Matilda on Tour - Slovenia — First Impressions, Surprises and a Change of Pace

Sunday 16 March 2026 — Wernberg to Kranj

Day 16 — Lakes, mountains and a tunnel into Slovenia
Carinthia, Austria 🇦🇹 → Slovenia 🇸🇮

With the ride already planned, we were on the bikes soon after breakfast 🚴‍♀️.

Strava really is proving to be a godsend on this trip. Today’s ride had everything — big climbs, long fast descents, forest trails and water everywhere.

Wernberg sits in the middle of so many lakes and rivers that it feels as though you are constantly riding alongside water.

Part of the route took us around Faaker See, the lake glowing that striking blue-green colour you only seem to get in alpine water, adding another beautiful sweep of water to an already stunning ride.

The route came in at just over 21 miles with around 1,400 feet of climbing — certainly enough to know we’d been out on the bikes.

It got very chilly on the way back and I was glad to get back into the warm van. The temperature has dropped dramatically.

Our luck held though. We had only been back in the van for five minutes when the heavens opened and the rain came down in torrents 🌧️.

With the weather clearly set in for the afternoon, we decided to make our way into Slovenia. The drive down the autobahn was straightforward enough, although the scenery through the Alps was still spectacular with enormous snow-topped mountains surrounding us 🏔️.

Just after crossing the border we passed through the Karawanks Tunnel, which seemed to go on forever. At nearly 8 km long it certainly felt like a proper gateway into the next part of the journey.

We’re now parked up in a small stopover in Kranj, listening to the rain pattering on the roof.

We haven’t seen anything of the town yet tonight. Between the rain and a slightly confusing parking machine things turned into a bit of a car-park fiasco, so we decided it was best just to settle in for the evening and hope we haven’t accidentally bought ourselves a fine.

For now we’re tucked up in Matilda listening to the rain on the roof and hoping tomorrow brings a better day to explore Slovenia 🚐.

Tuesday 17 March 2026 — Kranj to Ljubljana

Day 17 — From quiet streets to city life
Upper Carniola, Slovenia 🇸🇮

An early start today — we were up and out just after 8.

After failing to pay for the parking last night (app and text both refused to play ball), we didn’t want to risk a fine, so the first job this morning was to move the van.

We found a public car park nearby — €1.60 for four hours, with the first two free — which immediately felt like a much calmer option.

Once that was sorted, we could relax and enjoy wandering around the town.

First impressions of Kranj are a little mixed. There’s some really interesting architecture, but parts of it feel quite tired — a bit of that Eastern Bloc feel to it. Not unpleasant, just different.

We found a café — Carniola — and it turned out to be a great little find. A really good atmosphere, a friendly owner and nice and busy. Two toasties and coffees for €11.60 — hard to argue with that ☕🥪

Later we wandered up into the newer part of town. It opens out more, with the Alps just peeking through in the distance — a lovely surprise.

Another coffee, watching the world go by and no sense of needing to rush anywhere.

After a relaxed morning we made our way to Ljubljana and checked into a campsite before heading to the city.

The castle sits high above the city, impossible to miss as you arrive.
Thankfully there was a funicular — saving us a long, steep climb.

The castle wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It’s been modernised and feels more like a museum, with themed exhibitions rather than old castle rooms..

The puppetry museum was interesting — something a bit different. It got me wondering about Pinocchio, but he actually comes from Italy rather than Slovenia. The 4D film was surprisingly good too — definitely worth watching 🎭

Ljubljana didn’t immediately grab us, although we had only really seen the newer part of the city and the castle. There are a lot of apartment blocks and some quite plain buildings, especially compared to the charm of places like Brugge.

After a cultural afternoon, we popped into a local Irish bar — it was St Patrick’s Day after all, and my sister was born in Ireland 🇮🇪

The service was a little slow, so we decided to move on and see what else we could find.

That turned out to be a good decision.

We ended up in a lovely Slovenian pub right by the river, with a great atmosphere, simple bar food, and exactly the sort of place we like 🍺

Inside the pub, with all the warmth and atmosphere around us, it’s been a brilliant day.

It began with a bit of faff and uncertainty, but somehow found its rhythm by the end.

Wednesday 18 March 2026 — Postojna to Ajdovščina

Day 18 — From caves to wind
Inner Carniola → Vipava Valley, Slovenia 🇸🇮

A good stopover last night, although the torrential rain was something else — I slept through most of it 🌧️

We woke to bright skies this morning. Still chilly, with a bit of a wind, but it felt like a good day ahead.

The plan had been to cycle into the city, but with the weather not at its best we decided instead to visit Postojna Cave.

We arrived around midday and, as it turned out, the visits are done on timed tours — something we hadn’t checked in advance — so we had a bit of a wait.

The first part was a little underwhelming — tanks with small cave creatures, although the cave setting itself was quite good.

But once we got into the main caves, it all changed.

They are incredible — well worth the visit and unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Huge underground chambers, dramatic rock formations and even a train ride into the caves — it felt like stepping into another world.

After that we moved on to Ajdovščina and found a simple stop for the night — nothing fancy, but perfectly fine for a stopover.

The wind is building now, rattling around the van — it looks like it could be a blustery night.

Sometimes a day doesn’t start as you expect, but it finds its way in the end.

Thursday 19 March 2026 — Ajdovščina (Parc Lijak)

Day 19 — Time to slow down
Vipava Valley, Slovenia

We woke to clear blue skies, the mountains stretching out on both sides of the valley, and one of those moments where everything just clicks into place.

This suddenly felt like somewhere worth stopping. Not just passing through, but staying — finding a proper campsite and settling in for a while.

We moved about 20 km further down the valley to Parc Lijak, a year-round site. It’s a little rustic, especially out of season, but for now we’re the only travellers here — and that has its own charm.

We had a warm welcome from Martinelle, the owner, and spent a few hours simply relaxing. The windbreak had its first outing, the sky was a clear blue, and we’re only a stone’s throw from the Italian border.

It’s a well-known paragliding area too, and I’m starting to think it might be one of those things worth trying — assuming courage arrives before common sense 😄

Eventually, though, the bikes called.

We set off on a short route courtesy of Strava, but it wasn’t long before we went off piste.

There was clearly a track running almost parallel to the main road — a mix of tarmac and gravel — and it turned into really enjoyable riding through the vineyards. We’ve definitely arrived in a wine region 🍇

We made good progress, weaving our way through a busy town before picking up a cycle path for the return. It felt fast going out… less so on the way back.

The cold headwind made sure of that, and we were very glad of a bit of battery assistance.

Back at camp, we wandered up to the small bar and ended up spending a really enjoyable hour chatting with Martinelle. She’s a wonderful host and even sent us away with a couple of beers for later.

And I have to say — the local beer is very good 🍺

It feels like the holiday has properly begun now — time to slow down and really enjoy the area.

Thanks for being part of the journey.

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