In Lake Bled, formed by the melting of a glacier, is Slovenia's only island. On that tiny wooded spot of land is the Baroque Church of the Assumption, built in the 17th century (although it's been a sacred site since prehistoric times). These days, it's the setting for many a modern wedding, even though custom requires that the groom carry his bride up the 99 steps leading from the boat dock to the narthex.

The castle, parts of which are said to date to Roman times, was gifted by the German emperor Henrik II it to the Bishops of Brixen in 1011. Today, it's a museum with a terrace café overlooking the tranquil lake.

The Transalpina Railway, inaugurated on July 19, 1906, was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's key rail line between Vienna and its Adriatic port, Trieste.

The journey by train is a wonderful introduction to Slovenia, a picture-postcard-perfect European country. Its years behind the Iron Curtain have preserved an unexpected gem that Americans have yet to discover. On the northern perimeter of the former Yugoslavia, this small country - about the size of New Jersey - provides breathtaking beauty, a heady dose of history and surprising architecture.

Just east of Italy and south of Austria, Slovenia combines the best of both cultures. Along the Adriatic Coast, the atmosphere - and the architecture - is Venetian. Inland, sipping tea on the terrace of the castle at Bled, life has a Teutonic tone. In the capital, Ljubljana, the Baroque splendor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire seems to come alive again.

Although Americans have forgotten their ancient history, this region was once part of a vibrant Mediterranean culture. According to legend, the Greek prince Jason was the founder of Ljubljana. He and the Argonauts, with the stolen Golden Fleece on board their ship, sailed from the Black Sea up the Danube, from the Danube into the Sava, and from the Sava into the Ljubljanica River. Here, they ran into a fire-breathing dragon. Jason killed that monster, who is forever immortalized on the city's coat of arms.

In more recent times, Elizabeth Kostova began her mesmerizing New York Times Bestseller, "The Historian", right in the middle of Ljubljana on the famous 1901 bridge still guarded by four fierce dragons. In her book, she called the city by its Roman name, Emona. (CONTINUE...)