Slovenia, in brief

So I have returned from formerly war-torn nations and shall begin with the few tidbits garnered from a limited visit to Slovenia. I flew London-Ljubljana on Easyjet, and we then drove to the villa we rented in Croatia, so I did get a brief glimpse of what is a surprisingly charming country.

So, first, Ljubljana. I spent just about a day there, and fellow travellers spent a bit more. The consensus is that it is a charming town, perfect for a weekend trip. We stayed at the Antiq Hotel, which was a total find. Antique-filled lobby, generous continental spread in a garden atrium for breakfast, unusually large rooms. And a great location in the old city, about two blocks from the lovely canal-like Ljubljanica River, lined with cafes for a whole day of sitting and sipping.

Our activities were mainly a good wander, but a few sites of note:

• Open Air Market. There is a lovely open air market, in a colonnade along the river. It sells the usual tourist items, plus has a produce market in the mornings. Good strolling material. Less on the shopping, as the crafts are still solidly in the territory of every item having "Slovenia" written in rainbow lettering on them.

• Salt store. Because we are slaves to the New York Times, we stopped by the reputed Piranske Soline establishment. Basically, it sells salt. But salt that Alain Ducasse likes. Enough said. I bought some for my mom and to keep in my cabinet next to the special paprika I recently received as a gift from Budapest. Clearly both will get much use.

• Julija Restaurant (9 Stari Trg. Tel. 01 425 6463). Between the hotel and the river, where we had a lovely dinner of tasty gnocchi and other creamy goodness.

• Cafes along the canal. Sit, have some espresso. Walk. Sit, have some more espresso. You get the idea.

• Ljubljana castle. We did a drive by of the castle on our way out of town and had a little picnic in the courtyard. It wasn't much in terms of actual sightseeing, but has some nice grounds and a good view of the mountains on a clear day.

One other observation about Ljubljana. Due to its small size and minimal tourist traffic, it is very easy to navigate. The airport is of the small, Easyjet-destination variety. Example: on our way home, we sat at the outdoor cafe in front of the airport and had a drink until our flight boarded. Can't do that at JFK. Driving was also very easy - we picked up from Europcar's downtown office and dropped off a the airport. The city driving was very low key for a European capital (minimal traffic, no honking, very few rotaries) and access to the highway was very straightforward. Also, the Slovenian highway was wide, newly paved, well sign-posted, fast moving, and the toll booths took credit cards. I'm sold.

Okay, one more item. This plaque on the front of a restaurant in Ljubljana. Just makes you wonder.

Second, our pass-through western Slovenia. So we drove to and from Ljubljana by way of the Adriatic coast. As mentioned above, the trip was smooth sailing. I was struck, however, by how picturesque the passing countryside was. I hadn't really focused on it before, but that part of Slovenia was chock full of picturesque villages with a steeple set against the mountain backdrop. Straight up Sound of Music style. So that is a temptation to return. I suspect there is a good road/hiking trip to be had.

On our way back, we made record time, so we took a rest stop at Predjama Castle, by way of Postojna. (where we stopped for pizza at the local sports bar. Which seemed to be owned by some kind of renowned basketball coach. Obviously.) The castle was about 10km from the highway by way of flower-bedecked villages and was quite picturesque. So another discovery is that apparently Slovenia has picturesque castles.

All in all, the moral of the brief taste of Slovenia is that, now that I'm back, I'm tempted to buy a guidebook and plan a trip there.