Day 37. Thursday 7 May.

We booked a tour of the Škocjan Caves about 40 km away for 1000 – D says we need to be on the road by NLT 0900 and we actually left before that and arrived at the correct start point in good order, with time to spare. The day started well.

The cave system is an underground phenomenon in the Karst region of Slovenia – along with the underground stream of the Reka River it forms one of the longest karst underground wetlands in Europe. We were met by a guide who leads the whole group – about 80+ – down to the entrance to the caves where we were divided into three groups for the actual walk through, which is about 2.5 km – plus the return to parking. We were not allowed to take photos inside the cave system, which was terrific for us as it prevents those annoying halts for pics and selfies ( but of course, there were the rule-breakers). So there won’t be a lot of photos of this part of the day.

The entrance to the caves is the Globocak Collapse Doline, which leads through a man-made tunnel into the Silent Cave. This is a dry fossil tunnel rich in diverse stalactite formations. We then moved into the Murmuring Cave, above the Reka River (Reka means river) – this is one of the largest underground caverns in Europe.And it was not murmuring; water gushes and thunders over rapids and this underground river can rise 100 metres in 10 hours in torrential rain. We saw flood markers from previous times and couldn’t help but recall the Thai cave incident some years ago. Fortunately, yesterday’s damp conditions had no impact. The size of the chambers is huge and reflecting on this having been created by the underground river over Millenia makes us feel very insignificant.

At the end of the guided tour we walked by ourselves back to the Information Centre (about 40 minutes) on route 2 (orange). We were advised that the tour included 500 steps, up and down: there were definitely at least that many! Our guide was terrific: she waited for the group to catch up (we weren’t the slowest) before starting her spiel. Needless to say, the ‘no photos’ was ignored at least once. But now the walk is finished, we can take photos.

After coffee and lunch a visit to the museum – we were the only ones. It was a simple display but lots of information, and an excellent video. The video mentioned an observation we’d shared yesterday: the dimension of time in the creation of these caves makes our existence miniscule: a very small example – it takes ten to fifteen years for one mm growth of a stalacmite. There were references to the magical, disappearing river (it goes underground for 30+kms after 55kms abover ground) as early as 2nd century BC.

From there, a drive to the village of Štanjel, which had been recommended by our hosts.We were suddenly in vineyard territory, & obviously a drier environment,  close to the Italian border. Not quite knowing what to expect as we walked up the hill and entered the town we were struck by how derelict & deserted it was. It turns out that it had been extensively damaged during WWII and is being renovated and reinvented: there are now only about fifty residents and it hosts facilities such as a reception hall, a regional wine shop, & wine -making school. Popping into the grocery store for 2 potatoes to complete dinner (T needed an ice cream),it felt a bit like an Italian deli with an inviting fresh, unpackaged meat section. T had already planned to focus the main dish on the home-made sausage back at our accommodation. But she admired the selection on display.

Last stop for the day was Predjama Castle. Parking was some distance down a steep road so, rather than park and walk, we opted to have a ‘remote viewing’ from a green area above the castle, which worked fine given that we were only there for a photo moment. The castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult. Later, we were surprised to discover that the castle was just down the road from our apartment.

Tomorrow, we return the car and catch the bus to Vienna. Dinner was a full and flavoursome feast with Marjan’s sausage added to the kidney beans & tomatoes. There were even oven-roasted potatoes accompanying -D in heaven. The evening was beautifully quiet with no adjacent neighbours. What a treat! The day finished well.

 Slovenia has been a gem: 100 shades of green, superb natural scenery, friendly people, some quiet spaces, even the capital has a comfortable, small-town feel and the prevalence of English makes it very, very easy.