Skocan and Postojna – Sept. 25-26

By Leyla

The following day a new chapter of our journey began: exploring Slovenia in our rental car, Monte.

First stop, the Skoljan Caves, a Unesco site less than an hour from Piran. Emily is writing an essay on Skoljan Caves and Postojna Caves (which we saw the following day) so I will refrain from saying much and instead focus on our Airbnb and our favorite restaurant of the trip (perhaps ever!) Pizzeria Minutka!!!!! What I will say is that I capitalized on the Skoljan Tours to do some rare schooling, quizzing Emily on what the guide had told us. What is the composition of Limestone? Calcium Carbonate. What creates the grey/black color in the Stalagmites and Stalactites? Maganese Oxide? The red color? Zinc Oxide? How many meters under the ground are we? 180 meters. What is the name of the river that created and flows through this cave? The River Reka. What is the word river in Slovelian? Reka. So it’s called the Reka Reka? Yes. How many people in our “English-speaking” group of 50+ people actually understand English? Three.

I will also say that the highlight of the tour for me was taking a detour back to the parking lot on a walking path through the village on a forested path. On this path, in the woods, we encountered a man with a small table selling homemade jams (plum/lavender, fig/ginger), liqueur from various herbs and fruits, pesto, herbal medicines like cough syrup from local tree sap with honey, and locally harvested porcini mushrooms. He became very animated and excited when asked about his homemade schnapps. We bought everything we could carry.

After leaving Skoljan, we arrived in Postojna at our sweet Airbnb – a homestay where we were hosted by an adorable older couple who reconfigured their home to take in guests. We had the entire attic floor consisting of a large bedroom with a huge king size bed plus a twin bed (both with really comfy bedding), a sitting room and a large bathroom with a TUB!!! It had been so long since I had taken a bath that I longed to get into that tub for a good soak. But first, we needed to find dinner.

Best burger ever

Our host told us about Pizzeria Minutka, saying it had “more than pizza” and “some barbeque” and something like “the little Bosnian.” After visiting the bank, we visited the tourist office and they confirmed that Pizzeria Minutka was “good.” It turned out to be not just good. It was the best meal we have had in Europe and perhaps ever!

Read my review:
Totally unexpected gastronomic delight!

After dinner the first night we returned to our cozy Airbnb and had a peaceful night’s sleep, waking up to a huge home-cooked breakfast, prepared by our warm host, Ivica. We set off early to Postojna Cave, hoping to beat the crowds, but we ended up in a overly large group of 100+ people, mostly from China, none of whom understood English, so they took photos and used their flash, and talked over the guide, all of which was very annoying. But the caves were magnificent and we are glad we went. Next, Predjama Castle – a medieval castle with a legendary owner. We have learned that Jama means Cave. Pred means “before” in Russian so I am guessing it is the same in Slovenian. And that is the significant of this amazing medieval castle – it was built in the mouth of a huge cave system, second only in size to the ones at Posojna (that are 26 km long). The most famous former owner was a knight and ran afoul of the reigning power at the time. An army was sent to vanquish the knight, who was a bit of a Robin Hood character. They laid siege for over a year, not knowing that the knight could get food and water from the village via the cave system.