This one comes in the middle of one of the most chaotic times in modern days. These are unprecedented times where the world struggles to fight the novel Covid 19, Coronavirus, with chaos everywhere in health, finances, personal lives & much more. In the midst of the lockdown imposed around the world in various countries and such challenging times I believe at the end, its about finding the calm in this chaos. Only our calmness & patience can help us fight this disease and come out stronger. People find their calm through various things like music, movies, books, work etc etc. For me one way of getting calm is when I am travelling (quite a paradox in these times). So, amidst the travel restrictions around the world, today I want to write about one such place which makes you find the calm in chaos – Slovenia.

I visited Slovenia a couple of years back and fell in love with it instantly. The gorgeous weather, snow, yummy pizzas, good wine, skiing, everything that you can ask for.

How to arrive: Slovenia is well connected by air, rail & road. It is in the Southern part of Europe. You can arrive at the capital, Ljubljana or in the city of Maribor via flights available from all major airports in Europe. Alternately, you can travel by rail or road from Austria or Italy. Its just 4-8 hours drive depending on how far you are staying, the drive is beautiful amidst the mountains, lakes & snow.

Where to Stay: Well we stayed in the Avio Apartments, it is a Air BNB style guest house/hotel very close to the Airport and had a terrific time. Our host was super friendly, the cottage styled fully equipped rooms were in the middle of snow clad valleys and the location is very close to the airport. If you want to stay at the centre of Ljubljana you can try any of the hotels out there all are pretty good and reasonable. You can also chose to stay in Maribor also which is the second largest city in Slovenia.

Eating Places: The foodie experience in Slovenia was extremely satisfying. Due to its proximity to Italy, you can sense the great pizzas and Italian food every restaurant and cafe has to offer. If you are a fan of Indian food like my father, you should definitely try the Taj Mahal Restaurant at the centre of Ljubljana. It offers finger licking selection of assorted kababs & breads. A must try here were the tasty mango lassis, very popular amongst the locals as well it is a uniform blend of yoghurt, Water, spices and mangoes. Another excellent, place to eat was the La Pizzeria in Maribor. It serves the yummiest pizzas, pastas and salads. Keep some room for the                                                                  tiramisu dessert at the end.

One interesting experience I had here was that they gave scissors along with the pizzas to cut your own portions, it was a very satisfying lunch indeed. Slovenia is also known for its aromatic wines. In Maribor, we visited an interesting wine tasting experience, Vinag. Located right at the center, a very intimate and cosy place, it takes you through the wine experience of Slovenia for over 60 mins. Amidst the Internet world today, the most interesting quote we spotted on the walls were “We do not have WIFI, talk to each other”. You will definitely leave this place a little more educated about wine and cravings for a little more.                                                                                                           

Another place we had eaten in Ljubljana was at Cafe Belvedere in Lake Bled, it

gives you a gorgeous view of the lake bled while you sip into a rejuvenating cup of coffee along with the must try cream cakes and cheese cakes, its definitely a serene experience. Lastly, another influence in Slovenian food culture is German and we got to have the golden crispy fried chicken called Schnitzel. You can get it most cafes and restaurants usually served with lime and tartar sauce, every bite is blissful. You can explore many such dishes along side the centre of both Ljubljana and Maribor.

Things to do: The beauty of Slovenia is serene. The picturesque locations, snow clad alps and beautiful weather make this country right out of a painting. Lots of interesting things to do in Slovenia, the first and foremost is lake bled. Approximately, 30-40 mins from the airport, lake bled is the definition of calmness in chaos. It can easily be classified as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, it is so picture worthy that you can take a picture from any angle and you will still be left mesmerised ( coming from a below average photographer 🙂 ). You can walk around the lake, visit the famous cathedral, relax at the cafes around the lake.

Another first time and a very interesting experience was going to the famous ski resort very close to the airport and our apartment- Kraevec Resort. The thrill of being 3000 Mtrs above sea level, in the alps, covered in white snow was an experience to cherish for a lifetime. We were accompanied by our apartment owner and in conversations we realised that Slovenians take their Skiing very seriously. Kids as early as 4 year olds start their skiing journey, they are active in competitive skiing across the globe as well. You have to reach the resort , buy tickets and go right to the top using a cable car. When you are in the cable car you can actually see the mountains below you and there comes a point where you cross the clouds and are literally on top of the clouds, words fall short in describing this experience. I do not know how to ski, so I was a tourist looking at people skiing from even greater heights, falling on the snow, getting back up to finish their laps. There is a restaurant at the top where we had a quick black coffee before we called it a day.

At the centre of Ljubljana, there are a lot of interesting things to do, you can walk around and explore the local culture. The dragon bridge is famous with mint green color dragons at the entrance of the bridge. The Ljubljana castle is another must visit place during your trip. The 900 years old majestic castle gives an insight on the cultures & history of Ljubljana. The outlook tower in the castle gives a breathtaking view of the Ljubljana city.

The people of Slovenia are extremely warm and friendly. It’s been one of my favourite experiences so far, I assure you will fall in love with sLOVEnia. I have shared some pictures from my trip below. After things across the globe get better, I hope you will chose this as one of your holiday destinations. Till then, take care, stay safe & stay strong.

Cheers !!

Anant