In July 2022, Bonita and I traveled to Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia for our honeymoon. We were there for two weeks. This post documents the things we did specifically in Slovenia over three days, a country we enjoyed immensely.
The Itinerary
We planned to enter Slovenia from Austria by car and spend just two days there.
Day 1: Triglav National Park, Vintgar Gorge, Llubjana
We departed the Airbnb in Villach, Austria and drove south. Without any immigration or border patrol, we suddenly found ourselves in Slovenia. International travel within European Union is so convenient!
Not long after, we found ourselves in mesmerizing nature. We were on the outskirts of Slovenia’s one and only national park called Triglav. We came across stunning rock mountains ranges, lakes, and rolling hills.
We then started a long drive through the main route of the park, the Vršič Pass. The highest mountain peak is at 9,396′ above sea level. We stopped at one of the highest accessible points and took in the view.
We learned that the route was made by about 10,000 Russian prisoners of war during World War I. The conditions were rough, and many perished from avalanches and harsh work environments.
Later on down the route, we stopped by the Great Soca Gorge. I was disappointed – it was a river that flowed a couple dozen feet below the terrain, and although the water was translucent and colorful, it was small and rather underwhelming.
After hiking for about a mile, we were hungry and ate a late lunch. We drove out of the national park and randomly chose an open restaurant. That restaurant was called Gostilna pod Lipco Veselin Vujačić s.p. and it was a delightful meal.
Lunch was seafood. We got a whole fish and some baby octopus. As the first meal in Slovenia, we were happy with the flavor and thought it surpassed the food we ate in Austria.
After lunch, we decided to skip some of the places we bookmarked and instead prioritize the Vintgar Gorge. The most efficient route was to head back north, and we drove through Italy for about 30 minutes – once again without any immigration stops.
We arrived at the Vintgar Gorge at about 3:30pm, ready to hike some more. We were immediately impressed by the sheer scale of the river. Much of the walking path was alongside the river.
The trail gives hikers two options, one shorter round trip, and one much longer round trip path. We opted for the longer route, which after 1 mile of walking alongside the river took us to a small village where we grabbed drinks to cool off. We then took a path in the middle of the mountainside that eventually brought us back to the entrance of the park at about 5pm.
It was time for dinner. We made our way to the country’s capital, Llubjana. We made a brief stop in our Airbnb to drop off our luggage, then headed into the city.
Dinner was at Sushimama, a Michelin recommended restaurant. I liked the the two appetizers, but thought the nigiri was only ok.
The real treat was walking around the city after dark. It was so, so lively.
Each building had exterior lighting that brought it to life. It was practically a light show.
Just like Salzburg, there was a castle sitting on top of a hill in the middle of the city. I enjoyed being able to see it from afar.
We eventually found an ice cream place, took our time eating it, then went back to the Airbnb to sleep. Here is what our cute little cottage just 5 minutes outside the city center looked like.
Day 2: Predjama Castle, Skofja Loka Castle, Llubjana
I grew up playing a lot of computer games, with Age of Empires II being a childhood favorite. Castles have always fascinated me, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to visit a castle built in a cave – Predjama Castle!
But first… our fascination with foreign grocery stores took precedence. Here’s a big grocery store we visited to get some snacks and water.
Predjama Castle is in southwest Slovenia, somewhat near the border of Italy and Croatia. It took us about an hour to get there. From afar, it was a sight unseen. The civil engineering feat of the middle ages persisting for centuries.
The inside had been renovated many times to maintain structural integrity, but many components were still original. We took a self-guided tour with audio recordings that taught us the history of the castle. It was under siege for some time, but the back of the cave had a secret exit that allowed the defenders to maintain a steady source of supplies. The invaders were convinced that there was sorcery involved. Years later, one of the defenders defected and helped the attackers exploit a weakness in the castle and eventually complete the conquest.
Besides touring the castle interior, some rooms contain exhibits depicting the harsh life of living in a castle. One room showcased torture instruments, specifically a “wooden horse” that torture subjects sat on, causing excruciating pain through their own body weight. That looked really eerie. Humans could be so destructive.
Another room showcased a bunch of armor, swords, and axes. I enthusiastically examined each one and read their descriptions in detail. I think Bonita got quite bored.
Alas, the last part of the tour involved climbing up the cave and witnessing the complex system that was employed to collect fresh water to sustain the inhabitants.
Predjama Castle lived up to the hype, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in medieval history. After the tour, we made our way to the second destination of the day, Skofja Loka Castle & Museum.
The drive back took us on some rough road conditions, but we arrived unscathed. We were pretty worn from the heat and cooled off in the cafe before heading in.
This castle was not as impressive as Predjama. They had a wildlife exhibit that was small, and a rock and mineral exhibit that was even smaller. They did have a World War II exhibit that I enjoyed. It’s cool to observe history from an European perspective, especially since Europeans (and Asians) suffered more catastrophically relative to the Americas.
After touring the castle, we went back to Llubjana. We had dinner reservations later that evening and had time to kill, so we walked through town and went into some shops. I bought a button up shirt to wear for dinner because Bonita would have otherwise been unimpressed by my lackluster appearance.
Dinner was at a Michelin restaurant, Atelje. We had been looking forward to experiencing fine dining in a foreign setting, and the last Michelin star restaurant I had been to outside the U.S. was at Peninsula Hong Kong in 2017. We sat outside since the weather had cooled to the 80s, with the added benefit of people watching.
Dinner took a while. It was about 3 hours long and many courses were served. First were appetizers.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about the food and can’t offer any meaningful detail. Our server struggled with English, seemed new, and we weren’t given a written menu that helped us understand each item. Bonita also ordered the wine pairingmenu, but the server just poured each bottle into the same wine glass.
But three hours later, we were still full. Dinner was around €140 per person, with wine pairing at €75. At roughly half the cost of tasting menus in California, we were satisfied. Here’s a photo dump of each food item.
Day 3: Skocjan Caves
The heat wave was unbearable. The original goal was just to spend two days in Slovenia, then head to Croatia early in the morning to Plitvice Lakes. Given that temperatures would reach the 100s by noon, we changed plans to avoid the sun. Bonita found Skocjan Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprised of stalactites, stalagmites, and a running underground river.
Boy was I glad we went. Skocvan Caves was one of my favorite sites of the honeymoon. Think the Mines of Moria in the Lord of the Rings. We were in that.
We greatly enjoyed this tour and highly recommend anyone visiting Central Europe to go out of their way to visit this site.
Our time in Slovenia had come to an end. We continued on our honeymoon in Croatia, which will be in a separate post!
Pre-travel best practices
Essential pre-travel steps
- Global Entry / TSA Precheck to breeze through airport security. Cost: $100.
- International driving permit with AAA. Cost: $20.
- Checking account with unlimited free ATM withdraws worldwide. I use Charles Schwab Bank. Cost: free
- Travel credit card with no foreign transaction fees and insurance coverage for rental cars. I use Chase Sapphire Preferred. Cost: $95/year
- Add Covid proof of vaccine to Apple Wallet and take a picture of the vaccine card.
- Download Google Maps offline onto phone. Cost: free
My go-to travel gear
- The WixGear magnetic phone holder for car for GPS navigation. Cost: $14.
- The Anker portable phone charger. Cost: $20.
- The Bose QuietComfort noise canceling headphones for long flights. Cost: $350.
Andy Cheng 
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