We knew that this country is a very worthwhile destination and especially the Soča River attracted us for a long time. After we already drove through on our trips to Croatia, but only got to know the highway, we finally wanted to see the beautiful landscapes - it was time for a short trip to Slovenia.
When we arrived in the evening we were greeted by a thick cloud cover and rain. The next day, the weather looked very similar. So our first destination was Virje waterfall. Thanks to the weather, it wasn't busy at this popular tourist spot and to my delight, I found a Fire Salamander in the vicinity of the waterfall.
The weather remained gray and rainy all day. We made a stop at the Boka waterfall before we drove back to our accommodation and called it a day.
Already in the morning it was obvious that we had to expect much better weather on our second day. So we headed for the famous Soča right away. At our first stop we were fascinated by the beauty of this river, but we didn't find any reptiles. So I was really hoping to find my first Slovenian reptile at the next spot. And we were lucky, after some minutes of hiking I found an impressive Aesculapian Snake (Zamenis longissimus).
While enjoying the beautiful river landscape we met a cute juvenile Dice Snake.
In the afternoon we visited another place along the Soča river. Close to the parking lot I discovered a Smooth Snake and during our hike we saw some shy European Green Lizards. The scenery of the Soča gorge was the perfect conclusion for this successful day.
On our third day in Slovenia, we had planned a trip to the mountain region north of Trenta. Unfortunately, our car was not so enthusiastic about the idea and went on strike.
We had to park on the side of the road with a smoking engine. When we called the ADAC (General German Automobile Club) we were told a tow truck will reach us within approx. 1 hour... so we waited at the car. After some further calls and all in all actually more than 3 hours, a tow truck arrived. The truck driver was super kind but still not really able to cheer us up. We were brought to a car repair shop to Kranjska Gora. Within 2 hours the car was fixed and we had some afternoon time left of this failed day.
We drove to the nearby Zelenci natural reserve. Even tough the day was really messed up and we were quite sad and exhausted, we still enjoyed this beautiful scenery. We also saw a Slow Worm next to the trail and a Viviparous Lizard basking at the edge of the boardwalk.
In the morning of our fourth (and last) day we went hiking some trails near the town of Kobarid. I was happy to spot Yellow-bellied toads in small temporary ponds. We also saw some Common Wall Lizards. In the early afternoon we went to the Soca river one last time, where we found two Dice Snakes and several lizards. I was very proud of Samira, when she discovered a juvenile Grass Snake.
Even though the car troubles cost us most of one day and we didn't have enough time to explore the beautiful area anyway, we really liked our short trip to Slovenia. It's a wonderful country with a beautiful landscape and a rich biodiversity. We are planning to come back very soon!
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