Europe 2014: Slovenia

Slovenia is wonderful. I could just leave this post at that and fill in the space with a few photos but I guess I should prove my point. I'll see how I feel in a few paragraphs.

Reaching stop six on my trip I thought I would be suffering from having already seen some awe inspiring sites - maybe Slovenia wouldn't impress? I was so very wrong. With the help of a hire car and some expert driving from one of my mates, I got to see some of the most breathtaking things in Europe.

Let me deal with our base first: Ljubljana. It's a small city but one which packs a lot into its tight confines. A canal, comparable to some sections of the Grand Canal in Venice, meanders

through the city centre, while the bridges which span the waterway had me wondering if we had landed in the wrong country. I'll get back to Italy later.

The Slovenian capital occupied us for a whole day before we geared ourselves up for some time on the road. Over two days we covered over 600km, spent time in three countries and saw some unbelievable sights. From the sharp peaks of the mountains to the glistening tranquility of the coast, I can safely say that Slovenia is the most beautiful country I've visited. These photos are my proof.

Logarska Dolina: looked more like a painting than real life

Vintgar Gorge: other-worldly

Lake Bled: I was warned of the beauty; I still wasn't prepared

Bohinj: one of the best tips we received when we were away, and a fun journey there too!

Piran: a coastal town surrounded by the most crisp, blue water I've seen for a long time

As well as driving around Slovenia, we (accidentally) dipped our toes back into Austria have only just come from there and ended our second day in the Italian coastal city of Trieste. Although not the nicest city Italian city I've been to, it was wonderful being able to drive across the border into a different culture and way of life. Italy is certainly a slightly louder and the people are certainly not afraid to tell you what they think. Those who have been to Italy will appreciate me summing things up in one word: mopeds.

Trieste: Italy once again putting on a show for me - and we were only there for a couple of hours!

With all of these experiences placed in the deepest parts of my memory we made our final move preparations with some sadness. Not only were we moving to our last city, we were also creeping ever closer to having to come home again - the Scottish call wasn't strong enough yet. Just as well Croatia has something magical in store for us to round up the trip. I'll write that one eventually!

Thanks for reading.

Martin