Eurotrip 3.0: Kranjska Gora, Slovenia !

(As I look back on the trip and collate my notes & photos, I realize this was one of the highlight places of the entire trip. A place of immense natural beauty, coupled with some incredible food, made it so)

We drove into our hotel (The Korona Casino & Hotel) late in the evening of the 19^th (September), and were quickly led to our rather loud, red rooms. It was, of course, part of a casino, and the décor and upholstery was hardly ‘family’. In fact I thought it was bordering on the nefarious! Nevertheless, we settled quickly, had some of the leftover paranthas (which Vidya brought from London) with pickle. Some Rakija from my Croatian adventure helped keep us warm and served as the perfect drink for the tired lot.

I wandered into the Casino late into the night and parked myself at various game tables for a few minutes each following the games. A ‘guidebook’ helped make sense of it all. I didn’t really intend to play as much as understand. We knew we were going to go to the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo later on in the trip, and I was merely building my knowledge base before we got there! The casino itself looked full of sad, old people, clicking away at slot machines. Some of the younger lots were at roulette tables, but the place was largely empty, given we were bang in mid week.

The forecast was for the rain to clear up the next day and have some blue skies with a light breeze at some 18 °C. And it was pretty much on target, as we awoke to a spotless sky behind the massive green mountains that surrounded us. I was truly spellbound by what I was looking at. Our hotel room overlooked the entire town of Kranjska Gora, which was in a valley surrounded by mountains and with a stream coming down from them into a small lake.

We drove down first up after breakfast to that lake and, boy, was it a sight! Glistening green, with water so clear you could see right through to the bottom. A flock of ducks was pattering around and there was not a sound otherwise! The mountains stared at you from all angles in various hues of green. The dark greens were lower down. A mountain on the left had seemingly another bunch of trees altogether. And suddenly, the whole color scheme changed like an Instagram filter was on it, as a solitary cloud wandered over the sun. It sounded like one of those places meditations gurus ask you to imagine – “think of a beautiful place, clear skies, greenery all around, birds chirping, and silence”. And indeed, I just felt like sitting there, smiling and soaking in the heavenly atmosphere that enveloped me.

Heaven on earth!

We walked around the back of the lake to find its source, a stream of cold, crystal-clear water running down from the mountains. We all took turns at different points in the stream drinking some of it. Although it didn’t augur too well for my already strained throat! The cousins took turns jumping over a deceptively narrow looking stream, and promptly got their shoes wet.

A short 30 minute ride up into the mountains took us to the highest point in Kranjska Gora. It was bright sunshine but with a bone-chilling wind. It must have been about 4-5 degrees, I reckon. The views were majestic. A bunch of heavily haired cows were hanging about, bells around their necks. It looked like one of those images of Switzerland that is so often found in travel brochures. Only there weren’t other tourists around. Calm, serene, and freakishly inexpensive, as we soon found out for lunch.

The cold atop the mountain, combined with rumbling stomachs, ensured we got down in a hurry and headed straight for a restaurant. ‘Gostilna Pri Martinu’ was the #1 ranked Tripadvisor restaurant and was known for its particularly large portions of food. The towering, giant of a man, owner greeted us as we went up a flight of stairs to the restaurant. The interiors and upholstery were simplistic and had an old-world charm about them. The views, of the mountains, were, needless to say, stunning. With our stomachs growling, we began ordering many items from the menu. But I had read the reviews, and advised caution. After some discussion and convincing from my side, we halved our order. The food came. I had NEVER seen such large portions of food. We were lucky. The food was delicious, but we still couldn’t finish it all. By the end, people had stuffed their tummies, and to think we were going to order twice the stuff that we eventually did…!

That, very neatly, rounded up Kranjska Gora for me. Great views, great food and great company.