A special 16th birthday today (and yesterday in Australia).

Day 36. Wednesday 6 May.

Forecast: rain. A meandering drive along secondary roads was planned to get to our next stop for two nights, near Postojna. A persistent rain, sometimes heavy, put paid to the idea of exploring on foot the towns we passed through. Already usually slow, our speed was even further reduced: we were frequently passed by other drivers, often over unbroken lines, but were never tail gated or beeped or otherwise abused. It was reasonably comfortable being an old fart trundling along (T pleased not to be on freeway).

We tried for a coffee at Idrija, but after trawling through the narrow streets could not find anywhere to park, so moved on – to find a bar at Godovic, populated by old men, served by a lovely young woman, who served terrific coffee. D fitted in.

The road from Skopja Loka to Postojna was frequently narrow and winding, through a mountainous region much like yesterday. The rain made concentration serious – and the low cloud made sightseeing ‘difficult’ but T still comfortable.

At coffee we decided to head straight to our apartment if we could get an early check in (before the usual 1600). Tamara was happy to oblige and we arrived at about 1300 to be greeted by her and Marijan our hosts, who provided comprehensive briefings, including on the operation of the sauna,  plus bread, cheese, schnapps and sausage (both  home made)…and Marijan will bring croissants to the door in the morning! The set-up is amazing, beneath the extensive main house, very, very stylish & with under- floor heating (it will dry today’s wet shoes).

We left for the Postojna Cave at about 1400, having been advised to be there 30 minutes before entry. On arrival D missed the turn into the car park necessitating a long detour into town to do a U turn. Got back, parked and headed for what we thought was the cave – which was in the other direction. With instructions from a bemused passer by, we headed for the ‘big house’, with no idea where we should be. Walking up and down the rows of souvenir shops and cafes, we saw a cave entry sign, flashed our etickets – which didn’t work. Tried another version. Tried enlarging them. Tried the email version. Tried to brighten the colour. The guy overseeing the turnstiles eventually tired of this and just took us around the barrier. Inside was a display of specimens, explanations about the olm, etc but no sign of the train. D went back to the turnstile guy who told him that it was just above, just keep going. Back he went, but it simply wasn’t making sense, so back D went. ‘Ah’, the turnstile guy said helpfully ‘you wanted to get on the train! Now I understand. But you’ve missed it. If you hurry to the ticket office, you should be able to exchange your tickets for the 1530 train’. D rushed to the ticket office in the rain, exchanged the tickets in exchange for a 10-euro levy, provided some polite advice to the ticket seller on the poor signage, and we rushed to join the queue to get on the train. And the reason our etickets didn’t work: they were for the train, not the display! So, we’d been in the wrong area all along. This is probably Slovenia’s biggest tourist attraction; D found the signage inadequate, although returning to the car park after the visit we did see signs that if we’d been more leisurely earlier, we might have noticed.

But the cave experience was mind-blowing…a little train took us 2kms into the limestone, along tunnels, through stalactites/mites: 15 mins of magic. Then it was disembark & walk (our group was large) for about 90 minutes, through ‘room upon room’ of formations and colours. The tour guide tried his best with information but because we were often at the back, we couldn’t actually always catch the spiel, plus people were talking & stopping to snap pics, so T abandoned the aural & just marvelled at the visual. D grumped his way towards the front but still missed out on a lot. Then back on the train for 15 mins to the exit. It’s the world’s biggest cave and has been dealing with tourists for 200 years. And the king of the cave-animals is a creature called olm, a bit like a gecko, living for up to 100 years, able to go without food for 10, still a glint in the eye at 80…but it is actually blind, has no pigment, breathes through gills jutting from its head and has no predators! Now T’s favourite creature.

Back to the apartment for a sauna and dinner – and to try Marijan’s home made schnapps. In accordance with Slovenian hospitality (we think) we’d been offered a sip on arrival, politely refused because D was driving. The schnapps was terrific – but wouldn’t want to have too much!

Staged photo!