Slovenia is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Munich, yet it doesn’t often show up on a traveler’s radar. Unfortunate that, because as we found out this weekend, it’s definitely worth a visit.
Train connections are plentiful, but this time we tagged along with some friends who have a car. Driving to Slovenia from Munich requires purchasing a sticker (vignette) for both the Austrian and Slovenian highway systems, and then paying a couple additional tolls for tunnels.
The former Cold War checkpoint between Slovenia and Austria is now an abandoned bit of funky architecture denoting the border between two EU member countries.
The other detail that made our border crossing slightly more dramatic was the fact that the car’s navigation system failed to recognize that Slovenia has roads.
Our first stop in Slovenia was Bled, a small mountain lake town on the way to Ljubljana. Absolutely adorable, from the besteepled island to the boats criss-crossing the lake. Even the communist architecture diving tower had some sort of charm.
Next stop: Ljubljana.
I unintentionally got stuck in Slovenia while catching a night train from Munich to Vienna (due to nobody speaking English). It ended up lovely and wish I could have stayed longer to explore. 🙂
It makes me want to study harder for my driver’s test.
The French must get a laugh going through there. Their word for hick-town – das Kaff in German – is bled.
Looks like a beautiful spot! 🙂
Parlezvouskiwi – Oops! I suppose there are much worse places one could end up by accident. You’ll have to go back on purpose some day.
Headbang – I’d like to help motivate you to study for that test even harder. To that end, I am willing to borrow your car and drive it to even more exciting places, every weekend until you receive your license. Hope this helps.
Ian – Ah, I knew there was some word-play to be had with Bled. I just didn’t know it would be French…
Ooh Slovenia looks so pretty and peaceful! I’ve always wanted to go there. Do you remember how much the vignette costs? I think if we go, we’d drive through Italy to get there.
I think it was €35 for 6 months (the smallest denomination currently available) for Slovenia. Italy’s roads aren’t cheap either, but you pay tolls rather than in sticker form.