Slovenia with kids part 2 – things I’d do differently

Following up on last week’s blog post ‘Slovenia with kids part 1 – the why’, this blog post covers precisely what my family chats about on our way home.  It’s our thing to do a little travel post-mortem so we can all learn from our travel experience and make each upcoming one somewhat better.

These were our take-aways after our Slovenia trip.  Here is what I would do differently

  1. Take my own tea

    I love my tea.  Unfortunately in Slovenia, I rarely every found a place serving a decent cuppa.  I might not have known what to order, or they might no be tea people.  Which one it was, I do not know.  Luckily, I did have a few teabags in my handbags to at least take me through a hot mug each morning.  Next time around though, I’ll take a box and whip out my own teabags wherever I am!

  2. Pre-translate a few important phrases

    I did try to buy tea at the supermarket, but the names were all in Slovenian!  I do not really fancy black tea, and could not for the life of me understand  the types of the enormous array of herbal teas, or find a box of Earl Grey!  Nothing in Slovenia is in English except the menus.  We did get by, but next time around I will definitely be looking up a few phrases.  The road signs are all in Slovenian too.

  3. I would’t stay in Lake Bled

    Right before staying in Lake Bled, we stayed in Ljubljana for 3 nights, which was great, and I would totally recommend it.
    Our second accommodation was in Lake Bled.  Take note of this: if your kids are old enough to walk but not old enough to pick up a fair pace to head straight on to the centre of Lake Bled, think about basing yourself elsewhere.  Our supposedly 10-15 minute walk to the lake took us 45 minutes with Nina!
    Hence, unless you are bang in the centre of Bled, a (hilly) walk with a young child will take forever, so might as well not restrict yourself to staying in the area!  Slovenia is small, hence you’re spoilt for lovely accommodations within reasonable distance of wherever you want to go.

  4. I’d plan a whole morning in Lake Bohinj

    This lake literally stole my heart!  Lake Bled is beautiful, but to me, nothing compares to the stunning and raw beauty of Lake Bohinj.  We planned to stop for a little break and a couple of photos, but we were so enchanted by the lake, that we decided to rent a little row boat.  5 minutes and €9 later, we were rowing out into the lake, albeit feeling a bit tense that Nina might want to walk around and  risk toppling the boat over – haha!  This was not the case.  On the contrary – this experience was one of my favourites in Slovenia.  We rowed in to the shore and swam – it felt like we had our own little private island!  Next time around, we plan to take the row boat out for at least 3 hours, stop several times, and take a full-blown picnic lunch (rather than the little snacks we took onboard!)

  5. Land in one airport, and take off from another

    Granted, we took two different routes coming and going (Nina was asleep anyway for our way in), but next time around I’ll plan this differently.  Instead of arriving and leaving from Venice, I’ll combine Budapest, Vienna or Venice, depending on the desired itinerary.  I’ll probably consider extending our stay to 10 days too!

  6. Take a thicker jacket to Postonja Caves

    Despite doing my research, we were not fully prepared for the chilly caves.  I was wearing shorts and a leather jacket, and Nina was dressed in a tutu (she wears tutus like I wear leggings!) and a leather jacket.  Yanik and Neil were in shorts and a thin, long-sleeved top.  Luckily, I had a beach towel in my backpack so I covered Nina and my shoulders during the train ride.  It was cold inside the caves (8 to 10 degrees Celsius with 95% humidity!), but the kids did not complain, and hey, I survived!
    Nevertheless, I shall be taking a thicker jacket and long trousers next time I visit (yes, there will be a next time!)

    Be sure to check back next week for part 3 of this mini-series: the INDISPENSABLE travel tips!  If you would like to receive an email when the blog post is up, all you need to do is subscribe!