Stumbled across a blog post from some folks who had some fun in the hills of the Balkans.

The lake has a castle on one side, an Island Church in the middle, and is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, they do not rent out paddle boats at night. We were somewhat sad to not be able to row out to the island, until we stumbled upon a boat on a dock. Some kind Slovenian had left it with oars all set up and untied. We decided to go on a covert mission to the island (yep, we are molding the minds of future leaders). Either the owner didn’t mind us using his boat, or he didn’t notice, but we left it back on his dock after our nighttime adventure.

OK, so this will not be recommended in the guidebooks. But it sounds like a fine place for a hike. More Slovenia hiking locales here.

Slovenia is probably one of the best-kept secrets of Europe. Beautiful environment, ranging from Alps to hills, flatlands or seaside make it an excellent country to explore on foot, more so as you will easily find many well-maintained and marked hiking paths.

If you need some practice hiking around folks who speak foreign languages, just try Mission Peak on a Saturday (though this might better prepare you for hiking in Hyderabad.)