Slovenia

Our Travel Companions

Donna with tour guide Ben on Lake Bled

At the 98 steps leading to the island church in Lake Bled

Brad and Sheila ringing the lucky bell in the island church

From left, Kay, Elizabeth, Toni, Roman, Barbara, Arlita and another Barbara returning to the Bled mainland in a pletna

John performing on his Irish flute at our farewell dinner

Guide Ben gets a small token of grateful appreciation from the group.

Two Nights and Dazed in Slovenia

Oct. 14-16, 2007

Dober dan, Slovenija!

Population: 2 million (similar to Nevada). Area: 7,800 square miles (similar to New Jersey). Capital: Ljubljana. Government: parliamentary democracy. Latitude: 46 degrees north (similar to Bismarck, North Dakota, and Lyon, France). Part of the former Yugoslavia from 1918-1991. Famous for Lipizzaner horses, ruby red Teran wine, mountain sports.

Ljubljana | Bled

The Charming Capital of Ljubljana

"lyoob-lyee-AH-nah": population: 265,000

Oct. 14: After a picnic lunch near the Skocjan Caves, we made a short visit to this mini-Prague. There we quickly enjoyed its old-world baroque and colorful art nouveau architecture, view-friendly castle, Town Square fountain, shop-lined Ljubljanica River (also below), and 1901 art nouveau Dragon Bridge (also below).

At the center of the city's Old Town, we wandered around and through lively Preseren Square (also at right) with a tribute statue to beloved national poet France Preseren, enormous pink 17th century Franciscan Church of St. Mary, colorful nearby Cooperative Bank, and landmark Triple Bridge designed by renowned local architect Joze Pecnik.

Gary's Photo Album of Ljubljana

Donna's Photo Album of Ljubljana

Lake Bled in the Julian Alps

"bled": population, 5,000

Oct. 14-15: In the stunning mountain resort town of Bled, we took a serene morning boat ride (also in column at left) in a distinctive hand-built pletna (also at left) to the tiny fairy-tale island ("Otok") in Lake Bled, wishfully rang a bell in the baroque Church of the Assumption on the island (at left), trekked to Bled's cliff-hanging thousand-year-old medieval castle (also below) for picture-postcard views (also at right), strolled the 3.5-mile promenade around the picturesque lake (also below), and ate delicious Slovenian pastries.

Too soon, we had our sad but happy farewell dinner (also at left and right), then visited Ljubljana again the next morning, only to fly on to North America

Gary's Photo Album of Bled

Donna's Photo Album of Bled

Nasvidenje, Slovenia. Hvala for a fantastic time!