Slovenian Adventures- Part 1

Hello, readers!

While we're no longer traveling the world full time, we've decided to continue using  307 Days to post updates on our continued travels.  Hopefully you'll find them entertaining...

We've wanted to visit Slovenia for a while.  It's the size of Massachusetts, but with only 2 million people (MA has a lot more).  It was also part of the Roman Empire for 1,000+ years and straddles three different cultures: the Roman (or "romance") cultures of Western Europe; Slavic, and Germanic (Austria borders the north). It also bosts one of the loveliest small cities we've visited, numerous castles, and the Julian Alps.  It's also not overrun with tourists (yet) and reasonably inexpensive (a pint of beer runs 2-3 euro).  So we set out to explore and hike for about 3 weeks.

First, Ljubljana.  With a castle in a hill, a lovely river, and and excellent food and wine scene, what's not to love?  This is the square outside the apartment we rented for a few days:

Really, there's not tons to do but wander the pedestrian center, sit in cafes, and walk through lovey parks.  It's also important to have a pint of Union Beer, brewed right in town and something of a local icon:

From Lubljana we cut a long loop southwest, the Predjama Castle.  Legend has it that the castle's owner, Erasmus, a renowned robber-baron, defied the crown then withstood a siege for over a year until he was finally killed with a lucky cannon shot while using the toilet (true story).  One look at the place and you can see why he was able to hold out so long:

It is, quite literally, built into the side of a mountain with an extensive cave system behind it.  Very cool.  Brook's 10-year-old-self was ecstatic.

Next we looped north to Kobarid, and the lovely hill village of Dreznica.  This area is part of the Soca River Valley, also known a the Isonzo River, and the Sven of brutal gifting during WWI that left over one million dead on just this front alone.  Fortifications still ring the peaks and River valley, and no visit is complete without taking a moment to reflect on the horror and futility of war.  

Happily, the area is now a beautiful, tranquil place with great hiking and views around every corner.  Here's one from our farm stay:

Beekeeping is also huge in Slovenia, and they take pains to decorate their hives:

Slovenian food, we're learning, is really good in that grandma's cooking kind of way.  A little heavy on the meat and potatoes, but always tasty and usually local.  Everything on this plate was raised and made by the family who hosted us for 3 nights:

Same with this one:

Out of Kobarid there's lovely hiking on the edge of the Julian Alps.  On our last day, we had a nice 13-mile ramble in the hills:

Our walk took us along part of the Pot Miru, or "walk of peace", which roughly follows the old WWI front.

We finished up with a well-earned pint of local microbrew, which is a relatively new but booming scene in Slovenia. 

From Dreznica we headed north, to Trenta and the high peaks of the Julian Alps, where we sit right now.  But more on that later.