Slovenija has beautiful overland scenery – but the beauty does not end there. In addition, Slovenija has beautiful underground scenery as well, in the form of some massive cave systems, including the largest in all of Europe. Larry and I visited one of them, Postojna, on our honeymoon, which was also a spot that Larry had visited on a P-day during his mission. However amazing Postojna is, it frankly is outdone in size and stunning beauty by the caves at Škocjan, a network of 12 large caves (the largest underground system in Europe) which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We came well dressed for a hike, as Škocjanske requires quite a bit of walking, both up and down (as opposed to the little 7-dwarves train you ride at Postojna). The tour of the cave is 2 or more hours long and requires you climb or descend about 500 steps, some of which are quite steep and slippery. The entrance to the cave was about 1/2 km hike downhill from the visitors center, at which point we were separated into groups based on our language, and then each group began its tour after an appropriate interval from the one before it. The English/Italian group was last, which was fortunate for Larry’s stealth picture taking aspirations. (Pictures, even without flash, were ‘officially’ verboten: many of these places forbid pictures so they can try to sell you a postcard or a book instead. It’s lame).

The River Reka (“Reka” in Slovene means river, so I guess it’s the River River) runs through Škocjanske, and contains the famous Proteus aguinus, or human fish. If you haven’t seen a picture of these guys click on the hyperlink in the previous sentence. You’re in for a treat. Undiscovered by the scientific world until the 19th century, it was previously believed by locals to be a baby dragon! Named the human fish because the color of their skin is very close to caucasian human, these fish live their entire lives in the underground portions of rivers (they exist in the Postojna cave as well) and literally have no eyes. Instead they have extremely developed electro-, chemo-, and mechano-receptors and use these highly sensitive qualities to detect prey, to navigate, to reproduce, etc. We had a chance to view one on our tour of Postojna a few years ago. Fascinating.

The stalgmites and stalactites absolutely amazing in Škocjan, much like I remember from Postojna, but the most awe-inspiring site was yet to come. A grand hall 150 meters (~300 feet) high with the River Reka running below, and a narrow bridge carrying us from one side to the other. This is a place where you hang onto the railing. But it makes for stunning pictures!