We had plans to go to the house of experiments and the castle but Savik wasn’t feeling well.
He was keen to go to the science zone so we headed out but didn’t feel good so came back and just hung out in the apartment.
Evening was spent making Father’s Day cards for tomorrow
Slovenia was largely spared during the war in 1991 and saw minimal damage in earlier conflicts, leaving its capital well-preserved.
We began our tour at the town hall, weaving in and out of the old town via its many bridges. Notably, the entire city center is car-free, with a few free electric buggies available for residents.
One of the highlights was the Dragon Bridge, steeped in local folklore. I had to pull the kids aside to explain the legend that dragons wag their tails if a virgin crosses the bridge (so far, no tails have moved). Later, we encountered a bachelor party and had another round of explanations regarding their slogans, which mentioned genitalia—quite an educational day for the children!
The next bridge we visited, a modern one, caught my interest. It features glass panels (carpeted in winter due to slipperiness) and two large statues, one of which is quite grotesque. Our guide mentioned that Slovenians prefer statues of artists over soldiers, and their national anthem promotes global peace.
After crossing the Triple Bridge, we ventured down a narrow alley featuring a bloated glove sculpture with water spouting from a finger and 700 unique small face sculptures on the ground, representing the many faces a person can have.
We also learned about Slovenia's overcrowded emergency departments and the shortage of family doctors. Many medical graduates, being bilingual, move to neighboring countries for better pay after receiving free education in Slovenia.
Following our guide's recommendation, we stopped at a local sausage place where only 18 farmers are allowed to use the specific name "Carniolan sausage." We ended up sharing a table with others from our tour, enjoying a good chat.
Next, we headed to the Open Kitchen event in the city center, which takes place on Fridays. The kids had been eager to try the masala dosa, which wasn’t ready before our tour. The Open Kitchen features small stalls from local restaurants, with music and a festive atmosphere.
We continued our stroll to Tivoli Park, where a group was having a water fight, much to the kids' delight. They enjoyed playing in a park with climbing walls and hanging bars.
We slowly made our way back to the city center for more food, a bit of shopping, and paused to admire a captivating violinist.
Overall, it was a wonderfully relaxed and enriching day.
Lake Bohinj is where the locals stay and enjoy, while Lake Bled is for the tourists. We decided to go see it for the day. It’s bigger and less developed, so it has a more free and natural feel among the mountains. Before spending time at the lake itself, we headed to Vogel.
Vogel is a mountain and ski resort in the Triglav National Park. We took a giant cable car, more like a box, with another 20 people and went up nearly 1,000 meters. There were some parts where it lurched, making us feel quite close to sheer rock faces, and a few gasps escaped at those moments.
It’s beautiful at the top, and you can pat some goats and llamas, which is a bit random. We headed up the chairlift to get even higher. We got to ring the wishing bell—it seems to be the thing here—and made a wish. Then we went on a panoramic cable car ride, where we just stayed on and did a loop while we admired the mountains.
As we weren’t feeling like hiking up to the summit, we walked around and watched a paraglider take off. He had a few attempts before his successful ride, but once he was in the air, it was so graceful. Lots of paragliders were in the air; obviously, it's a popular spot.
We headed back down to the lake, thinking we would hike to Savica Falls, but it was dry currently, so we skipped it. At the lake itself, we met the two boys from yesterday, so the kids had a fun time jumping in and out of the water. Thunderstorms broke up the party. It was stunning to watch the curtain of water as it made its way down the mountain. We were back in the car before it hit us.
As we still had time, we went back to Bled and visited the Vintgar Gorge. So glad we did; it was incredible. Much better to hike here than to the dried-up waterfall. We had to wear helmets for the walk as there are parts where our heads are close to sharp, jutting-out rocks.
The gushing water through the gorge was clear and pretty. Water in this part of the world is crystal clear and a gorgeous bluish-green. After reaching Šum Falls, we walked through fields, saw donkeys, and read mythical stories to pass the time.
Finally, we made our way to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. The children loved the apartment as there were Kinder chocolates and drinks for them, as well as disco lights in their room.
