Slovenia
I decided to book a last minute holiday in Slovenia - cheap flights from London so I just tagged it onto the end of County Week! It was full of activity, adventures, adrenaline & fun - I felt like I needed a holiday at the end of it all ;) All the pictures/videos are on my Slovenia Web Album.
Day 1:
I got collected from Ljubljana airport and arrived at hostel (Pod Voglom!) next to Lake Bohinj around Sat lunchtime. I had my first activity (high ropes adrenaline course!) at 5pm that afternoon so hired a bike & set off to explore straight away... Up to Slap Savica waterfall at the east end of the lake and then around the lake to the nearest village (Ribicev Laz) where there are a couple of shops & tourist info, restaurants etc. The high ropes course was great fun – a mixture of climbing/abseiling, jumping, swinging & balancing across various tricky courses.... good start to the holiday!
Day 2:
I ran around Lake Bohinj in the morning – fantastic route, approx 12km with a variety of terrain underfoot but generally pretty flat... beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Activity #2 - canyoning trip in Jemeica – brilliant mix of jumping, sliding, swimming & wading through the canyon, with some great waterfalls. In the afternoon I walked to the village & bought some maps to plan hiking adventures ;)
Day 3:
So I wanted an adventure, and I definitely got one doing TRIGLAV – the highest mountain in Slovenia at 2864m, and part of the Julian mountain range. I left at 7:15am, got back around 8:45pm, and barely stopped the whole day! Tremendous day – amazing views, mixed terrain, some via ferrata style climbing near the top, and of course some confusion over direction & route choice (learning to use a compass properly has been on my list of things to do for a really long time ;). I’d thought about taking a bike up to the Slap Mostnika waterfall which would have significantly reduced the time needed, but would also limit me to coming back the same way, so I decided to attempt a circuit route instead to make it a bit more interesting. I didn’t quite go the intended route, but it was definitely interesting ;)
Day 4:
Bit of a lie in followed by a kayaking trip to Bohinjska Bistrica – some swimming & jumping featured as well (intentional though!) I rented a bike again in the afternoon & did a wee trip through Stara Fuzina, up to Ribnica waterall & round via Bohinska Bistrica then around the lake at Bohinj back to the hostel.
Day 5:
Hiking adventure #2! I felt I needed to join the dots on my Triglav hike, and see the 7 Lakes I’d valley I’d intended to see on Monday ;) It turned into another mission (of course) but at least I knew where I was ‘almost’ all of the day. The highlight was definitely Czro Jenero, a gorgeous lake at the top of a 1000m climb going literally straight up the side of the cliff from Slap Savica waterfall. The circuit took me up to 2350m with some incredible views all round, and a fun if tricky descent back to Lake Bohinj. I walked into Ribicev Laz in the evening & watched a band called ‘The Sexual Band’ (!) in a cute setting next to the pub and by the river.
Day 6:
Hydrospeeding! What’s that?! Lying face down on a boogie board going down rapids and trying to avoid rocks on the way! Made the mistake of going for a run at 2pm in the heat of the day – the only thing that kept me going was the thought of diving in the lake at the end. I had a pretty relaxing afternoon after that – swimming in the lake & lying down by the beach area working on my tan lines ;) Had met a nice Welsh couple who were rafting in the morning so we had dinner together at the hostel & shared travel stories!
Day 7:
8am is a much more enjoyable time to run so I was a bit faster & definitely happier – and still dived into the lake at the end ;) I rented a kayak afterwards & had a couple of hours on the water – my arm fitness is WAY behind my legs! Chilled out at lunchtime & caught up on some e-mails before heading out for my final adventure – ‘extreme’ canyoning in Gremecia... it was fantastic! Loads of jumps (highest one just under 30feet) and some tricky abseils & slides – really enjoy canyoning because it involves lots of different activities... can just be a bit cold sometimes!
Day 8:
Last run round Lake Bohinj in the morning followed by a final swim in the lake –sad to leave, its been amazing but I’ve done pretty much everything I could have done in a week so very happy! Sarah picked me up & we went to Bled where I had a tour, went round the castle, & did some brief tourist shopping before heading to the airport. Amazing holiday!!
Day 1:
I got collected from Ljubljana airport and arrived at hostel (Pod Voglom!) next to Lake Bohinj around Sat lunchtime. I had my first activity (high ropes adrenaline course!) at 5pm that afternoon so hired a bike & set off to explore straight away... Up to Slap Savica waterfall at the east end of the lake and then around the lake to the nearest village (Ribicev Laz) where there are a couple of shops & tourist info, restaurants etc. The high ropes course was great fun – a mixture of climbing/abseiling, jumping, swinging & balancing across various tricky courses.... good start to the holiday! Day 2:
I ran around Lake Bohinj in the morning – fantastic route, approx 12km with a variety of terrain underfoot but generally pretty flat... beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Activity #2 - canyoning trip in Jemeica – brilliant mix of jumping, sliding, swimming & wading through the canyon, with some great waterfalls. In the afternoon I walked to the village & bought some maps to plan hiking adventures ;)Day 3:
So I wanted an adventure, and I definitely got one doing TRIGLAV – the highest mountain in Slovenia at 2864m, and part of the Julian mountain range. I left at 7:15am, got back around 8:45pm, and barely stopped the whole day! Tremendous day – amazing views, mixed terrain, some via ferrata style climbing near the top, and of course some confusion over direction & route choice (learning to use a compass properly has been on my list of things to do for a really long time ;). I’d thought about taking a bike up to the Slap Mostnika waterfall which would have significantly reduced the time needed, but would also limit me to coming back the same way, so I decided to attempt a circuit route instead to make it a bit more interesting. I didn’t quite go the intended route, but it was definitely interesting ;) 
Day 4:
Bit of a lie in followed by a kayaking trip to Bohinjska Bistrica – some swimming & jumping featured as well (intentional though!) I rented a bike again in the afternoon & did a wee trip through Stara Fuzina, up to Ribnica waterall & round via Bohinska Bistrica then around the lake at Bohinj back to the hostel.
Day 5:
Hiking adventure #2! I felt I needed to join the dots on my Triglav hike, and see the 7 Lakes I’d valley I’d intended to see on Monday ;) It turned into another mission (of course) but at least I knew where I was ‘almost’ all of the day. The highlight was definitely Czro Jenero, a gorgeous lake at the top of a 1000m climb going literally straight up the side of the cliff from Slap Savica waterfall. The circuit took me up to 2350m with some incredible views all round, and a fun if tricky descent back to Lake Bohinj. I walked into Ribicev Laz in the evening & watched a band called ‘The Sexual Band’ (!) in a cute setting next to the pub and by the river.
Day 6:
Hydrospeeding! What’s that?! Lying face down on a boogie board going down rapids and trying to avoid rocks on the way! Made the mistake of going for a run at 2pm in the heat of the day – the only thing that kept me going was the thought of diving in the lake at the end. I had a pretty relaxing afternoon after that – swimming in the lake & lying down by the beach area working on my tan lines ;) Had met a nice Welsh couple who were rafting in the morning so we had dinner together at the hostel & shared travel stories!
Day 7:
8am is a much more enjoyable time to run so I was a bit faster & definitely happier – and still dived into the lake at the end ;) I rented a kayak afterwards & had a couple of hours on the water – my arm fitness is WAY behind my legs! Chilled out at lunchtime & caught up on some e-mails before heading out for my final adventure – ‘extreme’ canyoning in Gremecia... it was fantastic! Loads of jumps (highest one just under 30feet) and some tricky abseils & slides – really enjoy canyoning because it involves lots of different activities... can just be a bit cold sometimes!
Day 8:
Last run round Lake Bohinj in the morning followed by a final swim in the lake –sad to leave, its been amazing but I’ve done pretty much everything I could have done in a week so very happy! Sarah picked me up & we went to Bled where I had a tour, went round the castle, & did some brief tourist shopping before heading to the airport. Amazing holiday!!
posted by Mhairi
3 Comments:
Wow - loved the Via Ferrata pic. Really want to try that someday.
Don't quite get the "Day 4, bit of a lie in"?!?!?! ;)
Another country to put onto the list.. pdx
wow, looks great!
Triglav sounded familiar but I never intended to go there - until now.
I could go there with Mark and Sylv... :)
We are sooo going to copy you! In Ljubljana at the moment.
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