First Days in Slovenia, Koper and Piran

First Days in Slovenia, Koper, and Piran

I love to travel and to see the fantastic natural and manmade wonders of the world. So when I had a chance to pack up and travel to Slovenia for part of my summer, I leaped at the chance.

This is the view of the valley floor from the balcony of our rented cottage.

Our trip into Slovenia began with our stop in the seaside town of Koper, where we got our first up-close view of the Adriatic Sea on the drive in from our stay in neighboring Italy. I had recently had a poor food experience in Milan and was not excited about what had been presented as pizza there, so it took a little extra convincing from our guides that the oceanfront cafe we had stopped at for lunch wouldn’t provide a repeat of that disappointment, I was not let down! This was the best pizza I think I have ever had!

The best meal I had over the entire trip!

Spending some time by the roughly 27 miles of Slovenia’s coastline, we couldn’t help ourselves, we had to take a quick dip! Once in the water, it was hard to miss the iridescent purple jellyfish everywhere, a few of our group got out right away when they saw them but they turned out to be harmless and super pretty too!

These beautiful purple jellyfish were everywhere!

Our guides had set up accommodations for us along the way thankfully because there is no way any of us could have found a more picturesque location to stay! After our day in Koper, we were bused up the mountain to a valley floor blanketed by a vineyard which we walked through with our bags to reach the cottage on the other side of the valley. The recently renovated cottage is a historic farmer’s cottage from the site completely re-done with all the modern amenities and hardwood floors and the view across the valley was absolutely stunning! This would be our new base from which to explore the countryside!

Vineyards and family farms cover the gallery floor

The view outside our cottage from the walk up the driveway

The view from our second story balcony in our rented cottage

The entryway to the kitchen in our cottage

Our second day in Slovenia was devoted to seeing natural beauty mixed with the history of the people who tamed this area and began with a visit to the historic salt flats in Piran.

The locks at the salt flats outside Piran. These are used to channel in sea water and trap it in pens for dehydration and salt extraction.

The dehydrated ground in a format salt flat pen outside Piran

This wide flat stretch of land on the coastline has been worked for hundreds of years producing sea salt for the area and was at one time a source of wealth for the people of Slovenia. The declining demand for this labor-intensive production method has meant that the salt flats have fallen into disuse and disrepair over the years.

These salt flats are still in use producing sea salt and tiny water for the neighboring resort

The salt flats match the stormy skies above

Salt flats being lying in wait for the next batch of sea water

A holding pool where sea water evaporates, causing the waters to become increasingly briny

Traditional shoes designed to spread weight while workers stand on the salt flats

The land was purchased by a local family of investors who is not only repairing and putting some of the lands back into production but are also positioning the area as a high-end spa/resort where the health benefits of briny water are offered to clients from all around the world! Sitting on the reclining chairs and soaking up the environment around you, this has got to be one of the most relaxing spots we visited in our whole trip!