Slovenia markets itself as the green heart of Europe. And it is – with so many environmental initiatives. But for our weekend away it was all about the colours of Autumn. And dragons.

With only a weekend getaway we had to be picky on what we could see over a weekend in Slovenia. But we made it enough.

We started out in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Such a cute city, complete with cobbled stone streets (that had been made pedestrian only), beautiful old buildings and of course, a castle. What would a European city be with out a castle!

After a night of wandering through the city, we got up early to explore the castle before doing a free walking tour. Ljubljana, I have to say that I wasn’t so impressed with your castle. Sure there were some cool exhibits and a good view over the city, but your signage was terrible. You were kinda small..and I couldn’t make sense of your map. But still, you bring in the tourists.

The rest of the city I loved. I loved walking the streets in the sun and sitting in cafes on the river. I loved learning the history – how the dragon is surrounded by myth and legend. I loved hearing the more recent history of Slovenia coming into it’s own and becoming it’s own independent country.

After Ljubljana we headed to Lake Bled. I had been dying to visit since I read an article from blogger Adventurous Kate on the lake. Granted, she went in summer (and summer in Europe is amazing) but I still had high hopes. And it didn’t disappoint. We arrived at dusk to our B&B that was literally on the waters edge. It was stunning.

The next morning we awoke to a beautiful day and discovered our hotel was almost underneath the Bled Castle!

Although we were disappointed by the castle in Ljubljana, we decided to visit the Bled Castle, if nothing else for the view alone. They were stunning! You could see across the lake and down to the tiny island in the middle of the lake.

Obviously with such a cute island in the middle, we had to take a trip there. After about 40 mins of rowing (not by me!) we reached the island. Tiny but very cute. And the water (though freezing) was crystal clear.

This is merely a small taste of what Slovenia has to offer. I can’t wait to go back again and see what else there is!