Slovenia

Hi Again,

Have you ever been the one in the car on a road trip who needs to visit the loo, but no-one else does? Well that was me, but as the driver I ignored the insults, pulled rank and turned into the servo. What a lucky break! Suzi went in to the cafeteria and came out with a pamphlet for the Postjama Groto (caves) which we had passed by 10km. So we turned around and went looking for accommodation finding an amazing rainforest van park with 2 story bungalows made from stone and timber. The kids were in heaven and soon were playing table tennis on the outdoor tables with a net they fashioned from thongs, rocks and vines. Inventive and effective!

The next day we went to the caves in the morning and a castle in the afternoon.  Our guide said that this part of Slovenia is like swiss cheese with miles of underground caverns ranging from crawl size tunnels to caverns large enough that they hold concerts inside due to the near perfect accustics. From the roof hang a range of stalactites. The babies, christened “spaghetti stalactites”, are growing one drip at a time, up to the largest curtain growths. All of these take approximately 10 years to grow a millimetre in length. The floors are covered by sheets of calcite and Stalagmites, some the size of small cars which grow to the ceiling. The colours vary from section to section due to the minerals being dissolved as the water penetrates to cave level and can be white, red, black and yellow.

The whole experience started with a high speed train ride through a series of tracks in low tunnels before they open onto a series of cathedral sized caves. This Disneyland like ride was enough to get the boys on a high before we headed into the areas where much to my disgust, photography was banned. Amazing! This cave system is so impressive that generations of kings and queens have visited and it had electrical lighting installed before the capital of Slovenia did.  In a central cavern the locals have hung a series of chandaliers from the cave roof to highlight the size and beauty of the area (Dodgy black photo with white lights). In the war, Russian POW’s were put to work making bridges and paths so it was more accessible for visitors who had been coming for centuries, and since the 1800’s were signing the walls, a practice banned today.

After leaving the main cave system we visited a smaller cave which exhibits the wildlife found in these caves and living with no natural lighting. Creatures included shrimp, snails, spiders, crickets and other bugs, but the most amazing is the Pretoria, a four legged water ‘lizard’ with external gills, no skin pigment and although born with eyes, they soon atrophy. These little guys only need to eat every 2 years and are returning to reasonable numbers now after being slaughtered by villagers who thought they were baby dragons.

The castle was built into the side of the mountain centuries ago as a security precaution against attack and has been extended by a series of owners until it reached its current proportions. In the hillside behind it run multiple caves which lead off into the mountain and offered the owner an effective backdoor when required. This happened to a real life Robin Hood baron who was laid at siege for 2 years by the Turks. The locals, who he had treated kindly, dropped food into the caves which allowed for them to hold out until someone let the secret slip and he was over run.

The building of this castle would have been hideous, however they managed to create an amazingly solid fortess. Due to its location in the cave system, it was extremely cool on a warm day, but apparently is freezing cold in winter. Many aspects are ingenious including a channel system which runs water from the cave walls into tubs for drinking water. Below is a field with jousting arena which is used for medieval tournaments even now.

In one day we saw an amazing amount of Slovenia before driving on that night to Croatia. Definitely on our return to list.