Rakov Škocjan and the Planina Cave

Want some snowy photos? :) Here are some shots from a cold and dreary February day when Sebastian and I explored Slovenian Karst a little. The Big and Small Natural Bridges of Rakov Škocjan seemed like a good choice. There were no people around messing with my HDR shots, hehe.








In the afternoon, we met with Andrej, Luka and Neja at the entrance of the Planina Cave (Planinska jama). Žiga, the guide, took us into the underworld. First we rowed an inflatable boat upstream the underground river for over an hour (phew, it was hard!), and then spent the next three hours walking, climbing and crawling through very narrow passages to the end of the cave and back. We were completely dirty, muddy, even wet. But wow, what an exhilarating experience! Having carried all our photographic equipment with us, we set up our tripods in one of the caverns, ran around with lamps and flashes, and took a dozen photos.

Would I do it again? You bet! The whole excursion took about 6.5 hours, we were tired and covered in mud, but I can only highly recommend it to anybody who is reasonably fit and isn't claustrophobic. ;)

The church at Javorca and a few glimpses from the Karst

In late October Luka, Mary and I explored western Slovenia. First thing in the morning we drove to the Tolminka valley, climbing the winding gravel road to the end of the valley where there is a small memorial church of the Austro-Hungarian army, built during WWI. The setting at the foot of the mountains is very picturesque and so is the church itself. Unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't admire its ornate interior.






Then we headed to the south to explore the Karst. Fall colors weren't peaking yet, but we did manage to find some fiery red smoketree.


Even some vineyards displayed the lovely red and yellow leaves.



More photos here.

Rakov Škocjan and Lake Cerknica

Last Easter we went to Lake Cerknica and this Easter we went to Lake Cerknica again. :) Except that the weather was completely different yesterday. Last year it was snowing, this year it was really warm and sunny. But first we drove to Rakov Škocjan and had a look at the Big natural bridge. The water level is very high and some places, especially the river bed are totally impassable.







I had the tripod with me, of course ... but I left it in the car! Doh! All of the above photos are hand-held. Please somebody shoot me. :)

Lake Cerknica was bathing in the sun.


More photos here.