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myWe had made an arrangement to visit Kate, Andre, Thomas and Max van Schuijlenburg in Ljubljana from Thursday afternoon until the Sunday.  Actually Kate was the reason we went to Slovenia in the first place.  We met them in St Petersburg and then they went to Romania and now they are in Slovenia.  I immediately thought that that was a good opportunity to visit so proceeded with holiday plans.

Anyhow, we had one night to kill and wanted to move on but didn't want to camp for one night as it is too much faff with children. Too much faff anyway really.  Kate had suggested going to Velika Planina which is an alpine pasture with traditional herdsmens settlement.  We arrived in Kamnik, the nearest town and very pretty and as it was so hot we decided to head straight up the mountain that afternoon to escape the heat.   A steep cable car ride and then a chair lift took us to the top and it was absolutely lovely. Of course we didn't actually get to walk to the settlement itself as it was a 15 minute waslk which could have been a long time with smallies and we were just appreciating the slightly cooler air.  Katie was particularly enjoying climbing on the rocks and exploring.  We didn't have a lot of energy and just played at the top but it looked a great place for exploring on foot or bike.

On the chairlift

Looking out at the view

Playing with rocks.

Velika Plania herdmans huts.

Eventually we came down and went to find somewhere to stay which was a jolly nice hotel in Kamnik.  We had a set meal and then went to bed nice and early - no change from camping then!  But very comfy alhtough the a/c was stuggling.


Good job we weren't camping as we would have had to race to get packed up before a big storm came over the next morning.  The teperature dropped a little which was pleasent and we were pleased we had gone up the mountian the previous day.  So my idea of a stroll round Kamnik and coffee in the mornign before heading down to the van Schuijlenburg's was not to be due to pants weather so we went to Atlantis Water Park.  As we were in the land of dragins we didn't really know where we were going and only had the address from Lonely Planet and our 1:300,000 map.  Amazingly we did find it without too much problem and paid for a 4 hour stint in the kids Adventure World part which was absolutely fab.  We had lunch there too but on the last whizz down the big slide with Alex I went and slipped sideways tight at the bottom and I blimmin clouted my head on the side and felt my brains shake somewhat.  Felt awful all afternoon like I'd been drinking at lunchtime. . .


Anyhow, when we came out, the wether had cleared and it was hot as hoot again. Found Kate and Andre's house and Katie had a lovely time playing with Thomas and Max the big boys while I had a lie down.

Next day we did Ljubljana.  We are not city people but Ljubljana is great as it is so small it can be donw in a day if you want!  Perfect in 36°C. We hit it early, strolled about,went up the funicular to the castle,  went on a boat, saw two otters and then had lunch by which time I was beginning to melt so we then escped to the city forest and the playground under the trees.

First thing inthe city

the lock bridge

My two new favourite people

otter spotting

Add caption funny hanging shoes

Next day, the zoo. What a cute little zoo inthe trees so lots of shade.  Big cats and chimps not in nice areas but the rest was ok and the playground was fab.  Ncie elephant. In the afternoon we went to a gorge and had a lovely play in the water. The drive there was nice too and we saw more countryside just south of the city.  Then went for dinner afterwards at a lovely gostilna where Kate and I shared a very expensive but freshly caught by diving John Dory fish. We misunderstood the price but it was worth it!

focus went on manual which is a shame as this was fun

The elephant

swimming at the gorge

gorge

A good end to a great a holiday

Click HERE for more photos.

So, in a nutshell:

Slovenia is great and I'd like to go again and see more.  It's such a small country that there are no great travelling distances.  We only touched it though and there is a lot more to see. There is some good Slovenian wine that needs tasting.  We only had a sample at Kate and Andre's.  I'd love to hike and bike there.

Rough Guide is better than Lonely Planet.

Tourist info is great wherever you go.

Very friendly people who mostly speak English too!

So go adn enjoy!  Thanks Kate for moving there!