Trieste, Italy 6/21/24

Trieste, Italy


Happiest of birthdays to Mickey!  It's been a wild ride so far!

We headed back to our ship in Trieste, Italy to deposit our luggage before our tour, which took us to Postojna Cave, the queen of all caves, which is the greatest tourist attraction in Slovenia, more than 36 M visitors in over 200 years.  This is the only place in the world where the underground landscape can be traversed on an electric train and where you get to meet this underground kingdom's most famous inhabitant the proteus (olm) up close.

The caves were amazing, the train ride taking us through a fantastic web of tunnels, passages, galleries and halls.  We have been to quite a few caves along this journey, and this one did not disappoint.  After the train ride, we walked about 5 miles back up to the surface and could really appreciate the size of the caverns.








This suspended bridge was not a favorite of either me or Mickey to go across, but if we wanted out, we had no choice!


The Predjama Castle reigns over the surrounding area, not far from the Postojna Cave, in the idyllic village of Predjama. This picturesque, magnificent, defiant, mysterious and impregnable castle has been perched in the middle of a vertical 123-metre-high cliff for more than 800 years. Its romantic appeal is further emphasized by the idyllic Lokva River, which disappears into the underground world deep down below the castle.

As the only preserved cave castle in Europe, the Predjama Castle offers a unique insight into the building techniques and resourcefulness of people in the Middle Ages, who were looking for and found a safe harbor for themselves directly at the entrance into the cave. During a siege that took place in the15th century, the castle provided a refuge for its best known and most notorious owner, Erazem of Predjama. The legend about the courageous robber baron Erazem, who remained undefeated until one of his servants betrayed him, is still in people's minds, inspiring and alluring as ever. It was this safe abode of his which helped the brave knight resist the besiegers without much difficulty for more than a year.







Once we completed our tour, we had a few hours before we needed to be back on board, so we walked to the town square and had a birthday drink and dinner for Mickey.


The green pinwheels and the sculpture were memorials to peoples pets!


Lvely port with our ship in the background.


This is the seized mega yacht from a Russian oligarch that was seized when they started the war on Ukraine.  It is now a very expensive capture for Italy.  They are trying to make it a tourist attraction, but it is stuck in the courts....ouch.


Tomorrow, we head to Koper, Slovenia.  We are now in the port after port after port segment of our journey.  Will try to keep up...











 

Location: Trieste, Province of Trieste, Italy

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