Slovenia

LJUBLJANA
We watched the All Blacks lose to the British & Irish Lions at an Irish Pub in Zagreb in the morning before catching the three and a half hour bus to Ljubljana, the beautiful capital city of Slovenia (birthplace of Melania Trump).  We chose to stay for two nights at the very quirky Hostel Tresor in the central city fifty steps from Preseren Square and close to the triple bridge - the one with the dragons on it. The hostel is in a refurbished bank, all the rooms are names after global currencies and breakfast is in the converted bank vault.

Hostel Tresor in Ljubljana

From the city we walked over the bridge and up the hill to Ljubljana Castle, a medieval fortress over looking the city and surrounding countryside. It's an easy, beautiful walk with plenty of places to stop, rest and take pictures. The castle has lots of exhibits and top of the main tower has a huge national flag (I love flags) and the best views of the city.

The path to Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana Castle

The view from the tower at Ljubljana Castle

The following day we rented a car and drove north on the E61 to Bled to visit the fairy-tale 11th century castle overlooking Lake Bled. It's the oldest castle in Slovenia and one of the top tourist attractions, but it wasn't particularly crowded. There were lots of places to explore and exhibits to wander through. The kids got the best ice cream ever and Seb ended up wearing most of it on his face.

Seb looking down to the lake