Slovenia

So after Hungary we headed down to Slovenia, a small country smushed in between the borders of Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Nathan had been here a few years back but it was my first time. He was so excited to show me the beautiful town of Ljubljana and surrounding countryside and it truly is a beautiful place, indeed. The town of Ljubljana is quaint and so picturesque, with a river running through it and a huge daily farmers market in the main square. In the evening, the riverfront lights up with restaurants and bars - everyone is outside drinking, eating and socializing. We strolled through the town and up the hill to the castle, then visited the farmers market. There were colorful dahlias, yummy fruits and vegetables, tons of gigantic mushrooms that looked like they were just picked from the surrounding forest floor that morning...lots of Fall colors, it was great! We bought huge ripe figs and got two FREE apples - we got looked at like we were crazy for only wanting two; this is, apparently, not the Slovenian way of buying at the farmers market...so he ended up just giving them to us for free! We were very excited - you may think we are too easily pleased, but anything free or cheap in Europe is VERY rare, and therefore VERY welcomed. They were also two of the best apples I have EVER had...truly.




(fall colors and HUGE mushrooms at the farmer's market)

Our second day there we took a trip out to Lake Bled. Once we rose out of the tiny town, beautiful green hills and mountains streched accross the sprawling countryside and the Julian Alps peaked out above them. It was a stunning landscape and all of the trees were just beginning to turn from green to yellow and orange...it is (or was) finally beginning to look and feel like Fall! Once in Bled, we hiked up to the castle that rests on the top of the highest point at the lake for beautiful views of the town, lake and countryside. You'd be impressed at how much better we are getting at these uphill hikes - stairs and steep inclines are no match for us anymore - we're impressed with ourselves at least. :) We spent the whole day walking leisurely around the lake (about 4 miles total), eating our farmers market fruit and taking in the beautiful surroundings. It is one of the most beautiful settings. The alps tower behind the green mountains surrounding the town...green, orange and yellow trees surround the beautiful lake...on the cliffs above the lake lies the castle that we had hiked to earlier in the day, and in the middle of the lake is a tiny island with a beautiful gothic church. It was so peaceful and serene...the weather was just beginning to get cold but the sun was still warm. There were people in kayaks and row boats on the lake just paddling around...it was lovely.


(lake bled and the castle on the hill that we hiked to)