Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I feel sLOVEnia

 Welcome to Slovenia!

Ljubljana, Slovenia's Capital.
We spent a night here before continuing by bus to Croatia.  


Nestled between its touristy neighbours Croatia and Austria, Slovenia is often overlooked as a destination. This little gem came up while I was doing my research for Croatia, and I'm awed by the images I saw online, so yes! We decided to tread this less traveled path and it became the best memory of our Spring trip 2014. 

The Triglav National Park, Julian Alps & Lake Bohinj. Compared to Lake Bled, Bohinj is less touristy, and is located within the awe-inspiring Julian Alps region.  Cradled amongst the majestic mountains, the flow of the river serenaded us to sleep. Waking up to the chirping of birds, and the orange blaze peeking over the horizon, life is peaceful and beautiful. 
See the 2 houses? That's our cottage-style lodging (Alpik Apartment). Impeccable fully-furnished rooms with a kitchen, dishwasher, oven, living room, and a bedroom. The owner gave us a packet of the famous Bohinj cheese as a welcome gift. This is customer service and great hospitality! 

We joined a 4hrs private trek with Hike and Bike into the mountains and around the village. Our guide, Grega is friendly and provided us with interesting facts about Slovenia and Bohinj.  Triglav mountain is the tallest in the Alps region and most Slovenians will have to scale it at least once in their lifetime. Once you conquer the mountain, there is a celebration- whacking your bum the equivalent times to your age. If you scale Trigalv at 30, you're gonna get whack 30x! 
We took a train from Germany to Slovenia via Austria.
The Austrian Alps along the train ride are amazing! 
 
Vogel Ski Resort. 
Skiing down the slopes at exhilarating speed with the cold wind against your skin is an adrenaline rush I like, and it often leave me hungry at the end of it. But, my sister with her wild imagination of death while snowboarding decided to call it quit.
So, we ended up dining in a restaurant tucked high up in the slopes, instead of burning calories. 
An approx.1.5hrs. bus journey brought us to Lake Bled. A small touristy town with the iconic church in the middle of the lake. IMO, you can skip Lake Bled if you've been to Bohinj.
Our Itinerary at a Glance


Transportation: DB train from Germany
Lodging: Alpik Apartments (Bohinj), Hotel Jelovica Bled (Bled), Hostel Tresor (Ljubljana)
The Journey: Munich -> Lesce Bled (no trains to Bohinj) -> Lake Bohinj -> 
Lake Bled -> Ljubljana 


With all the picturesque sceneries, I can only say that ' I feel sLOVEnia'! 
Definitely hope to return here again with my love ones! 

Stay up for the next journey to Croatia!