Exploring Outdoor Slovenia In Autumn

22 Sep Exploring Outdoor Slovenia In Autumn

Thank you Columbia for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Columbia, please note that all content and opinions expressed here about Slovenia are our own (we wouldn’t have it any other way). You can read our full Online Privacy Policy here.

So here we are, writing about our 52nd country. FIFTY. SECOND. COUNTRY. That’s like saying we’ve visited a different country every week for an entire year.

It’s madness.

…and in the same shocking and jaw-dropping way, Slovenia (the aforementioned 52nd country), blew our minds. Who knew you could throw so much natural beauty into such a small little space (ok, 20,000km2 isn’t really small…but compared to some other countries, one could say Slovenia is a little compact).

As this was a challenge set forth by Columbia, we wanted to get out of our comfort zones. We wanted to sweat, and hike, and sweat some more. We wanted to make this a tough, outdoorsy kind of trip…and well, we definitely got challenged, and we definitely hiked our proverbial butts off, but sweat a lot, we did not do, thanks to the #TestedTough range we chose to wear. I went ahead and wore the Titan Ultra™ Women’s Short Sleeve (that’s it there above), and the Titan Ultra™ Men’s Short Sleeve Steve wore, kept him equally cool.

If you were following along on InstaStories, you would’ve seen us huffing and puffing to get the most iconic Slovenian shot of Lake Bled, hiking up an incline of 685m along the Mala Osojnica trail. It was truly magical from the viewpoint, and we heard some fellow early-bird hikers say (and we completely agree) that “it just gets prettier as you go higher” (I’m loosely quoting here, but that was the sentiment).

But Slovenia’s beauty doesn’t stop there (although most tour buses do). We decided to rent a car, and venture off into Triglav National Park, surrounded by the Julian Alp peaks (and home to what felt like thousands of cyclists). The scenery is just breathtaking.

After getting acquainted with the little northwestern Slovenian mountain town of Bovec (where we spent a couple nights) we headed out once more for one of the longest hikes we’ve ever had (bar that one time in Bohemian Switzerland, phew!) along the Soca trail. We went early (as always) to ensure the best light, and we spent most of the day worrying about nothing, except how to write this blog post and ensure that we capture Slovenia’s beauty (I need to mention again that our Columbia gear kept us super cool for the entire gruelling hike, and Stevo even got to enjoy some dry rock-hopping in his ATS™ Trail Lite Waterproof shoes…although he definitely didn’t stay dry when he chose to dive into the ice-cold pond of Slap Virje. If we’d had more time, we would have definitely enjoyed more of the multitude of outdoor activities available in and around the Soca Valley, including zip lining, rafting, canyoning, and kayaking.

If you yourself are planning an adventurous excursion in Europe; or you really, really, really want to go to New Zealand but it’s too far for you; or Canada’s outdoors are calling your name, but alas, it’s also too much of a distance to get there – let Slovenia be your next destination. It has the perfect mix of beauty, diversity, and nature, offering any outdoor-lover an array of landscapes and terrains. We’re actually already planning our return (especially Stevo, who can’t wait to go fishing in those glass-like rivers).

CC

If you enjoyed this blog post, you may want to follow our journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, browse our online photography shop, or get yourself a copy of our TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD eBook.

If you enjoyed this blog post, you may want to follow our journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, browse our online photography shop, or get yourself a copy of our TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD eBook.