If ever a country embodied the word “quaint,” it’s Slovenia. With a population just north of 2 million, the country feels like a plastic model in a museum of old mountain life. While certainly a mountain nation, Slovenia’s waters are what defines it: dark, mountain rivers, underground water, and glacial lakes. Oh, and also a lot of castles.
Ljubljana
Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, is a picturesque city on a river crowned with a castle. In the springtime, the water from the mountains runs brown, but that doesn’t detract from the city’s prettiness. It’s most prominent water-based feature is the Tromostovje, or Triple Bridge. This is exactly what it sounds like, three bridges, but really close together so it’s actually one bridge. It’s a small city.
Škocjan Caves
This massive cave system was carved by the underground and repetitiously named Reka River (Reka is the Slovene word for river). Visitors can see two (also creatively named) chambers- the Quiet and the Murmuring. The first is, well, silent and resembles a concert hall, but filled with peanut-butter-colored dripstones. Murmuring is a bit of a misnomer because the second chamber is where the Reka rushes and roils as it tries to shove its raging self through a tiny passage exit. For this reason, the giant chamber is prone to flooding,
sometimes nearly to the top. There is a 40-meter bridge where you can admire the awesome waters from above. Being the last group through, as we walked the ways along the walls, they began turning the lights off behind us. Looking back was pure darkness, with only the rushing water in your ears.
Lake Bled
Arguably the highlight of Slovenia, Lake Bled is a magical mountain lake overlooked by a cliff-side castle. The jewel of the lake is its church-topped island. This island is accessible only by boat, so you either have to hire someone to take you, or rent a boat. You can hike around the whole lake and admire its quiet mountain majesty. And also laugh at all the people who only after renting the boat realize that they don’t know how to row.
One of the more under-the-radar countries in Europe, Slovenia has many wet adventures to offer.