10/09/2023
Three countries in a day! We started in Slovenia (Ljubljana), made our way across Austria, and ended on Slovakia (Bratislava).
Our main stops were Forchtenstein Castle and nearby Eisenstadt, where we had a great pub lunch of rich goulash and craft beer (mmmm). We ended late arvo in Bratislava, which is just a for a couple of nights before heading to the Slovakian mountains.
07/09/2023 – 10/09/2023
Another Ljubljana post? Yep. But this one is dedicated to my efforts to try and track down many of the Invader tile mosaics scattered around the city. We chanced upon one on our first afternoon and that reminded me that Invader had indeed (somewhat) recently done an invasion of Ljubljana. In fact it turns out it was his second.
This website ended up being the key to my success, so all credit to Gregor for this amazing resource! https://greenstatic.dev/posts/2022/space-invaders-ljubljana/
All in all, I found 25 of what I think is 42 in the city. There was one that I knew was behind scaffolding, another in the Tivoli Mansion which was under renovation, and another I just couldn’t spot for the life of me. So that is not a bad haul on foot in just a couple of days! Check out this collection… I especially love how the Ljubljana Dragon was such a strong feature.
07/09/2023 – 10/09/2023
The next 3 days were spent in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. I will admit to being fairly ignorant of this city, but boy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ljubljana. It is the perfect mixture of picturesque, vibrant yet chill, and still seemingly fairly untouched by tourism (although, this has to change, surely). It has a beautiful large old town area with cars completely removed, which adds to the relaxed nature of things.
We arrived, and spent our first day wandering, getting the lay of the land, visiting the markets, and eating ice cream 🙂
The next day we did a day trip out of town to visit the stunning Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle. The caves were MASSIVE, and it took us 15 minutes on a small train to get into the depths where we spent the next hour wandering through. Predjama Castle was a very different castle, it being embedded into the side of a different cave complex.
Our last full day in Ljubljana was again spent exploring, this time to the History museum, as well as the university library and a quick bolt to the top of the hill to visit the castle. I even sniffed out a local record store and bought a copy of what is regarded as the first punk band from this region, Pankrti, who originally formed in 1977.
Again, I wasn’t prepared for how much I would love this city. Definitely now one of my favourites in all of Europe.
04/09/2023 – 07/09/2023
A new country! Slovenia!!
We left Austria, and in my last post I left you in Kranjska Gora, just over the border in Slovenia. It is a ski resort / adventure town, and we were just there as a nice rest stop, soak up the mountains, before heading off to our main destination Lake Bled.
Even though Kranjska Gora and Bled are relatively close, we went the LONG WINDY way, enjoying the Vrsic Pass and Soca Valley. A super windy drive, it was utterly breathtaking for long stretches.
We ended at Lake Bled where we spent the next few days. Most of our time was walking/hiking… around the lake, to the Castle, on the boat out to the island, and also to the Vintgar Gorge. Oh, there was also kremÅ¡nita, the Bled cream cake 😛
31/08/2023 – 03/09/2023
Long Service Leave has commenced!
This is a pretty epic trip and epic end to a crazy year of travel for work and fun. Over the coming month or two, there will be adventures from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Woo! I won’t post every day… most likely recaps from main legs of the travel (and when internet allows)
First stop Austria! We arrived into Vienna Airport late, and so stayed at the airport and then grabbed a car first thing the next morning to formally kick start the adventure. Destination was Graz, but we did a couple of detours. First stop was the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz, a 12th century abbey that was a nice rest stop and wander on our way. From there it was our main stop for the day, the UNESCO Semmering Railway, a gorgeous couple of hours in the Austrian mountains. And then, it was on to Graz itself, to finish the day with a schnitzel (Of course).
Next day was to one of the main places for this first part of the trip, Hochosterwitz Castle, a spectacular impenetrable castle high up on a hill. A steep climb up, through 14 gates gets you to the top. That evening was a wander around Graz itself, in particular the old town.
And on the Saturday we explored Graz proper. Main destination was Schlossberg, or “Castle Mountain”, what was left of the fortress in the city centre. From there it was exploring the museums, streets, and the food. Mmmmmm.
Sunday we left Austria (to return in a couple of weeks) and headed for Slovenia. On the way out we visited Schloss Eggenberg, and then on the road we came across Minimundus, the world in miniatures! So much fun. It was then across the border into Slovenia to officially visit a new country! We arrived at Kranjska Gora for the night, have a quick walk around Lake Jesna before rest.
Next post will be all about Slovenia!
