Slovenia

Just a quick post about our two-night stint in Slovenia. Due to a very stormy forecast, we decided to skip the Slovenian Alps, Lake Bled, and the tantalizingly turquoise Soca River Valley and head straight to Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital.

After a long journey (taking back roads to avoid tolls because it took us a while to figure out the Slovenian e-toll thing), we checked into an Airbnb in the old part of town. It was huge and quiet. The kids had an entire suite upstairs. Sunday -- not much open. Falafel for supper.

The skies cleared for most of Monday and we were able to climb the hill to the castle, explore Tivoli Park, admire many statues and outdoor art installations, and eat some amazing pizza for lunch (best yet, made by a guy from Macedonia). We bought produce at a beautiful outdoor market and cooked at home for supper.

Our plan had been to visit museums, but alas they are all closed on Mondays. This travel planning thing...

It was pouring this morning when we left the Airbnb. Dave got soaked to the skin on his dash to the parking garage. Our next stop was the Postojna, Europe's largest cave. We boarded a tiny train and zoomed through spectacular tunnels and large spacious caverns, and then got out to walk 1.5 km through the most gorgeous cave formations I can remember seeing, ever. 

We even got a glimpse of an olm, Postojna's endemic, troglodytic, amphibious inhabitants. They live over a hundred years and can go 30 years without eating. Some of them grow up to 16 inches, which makes them the largest cave-dwelling animal in the world. In 2022 an olm in Postojna laid 50 eggs, becoming a global news sensation. 

Postojna is a huge tourist destination, so we were not alone in our underground amble. Ruby was not a fan of the enclosed, dark spaces and crowds, and was incredibly happy to get out of there, olms or no olms.

And back to Trieste, Italy, to return our cherry-red Jeep and rush to our favorite -ever spaghetteria, which did not disappoint.

I am trying to kick a nasty cold, so fell gratefully into a deep afternoon nap. Hope to be feeling better soon and hope nobody else catches this virus.

Tomorrow we catch a ride back to Salzburg for the third and final leg of this trip.

-- Liv

P.S. I forgot to mention that on our way to the ferry in Cres we stopped at an olive oil shop and had the most fun and informative olive oil tasting. So cool and made me appreciate olive oil so much!! Yes, we bought a few bottles, which we will ship ahead to Weisbaden.