Highlights of Slovenia, Part II

Good news...I found the remaining pictures of our trip to Slovenia to complete yesterday's post.  Phew...I was going to be one unhappy traveler if not!  Here are a few more that I thought you all would like to see - they are out of order since this is from the beginning of the trip but I figured you guys could handle it.  :)  These are primarily from Bled, a lakeside town just over the border from Austria and the capitol Ljubljana.  Enjoy! 

We drove through Austria to get there and had stunning views of the Alps. 

 Look at the roof on that church!

We picnicked here, fed the ducks and let the kids get some wiggles out before we continued on... 

The river that runs through Ljubljana is lined on both sides with charming pedestrian walkways with cafes.  We  had heavenly desserts and hot chocolate (more like chocolate pudding!) near here.

Who needs Paris for beautiful architecture?  Just kidding...

This is the misty Fall weather I talked about yesterday when we stepped onto hunting grounds...yikes.  The range of colors in the forest was beautiful though!

I hope I didn't bore you with so much fall foliage and architecture but it was truly remarkable!  BTW, I loved the comments from yesterday's post and the travel stories that some of you shared too.  On the late night music:  I was young once too so I wasn't angry, just tired. :)  I told my husband if the music had been better, perhaps I could have slept through it!   Some things are hard to appreciate if they aren't from your own culture.  :)  At least we have a good story to tell! 

Back to our regular (design) programming tomorrow...

Highlights of Slovenia

We are back from our quick road trip to Slovenia.  I think all of us in the family agreed that heading deep down into the caves of that area was the highlight of the trip!  It was a great adventure, but also very...dark.  :)  So, no pictures of that but if you ever get to Slovenia that would be my #1 recommendation!

Here are a few other things we really enjoyed on the trip.  For some reason I am missing the pictures from the beginning of the trip so I'm hoping my husband can help me recover those!  Fingers crossed - if so I'll post a few more of those later in the week.  But for now...

This was a shot from a little town we drove through...

The fall foliage was brilliant. 

Here's a funny/not-so-funny story:  Our first morning we went out for a little hike to enjoy the surroundings.  It was one of those magical fall mornings...a misty sunrise, cool and crisp...lovely!  Just what I'd imagined for some much needed R&R.  Suddenly, we started hearing gunshots.  Uh-oh...does that mean...hunting season?!?!  That was the end of that romantic notion for our trip. Needless to say we didn't venture out into the forest again...

I took this picture in the once-deserted hill top town of Stanjel, now an artists' colony. 

Just a pretty window.  :)



We saw a lot of sculpture, almost always depicting struggle and war. 

I found that to be an appropriate and fascinating representation of their somewhat recent history.

I found some really beautiful, rustic doors to add to my collection.  Notice how they did the numbers for two dwellings for this shared entrance...

 

The charming harbor town of Piran on Slovenia's brief coastline, wedged in between Italy and Croatia.  The gray skies don't do it justice! 

Love the unusual spellings.  

I'm sure I slaughtered all of the Slovenian words I tried to pronounce.  Ouch.

 Gorgeous rolling hills and farmland were the norm...

The close proximity of Italy definitely comes through in the architecture as you get closer to the border... 

We spent some time at this square in Piran and this lovely railing caught my eye.

We stopped off in Udine, Italy on the way home.  What a beautiful town! 

I'd highly recommend it for incredible architecture and some of the most charming coffee bars I've seen.

We ended up coming home a day early.  It's a long story, but let's just say it had to do with a whole lot of loud, Slovenian accordian music played directly below our sleeping quarters, until 4am.  :) 

Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Dreaming Of Slovenia...

We're going to take a little detour today from design to talk about another passion of mine:  travel!  The beautiful country of Slovenia is less than four hours from our doorstep, so three weeks from today we'll be jumping in the car and heading off on our next adventure!  Since Slovenia is not as well known to most people (including myself until a few months ago), I thought you might like to hear a little about it.  Here's a quick peek at what we hope to see while there:

 

After a beautifuly drive through Austria, we'll squeeze in a short hike here, part of the Slovenian Alps region.

Then we'll drive onto this lovely little lakeside town - pretty charming, right?

We'll be staying on a farm in the countryside that I hope will look something like this,

with horses like this:

The beautiful Lippizaner horses are bred in Slovenia.

They look like they just stepped out of a fairy tale.  Speaking of fairy tales...

Grad Predjama Castle is nearby.  We'll definitely be checking it out!

Amazing caves are also nearby for exploring, which should be exciting for the little people in our family!

(the big kids, too...)

Slovenia apparently has stunning wine regions and quite respectable wine.

I had no idea, but I definitely plan to report back on that one!

We'll take a day trip to Piran, which is apparently the cutest port town on their small coastline. 

Italy borders on one side and acoss the sea, so I'm thinking the food will be very good!

The Fall temperatures won't allow for water sports, but isn't that water amazing??!!!

This is the beautiful capitol of Slovenia:  Ljubljana ("lyoob-lyAH-nah").

I am excited to see the charming architecture and hit their flea market as we work our way back northwest.

This will be our (stunning) picnic spot on the way home. 
It looks like Oregon, and that's a good thing.  :)

They pack a lot into a small country, don't you think?  I can't wait!!!

Sources can be found on my pinterest Wanderlust page.

Fairytale Friday

As the parents of a "princess" and a "knight", we have seen many castles during our time here in Europe.  Just for fun, I thought it would be nice to post a few of our favorites...

{http://travelblog.viator.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/geneva-castle-chillon.jpg}

Castle Chillon, Switzerland.  A stunning castle set on Lake Geneva

with an awesome treasure hunt for the kids!

(I couldn't get a great shot of this from the lake side so that is why this isn't my own)

Vianden Castle, Luxembourg

This castle stands atop a tiny little mountain,
surrounded by a deep valley and river - well protected!!

We visited during a medieval festival and had a fantastic time chasing dragons.

Burg Eltz, Germany

This castle has been in the same family for over 800 years 
and has never been conquered.  Now that's impressive!

Cochem Castle, Germany

This beautiful castle overlooks the Mosel River in western Germany.

It is surrounded by vineyards climbing the steep hillsides that rise up

from both sides of the river.

Carcassone Castle, France

This castle is in the southwestern corner of France, near Toulouse.  It is very touristy, but still great!  This picture doesn't capture how big it is - it's actually a small walled city with a castle within.  We had a fabulous time walking around the streets that used to bustle with merchant activity in support of the royalty who lived here.



{flickr}



And finally, a castle that we haven't visited but I think looks really intriguing.

This is Grad Predjama Castle in Slovenia. Maybe we'll get there before we go!

What is your favorite castle that you have been to, or dream of going to?