Postojna Cave, Slovenia

Postojna Cave is located in western Slovenia and is a 20km (12 mile) labyrinth of passages filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and rock formations. Postojna Cave is part of the Karst cave system, meaning a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, and is the longest cave system in Slovenia. Postojna Cave is also home to the Proteus Anguinus, a unique creature with no eyes, which can grow up to 30cm (1ft) in length and feeds on snails and worms.

The cave was first discovered in the 17th century and opened to the public in 1819. The cave has a long history and was used for many purposes. It was used as storage room, a hideout, a bunker, and the Germans used it as an fuel depot during World War II. When the fuel was destroyed by partisans, the explosion and the fire, which burned for seven days, also destroyed a huge passage of the cave. The partisans were guided by a former cave guide and entered through Crna jama, and used the artificial tunnel dug by the Italians to enter Postojna from behind. The Italians took all cave maps with them when they left, so the Germans did not know about this rear entrance and did not guard it.

Since its opening, the cave has been visited by more than 31 million visitors from all over the world. In 1872 railway lines were laid in the cave with the first railway cars being pushed by the cave guides. Next, a gas locomotive took tourists into the cave. Electricity arrived in 1884 and today visitors board the electric lightning cave train, zipping 5km deep into the cave in under just 5 minutes.

From there, visitors join a tour available in Italian, English, or Slovenes and walk amongst the calcite formations for another 1.5km. Some of the tour hot spots are the Russian Bridge, where the formation known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa can be spotted, the pool to spot the Proteus Anguinus, and the formation known as the Brilliant. The Brilliant is a pure white calcite formation known to be 300 million years old.

Exiting the cave, you see a raging river flowing into the cave over some small waterfalls and exit through the historic entrance gate. There is also a cave restaurant, cave concert hall, which can hold more than 10,000 people, and a cave post office.

Croatia & Slovenia 7-19-09

After about a 4 hour drive skirting the Adriatic and backed up traffic at the Slovenia-Croatia border, we arrived in Pula. Pula is a town dotted with Roman ruins in the Istrian region of Croatia. We first located the Roman Ampitheater and found a great lunch spot nearby, the Coliseum Grill. Lunch was a terrific! Tim had the mixed meat plate with different sausages, kebab, and pork chop. I had the linguini with scampi, which had various types of shrimp, crab, and langostino in a creamy red sauce.

With our palettes satisfied, we made the short walk back to the Roman Ampitheater. The Ampitheater was started during the reign of Emperor Augustus (31BC-14AD), enlarged under Emperor Claudius 54AD-56AD) and finally completed under the Flavius rule (69-96AD). It's the sixth largest amphitheatre in the world with space for 22,000 spectators. The Ampitheater was set up with chairs and a movie screen for the town annual Pula Film Festival, which was going on. We wandered around the giant Ampitheater and then underneath, where many ancient artifacts of pottery were strewn about.

Next we found Hercules' Gate, which is the oldest Roman monument in Pula. Hercules' Gate is the first gate to the city and at the top of the arch is a carving of Hercules' head and his club. Close to the club is a damaged inscription, most interesting in the historical context since it contains the names of two Roman officials, Lucius Calpurnius Piso and Gaius Cassius Longinus, to whom the Roman Senate had entrusted the duty to found a Roman colony at the site of today’s Pula.

We were then ready to hit the beach! A few kilometers down the coast, we began following signs for a Shark Diving School and ended up at Koral Beach in Medulin. I picked up an awesome beach blanket for 100 kuna (the Croatian currency) at one of the many stands lining the beach and was set to scope out my speck of sand among the packed beach goers. We wandered down a little farther to a spit of smooth, flat rocks where many were staking their prime piece of beach real estate and settled in. Tim was immediately checking out the water temperature in the Adriatic whereas I wanted to soak up some rays and people watch before braving the sea. Finally wanting to take a dip in the Adriatic, I braved the rocky shore barefoot (next time I am totally bringing my water shoes) and waded in. You could wade out with water only up to your knees quite a bit before it dropped off. Basking in the sun, we had a relaxing nap. Before heading off for the day, we of course needed gelato! I had the kiwi and Tim had a banana split.

Happy after a fabulous day in Croatia, we began the drive back home. We breezed right through border control this time but hit some traffic leaving Slovenia to cross into Trieste. Instead of sitting in traffic, we decided to take a short drive into the city center of Koper, Slovenia. What a great stop this was as we came upon quite the evening scene! There was a small orchestra playing near the waterfront and other performers down the marina walkway. Even in the evening, the beach area was still packed and people were enjoying libations at any one of the many outdoor bars.

After checking out the scene for a bit, we found a great snack cafe to get dinner. The doner kebab and insalta hit the spot! Almost ready to hit the road for home, I sipped a cafe latte as we watched the last remnants of the sun dip into the sea. It was truly a picturesque end to a day filled with stunning sights.