Just a stone's throw away from Venice is Slovenia. I think last night we sailed right out to sea and back again to kill time. We arrived early into the port of Koper a pretty little town but maybe not enough to keep you interested in for a whole day. Our private Guide Graeme from Four Seasons Travel, Slovenia arrived just as we exited the ship. He had another tour booked which his wife Helena was taking. Graeme was highly recommended on Cruise Critic and after spending the day with him we can see why. Graeme is English married to Helena who is Slovenian they live in Bled with their 2 young children.
It was so nice to listen to a guide without having to really concentrate on the accent. He was very knowledgeable not just about where we were visiting but also about the background of the country.
Our first stop was Ljubljana the capital of Slovenia. He took us to the old town where you can really see a mix of architecture, it felt like German, Austrian and French all rolled into one. We saw the Unique triple bridge design by Joze Plecnik. We saw St Nicholas Cathedral with the most amazing bronze doors.
In the town Centre they were setting up the open fruit market, we even spotted the scales that are set up so you can check your purchases are correct. This time of the morning the weather was looking rather ominous and it was cool so the stall selling sweaters made a bit of money that morning !!
We moved on to the highlight of the trip Lake Bled.... We first went up to Bled Castle where the view of the lake was just fantastic. The colour of the lake was gorgeous and out in the middle of the lake stands a small church on a small island. You can get out to the island on one of the small boats rowed by oarsmen in a standing position. It is a tradition that once you get to the island and climb the steps up to the church you toll the bell to let people know you made it. With our time restraints, we just had to look from afar.
From the castle, we then moved down to the resort town around the lake. We stopped at the cafe that claims to have been the first to create the delicious Crème Resina (looks like a vanilla slice ). In keeping with tradition we had to sample all things local so it was cake, coffee and another speciality of Blueberry schnapps.... ooooh Yum... more like a blackberry nip than a bitey schnapps.... and all before lunch .... eek
No sooner but we were back on the road to Koper which is around a 2 hour drive.... you have to take your hat off to Graeme and Helena as they had drove from Bled to Koper to pick us up, then brought us back to Bled, took us back to Koper and then had the long drive back home again.
To ensure that we had enough time to get back to the ship, we arrive back in Koper a little early so Graeme takes us on a walking tour of Koper town.... here the architecture has a more Italian feel to it, even all the signs are shown in both languages.
Back on the pier a traditional band was playing with a few little stalls selling their wares and wine..... it was a lovely little port, it is a lovely country.
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