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My first self-driven road trip, my first real trip with Aluna and my first trip with my friend Shakhzoda. All to Slovenia. Read more
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  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 1

    A Night to Remember

    September 14, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    After work, I drove home, packed my things in the car and picked up my friend Shakhzoda. As Seb wanted to say Goodbye to me properly, we decided to stop by his work and he gave me a little guardian angel. "Save drive", he said.
    Then we hit the road and drove down south, always in the direction of Ulm. Aluna was quiet as usual and so we decided to not stop for an extended walk. We much rather stopped to eat some burgers and chips at an Autohof. The waiter said that Shakhzoda was the most beautiful women stopping by all day long which turned her tomato red. My veggie burger tasted so much like meat, I was questioning the "veggie" in it. However, it was delicious and I was starving. After we filled our stomachs, we drove on and arrived at around 11pm at the Maritim in Ulm. A coloss of building. Inside the reception looked rather glorious and we feeled like VIPs instantly. After getting our keys, we took the lift on to the 11th floor to our room and were relieved to find an amazingly comfortable bed and - much more important - a coffee/tea machine. Definitely an upgrade to the Frankfurt Maritim I was sleeping at on my way to Australia!
    From the long drive completely exhausted, we just wanted to get some sleep. However, Aluna had different ideas. She was super stressed, was jumping on and off the bed, and fucking my arm over and over again. Her whole body was full with energy the had to get out. I understood, as we haven't done anything with her that day but driving. But I was too tired, I needed some sleep. And I fell asleep. Not for too long, though. Waking up at 4am, I realised that Aluna's stress level was still way to high. She was still way over the top, just like children when they had to sit still the whole day. I knew, I wouldn't get any sleep and she wouldn't either. So, I decided to put on some clothes and go outside. First, I doubted that I would have a good time outside in the middle of the night - thinking of Frankfurt and it's awfulness. However, my thoughts were unnecessary. Every little corner from the Maritim to the Ulmer Münster was lit up, even the smallest alleyways. So I not only felt super safe but also could really enjoy the way along the Danube in peace and quiet. I loved all the streets being empty. So, I wondered around the rose garden, the city hall and the famous Ulmer Münster. That last one really is huge! As I should learn the biggest cathedral in whole Europe. And I also learned that "Münster" is the German word for the Latin "monasterium" which is basically a monastery.
    On our way back, Aluna seemed way more relaxed. Nevertheless, she didn't like to go back to sleep when we arrived on the 11th floor again. I needed some sleep anyway, so I told her to calm down and finally, after snuggling with her, she fell silent as well and I could get some much needed sleep.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 2

    Beautiful City, Disastrous Roads

    September 15, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    After another 3hrs of sleep, the night was over and it was time to stuff our stomachs at the Maritim buffet. As I can't leave Aluna alone, I took her with me as usual. We entered the breakfast room and sat down, putting Aluna in her backpack. The people sitting next to me gave me the side-eye and I felt rather uncomfortable. When Shakhzoda and I came back from the buffet, Aluna was squirming as if she was dying. Not two seconds later, a waitress came and asked us to go to a secluded part of the restaurant as dogs weren't allowed in it and she didn't want people to complain. "It's no discrimination", she tried to convince me. I didn't think it was discriminating, I just thought that the receptionist yesterday could have told us. Anyway, now we had our own area to sit in and it was way better than the spot we had before.
    After breakfast, we packed our things, checked out and left for the town. We walked along the Danube that was much more frequented by bikes during the day, and escaped into the Rose Garden for a while. We went on to the Fisher's Village where old little houses brought you back in time. The city hall that was already looking stunning in the night, was even more beautiful in the sunlight, with all its paintings. The Ulmer Münster seemed to be just as huge as last night but now we could see much more details of the fassade. As we strolled around, Aluna got a new friend named Peanut, a young, caramel coloured poodle with which she played for about half an hour. In the mean time, I gave some proper dog advice for his owner, as we had a very nice, open chat. But we had to get on and so we decided to walk back on the other side of Danube to see some more of Neu-Ulm as well. Nothing very much to see there though.
    Finally, we arrived at our car and we're ready to start the journey further towards Bled. It was a rather tedious time on the German roads... always a stop-and-go. So, we decided to take a break at the Chiemsee. However, the Chiemsee seems to hate people and travellers, as it seemed nearly impossible for us to find not only a parking spot, but then a way to the actual lake. It took us an immense amount of time, driving around Prien am Chiemsee, until we drove outside of the city again and finally found a place where both things (parking and walking at the lake), we're possible. My nerves were completely worn out by the time and I needed the walk around the green and blue landscape. Aluna appreciated the time in nature as well. After getting ourselves a little sugar rush with some ice cream, we entered the full highway again. When we got to the border of Austria, we left at the wrong turn and found ourselves in the middle of hundreds of lorries waiting for the toll. My nerves were screaming and I really had to calm myself down. Luckily, it wasn't too bad, as I still could get the vignette at the petrol station. We carried on and had a much emptier road in front of us, as well as a stunning landscape, which made the driving experience at least a little less exhausting. We had to pay for two more tunnels an (imo) extreme high amount and finally got to the Slovenian border. I again purchased the vignette and we crossed the non-existing border to the even emptier roads of Slovenia. It took us less than an hour to arrive in Bled, just in time for the latest possible check-in. I was done for the day and could only appreciate the nice, little room, before falling asleep on the comfortable bed.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 3

    Lake Breakfast and Steep Castle Climbs

    September 16, 2023 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and much more nerves than yesterday. We prepared ourselves some great coffee, watching a German documentary about the Siberian people and tiger. Then, we decided that today would be a walking day. After all that driving yesterday, we were more than ready to walk around the Bled lake. But first, we had to get ourselves some proper breakfast. Walking around the narrow streets of Bled, we found a cute little Pekarna (bakery) where we bought some traditional Slovenian Struklji and something filled with cottage cheese and raisins. We then made our way towards the Bled lake and found ourselves in the nicest and calmest place in days. It was beautiful. Finally at the lake, we looked out for a place to eat our Slovenian breakfast and found one behind the ropes (that should actually prevent people to go to the coast). We sat down between the trees and put our feet in the cold lake water, looking at the church on Bled island. As we ate our breakfast, we watched little fish swim near our feet. However, they didn't give us a spa treatment.
    After enjoying this quiet view, we got walking again, as Bled castle was on our To-Do-list next. We found the steep path up the hill and were out of breath not long afterwards. I was happy that Shakhzoda was as unfit as I am, so that I didn't need to hide my heavy breathing. Finally, we made it to the top and looked at the Castle. It's over 1.000 years old and has a really VIP spot on that mountain. We didn't go inside though, as we both weren't to interested in that. We much rather enjoyed the view over the lake. After soaking it all in, we climbed down the stairs again until we reached the old ruins of Villa Rikli.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 3

    Around the Lake and Foodie Paradise

    September 16, 2023 in Slovenia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    We walked around the lake and came across the open-air markets with amazing local handcrafts and arts. I could barely leave some stunning earrings behind (although I don't even have ear holes for that matter). As it was super hot, we decided to get some ice cream and stumbled across the excellent and famous flavour of Sladogled. It's ice cream with Mascarpone, raisins, chocolate, cinnamon, caramel and cake crumbles. It was delicious although it tasted a bit like alcohol. Drunken from that, we found Alunas doppelganger as we sat down again at the lake to cool our feet. Across the lake, a basketball game was on. Actually it was on the lake, they were playing on an artificial lake surface. The music was extremely loud and we could get the gist of what was happening. Later, we walked on by and found out that Jordan (the sports wear) was releasing some new shoes and therefore made a huge event out of it with the help of the Slovenian tourism board. The youths of Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary were playing against each other, rocking the lake with their dance and ball moves.
    As we had enough, we walked back to our accommodation where Aluna found a new friend in a donkey.
    Then, we got hungry, so we searched for a restaurant a little further away than the tourist spots because we thought that might be cheaper and much more traditionally Slovenian. We found a great place named Gostilna Fortuna and saw that the Vintgar Gorge wasn't too far way of the restaurant. So we drove their first. However, it was already closed and from the outside we couldn't see more than a few stones and fresh, cold water. So, we drove to the restaurant and had an absolute blast. First, we had some traditionally made cottage cheese dumplings (we guess that Smetana was inside - a slav kind of creme) which were delicious. Then Shakhzoda chose a trout with some potatoes that reminded me of the mashed potatoes with onions inside that my Mum always cooks. I've got some deep fried cottage cheese filled "gnocchi" that didn't look like gnocchi at all but nevertheless tasted very good. At the end, we treated ourselves to LePotica with walnuts inside and vanilla ice cream, and came into Foodie heaven.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 4

    Between Water and Mountains

    September 17, 2023 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We woke up early and made ourselves one of the amazing coffees with our Nespresso coffee machine again. We ate our Strudls with cinnamon, chocolate and coco inside, sipped our coffee and started our day with looking at the map. What could we do today? We decided to drive to the west and see how much of the Triglavska Nationalpark and surroundings we could see today. Our first stop was Bohinj with its crystal clear lake and lushius green grass. We took our shoes and socks off to feel the coolness of the water which brought immense relief from the sweatening sun. I kindly put Aluna in the water as well, as she was panting like crazy. She really dislikes water and swimming but I think she understood that it was helping her cool down, so she was OK with it. After walking a bit more around the lake, soaking in the calmness of Alp vibes that everything around us was giving us, our park ticket was overdue and we went back to drive to our next stop: Savica Waterfall. On the way there, a middle-aged man tried to hitchhike, so I stopped and asked him if we should take him with us. He was lucky, the way would have been over 3km long, in the cold shadows but still up the hill. His name was Marian, he was from Slovakia and a train switchman. He was visiting Slovenia for 4 days and was on the way to Savica Waterfall now, just like us. Great! We parked at the foot of the mountain, got ourselves some ice cream and started the many steps up up the hill. It was super hot, but because of all the trees it was doable. Marian was always behind us and was panting as much as we did. But the steep climb was worth it, looking at the A-shaped waterfall and the stunning surroundings of the naked mountains reaching high in the sky and the blue lake that was shimmering in the distance. After we had enough, we made our way back and said goodbye to Marian. He was super kind and gave us a Slovakian flag, some magnets and his contact details. "Visit me and stay for free in my vacant room whenever you'll visit Slavokia", he offered generously. Thank you Marian!
    We couldn't take him with us anymore as he planned another route than we did. We wanted to see the Pokljuka plateau. After driving always up the mountain on rather good roads, my GPS said we had to change for a very much dirt road looking one. I shrugged, turned and found myself on a 5km long drive over sticks and stones, always on the brink of sliding down the mountain. When we couldn't find anything really after another 5km, we decided it to be enough. My poor car!
    So, at the next possible spot, I turned around and tried to get to the good road as quick as possible. When we finally were on asphalt again, it felt like heaven to our butts.
    We took no more risks driving back to Bled, so we arrived healthy and timely for dinner. The earrings were still in my head, so we decided to go towards Bled city and the open-markets. If the man with the earrings was still there, I would definitely buy them now. And he was! Now, I guess I have to get some ear holes.
    For dinner, we settled down at Spica and got some great pizza and for dessert the famous Bled cream cake that reminded me of the cream cake my Mum sometimes does. Slovenia and Poland are similar in many ways.
    After some good waiters jokes and another high bill, we made our way back to our accommodation for the last night there.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 5

    Dreary Maribor

    September 18, 2023 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    The next morning we again bought some Slovenian Strudl and drank our coffee for the first time. Then it was time to check out and drive to Maribor for a days visit. The streets were alright and not too packed, but the few drivers were killing my nerves as they drove rather relentlessly. Arriving in Maribor, we parked our car for 2,5 hrs and started the stroll through the city. I've read the Maribor was the European capital city of culture in 2012, however, I haven't thought of actually investigating what to do in Maribor. As it turned out: Nothing really. The city seemed as lifeless as dead fish and smelled like them, too. The streets were empty, as if souls wouldn't like to wander about in them. There were no shops, no cafés nor restaurants. Rotten buildings stood next to very modern new ones that overshadowed the remaining beautiful houses. It seemed as if Maribor hadn't done a thing for the looks of it since 2012. So we decided to cut the visit short and drive to our new accommodation near Ljubljana. Driving there, we realised that there weren't many foreign cars coming or going to Maribor - so not a tourism hotspot at all anymore. That's actually a good indicator for Slovenia.
    We arrived at our next apartment that looked rather life- and joyless as well. But the pool was really nice! After this grey day, we went for a walk in the green before settling for dinner which was extremely delicious (although it's been pizza again) and extremely stuffing. I didn't eat my whole pizza, but the waiter knew I wanted it to take home and brought me some paper for my doggy bag. When the bill came, we were positively surprised as the food was about 20€ cheaper than we were used to. Slovenia isn't really cheap, especially not in the tourism spots. I'd say, it's about the same as in Germany - which is awful when you expect less. But the gas is much cheaper - 1,55€!
    After rolling back to our apartment, I decided to take a plunge in the pool which was super cold. But I didn't bring my swimwear for nothing.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 6

    In the Capital City

    September 19, 2023 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    As Maribor was such a disappointment yesterday, we wanted to visit the capital of Slovenia and see whether that was a nicer city. It was only a short drive from our apartment and so we arrived early in the city. The feeling was different from the get go. Everywhere were people (tourist groups as well), but not too many to feel crowded. The buildings were in much better shape and the whole vibe was lively and cool at the same time. We wandered around the streets, got some souvenirs for back home and some fresh grapes at the central market. They really tasted differently than in Germany. Sweeter. We found out that "You weren't really in Ljubljana when you didn't take a picture with a dragon", so I had to take a picture of me and Aluna with the dragon, although I don't like taking pictures of myself too much. Our legs were still hurting from the climb to Savica Waterfall, however, we made the steep way up to Ljubljana Castle to see the view. It wasn't that worth it though, as you couldn't see many nice old buildings from above. We wandered back down and I remembered the Lucky Wandering Stone that I've found a while back in Germany and didn't take a picture with it yet. So I did. I'd take him with me to South Africa Mauritius and Madagascar this year as well.
    Before we went back to our parking space, we found an old Roman Wall that had a pyramid just casually as its entrance. Cool! What wasn't so cool was the price I had to pay for parking 3hrs 5min in Ljubljana - 9,20€!    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 6

    Enchanting Nature and Ruins

    September 19, 2023 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    After the time in cities, we were drawn to nature again, so we decided to drive in the coasts direction. Along the way, I had saved some spots for discovery. The first one was the Weaver Cave that, legend told, housed a hiding weaver in shape of a stalagmite because he disturbed the witches and dwarfs living in it with his Sunday work. It was a an adventurous climb down, so the white dress that I had decided to put on for the coast, wasn't the right fit. But I was glad, I'd made the climb. On the way back, we found a slowworm to say us goodbye. Next was a huge white stone wall in the middle of a forest named Unška Koliševka. And as we wouldn't make it to the coast today, anyway, we decided to look at the map again for some little hidden gems. We found the old ruins of Grad Haasberg and its little residents - goats.
    Aluna, sniffing around as usual, got an electric shock from the fence around the ruins and was completely shook. From then on, I either had to carry her or she wasn't leaving more than 1m of my perimeter. At last spot, we chose the Ravbar Tower, before we left back home for some more pizza at our Mars restaurant from yesterday. As it was our last night, I wanted to get some Slovenian dessert as well. So I ordered the Apple strudel and was surprised when I found cottage cheese pieces inside. "Traditionally Slovenian", said our understanding waiter, when I asked for some more paper to wrap half of my pizza and strudel. That would be a great meal on our way home tomorrow.    Read more

  • Slovenia - Lakes and Mountains
    Day 7

    11 Hours to Home

    September 20, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today, we rose early to pack our things and leave Slovenia behind. A last stop at the village shop for some amazingly sweet peaches and cookies on the way, then we took off. The first 2hrs through Slovenia were pretty chill, but then we came to the Austrian border and had to stop. They wanted to see our IDs. I had mine, no problem. However, Shakhzoda who is from Uzbekistan has only got an "Aufenthaltstitel" and that only didn't work for the police, not even with a passport scan. It had to be there physically. So, she had to pay 100€ penalty (or I had to, because apparently she hadn't had enough money with her). After that, the vibe in the car wasn't that great.
    It took us 2hrs through Austria with some amazing views that could be enjoyed from the traffic jam at the gates of Salzburg. After we passed the German border without any incident, we could drive at 160km/h again and I loved it. We stopped at the Chiemsee for lunch and had not only a first-class seat but also view. Apparently, you just have to stop at the right rest stop.
    The traffic was great and we flew through Germany, stopping just in Bamberg for a little forest stroll to get a rest. The 3hrs left were gone by fast and so we arrived back in Germany at 9pm.    Read more

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