In the early 80s I had visited the Postojnska caves whilst on a coach trip to Italy. Back then, Slovenia was Yugoslavia and I was interested to see if anything had changed. So I packed the bike, bought a motorway vignette from a gas station and headed west. After being directed to a secure spot next to the car park booth, I purchased a ticket which included entry to a castle a few kms away. Almost 30 years later, the entrance to the caves, the shopping and eatery areas, were exactly as I remembered them. The caves are huge; all tourists are guided, at first by a small train deep into the cave, followed by a 1km walk, returning by train. If you can ignore the coach passengers and wanna-be photographers, the caves are quite spectacular.
I moved onto the castle, said to be one of the oldest in Slovenia. But sadly, it had been fully restored in the 90s and had lost character. But its location was great and had it been cooler, there was more to see in the area. Knowing I had a fair distance to ride to get to Bled, where I had pre-booked a recommended hostel bed, I programmed the SatNav to take me there via the non-motorway route. A few kms later, it pointed towards a thick gravel road and wasn't happy to take it. So I turned down the only piece of tarmac, only to find myself in someone's garden with the family sat outside. I removed my helmet to prove I was a dumb blonde who meant no harm - the man strolled over, looked at my written directions and said "No, you must return to the motorway". Feeling deflated, I returned to the motorway and headed north to Bled.
On my arrival, the owner, Jani, greeted me enthusiastically. He had cleared a space in his garage for my bike, briefly introduced me to his biker friends at the nearby bar and provided me with a comfy bed with no one else in the room. That evening, I went for a stroll to the lakeside and munched on a pizza for dinner.
In the early 80s I had visited the Postojnska caves whilst on a coach trip to Italy. Back then, Slovenia was Yugoslavia and I was interested to see if anything had changed. So I packed the bike, bought a motorway vignette from a gas station and headed west. After being directed to a secure spot next to the car park booth, I purchased a ticket which included entry to a castle a few kms away. Almost 30 years later, the entrance to the caves, the shopping and eatery areas, were exactly as I remembered them. The caves are huge; all tourists are guided, at first by a small train deep into the cave, followed by a 1km walk, returning by train. If you can ignore the coach passengers and wanna-be photographers, the caves are quite spectacular.
I moved onto the castle, said to be one of the oldest in Slovenia. But sadly, it had been fully restored in the 90s and had lost character. But its location was great and had it been cooler, there was more to see in the area. Knowing I had a fair distance to ride to get to Bled, where I had pre-booked a recommended hostel bed, I programmed the SatNav to take me there via the non-motorway route. A few kms later, it pointed towards a thick gravel road and wasn't happy to take it. So I turned down the only piece of tarmac, only to find myself in someone's garden with the family sat outside. I removed my helmet to prove I was a dumb blonde who meant no harm - the man strolled over, looked at my written directions and said "No, you must return to the motorway". Feeling deflated, I returned to the motorway and headed north to Bled.
On my arrival, the owner, Jani, greeted me enthusiastically. He had cleared a space in his garage for my bike, briefly introduced me to his biker friends at the nearby bar and provided me with a comfy bed with no one else in the room. That evening, I went for a stroll to the lakeside and munched on a pizza for dinner.
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