Off to a brisk start this morning, quite a bit to cover. The schedule today is the bustling city market, followed by a few photos that we didn’t get yesterday. Then off to the Predjama Castle & Postojna Cave west of town. After that we are off to Zalec to find their Beer Fountain.
First, the city market in Ljubljana. Hmmm, yesterday we arrived too late and everything was shutting down…today, they haven’t opened yet. Come on! We just can’t win. At least the scenery is just lovely.
A quick hour down the road and we are at the Postojna Cave. A cave system that’s so large you need to ride a train to get to the start of the tour. The first thing we notice is that the temperature has dropped to 10°C and humidity is off the chart.
Our guide is telling us all about stalagmites and stalactites, how long it takes for them to grow – about 1cm every 100 years. Plus, there’s over 150 different species of animals and insects that call this cave home. As they’ve adapted to their surroundings the organs that they don’t need anymore have atrophied – most notable, eyes. There’s one creature that only lives here, the Olm – a cave salamander that can live up to 10 years without eating food.
No time to lose, we are off to Predjama Castle, the largest castle to be within a cave. The Guinness Book of records says so.
Pretty amazing! First built back in the 13th Century and occupied by families up until the end of WW2 when in was confiscated and nationalized by the communist government.
They have kept many artifacts through it’s history, including some boulders launched by trebuchets, and some newer cannonballs. So much engineering and ingenuity has gone into the structure.
The castle survived a year-and-a-day siege due to the water collection system and secret tunnels to the outside. It fell only due to a bribed servent who signaled the other side when to attack the Lord’s lavatory. Killed by cannon fire when sitting on the pot – not the fiercest way to go.
On the way to Zalec, and home to the Beer Fountain, we not only run into traffic but cats & dogs rain. Even if we get to town in time, I don’t fancy drinking beer in a rain storm.
There’s always tomorrow morning!
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