Julian Alps and Vineyards: A Solo Roadtrip through Slovenia
It’s been almost five months since I returned from what unexpectedly became a solo trip. I’ll spare you all the details behind the itinerary change, but let’s just say my plan pivoted within 12 hours before departure. I haven’t traveled anywhere alone since my trip to Fethiye, Turkey in 2016, and the idea of spending 10 days alone in Europe seemed daunting and unachievable. I panic-called some friends, who all encouraged me to go and make the best of it. So, 8 hours before my flight, I cleared half of my original itinerary and took an Uber to the airport.
I had ten days split 60% in Paris for a wedding and 40% in Slovenia. I wasn’t worried about being alone in Paris - I had been multiple times and can still speak a bit of French from my college days (most metropolitan cities are more or less the same?) It was being in Slovenia alone that made me anxious. Alas, Slovenia surprised me in the best ways and I live to tell the tale!
Slovenian landscape
DAY 1
Landed in the afternoon to see snow-capped mountains again! The crisp, sweet mountain air is so refreshing after 6 days of city dust and secondhand smoke. Slovenia is definitely a car country, so make sure to book a rental if you want to maximize your stay. My rental car company gave me a newer SUV. I stretched my legs, checked the car for damages, and drove off to Ljubljana.
Ljubljana, the capital, is a quick 20 minutes away from the airport. The route was single-lane almost the entire way. Street parking here is almost always free, but there are also tons of underground parking lots. I overpay at an underground parking lot and get to my Airbnb to unpack and clean up before heading out to explore the city.
The famous Three-Point Bridge and Dragon Bridge are only 8-minute walk away from the Airbnb - Ljubljana is walkable and small. There are roughly 20 bridges in the city, mainly serving pedestrians and cyclists. Besides exploring the city on foot, there’s also an expansive bike share system that gives the first rental hour for free. Stores are shutting down, and I wander into a vegan restaurant serving traditional Slovenian dishes. After dinner, I stumble upon a seasonal night market not even 10 minutes after I leave the restaurant. Ljubljana is bustling with monthly cultural events, so be sure to check out the calendar before you visit!
You might be wondering about the dragon, which is not only on both sides of the namesake bridge but also in the coat of arms and at the top of the Ljubljana Castle. St. George is the patron saint of Ljublana, and Slavic legend goes that he slayed a dragon to give water to the earth. There is a special chapel of St. George in the Ljubljana Castle where you can find a crest for each family member and political leader that ruled in the nearby municipalities of Slovenia.
St. George’s Chapel in the Ljubljana Castle
Speaking of water - Slovenia has access to various different fresh water sources with its proximity to the Alps, so tap water is safe to drink. I guzzle some water and fall asleep to Netflix for the first time in weeks.
Day 2
Woke up well-rested and ready to check out! I packed my luggage back into the car and headed back to town center for coffee and the Central Market, the local morning farmer’s market. If you look closely, you might notice that some stands are carts. Some small-scale produce farms are within the city and farmers will push their produce to the market in the morning. After living in metropolitan cities all my life, I’m starting to appreciate smaller cities for its tightly woven community. That town square morning and market felt like a shared experience with the rest of the city. After people-watching and ‘foraging’ at the market, I took the funicular up to Ljubljana Castle. Many non-Europeans, myself included, find puppetry to be somewhat offputting. You can’t tell me there’s not something offputting about an inanimate object pulled animate by strings into physically awkward poses with a static look in its eyes. While I feel this way, it’s undeniable how culturally significant puppetry is to many Eastern European countries. Slovenia is no different. In Ljublana Castle, you can find a Museum of Puppetry that gives insight into the history of this performance art form.
Slovenian flag flowing in the wind
Celje is the fourth largest city in Slovenia and happens to be on the way to the vineyard where I would be spending the night. The main attractions here are the 13th-century monastery and 16th-century castle, where. There’s a well-defined car path up to Celje Castle, but I chose to park the car near a hiking trail thinking I could benefit from some exercise if I were to spend the majority of my time here driving. The hike proved to be far more effective on that thought than I expected because it was a straight incline up. Twenty-five minutes later, I was gasping for air on the steps of this historical castle. The receptionist smiled at me and explained the grounds but I didn’t hear a word while my ears were ringing from the hike. You hate to be that one struggling tourist, but here we are.
I probably shouldn’t be writing generalizations as a travel blogger, but I find most medieval European castles to be pretty much the same. It’s always cold and damp, lined with cobblestone, high on a hill, and comes with a torture chamber (I also feel this way about most churches, sorry). Maybe I lack the passion to appreciate them. With that being said, the views are always incredible.
Panoramic view of Ljubljana
Weeks ago, I reached out to the Slovenian Tourism Board with an interest in collaborating. To my surprise, they actually responded to not only set me up with a one-night stay at a 15th century winemaker’s mansion atop of vineyard but also an additional vineyard tour with the leading natural wine producer in Slovenia! I arrived at the Zlati Grič vineyard around 4pm. The tasting room had already closed, but the staff stuck around for my check-in. I picked up an award winning bottle of bubbles from the shop to find that the staff had gifted me a bottle of rose in the room. The winemaker’s mansion has been long retired now, instead turned into three apartment-like rooms for visitors.
When people ask me why I chose to visit Slovenia instead of another more popular destination in Europe, I always say I went for the wine. Then they look even more confused and say ‘I didn’t know Slovenia produced wine.” While wine production in Europe is primarily dominated by France, Italy, and Spain, Slovenia has been producing wine since 400 BCE. The oldest vine in the world (450 years old!) is located in Maribor, Slovenia. Despite the country’s petite size, it has three wine-growing regions and nine wine-growing districts packed in. Food&Wine magazine recently published an article on Slovenia being the most underrated wine-producing region.
The winemaker’s mansion overlooks rolling hills of grapevines below and is also a prime sunset viewing spot. I took a stroll with, passing by some single seniors and their small, also senior, dogs. How do you really pass time in the Slovenian countryside, where life is so quiet and time passes so slowly? I decided to get drunk with my boyfriend over Facetime and fall asleep to American movies running on cable television.
Day 3
Slept a little rough and woke up at 6am. Two nights ago, amidst a burst of anxiety, I reserved a nonrefundable lunch at the only two-star restaurant in Slovenia, Hisa Franko. My boyfriend is a big fine dining fan, and I felt like I should do this for both of us since he couldn’t come on the trip. It didn’t hit me until the night before just how unfeasible this decision was; not only was this lunch out of my budget, but it was also on the opposite side of the country from the vineyard. By 7:30am I was back on the road after a coffee stop at McDonalds where a service robot almost ran me over.
East of Ljubljana are mostly well-constructed highways. I had naively expected the rest of the country to have the same. Remember Slovenia sits at the foot of the Alps? It wasn’t long before the highways became curvier and narrower and curvier and narrower. I genuinely enjoy driving, but four hours straight was a bit heavy for my tastebuds. Hisa Franko held my reservation for over an hour while I had to take a detour due to a highway closure. My brain was mushy and cloudy by the time I arrived at the restaurant.
Hisa Franko is located in the Soča Valley, on the western border of Slovenia, almost touching Italy. There were a few small towns I drove through with one main road that looked like the set of Call Me By Your Name. Many visitors drive or backpack from Italy and stay in the boutique hotel on the grounds or in a small town nearby. The restaurant runs lean, where every chef specializes in something different. My primary server came from a background in specialty coffee in Colorado and now focuses on fermentations at the restaurant. The dining room feels like a chic grandma’s sunroom leading to the garden, and you can enjoy your meal with a view of the Triglav mountain. Chef Ana Roš is featured on an episode of Chef’s Table.
Return from Vintgar Gorges
Patio at Hisa Franko
After lunch, I reluctantly crawled back into the driver’s seat to drive to Bohinj. On the way, I decided to see more of the Soča Valley and check out Kozjak waterfall. Today, I’ve driven on some of the tightest roads (passing container trucks by a hair) and witnessed some of the most beautiful landscapes and scenery. The hotel receptionist at Sunrose7 seemed concerned that I arrived late, but I was glad I made it at all. Driving is a mental game, especially when you’re alone and in a foreign country. I don’t remember eating dinner. Instead, I took a long, hot shower, ate both welcome cookies (they also had these kombucha shot packets), and passed out to catch up on the missed sleep from the previous night.
Day 4
I felt reborn. The breakfast at Sunrose is jaw-dropping fantastic - lots of local meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits, smoked fish, and fresh juice. I asked for sunside-up eggs and it came with herb oil drizzled on yolks of a rich, orange cream color. After breakfast, I head down to the spa which can be booked for up to 6 people at a time. No one is going to the spa at 10AM in the morning, so the sauna and hot tub session is essentially private. Thank god for Sunrose, honestly.
Gotta get going for my last full day in Slovenia! I clean up, repack, and head out to Lake Bled.
Lake Bled is the poster child of Slovenia Tourism, and Triglav National Park the Banff of Slovenia. You can spend a full week here alone. For easy strolling, there’s the Lake Bled Loop Trail in town, but it would be remiss to pass on seeing the lake from a higher vantage point. The Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica viewpoints are relatively quick hikes with substantial elevation gain. One part of the Mala Osojnica trail required you to leverage a rope. I had the wrong shoes on and had to turn back, but the view was marvelous. The lake surrounds a small island that hosts a pilgrimage church. Visitors can take a boat, kayak, or paddleboard to the small island. In the winter, you can ice skate on Lake Bled.
Besides the incredible scenery, Lake Bled is also home to a specific creme cake. For this, head to Hotel Park where it was created.
I had some time to kill before the airport. Between Vintgar Gorge and Predjama Castle, I decided to visit the former. Vintgar Gorge is a canyon for the first half before it splits into two return options. I picked the slightly longer trail to St. Catherine’s church which gives sweeping views of the nearby towns. From there, you can even hike back to Bled. This return hike was so beautiful and lush I thought I had died and come back to life. You can find a more extensive list of hikes near Lake Bled here.
Some hikes require cash for parking as well as admissions, so make sure to have some on you.
Ljubljana airport is on the smaller side but operations is top-notch. In case you didn’t get a chance to pack a bottle or two of wine into your luggage, there’s a big wall of wines you can buy at the airport past security.
Ending Notes
I felt very safe during my time alone in Slovenia. I know solo traveling can be challenging for women depending on where you are and what you look like, but as an Asian female, I never felt unsafe or threatened, save some curious glances here and there. Any time I felt unsafe was mostly in the evening and mostly in my head.
Admittedly, I may have been feeling a bit ambitious about timing and not planned the most efficient itinerary for the amount of time I had here. Four days is hardly enough for everything, and driving every day didn’t always allow me to enjoy vineyards when I wanted. To fully enough Slovenia, I would recommend at least six days to see Slovenia slowly and leave some time to stop along the highway or a spontaneous hike!
Similar to how the traveling community sleeps on Slovenia, the wellness community is also missing out. This country is filled with spas and you can find a list of spas here.
RESTAURANTS
Hiša Franko (Soca Valley)
Milka (Kranj)
Hiša Linhart (Radovljica)
Gostilna Sokol (Ljubjlana)
Wine Bar Šuklje (offers wine tasting based on musical mood!)
VINEYARDS
Zlati Grič-Golden Hills
Old Vine House (oldest vines in the world!)
KABAJ
Kerin Winery (makes a white version of Blaufränkisch that is unique)
ATTRACTIONS/ACTIVITIES
Metelkova Art Centre (Ljubjlana)
Triglav National Park
Lakes Bled and Bohinj
Vingtar Gorge
