Zagreb, Croatia - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Day 15

Wednesday, September 16, 2017

Our bus did not depart this morning until 9 am so we had a little time to walk around the city center. Here is Jelačić Square in the morning, where people catch electric trains to go to work. I walked a block to the green market, which was already in full swing at 8 am.

Back in the bus for the trip across another border, about 1-1/2 hours into the trip. Once again, it took about an hour combined to leave Croatia and to do a walk through at the border into Slovenia (checking passports and stamping). I thought these two countries got along well, but Klemen said there is a lot of friction because of some border disputes. And they are both mainly Roman Catholic.

As we headed into Slovenia, the landscape changed dramatically as we crossed the rolling hills of the Dilenjska region. Little villages along the way looked like they belonged in Austria. And we saw the little hayracks called kozolecs, which are unique to Slovenia and dot the landscape.

We had lunch in Kranj, a small village along the way. It had a very quaint downtown and was framed by these snow capped mountains, which I heard had just received snowfall a few days ago. What a treat to see. 

At lunch I sat with two women from our group whose grandparents on both sides came from Slovenia. They had hired a woman named Lilli to research their family, and she joined us for lunch. She was a delight and I enjoyed listening to her information about their family, including arranged marriages and out of wedlock births. She is also a tour guide, and I talked to her about helping me arrange a hiking trip back to her country. Now I have a friend in Slovenia.

After lunch our bus took us to Lake Bled, located in the Julian Alps of the Upper Carniolan region of northwest Slovenia. It is a glacial lake of 358 acres at 1,558 ft. elevation and a depth of 97 ft. What makes this picturesque environment with mountains and forests extra special is a castle on a hill and a church on an island.

The island has several buildings including the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary built near the end of the 17th century. The tower is over 170 ft. high. Boats go to the island but no time for us today.

However, we did have time to visit Bled Castle, a medieval castle built on a precipice above the city of Bled. 

It is believed to be the oldest Slovenian castle, first mentioned in 1011, but added to and renovated over the years. It had a beautiful chapel with frescoes, a museum and some great views.

I couldn't resist snapping this "outhouse" "inhouse." I think there might have been a hole in the wall outside sending the contents to the lake. I heard they did that in other castles but it went into the moat.

Then it took us about an hour to drive to Ljubljana. We checked into City Hotel, and, again, I had a very nice room with a view. We had dinner at the hotel and then I walked the short block to Prešeren Square, named for a poet from the 1800's who wrote their national anthem. Above is one of the architecturally beautiful bridges over the Ljubljanica River. There were lights on the street and on the castle. It was a lovely night to be out.