Humans have lived here for 250,000 years. The Romans built up the area, especially the capital of Ljubljana, which was a popular trading center. The region was eventually annexed by the Austrian Empire. After World War II, present-day Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia until 1991, when it became independent for the first time in its existence!
On a historical walking tour, visiting castles, and meandering through the Old Town district, to Lake Bled, famous for the church on the island in its center.
There are also lots of adventure sports and hiking trails to take advantage of in the region. During my first day there, you can hiked a few trails around the lake, had the best salad ever (the avocado salad at Arbor), and then hiked up to the castle.
Then hiked Vintgar Gorge before heading back to Ljubljana. The gorge is about 45 minutes from Bled, with canyon walls that tower 50-100 meters (160-330ft). It stretches over 1.6km (1 mile) and is home to pools, rapids, and a picturesque waterfall.
There are also numerous other hiking trails nearby. As hiked back to Bled and looked out at the small farm towns and mountains in the distance, I thought back to that train ride into town. That beauty was not an aberration. Slovenia is just a stunning, stunning country.
To the capital, you can took a street art tour and a really long food tour, stumbled across that burger festival, and hit all the history museums to learn about this fabulous country and city. Ljubljana is small but it’s quaint, easy-going, arty, and a good outdoors city with all the bike trails and parks.
You can trip to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. Postojna, discovered in the 17th century, is a massive karst cave that covers over 24,000 meters (79,130ft), cut from the rock by the Pivka River.
It’s the largest cave in the country. While it was physically impressive, the overall experience was mediocre: it’s very commercialized, with a train ride and giant tour groups being led around like cattle.
The castle, though, was excellent, having been built into a cave on the side of a mountain. The original fortifications were constructed in the 13th century, eventually becoming the home of Erasmus of Lueg, a knight and robber baron. It fell to the Hapsburgs during a siege, after which a new Renaissance castle was constructed (which is the one that exists today).
There are many other places like: Lake Bohinj, the wine regions, Piran and its salt pans, Mt. Triglav, the Logar Valley, and just so many other things.
