Winter in Slovenia

The first known reference to the city of Ljubljana dates back to the early twelfth century, although archaeological evidence of the Roman settlement of Aemona has been found beneath the city’s streets. Settled by the Slovenes in the ninth century, the city sits at the heart of an old trade route linking the Adriatic to the Danube in a region formerly known as Carniola during the days of the Holy Roman and Austrian Empires. Today it is the capital of Slovenia, and it is the perfect place for a winter city break, especially if you are looking for some snow to get you in the festive spirit for Christmas.

Previously one of the socialist republics which comprised the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia has been independent since 1991. Unlike other countries behind the former Iron Curtain, I recall Yugoslavia was quite a popular holiday destination for British people in the 1980s, second only to Spain at the time. It used to be marketed in the UK as “Sun-sational Yugoslavia!” Although it was a country I’d never visited before, nor really knew much about prior to the conflict which ensued after Yugoslavia’s dissolution in the early 1990s. Slovenia’s secession, with a military stand-off lasting 10 days, was relatively short compared to some of the other nations of the former communist state. I learnt a lot more about this period from reading Timothy Garton Ash’s book, A History of the Present (1999), as well as from visiting Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the summer of 2016; visiting another part of the Balkans in such a different season seemed like the perfect way to complement my first experience of the former Yugoslavia.

Ljubljana, 1765

Ljubljana, a largely flat city, is dominated by a castle set atop a hill. The castle itself dates back to the eleventh century, although many of the castle buildings which remain extant today were built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries – it was the former seat of the Duchy of Carniola. Today in addition to hosting cultural events and providing excellent views of the city’s old town, the Castle is also home to the very stylish (yet reasonably priced) restaurant, Gostilna Na Gradu. Using their menu as your guide you can tour the gastronomical geography of Slovenia from the comfort of your table. The restaurant serves delicious food inspired by traditional Slovenian regional cuisine – such as wild boar goulash and dumplings, which you can complement by choosing from a variety of local wines. A modern timber ribbed ceiling offsets the thick fortified stone walls in the restaurant’s main room, whilst a glazed loggia fronting onto the castle courtyard offers diners a choice of ambience. The food in Slovenia, along with Croatia and Bosnia as well, was a stand-out feature of both trips.

Wandering around the snow-filled streets of the old town, which at night were lit up with decorative festive lights, seemed to be the very acme of a perfect winter holiday. The wonderfully ornate old buildings reminiscent of a stage set from The Nutcracker add to the festive feel. On one evening, wandering back to our hotel we came across a street food stall serving from an enormous hog roast spit, the scent of barbequed meat guaranteed to make your mouth water. One of the nicest things to do is take a stroll along the river, visiting some of its many interesting bridges, such as the Dragon Bridge, which is guarded by two fantastical bronze statues of dragons looking as though they’ve just stepped straight out of the pages of J. R. R. Tolkien. The dragon and the castle are the twin emblems of Ljubljana found on the city’s coat of arms.

 

Escaping the urban cityscape into the snow blanketed countryside there are two truly enchanting destinations only an hour or two away by car or bus, both of which are made all the more evocative by the wintery weather. The first is Predjama Castle and the second is Lake Bled.
 

Ljubljana, 1689

Predjama Castle

Some 60 kilometres southwest of Ljubljana is Predjama Castle. This castle is a picture perfect setting for mythical tales of medieval knights battling fire-breathing dragons and rescuing damsels in distress. The earliest historical references to the castle date from 1274, but the present building was the result of significant rebuilding in the 1500s. The castle forms an imposing sight, having been built in a seemingly precarious cliff-side location, with the River Lovka cascading far beneath its walls. A cave behind the castle provided a hidden access route which was invaluable to the castle’s security as a secret route for supplies and communication. The castle is perhaps best renowned as the residence of Erazem, also known as Erasmus, of Lueg. A robber baron who came into conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, in 1483. On Frederick’s orders, Gaspar Ravbar, Lord of Trieste, laid siege to the castle, and – as the story goes – succeeded in assassinating the errant knight (rather than knight-errant) with a well-aimed cannonball which rather ignominiously felled Erazem whilst he was sitting on the lavatory. The Castle is a suitably atmospheric place to explore, climbing up its many levels to the mouth of the cave behind it, with the meltwater dripping all around. It’s easy to imagine the cosy warmth of the castle rooms when roaring fires would have filled the fireplaces. No such luck today though. The only warmth in winter nowadays comes from wrapping yourself up tightly in your coats, scarves and woolly hats, as most of the castle windows are open to the bracingly fresh air outside. The views, both from and of, the castle itself, however, are well worth the trek through the winter chill to get there.

Postojna Cave

A visit to Predjama Castle is usually best combined with a visit to Postojna Cave, only about 9 km away. This is more than just a cave, it is a huge karst cave system, stretching more than 24 kilometres long, which has been carved out by the Pivka River into a series of subterranean limestone chambers, some of which are of truly awe-inspiring dimensions. The multiple chambers and passageways are filled with enormous stalagmite and stalactite formations, created over the aeons by the slow, steady drip, drip, drip of the limestone saturated water seeping through the cave roof. The cave system is also home to an endemic olm, a species of salamander, which is rather wonderfully described as “the largest troglodytic amphibian in the world.” The guides refer to these curious-looking little creatures as baby dragons, although they look more like eyeless pink worms with little legs and long tails. A tour of the cave system begins and ends with a lengthy ride on a small train pulled by a Hornby-like electric locomotive which threads in and out of some of the most spectacularly large chambers – breath-takingly wide and tall, some of these chambers have been nick-named as ‘ballrooms’ and ‘concert halls’, some of which are even lit by enormous chandeliers and have indeed been used to host full-scale concert orchestras. Disembarking from the train 3.5 km deep into the system you then follow a 1.5 km walking trail through the passageways to get a real sense of this speleological wonderland. The temperature within the caves remains a steady 10 degrees Celsius all year, so once again it’s worth dressing warmly even when you visit in summer.

Lake Bled

Lake Bled, which is about 55 km northwest of Ljubljana, is best known for the view of its little island topped with a church. As with Predjama Castle, seeing the island through the winter mist, framed by the mountains of the Julian Alps and the snow-covered trees of the far shore, it looks like a scene from a Central European fairy tale. The lake which was formed from ancient glacial activity in the region has hosted the World Rowing Championships on a number of occasions between 1966 and most recently 2011. The town of Bled, which has long been a popular resort due to its natural thermal springs, sits at the opposite end of the lake to the island and is overlooked by a medieval castle set high on an imposing clifftop. 

Fronting the lake on the opposite shore is the Grand Hotel Toplice. Founded in 1850 as the Hotel Luisenbad, it was a popular destination for the Austro-Hungarian elite and wealthy foreign travellers. In 1918 it was given its current name, and extensively renovated in 1931. It was a favourite alpine resort of both King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, who was assassinated in France in 1934, and of Marshal Tito, who ruled communist Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1980. Other noted guests have included famous literary figures, such as Pablo Neruda, Arthur Miller, and Agatha Christie. We added our names to this vicarious roster by stopping here for afternoon tea in the hotel lounge, which has a gorgeous view of the lake and still has a quaint, old-world sort of charm which makes you feel like you’ve stepped back into a former age. The main culinary speciality which Bled is best known for is kremna rezina or kremšnita, a cream-filled pastry, the current recipe for which was devised in the hotel’s patisserie in the 1950s, although such local specialty cream pastries are said to date back to the Hapsburg era.

After tea we took a boat out to visit Bled Island itself. The traditional way to reach the island is on board one of the pletna, flat-bottomed boats traditional to Lake Bled, which are rowed from the stern by a single oarsman in the stehrudder technique, rather like the gondoliers of Venice, but here using two oars. These boats are still operated by the descendants of 22 families who were originally given licences to ferry Christian pilgrims to the island by the last Hapsburg monarch, Maria Theresa in 1740 (she became Holy Roman Empress five years later). The pilgrims would pray at the small Catholic Church atop the island which is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God. A majestic Baroque staircase built in 1655 consisting of 99 steps leads up to the church directly from the waterfront. It is a local tradition for the groom to carry the bride up these steps to their wedding ceremony. The church, which was remodelled in the seventeenth century, contains Gothic frescoes dating from the 1470s. The most visible feature of the church is its 52 metre tall bell tower. There is a local legend which relates to one of the bells in the tower: “The so-called "wishing bell" was made by Franziskus Patavinus in the Italian Padova in 1534. The legend says that a young inconsolable widow lived in Bled Castle at that time. Her husband was killed by robbers and his body was dumped in the lake, so she collected all her silver and gold and paid for the bell that would be put in the chapel on the island. But the bell never arrived there, since a heavy storm sunk it with the boat and boatmen. Some say that the bell can still be heard on clear nights. After the accident, the desperate widow sold all her belongings and went to live in a monastery in Rome. After her death, the Pope dedicated a new bell and sent it to Bled Island. Whoever rings the bell and sends a wish to the merciful "lady from the lake", she fulfils their wish.”

Visiting the island in winter is wonderfully atmospheric. With snow on the ground and a veil of mist hanging low over the water of the lake, the white cloud of the sky softly diffusing a luminous kind of winter glow. The gentle patter of the drizzle on the water and raindrops dripping from the bare tree branches added a natural, peaceful sort of musical backdrop to the quiet stillness all around. Soon after boating back across the lake to the town, dusk quickly turned into evening. We wandered around the curve of the shore to a set of tented food stalls and bought ourselves another Slovenian specialty, Kranjska klobasa, or Carniolan sausage (from the region of Kranjska), with mustard and sauerkraut. This distinctive sausage, made from pork meat and bacon, flavoured with garlic, black pepper and sea salt, is hot smoked until it turns a rich reddish colour. The sea salt is sourced from Slovenian saltpans at Piran on the Adriatic coast, where soft fleur de sel type salt has been made on a large scale since Roman times. We’d seen similar salt pans being worked further down the coast in Croatia. Knowing how good it tastes we bought a couple of bags of Slovenian fleur de sel in Ljubljana at the Piranske Soline shop to use in our own cooking back at home. Hot Kranjska klobasa and mulled wine was the perfect way to warm up before heading back to the bus stop and motoring back to our hotel in the city.

The homeward journey to the UK from Slovenia provided an interesting example of how climate can shape and inform vast cultural differences. When we’d first arrived at Ljubljana airport the snow was a foot or so deep in the surrounding fields, but the roads were largely clear and remained so even when fresh snow fell during our stay. Hence, we were somewhat puzzled when waiting to board our return flight we heard via the airport tannoy system that we were being delayed “due to the snow.” Looking outside the window there was certainly snow on the ground, but the sky above was relatively clear and the sun was shining. Subsequent announcements clarified that the snow in question was actually that currently falling in the UK. Although snow is fairly unusual in the UK, it’s not entirely unknown. We do get snow maybe once a year or so – and it is always a rather rueful national joke as to how a single snowflake can bring our entire transport infrastructure to a screeching halt! – After several hours of waiting we were finally given permission to board and the plane eventually took off. The flight from Ljubljana to Luton is about two and a half hours. On landing in Luton, we could see that there had been a fairly hefty snowstorm ahead of our arrival, but the snow on the ground was no deeper than it had been when we’d landed at Ljubljana a few days previously. This was more than enough though to mean that our plane had to wait more than three hours for a bus to come and transfer us from the aircraft to the terminal. When it finally did, the distance it drove us was less than about 300 yards! – Back to Blighty indeed – Welcome home.