hunt for our little dude, and riding bikes through farm fields to have Sunday lunch at the BRDO estate. While we had a nice vacation, I remember us feeling a bit bored on this one. A heavy rainstorm came into the valley and was forecasted to stay for a few days. With all items on our itinerary crossed off, we decided to forgo one more night in our apartment and head back home to Germany a day early.







































Travel Notes

Accommodations
Visoko Apartment
Situated between Lake Bled and Ljublijana, this apartment was perfect for the three of us and made for easy access to many sights. A large grassy area and a river can be found behind the apartment; any child would love this outdoor space. The owners have a small management office within walking distance from the apartment and are available for questions, concerns, and concierge services. They couldn't have been nicer and even allowed us to use their bikes for a few hours!

Restaurants
Pop's Place
I love to search Tripadvisor for top restaurant reviews in the given city we are touring. Pop's Place had a high ranking and I loved the industrial hipster interior style + the thought of a good craft beer and a deluxe burger sounded like the taste of America we were craving. It was a nice lunch but sorry Pop's.. I can't write on here and say that it was the best burger we've ever had. 

Attractions
Skocjan Caves
Read all about the caves prior to walking through them + find a map to help you reach them!

BRDO Estate
Home to a congress center, hotel, castle, and a park area that also has a horse stable, ponds, and walking paths. 

Transportation
We drove from Germany as mentioned above but if this is not an option for you, the best option would be to fly into Ljublijana and rent a car to drive around the region. 

Itinerary- 3 days and 2 nights
  • Day 1
    • Depart Stuttgart in the am and arrive in Lake Bled early afternoon
    • Lunch at Lake Bled
    • Boat rental
    • Walk around the town
    • Drive to Lake Bohinj / walk around the lake
    • Apartment check-in 
    • Grocery shop
    • Dinner at apartment
  • Day 2
    • Breakfast at apartment
    • Drive to Skocjan Caves and tour 
    • Drive to capital city
    • Lunch and walking around Ljubljana 
    • Dinner at apartment 
  • Day 3 
    • Breakfast at apartment
    • Family time near apartment 
    • Bike ride to BRDO estate
    • Lunch at BRDO estate 
    • Check-out and return to Germany

No comments:

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.
Designed By Boutique-Website-Design