Let’s Explore Slovenia

If we decide for a holiday on the Slovenian coast, seeing Piran, Portorož, Izola and Koper is a must. Every city has beautiful narrow streets, coastal paths and wonderful views. But if we want to visit places where there are no tourist crowds, go to the white cross or Strunjan cross where you can be amazed by the beautiful view on Piran and on the highest cliff in Adriatic Sea, which is 80 metres high. Behind the cliff is Izola and then Italy. In the summer you simply have to walk from this cross to the beach, named Moon bay. You can’t access it by car so bring a little less things and sports shoes or maybe an extra bottle of water. The hike is quite tiring, but the reward is amazing – crystal clear water without tourists. The Slovenian coast is crowded by HI hostels. You can walk to the white cross from hostel Panorama in Portorož and if you want a real hike, walk from hostel Piran.

Bled and Bohinj are two of the most visited places in Slovenia. Nearby, there is Radovljica, a city with the most sunny days in Upper Carniola. Why should you visit Radovljica? Because of the beautiful medieval city centre, which is one of the most preserved in Slovenia. Anton Tomaž Linhart, a Slovenian writer was born here and you can see an exhibit, devoted to him in the city museum. Here you will also find a beekeeping museum, special pastry shop and if that doesn’t convince you, there’s a festival of chocolate here every April with all the chocolate producers from Slovenia. The city is close to Triglav National Park so you have a lot of chances to climb to the nearby hills, which don’t require as much fatigue as the Alps. St. Peter or Jamnik offer amazing views, says on the website radovljica.si. Radovljica also has a charming hostel, which is a great starting point for the next adventures and exploring the region. Choose the hostel in Youth Hostel Radovljica, which has a really special atmosphere.

Lakes can be found anywhere in Slovenia. If you want some romance, I recommend you to visit Planšar lake or Planšarsko jezero. The lake was dammed by the locals in memory of a big glacier lake, where the town Zgornje Jezersko where the lake is located, got its name. An interesting lake is also a green lake Zelenci, which was also mentioned by Sir Humphry Davy, a known naturalist who wrote: “I have seen nothing so beautiful in Europe.” How do we find it? It’s located near the village Podkoren on the northern part of the Triglav National Park and is part of the marsh. In 1992 it was proclaimed a natural reserve. How did lake Zelenci get its name? Because of its green colour, of course (zeleno means green in Slovene). You can find an accommodation in hostel Pod Skalo and visit the beautiful Slovenian lakes.

 

Closer to Maribor and a great excuse for a day trip are Lovrenc lakes, which are located between Rogla and Ribniško Pohorje. You can walk there from Rogla and enjoy the nature. When we visit the lakes, you can stroll between the lakes on wooden paths, which lead around the lake and on them. The brave ones can also go to a lookout tower. Because of the low pines, which surround the water, we almost don’t know that we’ve arrived to the end but the nature is definitely impressing. The view is magnificent and strolling around is really something special. If you want to stay a couple of days, choose hostel Marenberg in Radlje ob Dravi or hostel Ruše, not far from Maribor. 

Also close to Maribor is an ancient settlement Negova from 1106, which is in the municipality of Gornja Radgona. It was inhabited in ancient times, as they found stone and bronze axes, and Hallstadt helmets. In Negova there’s a castle, which has three parts and an interesting history. The entrance to the old part of the castle is Matjaž’s bullet, the result of the king Matjaž’s attack to Negova castle and in the same part of the castle, there’s a Turk’s head, which is, like the legend says, the head of the first Turk who climbed the walls of Negova castle and still lives in one of the walls. Website slovenia.info also claims that a kind witch Apolonija lives in the castle. You can find an accommodation in hostel Radenci.

 

The ghosts aren’t living only in Negova castle, but also in the castle Strmol, which is one of the rare castles, which wasn’t robbed in Slovenia. It lies above the village Mače pri Preddvoru. The last owners of the castle were Rado and Ksenija Hribar who lived there for a few years, wrote in newspaper Delo. Rado and Ksenija were killed in 1944. They were taken by Partisan security and intelligence agency and the traces after them were lost. German soldiers were moved to the castle and luckily they left most of the furniture behind. Artists could even find the portrait Ksenija by Ivana Kobilca and portrait of Rado, painted by Božidar Jakac.