AROUND BLED Vintgar Gorge
One of the easiest and most satisfying day trips from Bled is to Vintgar Gorge Soteska Vintgar adult child student 3 2.10 2.50 S 8am-7pm late Apr-Oct , some 4km to the northwest. The highlight is the 1600m wooden walkway, built in 1893 and continually rebuilt since. It criss-crosses the swirling Radovna River four times over rapids, waterfalls and pools before reaching 13m-high Sum Waterfall. The entire walk is spectacular, although it can get pretty wet and slippery. There are little snack...
Music
MCD Shop Map pp66-7 425 17 06 Miklosiceva cesta 2 S 9am-8pm Mon-Frl, 9am-2pm Sat This is Ljubljana's best music shop, with informed and very helpful staff. Musikalje Map pp66-7 426 70 36 Trg Francoske Revoluclje 6 S9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat This atmospheric shop near the Krizanke is the place in Ljubljana for classical music, scores and instruments. Spin Vinyl Map pp66-7 2511018 www.spinvinyl.si Gallusovo nabrezje 13 S 10.30am-7pm Mon-Fri,10am-2pm Sat amp Sun A sizeable collection of old...
Sleeping 1
Kamp Dolenjske Toplice 391 94 00 www.krka-terme .si per person 2.10-8, incl 3hr pool pass 8.80-12.10 S year-round P This renovated 3-hectare camping ground accommodating 100 people is just off the northern end of Zdraviliski trg, more or less opposite the Balnea complex. Gostisce Pri Tomljetu s 306 50 23, 031-643 345 Zdraviliski trg 24 d trwithout bathroom 21 31 None of the eight rooms in this leafy guesthouse behind the Balnea complex has its own bathroom, but each has a sink, and cooking...
Food Drink 1
Little Slovenia can boast an incredibly varied cuisine, with many different regional styles of cooking. Unfortunately, except for a few national favourites such as ilikrofi stuffed pasta from Idrija and brodet fish soup from the coast in Primorska, the distinctive bucno olje pumpkinseed oil from Stajerska and an incredibly rich dessert called gibanica from Prekmurje, you're not likely to encounter many of these regional specialities on restaurant menus. This is home-cooking at its finest, and...
Around Dravograd
An excellent bike trip follows the spectacular Drava Valley through the Pohorje and Kobansko Hills, 60km eastward to Maribor. The river, whose highest flow is reached at the start of the summer, is at its most scenic at Brezno and just above Fala, where it narrows into a gorge. Just before Maribor, the Drava widens into a lake with the help of a major dam. You don't have to go that far to see some great scenery, however. Vuzenica and Muta, two very attractive villages, are just 14km from...
Big Men For Big Times
Slovenian folktales are rife with fairies, witches and things that go bump in the night, but among the most common stories are those describing the derring-do of'super heroes', whose strong wills and unusual strength enabled them to overcome evil and conquer their brutish enemies. The legends are not limited to one geographical area. Peter Klepec, who swept away his enemies using trees uprooted with his bare hands, lived on the Kolpa River and is associated with Bela Krajina. Another hero...
Maps
The Geodesic Institute of Slovenia Geodetski Zavod Slovenije or GZS www.gzs-dd.si in Slovene , the country's principal map-making company, which also runs the Kod amp Kam p61 shop in Ljubljana, produces national 1 300,000 7.20 and regional maps. Some 17 excursion maps at a scale of 1 50,000 7.20 cover the whole country, and there are city plans 3.10 to 7.10 for all the major towns. GZS's Ljubljana map 1 20,000 6.70 with street index is excellent. The Alpine Association of Slovenia Planlnska...
Index
also camping activities 14, 273-4, iff also individual activities Adleslci Bel 221 air pollution 42 air travel 286-8 airlines 286-7 airports 286-7 to from Australia 287 to from continental europe 287 to from the UK 287-8 to from the USA amp Canada 288 within Slovenia 291 alcohol 276 animals Aqullela ancient city 23 architecture 36-9 art galleries 73,iff also museums Bozidar Jakac Gallery Dol 210 Kamen Gallery Gor 108 Koroska Gallery of Fine Arts 261 Lamut Art Salon Dol 209 Mlha Males Gallery...
Vilenica Divaca Caves
The 803m-long Vilenica Cave Jama Vilenica 734 42 59, 051-648 711 www.vilenlca.com adult child 5 3.35 S 10am, 3pm amp 5pmSun May-Sep 3pm Sun Oct-Apr is 2km northwest of Lokev, halfway between Divaca and Lipica. It was the first karst cave to open to the public in the early 19th century and still welcomes guests every Sunday year-round. Divaca Cave Dlvaska Jama 031-522 785,041-671 183 divaska.jama divaca.net adult child 5 3.35 S 3pm Sun May-Oct , about 3km northeast on the road to Divaca, is only...
Savica Waterfall
One of the reasons people come to Bohinj is to hike to the magnificent Savica Waterfall Slap Savla adult child 2 1, parking 2.50 S 9am-6pm Jul amp Aug 9am-5pm Apr-Jun, Sep amp Oct , which cuts deep into a gorge 60m below. The waterfall, the source of Slovenia's longest and mightiest river, is 4km from the Hotel Zlatorog in Ukanc and can be reached by footpath from there. Cars and the bus in summer continue via a paved road to a car park beside the Savica restaurant, from which it's a 20-minute...
Activities Ytq
The Slovenian Alpine Trail passes through Stari Trg and the centre of Slovenj Gradec before continuing up to Mala Kopa 1524m , where it meets the E6. There is a Category II 48-bed mountain hut at 1102m to the northwest called Koca pod Kremzarjevim Vrhom s 884 48 83 041-832 035 S Wed-Mon late Apr-Sep, Sat amp Sun Oct-late Apr . The E6 heads north through Vuhred and Radlje ob Dravi to Austria, and the Slovenian Alpine Trail carries on eastward to Rogla and Mari-bor. There is more accommodation on...
Zlatorog And His Golden Horns
The oft-told tale of Zlatorog, the mythical chamois gams in Slovene with the golden horns who lived on Mt Triglav and guarded its treasure, almost always involves some superhuman or, in this case, superantelopine feat that drastically changed the face of the mountain. But don't let Slovenes convince you that their ancient ancestors passed on the tale. The Zlatorog story first appeared in the Laibacher Zeitung Ljubljana Gazette in 1868 during a period of Romanticism and national awakening. This...
elev m
Just south of the village of Kozarisce population 240 , in the secluded Loz Valley Loska Dolina some 21km southeast of Cerknica, stands 16th-century Renaissance Sneznik Castle Grad Sneznik 705 78 14 www.postojna-cave .com . Surrounded by a large and protected park, it is one of the loveliest and best-situ-ated fortresses in Slovenia. The entrance to the casde, formerly the property of the Schonburg-Waldenburg family, who used what they called Schneeberg as a summer residence and a hunting lodge...
Activities Uql
The Novo Mesto Aerodub 334 82 22 www.aero klub-nm.si S 9am-7pm at Precna house No 46 , 4.5km northwest of Novo Mesto and served by bus, has sightseeing flights over Novo Mesto and the Krka Valley in Cessna 172s. A 15 -minute flight costs 63 for up to three passengers. About 3km south of Precna, the Novo Mesto Sport Equestrian Centre 337 30 40, 041-554 265 To Main Train Station 300m CesCa Vas 3km PreCna 5km Novo Mesto Sport Equestrian Centre 4km Novo Mesto Aerodub 5km konji.cescavas siol.net per...
Kidriceva Ulica
One of the most colourful streets in Koper, Kidriceva ulica starts at Carpacciov trg, where the Column of St Justina Steber Sv Justine com memorates Koper's contribution - a galley -to the Batde of Lepanto in which Turkey was defeated by the European powers in 1571. Nearby is a large Roman covered basin that now serves as a fountain. At the southern end of the square is the arched Taverna, a onetime salt warehouse dating from the 15th century. To Dijaski in Studentski Dom Koper 100m...
Hiking Cycling
The 1 25,000-scale map called Bovec z Okolico Bovec with Surroundings 7.20 lists a number of walks and hikes ranging from a two-hour stroll south to Cezsoca and the protected gravel deposits in the Soca to an ascent of Rombon 2208m , which would take a good five hours one way. The smaller-scaled 1 40,000 Bovec 7.20 also has walks in the area. Ask the tourist office for the pamphlet Kolesarske Poti Cycle Tracks, which lists a half-dozen trips of various degrees of difficulty. The Kanin Mountain...
Slovenian
Triglav Map pp66-7 430 1 0 21 Mala ulica 5 salads amp soups 2.80-3.75, mains 5-9.60 S 7am-10pm Mon-Fri Primarily a lunch place, Triglav has stopped serving a mishmash of cuisines and dishes -from ramen soup and curries to tortillas - and embraced its name. It now serves traditional Slovenian dishes only. Gostilna Pri Pavli Map pp66-7 425 92 75 Stari trg 21 starters 4.10-5.40, mains 5.80-10.85 S8am-11pm A wonderful holdover from the socialist era, 'Paula's Place' is an attractive, country-style...
Activities Blq
The Kolpa River is clean and very warm up to 28 C to 30 C in summer , so you might want to go swimming at the Primostek or Podzemelj camping grounds. The Kolpa is known for its grayling, carp and brown trout, but the area around Vinica, further south, is richer for fishing. You can purchase daily fishing licences at all camping grounds. There are a lot of hikes and walks in the surrounding areas, including the 6.5km-long St Urban's Trail Urbanova Pot to Grabrovec and back via Veselica, a...
Waggin Dragons
Ljubljana's town hall is topped with a golden dragon, a symbol of Ljubljana but not an ancient one as many people assume. Just before the turn of the 20th century a wily mayor named Ivan Hribar apparently persuaded the authorities in Vienna that Ljubljana needed a new crossing over the Ljubljanica, and submitted plans for a 'Jubilee Bridge' to mark 50 years of the reign of Franz Joseph. The result, the much-loved Dragon Bridge Zmajski Most was built to the northeast, off Vodnikov trg, and...
Ribnica
Though Ribnica is the oldest and most important settlement of western Dolenjska and just over the hills from the border with Notranjska, people in this region have traditionally affiliated with neither province. As far as they are concerned, this is Kocevsko, a forested, sparsely inhabited area with a unique history. Ribnica was an important feudal centre during the Middle Ages and was ruled by a succession of lords, including the Counts of Celje, before the Habsburgs arrived. Like neighbouring...
Logarska Dolina Logar Valley
0 Hotel Plesnik amp Tourist Office J- f-'j - f 3 -o i p -'1- 1 O r'j fs Z 0 lt Carniola Kranjska , Carinthia Koroska and Styria Stajerska . Ask the tourist office for the Trail around Logarska brochure. Opposite Dom Planincev below is a trail leading to Susica Waterfall and Klemenca Cave. Another magnificent and much less explored valley, the 6km-long Matkov Kot, runs parallel to Logarska Dolina and the border with Austria. You can reach here by road by turning west as you leave Logarska...
Slovenia Outdoors
Slovenes live very active, very outdoorsy lives, and it won't be long before you're invited to join in the fun. Indeed, these are the people who invented skiing almost four centuries ago, and hiking and climbing clubs across the country count some 55,000 paid-up members. And according to local tradition, Slovenes can't even describe themselves as such until they have reached the top of Mt Triglav pl28 . It is a tradition in Slovenia to greet everyone you pass while hiking or climbing. Generally...
Travel Agencies 1
Erazem Map pp62-3 430 55 37 www.erazem.net basement, Miklosiceva cesta 26 S 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, lOam-lpm Sat Jun-Sep noon-5pm Mon-Fri Oct-May Popular with backpackers and students staff make plane, train and ferry bookings and sell ISIC, ITIC and IYTC cards. Globtour Map pp62-3 244 13 20 www.globtour .si Maximarket passageway, Trg Republike 1 S 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat Kompas Slovenska testa Map pp66-7 200 62 22 www .kompas.net Slovenska cesta 36 S 9am-7pm Mon-Frl, 9am-12.30pm Sat...
GETTING THERE AROUND Kmj
Buses make the run to Terme Catez 1.30,10 minutes, 4.5km at least once an hour. There are some four buses a day to Bizeljsko 2.60, 30 minutes, 18km and Ljubljana 9.60, three hours, 109km , and six to Kostanjevica 3, 45 minutes, 24km and Novo Mesto 5.10, one hour, 44km . As many as 15 trains a day serve Brezice from Ljubljana 6, l3A hours, 107km via Zidani Most, Sevnica and Krsko 1,10 minutes, 9km . Many of these trains then cross the Croatian border near Dobova and carry on to Zagreb. You can...
Strunjan
For centuries past the people who lived at Strunjan, a peninsula halfway between Izola and Piran, were engaged in making salt you'll see the disused pans spread out before you on the descent along the main road route No 111 from the Belvedere tourist complex. Today the area is protected, and this is because of the expanded 429-hectare Strunjan Country Park Krajinski Park Strun jan , which contains the saltpans and the contiguous Stjuza Lagoon, both classified as natural monuments. Although...
Boating Cruises
Maona Tourist Agency rents out boats, and you can also hire them on the grassy beach area direcdy west of the Metropol Hotel. Spinaker 674 54 20,041 -281 133 www.spinaker.si Soncna pot 8 1 2 4h r 38 67 112 S 10am-6pm May-Sep can take five of you sailing along the coast to Piran and beyond from the main pier in Portoroz. There are also cruises on the Solinarka 031-653 682, 040-648 376 poropat siol .net adult child 6.70 4.20 S varies tour boat from Portoroz to Piran and Strunjan and back and a...
Health 1
Bolan Bolnasem. m f bo-lan baw-ta sam Where's the nearest doctor Kjeje najblizji kye ye nay-Weez -yee zdravnik zdraw-neei Where's the nearest hospital Kje je najblizja bolnica kye ye nay-Weez -ya f gt o -nee-tsa I'm diabetic epileptic asthmatic. Sem diabetik epileptik sam dee-ya-f gt e-teek a-pee- e j-teek astmatik. ast-mo-teek It hurts here. Alergicensem na a- er-gee-chen sem na penicillin penicilin pe-nee-tsee- een antibiotics antibiotike an-tee-bee-o-tee-ke nuts
Muljava
This picturesque town of double hayracks and beehives is about 5km south of Ivancna Gor-ica. Muljava was the birthplace of Josip Jurcic 1844-81 , whose book The 10th Brother is considered the first novel in Slovene. The Church of the Assumption Cerkev Marijinega Vnebovzetja 7806032 lies east of the main road at the start of the village seek the key from the vicarage opposite and to the north at No 39. Not all of the paintings in the presbytery and on the vaulted arches Cain and Abel making...
Sleeping Fqy
There are lots of private rooms available on Panonska cesta to the west and south of the spa's main entrance house Ho 23 565 15 77 charges from about 18. The cheapest of the four spa hotels 520 10 00 www.terme-radenci.si g E D S lt S is the two-star Hotel Terapija s d 74.50 100 , a self-described 'old health resort-style hotel' that has seen better days. The other three have four stars and are much of a muchness. The Hotel Radin Standard s d 88 110 , with 73 rooms, is the cheapest of the three...
Kocevski Rog
One of the most pristine areas in Slovenia, Kocevski Rog has been a protected nature area for more than a century, and six virgin forests, covering an area of more than 200 hectares, are preserved here. Brown bears, as many as 700 of them, are said to live here and constitute the only sizeable bear populations extant in Europe. The region was - and still is - so remote and filled with limestone caves that during the early days of WWII the Partisans, under the command of Marshal Tito,...
Ljubno ob Savinji to Solcava
Two kilometres before the town of Ljubno ob Savinji population 1160 , there's the option for a detour to two historical towns along route No 225. Radmirje population 470 , 1km to the southwest, is very picturesque with Stajerska-style hayracks and two important churches the 16th-century Church ofStMichael in the centre of town and the 18th-century pilgrimage Church of St Francis Xavier 584 10 96 Radmirje 50 on Straza Hill, containing a rich treasury of Mass vestments donated by the kings of...
Sleeping Eating Qak
Camping Kolpa Vinica 30616 50,041 - 615 560 Vinica 19 peradult child 5 3.75 SMay-Sep This camping ground hard by the Kolpa River and just metres from the Croatian border covers an area of about 1.5 hectares and has 150 tent and caravan sites. Avtokamp Katra Vinica 364 60 34, 041-368 312 Vinica 33 per person 5 S May-Sep g Next to Camping Kolpa Vinica on the river, this small camping ground has sites for 40 tents and caravans. Grabrijanovi farmhouse 307 00 70,040-391 286 Adlesici 5 per person...
Boating Rafting
The Ljubljana Rowing Club Veslaski Klub Ljubljana Map p75 283 8712 www.vesl-klub-ljubljanlca.si in Slovene Vellka Colnarska ulica 20 per hrfrom 2.50 S 10am- 7pm mld-May-Sep in Trnovo has dinghies and larger rowing boats for hire on the Ljubljanica River. Skok Sport Map pp62-3 512 44 02, 040-218 000 www.skok-sport.si Marinovseva cesta 8 in Sentvid, 8km northwest of Center, organises rafting trips on the Sava, from Medvode to Brod for 15 and from Boka to Trnovo for 30. They can also arrange kayak...
Information Rci
Dobra Knjiga 522 37 24 Slovenska ulica 9 S 7am-6pm Mon-Frl, 8am-noon Sat Central bookshop with regional maps for hiking in Prekmurje. Nova Ljubljanska Banka Trg Zmage 7 S 8am-5pm Mon-Frl SKB Banka Kodjeva ulica 14 S 8.30am-noon amp Tourist Information Centre Murska Sobota 534 11 30 tic.ms siol.net Slovenska ulica S 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat In a pavement kiosk southeast of Trg Zmage.