Slovenia
One of the more off-the-beaten-path places I’ve been, Slovenia is a gorgeous and oftentimes overlooked country in the Northern Adriatic. With a quaint capital in Ljubljana and a gorgeous lakeside town on the edge of the Julian Alps with Bled, Slovenia is not to be missed.
Lake Bled
Lake Bled is a gorgeous summer resort town with basically no American tourists. Lakeside restaurants, a pleasant 3 mile long causeway along the lakeside, an island church, and a picturesque castle with amazing views of the surrounding area; what more could you want?!?! No wonder former Yugoslav President Tito spent his summers here. I recommend staying a couple days here and kicking it back, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery this entire region has to offer.
Ljubljana
Take the charm of Paris and remove all the crowds and then you’ve got Ljubljana. It’s a cute little city on the winding Ljubljanica River that was almost entirely designed by famous Slovenian Jože Plečnik, the guy who also designed parts of Prague. He designed famous landmarks like the beautiful Triple Bridge, an ingenious system used to funnel traffic from three streets into one street, and the National Library. Ljubljana also has a castle on top of a plateau with gorgeous views of the surrounding area.
