June 27, 2026

Slovenia Day Three: Predjama Castle and Postojna Cave

Beneath the Mountains, Above the Clouds, and the Kindness of Strangers

“Caves, castles, dragons, what’s better than this?!”

🗺️ Today’s Plan

✈️ My Journey

🚶 Morning in Ljubljana

Had my breakfast of Aldi (sorry, Hofer here) waffles and peanut butter, and I’ve got my fit together: maxi Farmrio dress, scarf, and brown jacket because the caves are COLD.

8:00 am meet at Intercontinental Ljubljana By IHG, Slovenska cesta 59, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia for the Postojna castle and caves! 2:00 return. Woo long day.

A note: crossing the street in Ljubljana feels wildly civilized: cars stop before you even press the crosswalk button, then go right after you’re clear. Automatic yield culture. Felt safer here than anywhere in the US, though I still pressed the button anyway just in case.

Tour van was full, 8 people total: a woman from North/South Carolina (Lauren) who’s visited every European country except Norway and Iceland, a retired Australian couple on a 6 week trip, a mother and child keeping to themselves, and two English speaking Canadian older ladies (Helen and Norrine) chatting with the guide. Mostly hung out with Helen, Norrine, and Lauren. Alexander is our guide- he seems nice1

🏰 Predjama Castle

The Basics!

Tickets:

€34,90 ($39.78) for the cave ticket only
€24,00 ($27.41) for the castle ticket only
€49,90 ($56.88) for the cave and castle combo tickets
$130 for the tour, which includes pickup, drop off, the drive in between, and both tickets. Honestly, that’s expensive when looking at the combo ticket price. But, it took a lot of thinking/planning off my shoulders, and it was just easier. Normally I don’t do this, but I decided to take the bath on the cost on this one.
Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle are usually visited together, just a 15 minute drive apart.

The castle comes with an audio guide with lots of information! So sadly, we had to download them to our phones using the QR code, and the wifi didn’t allow me to download them until later.

So, here is some information I gathered about the castle since then!

What is this castle?

The castle has been used as a filming location, most notably for Armour of God starring Jackie Chan and was More recently, the castle was featured as the “Vulpan Castle” in Season 3 of the hit Netflix series The Witcher
Its cliffside cave design is often cited as an inspiration for the visual style of Game of Thrones.
Built into the mouth of a cave halfway up a 123m cliff, which makes it one of the most dramatic castle settings in Europe. CNN
Records date parts of the castle back to 1202, though it was first documented by name (Luegg) in 1274. CNN Postojna Cave Park
It holds a Guinness World Record as the largest cave castle in the world. CNN
The name “Predjamski grad” is Slovenian for “the castle in front of the cave.” Culture of Slovenia
The cave system underneath stretches over 14 kilometers, making it one of Slovenia’s longest.
The current Renaissance facade dates to the 1570s to 1580s, built right up against the cliff under the original medieval ruins.

The legend of Erazem (the Slovenian Robin Hood)

Erazem Lueger was a 15th century robber baron who, like Robin Hood, stole from the rich and gave to the poor. CNN
He fled to the castle after killing a marshal in the Holy Roman Emperor’s army, allegedly over an insult to a friend’s honor.
The Austrian army besieged him in 1484, but the castle proved impregnable. He reportedly mocked his attackers by showering them with fresh cherries to prove how comfortable he still was, even mid siege. CNN CNN
His secret weapon: a natural vertical shaft/tunnel connecting the castle to the cave system, which let him sneak out for supplies and even continue his raids while “trapped.”
His downfall is the best part: he was killed by a cannonball while sitting on the toilet, after a servant betrayed him by signaling the attackers at the exact right moment. An outhouse literally became the “most famous outhouse in Slovenian history.” CNN
A linden tree near a local church is rumored to have been planted on Erazem’s grave.

Cool features!

There are holes in the ceiling of the entrance tower designed for pouring boiling oil on intruders, plus a dank dungeon. CNNCNN
The dining room has walls nearly five and a half feet thick, and a natural rock fissure works as a built in kitchen extractor hood. Malorie’s Adventures Malorie’s Adventures
A 16th century chest full of treasure was discovered in the cellar in 1991, out of nowhere. CNN
There’s a hideout nook nicknamed “Erazem’s Nook” near the top of the castle.
The cave underneath is home to a colony of bats, so the cave portion of the tour closes in winter to avoid disturbing them during hibernation. The Little House of Horrors CNN
Every summer, the castle hosts a medieval reenactment tournament with jousting knights, archers, and craftspeople demonstrating period trades.

Overall, my thoughts on the castle…

Not bad! I don’t think I would pay $27.41 for it. The cave system entrance was cool to see, and there are definitely great views, but it was CROWDED. I felt so rushed and pressured to look at things for two seconds then move on. Stressful event/museum experiences like that ruin them for me, tbh. But if you don’t mind the crowds, it is cool to see! The outside itself is gorgeous. If you’re already doing the caves (which you REALLY should), you may as well do the castle too!

This place has mold for days!
Very pretty view though
Eh no the mold ain’t worth it
CASTLE CAT!!!
Bees, bees everywhere! Maybe I should actually get a tattoo of this… (spoiler, I do!!)

🇸🇮 Things I Learned About Slovenia While on the Tour!

Alexander shared so much during the drive! I’m beginning to realize tours are super helpful for this…

Some things I want to remember:

Food and Geography

Try pumpkin oil! It’s traditional inn Slovenia as pumpkins grow really well here due to the Karst region being a prehistoric lake area, so there are a lot of nutrients in the soil. Cool!
Pumpkin oil on vanilla ice cream and salads is great.
Limestone mountains + rain + carbonic acid created the caves.
Ljubljana disappears underground and comes back seven times. Tbbh, I couldn’t really parse what this means due to the language barrier, but it was such a sick line I had to add it. Someone make a fantasy town with this idea!
Slovenia has two major Alpine regions: the Julian Alps and the Carniolan-Slovenian Alps.
Roofs become steeper the farther into the mountains you go because of snow.
Mediterranean roofs stay flatter because of the wind.
It snowed three times in Ljubljana last winter- not as much as usual.

History and culture

Alexander’s classmates pay 900 euros for a 2 bedroom apartment; minimum wage in Slovenia is about 1,000 euros/month, so it’s tight but not unlivable. Alexander said this is the norm. Interesting!
Julius Caesar founded a city in the foothills of the Julian Alps.
Slovenia has historically been sparsely populated, lots of scattered small villages.
Tito is still a controversial, divisive figure, even within families (Alexander’s own mom got upset when he said Tito wasn’t the worst dictator by comparison). Echoes what a Romania tour guide said about Ceaușescu: same mixed, hedging response. Interesting to see what counts as controversial in other countries- of course talking about Tito evokes little to no reaction in Americans, but is a big deal here, for obvious reasons.
Ljubljana avoided a brutalist look thanks to architect Jože Plečnik and his students. Wow! I was just at his house two days ago!
Housing crisis feels universal: apartments/houses are expensive in Slovenia too, and new builds are modern and pricey. Made you wonder if this is a global economic pattern, not just a US problem.

🕳️ Postojna Cave

The caves were great! My dinky little video doesn’t even BEGIN to cover it, and I mean that. Very well organized, mostly via train.

It was an hour and a half total on the train, about 45 minutes in and out, but the train was like a roller coaster ride through sparkly caves without the dips and bumps!

Our cave guide wasn’t very good, as she was quiet and couldn’t say much without the four stopping points with microphones. Luckily our tour guide knew quite a bit and chatted with us!

The caves also feature the only cave post office (didn’t expect that) and a super sick concert hall, lit by chandeliers, which our tour guide told us could hold 10,000 people! Woah!

THE OLM!! Or baby dragons, as some locals call them.

Random thought I had while looking at the rocks and the little olm: Imagine if the salamanders grew up to be butterflies after being in a stalagmite chrysalis. Helen smiled and said, “Write that for your next fantasy story!” What a wild comment- how did she know I write fantasy?! I don’t think she somehow divined that, but how funny that her side comment turned out to be more true than maybe she believed.

More on the “baby dragons”

See the humble olm, the world’s largest cave-dwelling amphibian, nicknamed the “human fish.” Slovenia
Locals nicknamed them “baby dragons”, they live for 100 years and they’re able to go without food for up to 10 years. I feel Slovenia I feel Slovenia
In May 2016, visitors witnessed olm eggs hatch on site for the first time in the cave’s 200 year tourism history, a genuinely rare biological event. Erratic engineeress SO JEALOUS

❤️ Kindness

Helen’s traveling companion Norriene said (while I was walking back to the castle with her to return her audio guide as it screamed like an ankle bracelet for parolees) that I looked young, and I mentioned my idea that green hair has anti aging properties as a joke, but she looked at me seriously and said no, I have a young energy about me, lots of passion. I felt so touched I hardly knew what to say. I’m tearing up a bit as I write this in reflection now. How kind strangers are. We chatted about her trips to Spain, some hikes and experiences she had, and she mentioned how my bright dress and colorfulness reminded her of all the thrift stores in town and that I should check them out. I said you know what sure, why not, that’s a good idea! She said how she liked the natural fabrics of the 70s back when she was young and she was happy to see it coming back. This inspired me to thrift today, and I did! More on that later.

Side note- these stuffed animals do not look like olms to me…

Postonja Cave Basics

So sad, same thing- no audio guide for our cave tour. Very lame. Welp, here are some facts I learned about later that really help put things into perspective!

One of the largest karst cave systems in the world, roughly 24.34 kilometers long, made up of four interconnected caves sharing the same underground river. Slovenia Slovenia
Carved by the Pivka River over millions of years, and the cave itself is estimated to be around 2 million years old. Slovenia Slovenian Guide
Only 5.3 kilometers is currently open to visitors, so what you walk/ride through is a small slice of the whole system. Encyclopedia Britannica
Cave temperature stays constant year round, around 8 to 10°C. Encyclopedia Britannica

History and discovery

Graffiti found inside dates to 1213, so people knew about part of the cave long before it was “discovered.” Slovenia
Formally first described in the 17th century by Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, the early pioneer of karst studies. Slovenia
The big break came in 1818, while prepping for a visit from Francis I, first Emperor of Austria. Local lamplighter Luka Čeč accidentally discovered a whole new section of the cave. Slovenia + 2
Legend has it Čeč disappeared for a while during that discovery, then came back and exclaimed he’d found “a new world, paradise” (per local storytelling, not a verified quote).
Opened to the public in 1819, making it one of the oldest show caves in Europe. Encyclopedia Britannica
During WWII, the German army used the cave to store fuel, and partisans destroyed the supplies in a raid on April 23, 1944, a date still marked as a local holiday. Zig Zag on Earth

The Train

Railway tracks were laid in the cave in 1872, making it the world’s first railway inside an underground cave. Encyclopedia Britannica I feel Slovenia
Originally, guides physically pushed visitor carts along the tracks; now it runs on small electric locomotives. Encyclopedia Britannica Encyclopedia Britannica
Today’s ride covers about 3.7 km on the world’s only double-track cave railway. Postojna Cave Park

Cave Pictures!

I LOVE THE GOOP
Can you imagine all the shapes we guessed were in here? It’s like cloud watching!

🥪 Back in Ljubljana

After our lovely tour, we split ways. I had napped on the hour ride back so I was a bit drowsy. Starving, I navigated to a nearby focacceria, but [after walking past a cool striped building pictured here] ran into none other than that bright pink Franciscan church! Deciding not to miss my opportunity since it was open, I wandered inside! Pretty and big! Better than St Nicholas. Both are €3- if you’re on a time crunch and need to choose, go with the Franciscan.

🍞 Focacceria Pronto

I LOVE FOCACCIA!!!!!! ALL HAIL PROSCIUTTO AND ARUGULA GOATED COMBO OF ALL TIME!

This was Pronto! Focacceria! I got the Focacceria crudo, amazing crispy and fluffy and fresh! I took it togo to finish it later but stayed inside in the AC and slammed the whole thing it was so good! 10/10 refreshing and just what I needed. A little pricey though, €7.90

Thrifting

I went thrifting! On the tour of the caves, I chatted with an older woman Norrine about her trips to Spain, some hikes and experiences she had, and she mentioned how my bright dress and colorfulness reminded her of all the thrift stores in town and that I should check them out. I said you know what sure, why not, that’s a good idea! She said how she liked the natural fabrics of the 70s back when she was young and she was happy to see it coming back. This inspired me to thrift today, and I did! I got a 1920s flapper dress (vintage, doubtfully from the 1920s though it was €22) and a yellow nike t shirt for €7). So fun! I love these thrift shops!

🏛️ Slovene Ethnographic Museum

I spent 2 hours at the ethnographic museum and I got so tired! It was really cool, but I only saw a bit of it
The ethnographic museum was really cool. I think it was eight or nine euros for an adult ticket and if there was way more than I could see in just two hours lots of interesting stuff, Slovenian history that I like the exhibition on time and like the effects of time on people, but that was really cool how we perceived time with heritage means things like that. I think it was perfect for the ethnographic museum. There’s also no one in there I was alone like the entire time except for one other couple that was like kind of speeding through!

🎨 AKC Metelkova Mesto

After that I went to see the art place and that was pretty cool. Makes sense why I was right next to the ethnographic museum because they’re both very like artsy fartsy, you could picture the ethnographic museum being like the welfare college educated versions of the artists or like the artist who grew up at that art graffiti area going to school making art and putting on display. It’s cool that they had a lot of modern stuff preserved as well more to be said later on.

🌙 Back at the Airbnb

Take tea out of the freezer. (I just did that to make it colder faster)
Eat Indian food as leftovers.
Finish laundry.
Pack everything for Lake Bled.
Tell Airbnb host tomorrow’s arrival time.
Charge portable charger!!
Tomorrow begins the next chapter- I am SO excited!

🧭 Traveler’s Guide

Tour Tips

Bring a sweater to the caves!!
Tours are worth it if you don’t want to think about logistics. Also, the fun facts from a local were cool.
The cave train is one of the coolest parts- the castle was mostly eh to me.

Food

Focacceria Pronto — 10/10.
Pumpkin oil exists. And, apparently, pumpkin oil on vanilla ice cream is delicious. I gotta try that!

Museums

The Slovene Ethnographic Museum deserves much longer than two hours.

Churches

If you only visit one church in Ljubljana: Choose the Franciscan Church.

What I Learned Today

Slovenia’s history is much more than dragons.
Housing struggles aren’t unique to America- woah!
Slovenia has a surprisingly vibrant theatre culture.
Sometimes the best part of traveling is talking to strangers.

📸 Traveler’s Notes

Favorite moment

Talking with Helen and Norriene after the cave tour- what personalities!! Helen gave off an anxious/”I am not afriad to talk to your manager” type A kind of traveler, and Norriene gave off a “go with the flow” type B kind of vibe. I love the two of them together. They’re strangers, and yet I want to know more about their friendship, like reading them as a book.

Kindest interaction

“You have a young energy about you.” Awh!

Best food

Focaccia Crudo from Pronto!!

Biggest surprise

How much I enjoyed the conversations more than the attractions- as a lifelong introvert (really, I’m a hermit at this point), I found my enjoyment at chatting with strangers instead of plugging in my headphones and doing my own thin g (though, I definitely did a lot of that, especially as I traversed the castle on my own) very surprising. Travel really does bring out new sides of people!!

Favorite photo

💶 Expenses

Item	Cost
Tour	$130 Already prepaid
Franciscan Church	€3
Focaccia Pronto	€7.90
Ethnographic Museum	€8
Indian dinner	Leftovers, free!
Total	$151.59! A bit pricey, but that’s expected with the tour. With the cost of my stay, that’s $254.59! Woof.

⭐ Overall Rating

Category	Rating
History	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nature	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Food	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Museums	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Would I do this tour again?	Nah- I’ve done it once, that’s plenty. Still worth it to see it once!