Slovenia Croatia Bosnia 2022 travelogue

Bled, Plitvice NP, Mostar, Bol (Brac island), Krk island, Piran, Postojna















































10.6: Munich -> Jesenice (Slovenia)
11.6: Jesenice -> Bled -> Poljanak
12.6: Plitvice national park -> Mostar
13.6: Mostar
14.6: Mostar -> Blagaj -> Pocitelj -> Kravice waterfalls -> Makarska -> Bol
15.6: Bol, Zlatni rat beach
16.6: Bol - Ferry Supetar-Split - Krk
17.6: Krk -> Stara Baska beach -> Krk
18.6: Krk -> Rijeka -> Piran -> Postojna
19.6: Postojna caves -> Munich

Planning and overall impression

This was a short nine days trip from Munich to Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia Herzegovina (mainly Croatia). Given the short time and the season, the area we chose seemed ideal: beautiful natural scenery, some historical places, local culture and some nice beach areas. To optimise the limited time I spent some effort in researching the area and planning a doable trip which would allow to visit all places without rushing and spending too much time in the car.
The trip was really nice - we saw some beautiful and interesting places and had a nice time.

Costs

Slovenia and Croatia are no longer low cost travel destinations. Especially the tourist hotspots in these countries have a quite high price level. You could in principle do a low cost trip, by avoiding restaurants and self-catering, but it's impossible to avoid the entry tickets for national parks and other natural wonders. With a family of four the entry to the Plitvice national and the Postojna caves cost more than 100 Euro for instance.
Bosnia Herzegovina is a lot less expensive than Croatia, but then it doesn't have the attractive coastline Croatia has.
Motorway tolls were a bit steep (for instance 30 Euro for Slovenia, even if we did less than 300 km of motorway in Slovenia).

Food

Food was good. We ate in a range of places - restaurants, cafes, food courts of shopping malls etc. The best food was in a restaurant in Mostar. In a restaurant in KrK the portions were very big - the kids couldn't manage to finish their food.

Accommodation

Being a family of four (two adults, two kids) most of the time we stayed in apartments. These were convenient, because we could all stay in one place (as opposed to have two separate, possibly not connecting, rooms in a hotel). In addition, many apartments had a washing machine, so we could easily wash dirty clothes. The apartments cost in the range of 46 to 98€ per night.

Money  / Exchange rate (June 2021)

1€ = 7.5 HRK
1€ = 1.95583 BAM

Mobile phones and prepaid cards

In Croatia and Slovenia we relied entirely on EU roaming. In Mostar we bought SIM cards with 4GB of data for 4 BAM each. But before we did that, we had to switch on data roaming with the German SIM card to be able to find the apartment. Those few MB of mobile data cost 60 Euro, because our German provider charges 12 Euro per MB of mobile data outside the EU (and we immediately hit the 60 Euro/day limit).

Internet access

All places were we stayed offered free WLAN, sometimes fast, sometimes not so fast and sometimes really poor. Outdoors we used the smartphone to access the Internet.

Weather

The weather was quite good. No rain, always sunny with a few clouds every now and then. In the Balkans the temperature went up and peaked at 30°-32°C.

Health / Vaccinations

There were no border controls at all regarding the pandemic, even if the pandemic wasn't over yet. It's just that nobody cared. Although I must say that the numbers (at least the official ones) in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia Herzegovina were quite low.

VISA / Entry requirements

We didn't need any visas, because even my wife could enter Bosnia Herzegovina with her Malaysian passport without a visa. There were border controls at the borders to Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina, but not between Germany and Austria and Austria and Slovenia.

Security

The area is quite safe.

Getting around

We did this trip completely by car, leaving from Munich and getting back to Munich. This had the advantage that we didn't have to rely on public transportation (less risk of getting infected) and we could choose apartments in any location (for instance less expensive ones out of town). To reach Brac island we used the car ferry.




10.6: Munich -> Jesenice (Slovenia)
Apartment Mak, Jesenice. 90 Euro for an apartment in the ground floor of what appears to have been a pizzeria. There is a big oven for the pizzas and a large kitchen area. The apartment has been refurbished and now contains a double bed and two single beds. There is a big round table with chairs, a sofa, two toilets, one with shower. Free Internet (WLAN) of good quality.
Weather: mainly overcast in Munich, 18-19C. In the evening around 20°C in Jesenice, blue sky. No rain the whole day.

We manage to start the trip at 4pm in Munich. After a short stop at a petrol station to refuel the car we drive to the motorway. In the German section until the Austrian border in Salzburg there is no big traffic jam, just a short one caused by a car accident. But due to the heavy traffic the speed is mostly below 100 km/h.

Once in Austria the situation improves a bit and after some time we manage to drive at the speed limit of 130 km/h (although there are several sections with a speed limit of just 100 km/h or even less).

In the end we reach Jesenice at 8:10pm. Now it would be important to find a restaurant because it is already a bit late for the dinner. By coincidence or luck we spot the advertising board of the only Chinese restaurant in this place, the Shanghai one. Quickly we arrive there and have dinner. The restaurant is decent, with good food served in big enough portions. We handle all communication with the restaurant staff in Chinese. From their accent they seem to be coming from southern China.

Around 9:20pm we arrive at the apartment. There we run into a lady who happens to be the caretaker of this place and has been waiting for us. She immediately opens the door and shows us the place.

So it seems that in this first day of the trip everything went very smoothly.



11.6: Jesenice -> Bled -> Poljanak
House Elena apartment, Poljanak. 70 Euro for a large apartment with two bedrooms, a large kitchen/living room and a toilet. Everything fully furnished. Free WLAN.
Weather: sunny with clouds the whole day. Mostly blue sky, but every now and then the clouds block the sun. A mix of overcast and blue sky in the evening. Top temperatures above 26°C, no rain.

We leave the apartment after 10:40am, then waste a lot of time trying to reach Bled because of Google Maps. First Google Maps lets us drive to roads which do not exist, then it sends us to a one-way road in the opposite direction. Clearly the Slovenian maps of Google Maps are not up to date.

Then Google Maps, instead of showing a route using the motorway, sends us on a strange mountain route across small villages. The problem is that in one small village the road is only open for local people. So we end up backtracking all the way back to Jesenice, where we take the motorway.

The reason that Google Maps chooses the small mountain road is that the standard road via the motorway ends in a traffic jam. In fact, there is a 10 minutes traffic jam at the entrance to Bled (probably too many visitors; we discover that from June 10th to 12th there is a regatta on Bled lake). So basically Google Maps has been sending us on this mountain road, so that we can avoid this traffic jam, without knowing that the local people have blocked the mountain road for the non locals.

At the ourskirts of Bled we spot an area with supermarkets, a (small) mall and a McDonalds. At 11:39am we stop there and buy some food and drinks (and stuff from McDonalds for the kids). The we continue driving to the centre of Bled.

We lose some time looking for a parking. Not so easy, because the town is full of people. After some time we find a parking (2 Euro/hour) and leave the car there. It's 12:35pm when we finally get out of the car.

Bled is a unbelievably cute city with a beautiful lake in an amazing setting. No wonder this place is so touristy. Around the lake there is a beautiful park, with cafes, restaurants and hotels spread around the area. Several nice cafes/restaurants everywhere along the lake with great views.

But it's also a very pricey place. To make an example, a scoop of ice cream costs 2.30 Euro (no wonder we don't see anybody eating ice cream here). The ticket to enter the castle costs 13 Euro, and this for a small not so significant castle (actually the castle is also cute and offers great views over the lake).

On the lake today there is a rowing competition with eights. This is why you can't rent rowing boats today.

We could walk once around the lake, but instead walk up to the castle. Beautiful little castle, from which there is a good view of the lake. Inside the castle there is some museum with exhibits.

Bled is a place where you could stay for an entire week, using it as a base for trekking in the nearby mountains or for water sports.

By 2:30pm we are back in the car and drive again to the supermarket area where we buy more food and drinks. Then we drive to Poljanak.

Google Maps shows a route which goes all the way up to Zagreb and then south again. To shorten it I drive through Novo Mesto and Karlovac. It's indeed a shorter route, but a bad one because it consists of small mountain roads passing through a countless number of small villages.

At 6:50pm we are at the apartment.



12.6: Plitvice national park -> Mostar
Old town apartments, Mostar. 90 BAM (= 46 Euro) for a nice apartment overlooking Mostar, with two bedrooms, a living room + kitchen corner, one bathroom with shower. Fully furnished with everything, WLAN included. The only problem of this place is that it is difficult to find with Google Maps, if you drive a car.
Weather: sunny, blue sky with a few clouds every now and then. Top temperatures ranging from 25°C to 30°C, some wind, no rain.

In the morning we check out and drive to the parking at the entrance 1 of the Plitvice national park (the parking costs 10 Kuna/hour). Then we walk to the park entrance Nr 1.

At exactly 11am we cross the checkpoint and start the program C trail. We immediately spot the big waterfall (Veliki slap). Incredible view, as if you were watching the Niagara or Victoria waterfalls. Very, very scenic. This view alone is worth the 800 Kuna we spent for the tickets.

We then start walking towards the P3 point. On the way we get close to the big waterfall. The trail consists of staircases in the steep areas and wooden planks when you have to cross water areas. Where the terrain is easy, it's simple forest trail. There is plenty of water in the waterfalls, probably because it has been raining recently.

At 12:15pm we are at the P3 point, where you take the boat which crosses the lake to the P2 point. From there you walk to the St3 point, from which there is a bus which brings you to the St1 point.

It's a bit difficult to describe this area, but the views are simply stunning. Big and small waterfalls everywhere, ponds and pools with turquoise waters, green trees providing shadow, rock formations, fish in the crystal clear water, dragonflies flying around, spring flowers blooming. Lots of nice pictures.

There are queues at the P3 and St3 points, as people wait for the boats and buses. We manage to catch a boat around 12:30pm and at 2:55pm we are on the bus (seems there is a bus every 20 minutes). The bus needs 25 minutes to drive from St3 to St1.

From St1 it's a short walk back to the parking. We manage to start driving to Mostar at 3:55pm.

The drive initially is on a long distance road for about 60-70km, then on the motorway. There are very few cars on the motorway, which is nice for us, but makes one wonder why they build this motorway if so few people use it.

In any case we are at the border around 7:20pm (very short queue) and easily cross it. No vaccination certificates or Covid tests needed.

Then it's a stupid small road full of curves to Mostar. We have no local SIM card and to avoid roaming charges we switch off the mobile data.

It's quite easy to get into town. Now it would be important to find a restaurant for dinner (it's 8pm). We walk a bit around, then choose the Pasta2go restaurant, where we have some noodles. In the mobile phone shop opposite the restaurant they don't sell SIM cards.

After dinner we drive to the apartment. Google Maps guides us to a spot on a fast road where you can't stop the car. It then takes us about 45 minutes to find the place and how to drive there. Basically you have to drive on a small impossible road, which Google Maps does not list. We finally check in after 10pm.



13.6: Mostar
Old town apartments, Mostar.
Weather: sunny, blue sky with a few clouds every now and then. Dry and hot (32°C according to the weather report). No rain, little wind.

We spend the day in Mostar, checking a bit out the place. We leave the apartment late, at 11:45am. By this time the temperatures are already quite high and the sun is very strong.

From the apartment it takes only 5 minutes to walk down the staircase to the historic centre. This is very cute, Ottoman style, some mosque here and there. The main tourist road is full of shops. Ice cream for 1.50 BAM one scoop, half of the price in Munich.

The first thing we do is to get SIM cards for everybody. 4 BAM for a SIM card with 4GB of data and no airtime for phone calls. The provider is m:tel.

Earlier this morning I have received an SMS from my German mobile phone company, informing me that I have reached the daily limit of 60 Euro of mobile data charges. 12 Euro / MB, which means when yesterday evening we briefly switched on mobile data to be able to use Google Maps to find the apartment, these few minutes of mobile data usage must have reached 5 MB.

Welcome to the world of non-EU mobile data roaming, where 1 GB of data costs 12000 Euro (twelve thousand Euro in words). Compare that to the 0.50 Euro we pay here in Bosnia for 1 GB of data. Some court of law should put an end to this absurd customer rip-off.

After buying the SIM card we spend some time exploring the city. We make it all the way to the bridge and beyond. Very, very touristy area, a real "tourist ghetto". After 1pm we walk back to that first restaurant we had spotted a bit outside the main tourist area and have a lunch there.

The cost of food seems to be about half to one third of the price of food in Germany. And this one restaurant where we have lunch is also not bad - the food is very tasty and well made. Interesting local dishes.

After lunch the girls want to go to the DM store and buy some make up stuff. So we walk there and after an eternity they finally get out. Seems they managed to spend 80 BAM for some make up nonsense which perhaps they do not even need.

In any case we walk back to the centre of Mostar and buy some drinks in a supermarket, then walk back to the apartment. We are back in the apartment at 3pm. There we take a rest.

At 5:40pm I get out again, hoping to get better pictures in the late afternoon light. The sun is now less harsh, but because of the angle of the sun I do not really get better pictures, just different ones. The noon sun may have been harsh, but it also properly illuminated those narrow alleys, while the late afternoon sun is too low in the sky and cannot illuminate the alleys, resulting in harsh shadows on the buildings.

In any case I walk past the bridge looking for a good spot from where to photograph the bridge. I walk down to the river level, where there are people in swimsuits. I also spot a boat, apparently offering boat trips on the river. Every now and then somebody jumps from the bridge into the river.

From this riverbank I walk to the other bridge, but that is not a good place from where to photograph the bridge. In the end, using Google Maps, I manage to find the place which offers the best view of the bridge.

Then I walk back towards the town and around 7:10pm I'm in the Pasta2Go restaurant where I order some take away noodles for the girls and myself (Shirley is not hungry). Then I walk back to the apartment and deliver the noodles to the kids.

After 8pm I walk out again for some blue hour photography (the sun sets at 8:30pm). I'm back in the apartment shortly before 10pm.



14.6: Mostar -> Blagaj -> Pocitelj -> Kravice waterfalls -> Makarska -> Bol
Niko apartments, Bol (Brac island). 65 Euro for an apartment with a bedroom, a living room with kitchen and large bed sofa, bathroom with shower. Fully furnished, A/C, WLAN. About 400m from the centre of Bol, 1km from the Zlatni rat beach. Friendly owner.
Weather: overcast in the morning, after about 10-11am the sky opens up and it's sunny, blue sky with top temperatures of 30°C. Dry, no rain.

We check out around 10:30am, then lose some time driving through the narrow roads of Mostar. Along the way we stop at a petrol station to refuel the car and buy some food in a bakery. Then we drive towards Blagaj. The roads are not very good and there are strange speed limits (for instance 40 km/h in the middle of nowhere).

Once in Blagaj (we are there at 11:40am) it takes some time to figure out what the actual attraction of this place is. It's the dervish house in Blagaj Tekija, next to the river source. There is a parking fee of BAM 4 and then you have to drive along a narrow road and park along this narrow road.

Ticket of BAM 30 for the four of us to visit the dervish house. The ladies have to dress up like muslim women. I'm ok because I'm wearing long trousers. Thinking again about it, we could have saved the BAM 30, because the interior of this dervish house are not terribly interesting. It's more the view from outside which is special - this interestingly shaped house next to the rock wall with the river source.

Opposite the dervish house there is a restaurant in a cool, refreshing setting.

At 12:30pm we leave Blagaj and drive to the next place, Pocitelj. The idea today is to spend some time getting an impression of this part of Bosnia.

It's around 1pm when we reach Pocitelj. I notice that there are some restaurants here and because it is lunch time, I park the car at a restaurant and we have a lunch there. Quite decent, tasty food.

After lunch, shortly before 2pm I walk to the actual old town of Pocitelj and have a look. You can walk up a staircase to the castle ruin and beyond. Nice views of this old town and of the nearby river. Cobblestone staircases, like a village from another age. It's a cute, cute village, which could get more visitors (and perhaps it does in the peak season in summer. But today, in mid-June it's just me and a few more travellers visiting this place.

By the way, strong sun and hot air which makes it quite tiring walking up all these staircases. At the castle and elsewhere you can climb on walls for better views of the area, but this is a bit risky and you need good balance.

It's around 2:50pm when we start driving to the next place, the Kravice waterfalls. On the way the police stops me and fines me for speeding. They claim I've been driving 59 km/h in a 40km/h area, which seems strange because I've kept the speed below 50km/h, around 40-45km/h. Long discussion, then they fine me for 20 Euro. No receipt, so perhaps the policeman kept the money?

Shortly after 3:30pm we arrive at the waterfalls. Fee of BAM 60 for the four of us to get in. After a short walk we reach the waterfall area. Nice, scenic waterfall, but at this time of the day the sun is in the wrong position. We should have been here in the morning.

Lots of people in swimsuits, swimming in the ponds. Seems to be like a huge water playground. For sure, when the temperature is 30°C it's nice swimming in this place. You can also rent a boat.

After 4pm we start driving towards Makarska. Brief stop in a supermarket along the way, where we try to spend the last few BAM we still have.

Then Google Maps directs us to a closed, abandoned border post. So we backtrack and cross the border in another place. Then it's a long drive on small and narrow roads across villages until we finally manage to get back on a motorway. In the end we reach Makarska at 6:25pm.

We set back our standard SIM cards into the smartphones. The SIM card in my phone doesn't allow mobile data. Lots of time spent checking the settings until I finally realise that perhaps my phone company have blocked the mobile data of the phone (and I manage to get the mobile data unblocked after calling the customer support in Germany).

At 6:40pm we sit down in a restaurant along the waterfront and have some dinner. Then we take the 8pm Jadrolinja ferry to Sumartin. This arrives at 8:50pm in Sumartin and by 9:30pm we are at the apartment in Bol.



15.6: Bol, Zlatni rat beach
Niko apartments, Bol (Brac island). 
Weather: sunny, blue sky the whole day. Top temperatures probably around 30°C, some wind on the beach.

Day spent on the beach, that is afternoon spent on the beach, because at 12pm we buy some food and drinks in a Tommy supermarket and only reach the beach at 1:30pm. We could have walked, but prefer taking the car to avoid walking 1.5km under the strong sun. The first parking we reach asks for a parking fee of 100 Kuna. Whole day, but quite expensive. So we drive further and find another parking only 300m from the beach which costs only 30 Kuna.

So we park the car and walk to the beach. There are plenty of stalls selling food (sandwiches, French fries, chicken nuggets, pizza etc.) and toilet and shower facilities (the toilet is a bit smelly and costs 7 Kuna, 13 Kuna if you want to take a shower). On the beach there are beach loungers and umbrellas (80 Kuna for the lounger + 80 Kuna for the umbrella).

Lots of people on the beach, but not overcrowded. Perhaps in peak season in July / August this place is more crowded.

The beach has small pebble stones (not sand). It's a bit painful walking barefoot on the beach, especially when the sun is so strong and the pebble stones are really hot. Some people wear some kind of rubber socks.

The sea water, well, is a bit cold, but not so cold that you can't swim in it. You can't spend hours in the water (after 20-30 minutes you have to get out, otherwise the body starts getting too cold). Probably in August or September the water temperature is much higher.

There are plenty of watersport options: kitesurfing, banana boat rides, paragliding etc.

At 5:40pm we walk back to the car, then drive back to the apartment.

In the evening we walk into town. The price level of restaurants is quite high (11-12 Euro for a margherita pizza or bolognese spaghetti, just to make a couple of examples).



16.6: Bol - Ferry Supetar-Split - Krk
Apartment Petra, Krk. 97 Euro for an apartment with two bedrooms, a living room + kitchen, two toilets (one with shower). Fully equipped apartment, WLAN available. The only problem is that there is just one A/C unit for the whole apartment (in the living room). The apartment is about 1km from the centre of the old town.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperature of 30°C. Some cloud cover when we cross the coastal mountain range.

We check out at 10:20am and drive to the ferry harbour in Supetar (40 minutes drive from Bol). Along the way we stop at the panorama viewpoint for some photos.

We queue up at the ferry queue in Supetar at 11:15am, then leave the car and walk into town.

Supetar is a small coastal town on the northern coast of Brac island. There is a restaurant/cafe area around the small boat harbour. Ice cream is cheaper at 10 Kuna per scoop (vs 13 in Bol).

Around 11:45am we are back in the car and soon after that we drive into the ferry (roll on/roll off type). This ferry is bigger than the one in Makarska. There is a big, air-conditioned hall with a cafe and chairs/benches and tables.

The ferry leaves at 12:30pm and reaches Split at 1:20pm. We get out of the ferry and drive to the Mall of Split shopping mall.

This is a relatively new mall which has opened in 2016. On the second floor there is a food court, where we have lunch. Then we go to the supermarket and buy some food and drinks.

There is actually not so much time for shopping, because it's almost 3pm and we have to be in Krk by 7pm (check in at the place we booked is between 2pm and 7pm), and the time to drive to Krk is a bit over four hours according to Google Maps. So around 3pm we start driving to Krk.

Initially the road climbs on the mountain range until it reaches the motorway which runs on top parallel to the coast. Then it's smooth and fast until the last 100km, which are on narrow and winding mountain roads and coastal roads.

We reach the apartment in Split before 7pm. There a guy is waiting for us and hands the keys to us.

Immediately after that we drive into Krk town and buy some food in a Konzum supermarket.

Then we have a look at the waterfront area of Krk. It's quite lively at this time of the day (almost 8pm). Lots of people walking around and people sitting in restaurants having dinner. There is some music, several food stalls. The old town actually is quite pretty. I see a church and a castle.

Back in the apartment I wonder what to do the next day - go to some beach for swimming or do some trekking.



17.6: Krk -> Stara Baska beach -> Krk
Apartment Petra, Krk.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperature of 32°C. In the evening a few clouds, otherwise spotless blue sky. Little wind.

We leave the apartment late after 12pm, then drive into town to the Adria Sun travel agency in order to check in for the apartment. Near the travel agency I find an ATM where it is possible to withdraw cash without fees (later the bank statement will show that this ATM charged a fee of 35 HRK without informing me).

After checking in I ask for trekking opportunities on Krk and receive a map with a list of treks with duration and altitide to cover. Then, after a brief stop in a bakery, we drive to the Stara Baska beach.

You have to park the car along the road above the beach. From there you walk along a trail down to the beach for about 10 minutes. The trail is a bit tricky - it would be better to have trekking boots, and not walk down with beach slippers (like us and most other people do).

The beach is in a beautiful, wild setting. A strip of white beach (small pebble stones) in a bay surrounded by rocks. Beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach, a cafe in one spot for snacks and drinks.

We walk, walk looking for an empty beach lounger and are lucky - we find the last available beach lounger with umbrella. 100 Kuna because it's only for half a day.

So we settle down there. The girls get changed and start swimming in the sea. Also here the sea water is somehow cold, but it's possible to swim for 20-30 minutes before freeezing too much.

Here on this beach there are no showers or toilet facilities. It's quite basic.

We are on the beach until 4pm, then walk back to the car and drive to Krk. Along the way we stop at a supermarket for some food and drinks ("tourist" prices in this supermarket).

After 5pm I walk (alone) into town to have a look at the place and take some pictures. The historic core is full of tourists, many from Germany. There is basically the big church and the fortress/castle; besides that there are no other touristic highlights. I find some restaurants and fast food places in the road behind the waterfront.

In the evening we have a dinner in one of the restaurants around 8pm. After 9pm there is an open air classic music concert of the Croation state orchestra.



18.6: Krk -> Rijeka -> Piran -> Postojna
Sweet Dreams apartments, Postojna. 98 Euro for a room with four beds (one is queen size double), a kitchen corner, table with four chairs, other smaller table with two chairs, A/C, flat screen TV, place where to hang clothes, toilet with shower, A/C, WLAN (a bit slow).
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperatures around 30°C.

We check out at 10am and initially drive towards Rijeka. Along the way we see a queue of cars (mainly non-Croatian) driving to Krk. At the same time many cars are leaving Krk. Must be the beginning of the holiday season or perhaps people are coming for the weekend.

Once in Rijeka we park the car near the city centre. Rijeka, well, has a photogenic city centre. It's not exactly a tourist hotspot, but the pedestrian area of the city centre is quite nice. Clean streets and buildings, colourful buildings in early 20th century style, shops and restaurants etc.

Because the girls are hungry (and Shirley as well) we stop at a McDonalds restaurant for some quick food. In the process I manage to spend all remaining Croatian kuna. Not a terribly big deal, because in the pedestrian area I have found some money changers, so I could have changed the Croatian money there had I had some left.

Around 12:30pm we walk back to the car and start driving to Piran in Slovenia. I chose Piran because it is listed as a highlight for Slovenia in the Lonely Planet tourist guide.

Driving from Rijeka to Piran takes about one and a half hours, mainly on some long distance roads. Once in Piran we discover that the parking I had keyed in as a destination is full. So we lose some time looking for a parking. One parking I find is reserved for people who are members of some club. In the end we park the car in the Fornace parking, a multi-storey parking building (2.40 Euro/hour).

Actually parking in the city of Piran is almost impossible - there is just no space.

From the Fornace parking we take the (free) shuttle bus to the centre of Piran (walking is also possible; 800m but it's quite hot and the ladies don't want to walk under the sun).

Piran has a very cute main square (Tartini square), with cute building surrounding it. I notice that street signs are in two languages (Slovene and Italian), and in fact a history check shows that the town was mainly Italian until the end of World War II and nowadays a bit less than one third of the local population are Italian speakers.

I walk up the hill, then get up the church clock tower for some views of the area. Then I walk down and have a look at the remaining part of the city.

The pricing level in Piran is quite high (for instance a scoop of ice cream costs 2 Euro; restaurants aren't cheap either). I don't know if it's seasonal, i.e. if off-season prices are lower, or if this is the result of the pandemic or current Ukraine crisis. In any case it doesn't seem to make too much sense to spend a holiday in Piran, because the beaches aren't that special (Croatia has much better beaches and costs less) and the cost of staying here is quite high.

Around 5pm start getting back to the car. I walk along the street to take some pictures, the ladies take the shuttle bus. At 5:20pm we leave for Postojna, arriving there shortly after 6pm (most of the road is a motorway).

There we check in and after that walk into town to have dinner. Postojna is, well, also cute. The city itself is not the reason to come here (it's the caves), but the centre is nicely set up and clean.

We have a dinner in the Macao Chinese restaurant. Quite unimpressive food, and we'll probably not have again Chinese food in Slovenia, because also the Chinese restaurant near Bled wasn't that good.

After 8pm we walk back to the hotel.



19.6: Postojna caves -> Munich
Home, sweet home
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperatures around 30°C.

We check out after 10am and get into the car, then drive to the parking of the Postojna caves. A big parking with lots of parking spaces. We park the car and walk to the tourist information centre.

We have booked the 11am time slot. Around 10:40am we queue up at the cave entrance, by 10:50am we are inside the cave entrance in the shadow (very strong sun outside).

Shortly after 11am we get into the electric train and a few minutes later the train brings us deep inside the mountain. We'll spend the next hour and a half inside the cave, following our German speaking guide.

The cave is quite nice and very long. Plenty of stalagmite / statactite rock formations.

At 12:48pm we are outside. Now it would be time to have lunch, so we get to the car and drive to the Čuk pizzeria restaurant. This turns out to be a good choice, because the food is good. It's just that they make us wait for ever for the food - we get it one full hour after we have placed the order.

Like this we only manage to leave Postojna at 3pm (after refueling the car in a petrol station).

Now, in normal times it would be possible to drive the 450km to Munich in five hours. In practice, today is the last day of the Whitsun holiday period and countless people are trying to get back to Germany. We are stuck in traffic jams on the motorway and only manage to reach home at 11pm, i.e. three hours later than in ordinary times.
It's even so, that the motorway in Germany, well after 10pm, is still full of cars. Apparently it's not only us who are getting back at the last minute.