Postojna cave was created by a river
called Pivka. The oldest part of the cave that collapsed at some point during
the process is 3 million years old. The part of the cave that we visited is 1.5
– 2 million years old. It is the middle part of the cave. There is another level
below the middle part, 40 metres below it
which is still being formed. The river
still flows there and it is possible that the middle level will also collapsed
with time. This, however, is meant to take thousands of years.
On the way to the cave
Postojna Cave is unique due to
its railway system. It was the first one to have it. The railway system was
built in 1872 and initially consisted of steel wagons pulled by guides. The
pleasure of using it cost a lot so obviously only rich people could afford to
travel this way whilst everyone else walked. At first the carriages were pulled by guides!
The entrance to the cave, or rather the train station, is just above the stairs
The cave, like many similar
places, was discovered by accident. The known parts of the cave were being
prepared for a visit of Austrian Emperor in 1818. One of the workers wandered away from his
group and came across new areas of the cave. A year later tourist visits to the
cave commenced. This year the number of tourists visiting the cave reached 38
million.
Postojna is a big cave, the
biggest I’ve ever visited. The train from the entrance into the cave took about
10 minutes and then the walk around the cave was 1.5km on two different levels.
The lowest level was 120 metres below the sea level. The cave has its micro
climate, 10°C all year round, there is no dust nor pollen and the level of
oxygen is nearly the same as outside due to the number of entrances to the cave
– five. And when the lights went off, it was pitch black.
Unfortunately the photos don't really show how amazing the cave is. The light is very low there and flash isn't allowed to be used as even minimal light is enough for moss to grow. There is some already growing so these measures are taken to limit the spreading as much as possible.
A stalagmite
Predjama Castle We only had a quick look at the castle from the outside as firstly, we arrived too late for a visit and secondly, we had to make a choice whether to visit the castle or the cave due to the ticket prices. Although the cave was extremely expensive (€61 for the three of us - the girls had a free entry) we decided to visit it as we'd seen many castles and also we liked the idea of going into the cave on a train. 
Ljubljana
Ljubljana was a bit of a
disappointment to me. It was very pleasant, maybe mainly due to lovely weather
and autumn colours that could be noticed on some trees, but far from
‘spectacular’, ‘captivating’ or just a
simple ‘wow’. It was rather dull and uninteresting. Normally I can’t just skip
wandering around a place when I’m just there, however; in this case after driving
for a while looking for the castle and old town I was about to give up on
exploring it as the city simply wasn’t grasping me. We did eventually walked around the Old Town
and Beany and me visited the castle. What we like most, however, was ice cream!
We were surprised how generous the scoops were and how little we had to pay for
them. And they tasted great, too!
Enjoying a walk to the castle with the views of Ljubljana 
Ljubljanski Grad (Ljubljana
Castle)
Autumn is upon us! And I love it!
Especially on a warm and sunny day.
It’s a really well maintained
castle, I must admit, with a couple of pretty restaurants and a café. What
Beany and me enjoyed most was the excavated foundations of the castle that hold
some interesting pieces of what I’m assuming is meant to be art such as a type of
Pinokio moving manekins (only the top half) playing drums.
The courtyard
Another view of Ljubljana. This
one was taken from a viewing terrace in the castle.
Walking down the castle hill was
as difficult as the way up for it was much steeper than the way we came from.
We took a different path that lead to the Old Town.
On the way down: Church of St. Nicholas
Franciscan Church
Vodnikov Square with a
market
Krekov Square
Butcher’s Bridge
This bridge was only open in 2010 but it looks like it instantly became favourite for hanging love padlocks. I guess Paris or Rome are a bit too far.
'What's this?' asked Beany laughing. Sculpture by Slovenian sculptor Jakov Brdbar.
Reoccurring theme: ice-cream. This was only one scoop!
Presernov Square
Triple Bridge which is basically three bridges joined at one side of the river Ljubljanica.
14-15 September 2015
