Drove down to the Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle site this morning. We had a dual ticket for both attractions, beginning at 10:00 AM. Postojna is Slovenia's number one tourist attraction, and certainly looked that way. We got into the correct line for our tour, and we were guided into the loading area for the tunnel train.
To reach the main Postojna cave, tourists ride an open air electric train deep into the mountain. It felt like a Disneyland rollercoaster, with a safety bar that comes down to your waist. Soon we were zooming through the cave, passing all sorts of stalactites and stalagmites. I was surprised by the duration of the ride, it felt like we went a long way into the cave - I read later that it is a 3.5 Km ride.
I am glad that we got the audio guides, because there are no signs. In theory, there is a guide walking along pointing out objects, but if you stopped to take a photograph you will soon be left behind (and soon engulfed by the hordes of tourists from the trainloads that came after your tour).
One of the neatest parts of the tour is the aquarium at the end. Inside the aquarium are blind amphibians called olms. These cave dwellers have a lifespan of up to one hundred years and can go without food for several years. They are also quite sensitive to light, so tourists are forbidden to take any photographs of them. Peering into the aquarium, we did spot a couple of the creatures. Because there was only ambient light, everything looked grey, but we could see a couple crawling about on the gravel floor. I stole a photograph off of the internet to show what olms look like:
After our cave tour was complete, we paid €2 each for a twenty minute bus roundtrip ride to Predjama Castle. Predjama is an 800 year old castle constructed in the mouth of a giant cave. The cave opens up onto steep cliff, so the only way to get to the castle is via a narrow path along the cliff wall. Security was paramount when constructing the castle; comfort was not a major consideration. The residents of Predjama lived in a damp, cold and drafty fortress. Since there were windows only on one side of the building, it was also dark.
You can pick up an audio guide to listen as you wander at your own pace through the old building. There are a lot of steps to climb. Not many visible fireplaces, I wonder why they didn't try to warm the place up. Certainly there was ample room in the big cave behind the castle to store plenty of firewood. I thought it curious that the priest's room seemed to have an overlook down into the torture chamber. There was a chamber showing weapons and armor from the medieval era.
This cross section drawing show that the Predjama Castle sits on a cliff face with an extensive cave system behind it. The green lines show the secret escape route to the surface.
Next we drove to Piran, on the Slovenia Riviera. This seaside town was enclosed by city walls which kept expanding as Piran grew. The still standing remnant of these defensive fortifications were built in 1470. The buildings of Piran all crowded behind these walls, which meant the streets were narrow and everything was tightly packed.
Our rental was on a hill outside the walls, so we had to wind our way through stairways and alleys to get down to the Piran center. We find a place to eat a Hawaiian pizza, and then did some exploring through the town. While looking for gelato, we found a restaurant serving sundaes and enjoyed one of their delightful desserts
That evening we were treated to a marvelous sunset. We wonder if we could see Venice across the Adriatic sea, but it is too far away.
It stormed again this night, with pounding rain and strong winds. Slovenia seems to have a lot of violent weather.
