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Planina Summit above Vrhnika

August 29, 2018/in Where to in Slovenia? /by zokus_gf

Where to in Slovenia features micro locations for mobile photographers. Planina Hill near Vrhnika in Central Slovenia is very popular hiking destinations of the city of Vrhnika and also of the Ljubljana area. Many different starting points and alternative routes are available for hikers and bikers and the summit is also accessible by car. There is a wooden lookout tower near the lodge…

it is 22m high and offers magnificent views over the Ljubljana Marshes…

… settlements around Vrhnika…

…surrounding hills…

… and in good weather conditions even the Julian Alps with the mighty Mt. Triglav.

However, without conquering the tower the views are limited and from the tower a phone camera alone won’t be enough to capture a good shot. Taking the Kuren trail or driving from Vrhnika brings you to the Kmetija odprtih vrat (Agrotourism) where a similar views are available from much lower height though.

Text and photos: Zoran Leban Trojar @zokus_gf.

Ljubljana Marshes

August 27, 2018/in Where to in Slovenia? /by zokus_gf

Where to in Slovenia features micro locations for mobile photographers. Sometimes it is quite a challenge to define “micro” – we have already described some locations in Ljubljana Marshes and they are really micro-located. On the other hand the whole territory of the marshes share some common features that can be observed and captured almost everywhere so we can think of the whole Ljubljana Marshes as one location.

Ljubljana Marshes are a part of Central Slovenia region and there is an Instagram challenge underway which offers nice prizes for the best photos os certain locations in Central Slovenia, Ljubljana Marshes is one of them. learn more about the challenge!

So where the marshes start if looking from Ljubljana? Where can we draw a line between the capital and Central Slovenia region to which the marshes belong? One could easily decide to put the beginning at the at the point where Ljubljanica river, which is at the same time the Mother and the Child of the marshes, enters the city and becomes an “urban river”.

This “break” in the river’s nature happens at the quarter called Livada where a canoe and kayak club is located. We have described this place as Entering the city with Ljubljanica river. The photo bellow features an upstream view of the river which doesn’t change much over the marshes all the way to Vrhnika.

However, the residents of Ljubljana would probably agree that the real marshes begin at Črna vas, the oldest village of the marshes. There the floods are already present and the buildings have to be built on piles. However, the village is probably best known by its parish church of St. Michael designed by the famous architect Jožef Plečnik.

From Črna vas two roads lead to the two other important settlements of the marshes – the villages of Ig and Podpeč. The later is best known by its lake – Podpeško jezero.

Just above the lake and the village is a typical motif of Slovenia, a church on the top of the hill and probably the best spot to observe and photograph the Ljubljana Marshes: St. Anna!

The church itself is also very photogenic.

The vast flat landscape with a lot of mist, lonely trees, wet meadows and occasional corn field, drainage canals and gravel roads is otherwise lacking landmarks. Early mornings or sunset time are the best to capture there. There is one spot we choose to be the best for sunrise beside the Lake Podpeč and St. Anna: Ižica river.

In the early spring some of the wet meadows are full of Snake’s head Fritillaries so we find a nice spot to capture them as well.

The best way to explore the marshes is probably with bike, check out some nice daily tours we have designed with Visit Good Place tourist agency!

Text and photos: Zoran Leban Trojar @zokus_gf

Snakes’s Head Fritillary Meadow

August 27, 2018/in Uncategorized, Where to in Slovenia? /by zokus_gf

Where to in Slovenia feature micro locations for mobile photographers. And we mean micro since this one in Ljubljana Marshes, full of fragile Fritillaria Meleagris, has no name. In fact, we’ve just made it up because we needed one for a location in the marshes where it is not easy to orientate at all. A vast plain which no landmarks, wet meadows full of drainage canals with occasional gravel road which easily ends in the middle of nowhere – and some of those meadows are in the season full of Fritillaria meleagris.

Therefore in this case we are talking about a seasonal photo location but the marshes are beautiful in all seasons and opportunities for a great photo are always awaiting even without these fragile lilies.

Entering the village of IG from the direction of Ljubljana find a left turn just opposite to the gas station at the beginning of the settlement. After a few hundred meters the road crosses a small river Ižica (there is another special place along this short river) and after that comes to a crossroads. The meadow we are looking for is between the bridge and the crossroads. Around the bridge is also one of the better views of the village.

The best time to capture the fritillaries is at sunset or sunrise.

Sunsets in the marshes are always beautiful but for the fritillaries the sunrise is even better timing.

These meadows are really wet, especially in the early spring when around the sunrise time could be even a bit frozen. However the flora is full of water drops which add to the photo so better prepare everything needed for the situation like this:

Totally worth getting out of bed early!

Enjoy and don’t forget to check out other Ljubljana Marshes locations like St. Anna, Lake Podpeč and Ižica.

Text and photo: Zoran Leban Trojar @zokus_gf.

Ljubljana Marshes – Ižica

August 24, 2018/in Where to in Slovenia? /by zokus_gf

Ižica is one of the shortest rivers in Slovenia. It is a typical river for the Ljubljana Marshes with a karst source in the village of Ig. We named the spot described bellow by the river since there are no other recognisable features to use.

Coming to the village of Ig from Ljubljana and leaving the buildings behind after a few kilometers there is a road to turn to Iška Loka to the right marked with a road sign Iška Loka. Just opposite of the exit there is another one to the left, unmarked and pretty narrow. Turn left and park right away on the left side or proceed on the gravel road until it turns right and park there.

This gravel road is pretty empty most of the time, sitting in the middle of the fields and wet meadows. The landscape is full of lonely trees and the nature is full of life in any season. Flat land, black soil, green meadows, occasional water in the canals make a special feeling which changes with the seasons and is the strongest in the mornings and evenings.

The landscape itself is pretty photogenic. The flora of the marshes is specific and in some seasons the meadows are full of blossoms.

Specific for the marshes is the Snake’s head fritillary from the lily family. It can be easily spotted here but there is another place upstream of Ižica where plenty of them are to be found.

At the turning point of the gravel road just continue in the same direction as you came from. There is no beaten path, just cross the meadows until the river can be spotted after a few hundred meters. The approach to the water changes with seasons and weather but one or two can be easily found.

The meadows. The flora. The water. Upstream. Downstream

The trees. The sunrise.

Take your pick.

Take photos. Enjoy in nature. Check out some other spots on the marshes: St. Anna, Lake Podpeč and Snakes’s Head Fritillary Meadow.

Text and photos Zoran Leban Trojar @zokus_gf.

More about Ljubljana Marshes.

Moravci – Moravske Toplice

September 14, 2016/in Where to in Slovenia? /by zokus_gf

That the village changed it’s name in 1983 tells all what is about to know – it means Moravci Spas and the whole village is dedicated to accommodation of tourist. Village Moravske Toplice lies just a few kilometers from Murska Sobota, the capital of the Prekmurje region. Prekmurje means “land over Mura river” and is a part of Pannonian basin or Pannonian Lowlands, a large geographical unit of Central Europe, most of it lies in Hungary.

While in other parts of Slovenia it is literally impossible not so see a mountain or at least some hills somewhere nearby, Prekmurje is different. The eastern part is totally flat and called Ravensko (Flatland), north of Murska Sobota is a more hilly part called Goričko but the highest “peak” of it is 418m above the sea.

The region is completely different from the other parts of Slovenia. Not only are landscapes different, also language and food differs. Most Slovenians wouldn’t understand locals speaking in their dialect since it is heavily based on the Hungarian language. But they are extremely kind and hospitable. Food is heavy but delicious and the prices are very low compared to central and western parts of Slovenia.

We are not looking for spectacular landscape photography here and there are no real landmarks around. But on the other hand one can find plenty of beautiful nature motifs just wandering around.

Fog is very common at all times of the year and when it is just a morning fog with the sun slowly penetrating it one just wishes it would last forever.

Prekmurje doesn’t have a lot of snow either – it is hot during the summer and mild but wet in the winter, only eastern winds are not very pleasant at that time. It is a great destination all year round and not only for spas – hiking and biking around the flats, Mura river and Goričko Nature Park can fill quite a few holiday days. Bukovnica Lake with it’s energy points is very interesting part of it.

There are many private accommodations available but the best and biggest spas and hotels belong to Sava Turizem, one of the largest hotels chains in Slovenia and adjacent to their hotels there is also a great golf course Livada. It is open all year round and it has the longest Par 5 hole in Slovenia. Some of the most spectacular motifs are to find on and around the course.