Slovenia – Austria (Day 118 – 124)

Sunday (7/10). If an early rainstorm hadn’t rolled through I would have been itching for an earlier start. If it had been just a bit warmer, we wouldn’t have stopped to put on an extra layer. If a market had been open in the first town we passed, we would have stopped for breakfast. If we hadn’t stopped briefly at a crossroad to check directions, Elodie’s brother in the car wouldn’t have said to Elodie in jest, “Look, there are some of your cycling friends!” If we had done any of a hundred things differently this morning, we would not have been at that precise spot at that precise moment, and Elodie would not have shouted, “Those ARE my friends! Stop!”

We met Elodie, Julia and Lucia three weeks ago on the island of Mljet, and then chatted during a ferry ride. We parted ways,, but kept in touch. Elodie is taking a short break from cycling with her friends to road trip with her family…which led to our paths crossing in Mojstrana. What a wonderful way to start our day! What a small world – at times.

And that is pretty much how the rest of the day went. Thanks to some leftover altitude from yesterday’s climb, our first thirteen miles were mostly downhill. Then we found a bakery serving up some amazing meat and cheese bureks and fruit pastries. Next up on the Slovenian parade of wonders, the world famous Bled. That called for a “chairs out” stop.

We roamed the countryside picking roads at random…and they were all good. By late afternoon we arrived in Radovljica and found accomodation in a five hundred year old guest house. When it was renovated (200 years ago) a restaurant was added on the first floor. They have been serving up food in that location ever since.

Monday (7/11). Since our room came with a tasty full breakfast, there was no early start. And there didn’t need to be. We had no destination in mind and all day to get there. For the most part we let Komoot lead us generally east. There were quite a few noteworthy moments. Riding past an idyllic village just as the church bells erupted. An unbelievably ornate church open to the public in another small town. Goats chillin’. A cycle touring family with a three and five year old on the road for three weeks. We call that redefining fun. One lane roads winding across the valley floor and through countless small villages. Even with a ten mile climb at the end of the day, we made our miles, and late in the day found a good campsite. Another memorable day in Slovenia. As a side note, on a day like today we stopped at two grocery stores and spent about $15 on food. Nothing for camping, so as of late, this was definitely on the cheap end of the spectrum.

Tuesday (7/12). We started the day with a long descent into the famous Savinja Valley. Famous because hops have reigned supreme here for over 150 years. Two thirds of all Slovenian hops are grown in this valley. Easy to believe as we rolled past mile after mile of hops fields. Of course, a steady supply of world class hops leads to a steady supply of world class craft beer. Several are quite visibly on display at the Zalec Fontana Piv (beer fountain). Not quite what you think, but still very cool.

Properly hydrated, we headed north. It was payback time for our morning descent. Eighteen miles of climbing in heavy traffic against the wind on a narrow, winding road. If I’m being honest – it sucked! Slovenia stepped up though. Eventually we were able to get off the main road onto a paved “rails to trail” path. I immediately went from tense and unhappy to relaxed and enjoying the scenery. We took our supper from a market and few miles later found a quiet spot to spend the night.

Wednesday (7/13). Our rails to trail carried us into Slovenj Gradec and our usual breakfast of yogurt and fruit. That tided us over until an amazing (and cheap) doner wrap in Dravograd. We fell in love with this tasty meal in Turkey and hadn’t had a proper doner in some time. What a treat!

Lesson for the day: The word “grad” in Slovene means “castle”. Add “Dravo” to the front, and the name of the town Dravograd means “the castle on the Drava River.” This town has been around at least since the time it was mentioned in written description of the area – in 1135ad.

Well planned bike routes and dedicated bike paths brought us to Radlje ob Dravi. Even with help from locals I simply could not get my tongue to perform the gymnastics necessary to pronounce the first part of this city name. That didn’t keep us from enjoying the city, the people, the hostel, or the fine microbrew. One of our servers, Zhan, is planning his first bike tour to Prague in two months. It was fun to share info and see his enthusiasm. His co-workers were very nice, but didn’t seem quite as excited about the time he was spending with his new American friends.

Thursday (7/14). We arrived in Radlje with the idea of continuing east to Maribor, then curving north into Austria along the eastern end of the Alps. The thought was to attempt to avoid some big climbs. On second thought, why not just plunge straight into (and over) the belly of the beast? Four miles straight north (and up) and we entered country #11. As expected, Austria gave us a hearty (and steep) Wilkommen!

Friday (7/15). Decisions! Decisions! We both spent time exploring possible through and around the mountains here. So naturlich, we chose a route that would equal our biggest climb of the trip last week. It was as expected. There was walking. There were amazing views of the peaks surrounding us and the valleys far, far below. We passed through eerily quiet villages. And then – we were at the top, almost five thousand vertical feet higher from where we started. Unfortunately that also put us in the clouds, which chose that moment to release all the water they’d been carrying. It was a very long, very soggy descent. We both felt a bit cheated at not being able to enjoy it more. Still, we both felt tremendous satisfaction at having knocked off another big climb – and feeling good while doing it. We took the path of least resistance all the way into Wolfsberg and shelter from the rain.

Saturday (7/16). Those with good memories might find something familiar about today’s date. Meine Frau celebrated a Geburtstag! A key feature of the celebration was staying in one place for two nights – which meant no biking on the birth day! That was combined with good food, ice cream and just a touch of laziness for a spectacular day. It may not have been the most exciting day, but it was definitely appreciated.

So here we are in Austria (country #11). We like what we’re seeing. People are nice. We once find ourselves surrounded by mountains, valleys and handsome towns. I can spreche just enough Deutsch to fill the gap if someone doesn’t spreche English. In the “negative” column, we are experiencing sticker shock after Turkey and the Balkan countries. Wild camping is strictly verboten! Campgrounds are expensive and so far virtually non-existent. Guest house and hotel prices cause actual physical pain when we swipe our credit card. So we have some mixed feelings! But as a friend used to say, it is still “More good than bad!” Which seems like a good place to end the week. Hope it is more good than bad wherever you are. Until next week – STC!