Oct. 28, 2018
Landed in Ljubljana and was once again happily greeted with phenomenal beauty. We had a private tour, not planned that way, but I think due to not exactly the tourist season, but no complaints. Miha was our tour guide and he was full of information and love for his hometown. He drove us to the town center and walked around showing us various buildings.
We then the three of us headed to Lake Bled. This beautiful area is surrounded by mountains (Julian Alps) We were going to take a flat bottom boat called a “pletna” to Bled Island, but the wind and rain were blowing quite hard at times and it didn’t seem fair to have someone row us out there.
Miha also explained to us that there are a lot of weddings held at the church on the Island. He was telling us he just got engaged and I asked him if he was going to get married at this church? He said he didn’t think so because it is tradition for the groom to carry the bride up the 99 steps to ring the bell for good luck. I left it at that.
He then drove us to Vintgar Gorge. The gorge is formed by the Radovna River. It was beyond gorgeous. We eagerly took off walking along the wooden walkways. The waterfalls and just the roar of the raging river was spectacular. Of course Miha said the water was only raging due to recent rains. From looking online prior to getting here, the images are vastly different and yet I still loved the scenery.
Of course I just had to throw a small hike, Smarna Gora, into the itinerary. Rick was sweet and obliging. It is a beautiful and popular hiking destination by the locals. We took a bus and then began walking through a neighborhood to get a a trail head. It felt much like getting to the Manitou Spring Incline late and having to walk up from main street to Barr Trail or Incline. The legs were burning before we even began the trail. There are many trails to the top, as we quickly learned. We even heard a tree fall. At the time, Rick asked me if I thought that was a tree falling and I said, “no way”. Then a hiker passed us and told us how a tree fell 20 meters in front of him. There is a restaurant and a cafe at the top. We enjoyed some adult beverages and then made our way down.
Our last day was filled with walking around the town center and checking out the local shops. We did head over to take a look at Dragon Bridge. This bridge replaced and old Oak bridge that was damaged by an earthquake in 1895.
No Ordinary Trip 