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Slovenia |
Eat and sleep
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Other opinions
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Historic and modern constructions, natural wonders, good food and drink, a few UNESCO world heritage sites, all in a small area, Slovenia is great for tourism, with diversity "flavored" with flowers. |
Bled
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Bled is really a marvel, but... it doesn't add much to what we see in postcards - a lake, an island, and a castle hanging over them. Maybe the rain that we had added a sad idea, maybe a pain in one foot gave me the wrong mind condition, but I enjoyed more Bohinj. |
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The biggest village near Bohinj lake is also the less interesting of them all. The best place for general shopping and... what else? |
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Bohinj Lake
Bohinjska Bistrica is the biggest population near Bohinj lake, and, without being the most interesting, it may be the one offering the largest resources. A few kilometers far from the lake, it uses it as the top attraction. It´s a little bit far to walk there (remember, you must walk around the lake to enjoy it) but you may pick a bus in one of the flourished bus stops that enchanted Fernanda |
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St Nicholas
The parish church, dedicated to St Nicholas, was built in the 17th century and renovated in the 19th, acquiring its actual Neo Renaissance and Neo Romantic look. It has some nice paintings and the tomb of 40 workers killed during the construction of the railway tunnel. However, the star was not religious architecture 
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Cemetery It may be a little morbid the visit to a cemetery without any remarkable piece of art or the burial of someone famous. Maybe it is, but approaching the church, it is impossible to notice how intricate with it is the cemetery, and how fresh it looks, revealing that it is something that people visit often and carefully maintain |
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Kozolec
One thing that we appreciated in the rural area near Bohinj lake were the many constructions used to store and to dry wood. It's a vertical drying rack, with a permanent structure also in wood, and following a typical pattern, locally called kozolec. |
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I didn't stop in Isola, but I must confess that it was one of the best views that I had in Slovenia's coast. A cape resembling Piran, and a nice green coast doted with white houses... it is beautiful. |
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I didn't had much time to Koper - the short time that we had was dedicated to Piran, however, I ended with an already unexpected stop in Koper.
Good! Forced to choose between the two cities, due to time limitations, I preferred Piran. However, I still got some minutes to a very quick and superficial passage in Koper, that confirming that I made the right choice, allowed only a few notes. |
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Praetor's palace The most outstanding building in Koper is a palace from the 13th century, with a Venetian look but mixing late Gothic and Renaissance styles. The clogged top is an addition from the 17th century. Nowadays it houses the tourist information center, and it is free to visit, even the areas used by the city council. |
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Loggia The only preserved Gothic loggia in Slovenia is located facing the Praetor's palace, in the main square. It was built in 1462, with a second floor added in 1698. It houses a cafe, and a gallery in the first floor. |
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Bell tower Once part of a Roman fortification this tower was transformed to be used for liturgical purposes in the 15th century. If you risk to climb its 204 steps, you will have a nice view, 43 meters high, wit the tower reaching 54 meters at all. |
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I skipped Kranj. Having read about the area, and only with time to visit one of two (Kranj and Skofja Loka) I choose the second. I know that Kranj is a great industrial city, and its center is nice, but... maybe next time. |
Ljubljana
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My sons had already visited Slovenia, which they referred as "the most beautiful" of the several countries they visited. Ljubljana was special, and, travelling to Trieste area I had to plan this visit. It was perfect! Ljubljana is a nice city, easy to visit in the short time that we had. The many thing that I registered are being related in my Ljubljana page. Website: http://www.ljubljana.si/en/ |
Piran |
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Occupying the tip of a peninsula, this small city keeps the charm of the ancient days, with narrow streets flanked by old houses and monuments. Without a real beach, Piran is surrounded by several artificial bathing areas, rounding a small marina. Nice place that I describe in my Piran page. Address: Piran Website: http://www.slovenia.info |
Portoroz
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I had great expectations about this beach, mentioned as the best of Slovenia. Well, I was somewhat disappointed - the beach is mainly artificial. ot ugly, not bad, well equipped, good restaurants, but...I had a quick bath on a tapestry of algae, a good dinner, and a good night sleep in Portoroz. It was all. |
Postojna
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World Heritage to UNESCO, this caves were one of our top priorities and they confirmed the expectations.
Postojna impresses for its grandiosity, and the long ride in a small train a freezing but wonderful sensation. Pictures are forbidden, but I think that only a 123 years old Spanish lady did respect the polite and discreet recommendations. Address: Jamska cesta 30, 6230 Postojna Website: http://www.postojnska-jama.eu |
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Close to Postojna, this "impossible" castle is located at the entrance of a wide cave.
Protected by the mountain, it was initially built in the 13th century, and served as shelter to several noble families until being destroyed in 1511. A second building didn't resist an earthquake, and the actual was built in 1570 in Renaissance style.It is served by a complex of caves, linking to Postojna, and with lots of history concerning supplying the castle under sieges. Address: 6230 Predjama Website: http://www.postojnska-jama.eu |
Ribcez Laz
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The closest village to Bohinj lake, and the best place to stay, but Ribcev Laz is also an interesting village. |
Skocian caves
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The Skocjan caves are the attraction that takes people to this region. Accepted as Natural World Heritage by UNESCO in 1986, they surely deserve the trip |
Skofia Loka
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A small city with lots of personality.
The centre of the Skofia Loka, though here and there demanding maintenance, is well preserved, and evidences well the past. Short distances make the visit easy and without any boring area. |
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No, Srednja Vas was not in my plans and I doubt that I would ever ear about it if my GPS didn't get mad, approaching the lake.
It sent us to a dead end, in a narrow and frightening path late in the night. However, while turning back we noticed that it could be pretty by daylight, and Fernanda forced me to "get lost" again (flowers oblige!). I did it, and really appreciated the village - very nice and... unexpected. It was a clever idea. |
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Beautiful village The first passage was by mistake, but in the second day we returned willing to confirm the good image suggested in the shades of the night. The village is small, steep, with narrow roads, but submerged in flowers it looks very nice. This was Fernanda's day with the camera... |
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St Martin church Built in the 18th century in location of an older church, this Baroque building atop a hill is the the main reference in Srednja Vas. It has an organ from 1830 and some paintings by famous Slovenian painters. |
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Flowers
Fernanda was running all over the place, from flower to flower, trying to discover the nicest house, the most colorful rank of flowers. I stood smiling by the car, and noticed the surprise of a local with all the excitement. I saluted him, and in a brief and pleasant conversation discovered that he had been in Portugal, with extraordinary memories about... Nazaré. Yes, that beach 20 kilometers from my home, and that, for more than 60 years I treat as... my beach. Yes! The world is small! But large enough for millions of flowers. Excellent! |
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In the western end of Bohinj lake, Ukanc is a small residential area. A few nice houses in a gardened area and a camping park, compose a very calm set of resources for a relaxing vacation in the lake. |