Labor Day Weekend in Slovenia 2.0
Woo Hoo!!! Having Chelsea, Garret, and Paula fly over for a visit was the BEST TIME EVER. We had so much fun every single day. Plus, that's the most time I've ever spent with Chelsea EVER. How special is that!?! (If you're new to this blog, Chelsea is my daughter that I gave birth to in 1989 and then placed for adoption. We miraculously found each other years later in 2017 through Ancestry DNA. Her mom, Paula, is actually cousins with my husband Scott - and they share the same last name of Harmon!)
On the Friday heading into Labor Day weekend, I drove over to Lake Bohinj, Slovenia separately from Scott. This was because Scott needed to drive home on Monday in order to be back to work on Tuesday, but the rest of us wanted to stay and play a little bit longer. Plus we needed 2 cars to haul everyone around with all our luggage, ha ha.
There are 3 routes to get from our house in Vicenza to Lake Bohinj, and depending on the time of day, Google Maps will tell you which one is the fastest. When I was preparing to leave that Friday morning, I chose to follow Google's suggestion to go up and through a mountain range in order to save a whole hour. Boy, what an adventure that turned out to be . . .
Close to the Italian/Slovenian border, there is a town called Gorizia. From there, I followed a very curvy and narrow road all the way to Postaja (about 1 hour), which is when the road got even more exciting. From Postaja to Lake Bohinj (about 90 minutes), I was on a road that I wondered many times if it was just a one-way road, because SURELY this was not meant to be a two-lane road. Thank GOODNESS I only had to squeeze by 2 cars going the opposite way, and thank GOODNESS we were in a section where we had a few extra inches to slowly pass by without clipping off any side mirrors. The road had a solid guardrail on my right the entire time, and the steep mountain face was on my left. There was only a few feet in between for one car's width. No turnouts.
Video of the skinny road here: (12 seconds) **This was in one of the less precarious sections.
At one point, I stopped on a really tight bridge because I saw a large bus stopped in the road a short distance ahead. I was thinking, "Oh my . . . How are we gonna resolve this?" Three cars were busy trying to figure out how to make enough room for the bus driver to get by, and everyone was just sitting there in the middle of the road. Eventually, they figured something out and the bus was able to eke out a few extra centimeters to get by. Next, he came face to face with me - in the middle of the bridge . . .
There were three cars stopped a short distance behind me, and I don't think any of us had confidence that this was going to work out. The bus driver came close enough to me so that we could use sign language + lots of gesturing to communicate with each other, ha ha. I ended up putting my car in reverse and then had to wait while the 3 cars behind me carefully backed up enough for me to get off the bridge so that the bus could get through. Wow. I can't believe we ever accomplished that in the end!
Moments later, I found a small dirt parking lot next to a trail along the river below. I pulled over so I could get a message to Scott telling him NOT to take this route. I didn't want him driving on this crazy road in the dark! He ended up leaving a little later than he had originally planned so that any road construction in Slovenia would be done for the day, which would allow him to get to Lake Bohinj more efficiently. He didn't have ANY problems at all, and he made good time on his route. He chose a slightly longer drive that took him past Ljubljana, but in the end, it only added about 10 extra minutes compared to my route - and he had freeway access most of the way. Lucky him!
Meanwhile, I passed two ski resorts on my curvy mountainous path - that's how high up I was! When I finally came out of the alpine forests and had a spot to pull over, I took a couple photos of the beautiful valleys below.
Driving up and over the mountains on these constricted roads for over 2 hours, there was obviously no place for a girl to go to the bathroom. So far, I had just been "holding it", but I wasn't sure how much longer I could do so and still drive stick shift, ha ha. Buuuut . . . suddenly I came around a long curve and saw not only a PULL-OUT but there was a port-a-potty sitting there JUST FOR ME!! (Cue the angels singing Hallelujah!!)
It wasn't long before I came down into the valley of Bojinska, and I made it safely to our AirBnB.
Ripe pears and beautiful flowers . . .
Steep stairs were built a long time ago for those who lived up on the next tier of the vertical village to be able to get down to the church . . .
The restaurant (Gostilna pri Hrvatu Branko Slamar) had a covered deck that overlooked the river and a small waterfall just below . . .
It was indeed a bit bitter, so I would take one bite and then jump over to the lamb and the potatoes. Then another bite of the witloof, followed by the lamb and potatoes again. I don't think I would choose witloof again, but it was a good experience for me to give it a try.
After dinner, I took a slow walk back to my apartment. Note where the beautiful church is up above the street . . .
I thought this was a very cute and rustic bird feeder . . .
Video of a portion of my walk: (15 seconds) **This IS a two-lane road, by the way.
Once Scott arrived, and after I helped him unload the car, we went for a little walk together up to the church.
Slovenian cemeteries are similar to Italian cemeteries in that they have photos of each person that has passed away. I think the main difference is that Slovenians use red lamps and candles to decorate the graves, and yet it felt very unifying and pleasing to the eyes.
Video of the beautiful cemetery: (13 seconds)
They had a tall memorial dedicated to those whose lives were lost during WWI (1914-1918) from this rural area.
The air was clean and crisp - a nice break from the lengthy and sweltering Italian summer that we've had. And a refreshing walk was helpful after our long drives that day. (A little over 4 hours for each of us)
Our AirBnB was also a little far from a grocery store, but I made the drive down the mountain into town before Scott arrived earlier. Knowing that he likes tortilla chips and peanut butter (sometimes together, sometimes separate), I grabbed both of those items. Plus this creamy little dessert cake. Yumm.
Saturday, September 5th: Scott and I drove to the west end of Lake Bohinj to ride the cable car up to the top of the mountain.
Known as Vogel Cable Car, up to 80 passengers can cram into the car together for the 4.2 minute ride up to the top. Elevation at the bottom is 569 m (1867 ft). At the top, you're sitting at 1535 m (5,036 ft) above sea level. That's roughly a solid vertical kilometer in just over 4 minutes!
Below: An interesting legend about Zlatorog, the golden-horned chamois (a white mountain goat with golden horns).
Video of the terrain on the way up, all part of the Triglav National park: (52 seconds)
Four wooden bench swings are available to lounge in while you soak up the views of Mt. Triglav, the tallest peak in the Julian Alps (bordering Austria to the north).
We set off on a nearby trail to get to another chairlift which would take us up to the next mountain peak . . . From 1535 m, you soon reach a height of 1800 m (5,905 ft) above sea level.
Video of me getting the bell to ring: (11 seconds)
Standing on the tiny little peak with the bell gave us some special views . . .
Snack time . . . and I always love a good nectarine.
We rode the chairlift back down to where the cable car station was located next to an outdoor restaurant and a few little shops. Me, being a lunchy person, decided we needed some nourishment.
had ordered the Zrezek Po Zelji (the first one listed under the Main Dishes section). It came with a dollop of red pepper sauce (fabulous & flavorful, not spicy) + a large dollop of lard (seriously, lol) (It tasted like creamy butter) + a small amount of chopped white onions. It was pretty good, although the pork was a little bit dry. (The sauces helped.)
The views were so pretty going down, seeing the lake, the mountains, the clouds in the sky, etc.
Short video on the way down: (8 seconds)
We had a nice rest for the afternoon, including a video call with my son, Jacob and his little family in Missouri. It was pouring rain for over an hour, and we were grateful we didn't act on an earlier impulse to park ourselves down at the lake.
For dinner, we drove down to the lake again, parking just around the bend from the cutest restaurant right on the water's edge. (Restavracija Kramar)
These were the stunning views from our table of the sun setting over the lake . . .
Video of beautiful Lake Bohinj: (12 seconds)
Sunday, September 6th: Church that morning was located in Ljubljana, approximately one hour away by car. We drove separately so that we could accommodate Chelsea and her crew a little later in the day, along with all of their luggage, ha ha.
Those of you who keep up with my travels know that I love to attempt to sing hymns in the native language of whatever country I'm in. Slovenian is so different from all the other languages! The only thing I've figured out with their language so far, is that a "j" functions like a "y".
Something special that has happened since we last visited this same church in Ljubljana, is that their numbers have increased by 2-3x what they were before in September of 2025. When we attended last year during Labor Day weekend, they had more missionaries than they had baptized members of the ward. Last September, they announced that they would be holding a special prayer and fasting day to find more people to teach about Jesus Christ. It really touched my heart and after I came home to Vicenza, I prayed for them on the designated day as well.
One year later, they are thriving. What a beautiful thing!
After church, we drove into the center of town to pick up Chelsea, Garret, and Paula. We split all their luggage into our two cars, and then we drove off to Vintgar Gorge for an afternoon adventure near Lake Bled. The girls were all in my car (yay) and the boys rode in Scott's car.
We had a timed entry slot, and we were there early enough to get a bite to eat at the restaurant next to the entry gate. Several of us ordered the LAVENDER LEMONADE - and holy cannoli. It was AMAZING!!!
This is one of my new favorite dishes - ever since I first tried it in Blaubeuren, Germany earlier this summer. It's called Cevapcici - a Balkan sausage made up of beef and lamb that is so incredibly tender and juicy. Cevapcici is pronounced like: cheh-VOP-chee-chee. How cute is that?!? It's typically served with that same red pepper sauce + some good old fashioned LARD (which tastes like whipped butter).
We all had to wear a helmet to participate in the hike along the gorge. They gave each person a disposable liner to cover your hair under the helmet. None of us looked very fashionable, but hey, we were all looking like hilarious dorks together!
At first we were all clustered together in our timed entry group, but we purposely started to hang back long enough to have the place more to ourselves.
Video of the first bridge crossing: (7 seconds)
With the help of Gemini, here is a little summary of the history of Vintgar Gorge.
The 1.6-kilometer-long canyon was formed over millennia by the Radovna River. In the geological past, the Bohinj glacier dammed the river, forming a lake. When the ice melted and retreated, the rushing alpine waters broke through the limestone stacks between the Hom and Boršt hills, carving out a deep chasm featuring pools, rapids, and steep rock walls up to 100 meters high. The gorge terminates at the 13-meter-high Šum Waterfall, the largest river waterfall in Slovenia. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The 1891 Discovery
For thousands of years, the deep ravine was entirely impassable and a complete mystery to local residents, who could only hear the roaring waters from afar. [1]
That changed in 1891 due to an exceptionally dry winter, which caused the water levels of the Radovna River to drop drastically. Seizing the rare opportunity, Jakob Žumer (the mayor of Gorje) and Benedikt Lergetporer (a prominent photographer and cartographer from Bled) ventured into the previously impenetrable wilderness using ropes and ladders. Overwhelmed by its raw beauty, they immediately initiated efforts to make it accessible to the public. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Short video of the teal water below: (6 seconds)
Turning it into a Tourist Sensation (1893)
To share this natural treasure, the "Vintgar Construction Committee" quickly raised funds through local hoteliers, businesses, and community events. Building pathways along the vertical cliffs and over the raging river proved to be a remarkable engineering challenge. [1, 2]
Despite the difficult conditions, workers constructed more than 500 meters of wooden bridges and walkways anchored directly into the stone walls. On August 26, 1893, the gorge officially opened to the public, instantly becoming an overnight tourism sensation and the first tourist-arranged gorge in Slovenia. These original walkways are still called the Žumer Galleries today. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Engineering Expansion
As regional infrastructure grew, a massive stone arch railway bridge was constructed across the gorge between 1904 and 1905 for the Bohinj Railway line. Arching 33.5 meters above the river, it remains the largest fully preserved stone arch railway bridge in Slovenia, blending historical human engineering into the dramatic natural landscape. A small hydroelectric dam was also added below the canyon. [1]
Video along the trail - one of the many waterfalls: (9 seconds)
Video of the biggest fish we saw that day: (25 seconds)
L to R: Paula, Garret, Chelsea, and Me . . .
Below: Scott paused to point out a large mesh barrier up above that had already "caught" some large boulders so they didn't tumble onto the hikers below . . .
At the end of the 1.6 km stretch, you end up at Slap Savica - or the Savica Waterfall. It's truly impressive with the arched bridge high above the dam and the large waterfall. Some people start at the opposite end from where we began and make their way to Slap Savica as their final destination, before turning around and hiking out the same way they came in.
Once you complete this first portion of the trail, you can turn in your helmet and continue on. It's all a big, long, one-way loop and you cannot go back the way you came - it's part of the trail and ecosystem preservation plan. I had read online that there were 2 main options to get back to where you started, one was more scenic but longer, and the other was less scenic (but still beautiful) and shorter. The shorter and less scenic route was purported to have shade for most of the way, which was very appealing to all of us. HOWEVER, when we turned in our helmets, we learned that the shady path (as in the good kind of shady) was closed for renovations and that our only choice was to take the longer path, which would involve a lot of full sun exposure. Blech.
*The longer path = King of Triglav Trail. 4.1 km (2.5 miles). Longer, but less physically demanding. More sun exposure after a short forested section at the start.
*The shorter path = River of Trees Trail. 2.7 km (1.7 miles). Shorter but more physically demanding. Lots of shade. Currently this trail is closed.
Video of a portion of the forested section: (20 seconds)
We paused at a refreshment hut before we hit the full-sun portion of the trail. *They had a very nice bathroom with super soft toilet paper. :)
I probably shouldn't have had both an ice cream + another lavender lemonade, buuuut it was hot and we needed to replenish . . . This lavender lemonade was more tart than the first one, and therefore more enjoyable for me. Don't get me wrong - the first one was incredible! It was just sweeter and you could kind of taste the honey that they added in.
The refreshment hut was in the center of this map below. We were refreshed and recharged and ready to make our way along the ridge back to the car park.
Near the end of the trail . . . Garret, Paula, Chelsea, Scott, and Me.
When we got back to where the cars were parked, Chelsea and Garret were practicing their little fist-bump greeting "routine". It was so cute!! You can watch it here: (9 seconds)
Monday, September 7th: With Scott wanting to get on the road to head home around noonish, we decided to stay close to the lake for the morning. At the west end, near the Vogel Cable Car station, there are lots of other trails and things to see. We chose to follow the Zlatorog Fairy Trail near the edge of the lake.
The trail was partially shaded and allowed us to follow along the edge of the water for a bit . . .
Video of the shades of water - the shallow vs the deeper sections within the differing hues:
(7 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/cBkX5yM8CipUna5E9
We also practiced skipping rocks for a bit, each of us trying to outdo the others. I think the best we did was 3 skips across the top of the water, mainly due to a lack of flat rocks in the area. But it was still fun!
Scott and I tied with 3 skips: (4 seconds)
We soon made our way back to where we parked so that Scott could begin his 4 hour drive home to Vicenza. After lots of hugs all around, he was off . . . (*He also packed up whatever luggage we didn't need for the next couple of days and hauled it home for us. This made it a LOT easier to fit the rest of us + our stuff on the way home Wednesday.)
We watched several paragliders launch one at a time from a clearing at the top of the peak in front of us.
Video #1: (16 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/rgr8SMghMs7PnFKX8Video #2: (6 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/t8S4Tr6crdVgwXUx9
They would swoop back and forth along the face of the mountain for as long as they could before heading out over the lake, swooping and circling there until they began to lose altitude. Eventually they would fly right over our heads and into the grassy meadow behind us. Maybe next year when we come back for our annual Labor Day weekend at Lake Bohinj, I'll book a paragliding adventure like this one. I've already done two previous flights over Bassano del Grappa, but never over a lake before. That would be really cool!!
Chelsea and I used our strong lungs + hot breath to fill up the 2 rafts that I brought, and then we had a nice lazy afternoon just hanging out in the water and talking for hours. It was so perfect. Paula came down to the lake a little later in the afternoon and joined us as well.
Video of Paula feeding them: (22 seconds)
Slovenians are very serious about their ketchup. My lemonade was already huge - a solid liter - but the ketchup jug was even bigger!!
I ordered the Cevapcici again (cheh-VOP-chee-chee) and it did not disappoint! Yum. And this time it was served with warm, fresh, flatbread.
Tuesday, September 8th: I accompanied Chelsea, Paula, and Garret up the Vogel Cable Car run for a second time, since they had not yet had the experience. We had a great morning up there, and the skies were 100% blue with no clouds in sight.
Something that always pops into my head whenever I'm on top of a mountain is the song: "Up Where We Belong", by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. I convinced Chelsea and Paula to belt it out with me while we waited for Garret to get back from the alpine hut bathroom. We sang the entire song, and then when Garret got back, he had us sing a little bit again while he recorded us. Hikers paused to watch the "show", and a few even clapped when we finished, LOL.
Video here: (27 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/MwLcPXggV5Ze5Nbs7
We ate lunch out on the deck next to the cable car station after our alpine bell-ringing and singing adventures. I wasn't very hungry, so I just ordered a caprese salad with tomatoes, mini mozzarella, arugula, and a hint of pesto. It was absolutely perfect.
Garret and Chelsea rented a pair of e-bikes and went on a little explore for the afternoon. Garret took the cutest video of Chelsea singing, "The Hills Are Alive" as they rode along.
Watch it here: (28 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/uFwKbBSkHr1p4yN48
I chose to hunker down in my AirBnB for the afternoon, taking it easy while also working on my blog about Portugal. For dinner, I met everyone at a restaurant right across the street from their hotel. Since it was a burger joint, I ordered a cheeseburger and some sweet potato fries.
Wednesday, September 9th: The morning began with a few sprinkles, which produced a beautiful rainbow over the lake - seen from my little AirBnB terrace.
We had the best luck with dodging the rain during our travels back to Vicenza. Every time we got in the car it would rain, and then every time we got out of the car, it would stop just long enough for us to enjoy whatever place we were in. And then as soon as we hopped back into the car, the rain would start up again.
Our first stop was at Lake Bled. Chelsea and her family really wanted to see Lake Bled at some point, but when we passed by on Sunday, it was so crazy with tourists and there was nowhere to park AT ALL. This time, however, it was a Wednesday - and a rainy day - so we had much better luck in finding a parking spot. Parking is a premium at Lake Bled, and the one spot we found charged 20 euro for 4 hours, even though we just needed maybe one hour.
Me, Chelsea, Garret, and Paula . . . (with Bled Castle on the rocky peak behind us)
Below: These flat-bottomed boats are called Pletna boats. They have been around for centuries and have served as a ferry for people to get across the lake.
A closeup of the Pletna boats . . .
We had seen advertisements all over Lake Bohinj for a Banksy art exhibit in Lake Bled, so when we saw the actual location of the exhibit while on our walkabout, we decided to check it out.
Below: An explanation on who Banksy "is" . . . Well, he's an artist. But he's anonymous at the same time as being an artist who likes to push the envelope.
Here are a few of his intriguing and slightly irreverent pieces that caught my eye . . .
As we walked by the announcer's booth, the emcee asked us if we would be willing to participate in a rowing challenge of our own . . . Well, YEAH!!!
They had several rowing machines set up under a tented area, and while the announcer announced to everyone within earshot of the speakers at Lake Bled, he counted us down, 5-4-3-2-1 . . . We had to row for a distance of 300 meters and whoever got there first was the winner.
Chelsea, Garret and I took on the challenge, while Paula filmed.
I started off strong, and by the way, I LOVE ROWING MACHINES - they are seriously my favorite thing to use at a gym. But I had a little issue with the shoe straps not staying in place this time. This meant that each time I slid backwards, it was torquing my sandals in such a way that I got really worried that the intense movements might pull the straps OFF my sandals altogether! I had to think fast - because we were in a race, and Chelsea was starting to pull ahead. I opted to take shorter strides as I rowed in order to save my sandals . . . I mean, I paid a lot of money for them, and they are the ONE pair that are comfortable enough for long walks in the hot Italian summers, even on a longer day when I'm walking all over Venice. I didn't want to ruin them during one short rowing race . . .
Somehow, I kept a neck and neck pace with Garret, even pulling ahead of him at one point because he lost his grip briefly. You'll have to watch the video to see who won . . .
Video here: (1 minute, 23 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/sUXBQ8dSkcieXs1cA
True to form, it started to sprinkle as we hustled back to the car, but the skies didn't unleash until after we began driving away. Seriously, what good luck we had!!
In my next post, I'll continue the journey from Lake Bled to Palmanova, Italy and then on to Vicenza. We also went on day trips to Ravenna and Venice by train before everyone headed south to Florence and then back home to Denver, Colorado.
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