Adriatic Cruise – Day at Sea & Slovenia

On our journey north towards Slovenia, Lindsay and I were able to relax and enjoy an entire day at sea.  We were entertained with live shows, great movies, and board games.  We dined and lounged on the deck at our leisure.  We enjoyed every minute of it.
Relaxing on the cruise deck:

The cruise performers after an excellent show:

Lindz with a towel penguin, one of several towel animals we found in our cabin during the cruise:

For our visit to Slovenia, we decided to take another guided tour to two of the tourist attractions near the port of Koper.  As our bus climbed the mountain roads away from Koper, we got a wonderful view of the nearby Italian city of Trieste.  Further inland, we even got to see some snow in the mountains of Slovenia.  Our first stop of the day was to the beautiful Postojna Caves.  Rich with history and ageless beauty, these caves had stunning features around every corner.  Our cave tour began with a train ride that seemed like more of a roller coaster than a people mover, which took us deep into the cave where we began our walking tour.  Our guide satisfied our natural intrigue of the caves with all sorts of interesting information.  Never had I seen such vast openings in caves.  Now I can see what drew the dwarves of Middle Earth to these massive wonders.
Slovenian countryside:

Our tour group moving through the winding caverns:

"Concert Hall" - a huge cavern with great acoustics:

After the caves, our bus continued along the mountainous region to a castle that was nested into the mouth of another cave.  Predjama Castle was naturally fortified by sheer cliffs and a narrow path that led to the entrance.  Enemies who tried to lay siege to the castle failed because of a secret passage through the caves that allow food and provisions to make their way to the people inside the castle. 
The castle with the cave behind:

Us at Predjama Castle:

After the tour, we had a lovely lunch at a seaside restaurant.  People there loved to listen to our “American” English as they were used to it from movies and TV shows.  Slovenians seem to be a very happy people who enjoy the cultural influence of their northern neighbors, Italy and Austria.  Our visit was an unexpected delight!

~Blake