Slovenia

These photos go back to a sunny long weekend in October last year when I drove up into the Julian Alps in north-west Slovenia. The mountain road takes you through country that would normally be too steep to tackle but during the First World War the Austrian army needed to bring supplies to its troops facing the Italians on the front line along the Soča River. The road was built by 10,000 Russian prisoners of war, many of whom died when swept away by avalanches.

Further south, in the rolling country west of Ljubljana, is the Predjama Grad, a castle built right into a limestone cave. In the Middle Ages, the robber baron besieged there rubbed salt in the wounds of his unsuccessful opponents by sending them fresh cherries that he had picked some miles away after traversing the cave system through the mountain. They had the last laugh, however, when a spy signalled that the robber baron was using the long drop toilet on the external wall and the besiegers hit it with a stone cannon ball….

For anyone interested in this kind of short trip, Wizzair flies to Ljubljana from Charleroi - and they still seem to have a much better sense of service than Ryanair.

Niall