Towering Castles and Magical Caves

Jo and I with our pal Dizzy have just enjoyed a brief break in beautiful Slovenia.

The capital Ljubljana is gorgeous, with old, characterful houses and churches surrounding a hill with a fantastic castle and wonderful views over the city and mountains beyond... The riverside is so picturesque too, with fabulous bridges like Dragon Bridge, named after a dragon which in legend lived in a cave beneath the castle.

We had an incredible time in the Postojna Caves, where we took a ten minute train ride through massive caverns full of incredible stalactites and stalagmites, with so many amazing formations...

An extraordinary feeling to race through a real fantasy subterranean world! Apparently, it's the only cave train of its kind on Earth. Then we walked through more extraordinary chambers. It was like being in the Hall of the Mountain King. It was a totally memorable experience... We also visited the nearby spectacular Predjama Castle, which is partly built into a huge cave. It looks like something out of The Lord Of The Rings.

We visited Lake Bled as well. This has to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, reflecting the deep blue sky and surrounded by wooded hills, with a fairytale castle on its edge and majestic mountains rising up from behind.

With many thanks to Thames Travel and ABC Tourism. Slovenia is indeed a wonderfully fascinating country, which we would love to revisit.