I recently returned from a very enjoyable week in the mountains of north-west Slovenia, not far from the Italian and Austrian borders. It was a big group, 29 of us plus David our Tour Manager, and we all seemed to get on well. The hotel was large and catered for coach parties who just stayed overnight as well as individuals and groups such as ours. The meals were served buffet style and there was usually something to suit all tastes but at times items might have run low because of a rush of people, however the staff would quickly replenish the dishes. The bedrooms had hairdryers, safes, mini-bars and televisions as well as a balcony with table and chairs. There was a swimming pool and sauna and bathrobes were available to rent for €5.As Kranjska Gora is in the mountains I packed for every eventuality as the weather never seems to follow any forecast but we were fortunate that, apart from one rainy day with very low cloud, we had sunshine for the whole week with just a slight drop in temperature on the last couple of days. The one wet day was when we visited Lakes Bohinj and Bled – our first call was the cable car to the top of the highest mountain in the area to see the fabulous views over the surrounding countryside: the top was shrouded in thick cloud so we spent our time at a sampling session (one of many during the week) in the café and gazing out onto the vague shape of a conifer but the weather improved slightly later at the lakes. We had a very good local guide, George, and a fantastic coach driver (whose name I never did get) who coped with the narrow roads and hairpin bends with no obvious difficulty at all. We had a busy itinerary with a lot of driving but also a lot of walking, the latter quite slowly so we didn’t mislay anyone. If anyone didn’t feel up to the walking there were usually places to sit and wait for our return and have a coffee or beer in the meantime.
Despite a full itinerary we did have two half-day outings where we were back in the village by about 2.30 pm with plenty of time for a late lunch, an ice-cream, coffee and cake or just a relaxing session in the hotel’s pool or on the sun terrace. On the last evening we went to a local restaurant for dinner and a traditional dance and song performance by a group from a local village. This was the best “show” I have seen on any of my holidays, the group performed between courses and towards the end got 4 men and then, later, 4 women up on their feet to join in the dances – not as easy as it looked when sitting watching, as I found out! It concluded with the whole group taking part in a conga around the restaurant, linked in between the dancers and filmed by our Tour Manager.
Kranjska Gora was quite busy with cyclists and walkers but once the morning and evening “rush hours” were over it eased back into a relaxing place to have a drink and just watch the world go by if we weren’t out on an excursion or just fancied a quiet day – one or two of the group chose not to come with us every day. Slovenia is a beautiful country, with very little graffiti or litter, and we found the people very welcoming. Even though there were lots of tourists, especially in Ljubljana and at Lake Bled, it didn’t feel crowded and we were able to enjoy the views without constantly having to dodge other guided groups.
Ann
