After our day in Ljubljana, we headed deep underground. Our destination was the world-famous Postojna Cave. Although I had been to many caves, nothing had prepared me for this one – it was not just a hole in the ground, but a monumental, underground kingdom.
The visit started off like something out of a movie. One of the biggest features of Postojna is that a yellow train takes visitors into the heart of the cave. As the train hurtled through the narrow passages at high speed and suddenly we arrived in huge, illuminated halls, I felt like I was the main character in an adventure film. This railway has been in operation since 1872 (in the beginning, the carriages were still pushed by hand!), and it is the only cave railway in the world that takes you to such depths.
The cave has been known for centuries, but the real breakthrough came in 1818, when a local man, Luka Čeč, accidentally discovered the previously unknown interior of the cave while preparing for a visit by Emperor Francis. All he is said to have said from the darkness was: “Here is a new world, here is paradise!” – and indeed, the richness of the stalactite formations is beyond comprehension.
While walking, we saw the symbol of the cave, the five-meter, snow-white stalagmite called Brilliant, which sparkles in the lamplight as if it were made of precious stones. But the strangest experience was the sight of the “cave dragons”, or cave newts. These unique, pink, eyeless amphibians can live up to 100 years and can go for years without eating – true survivors in the dark.
At the end of the tour, we ended up in the huge Concert Hall, which can accommodate 10,000 people, where the echo is amazing.
After the cool cave, it was nice to get in the car and head towards the Italian border. Our destination was Trieste, where a very nice program awaited us, and during the afternoon we met one of my wife’s old friends.
