Croatia – Slovenia (Day 111 – 117)
Sunday (7/3). Saturday night we stayed in a hostel right next door to the Post Office where our package resides. Unfortunately a break dancing troupe booked the entire hostel for tonight. Hate it when that happens! In spite of my crazy good break dancing skills, we were not welcome. Instead, we moved down to a campground by the water. We’d been reluctant to stay there based on bad reviews, but it turned out to be a lovely place. As usual in the heat, we spent all afternoon at the beach, hiding in the shade and cooling off in the water. (Good thing! Little did we know this was our last day at the sea).
Monday (7/4). Rather than deliver the package on Friday, the mail carrier just left a note telling Peter to go get it himself. Which meant we all had to meet at the Post Office on Monday. On a whim, Sharon went into the Post Office before Peter arrived. Thirty seconds later she came out with our package. So much for secure post! Would have been nice to save Peter a trip, but we’re glad he came. We ended up having a pleasant chat. He was born and raised in Kraljevica, but now lives in Poland with his Polish wife. He also cycle tours and sea kayaks. We have lots in common, so it would have been nice to hang with him a bit. Unfortunately it didn’t fit into any of our schedules.
Armed with local knowledge from Peter, we rode into Rejika straight to the train station. Peter suggested getting to Goritzia, Italy to start our tour of Slovenia. The ticket agent did some checking and communicated that we couldn’t get there from here – but we could get close – and YOU NEED TO GET ON THAT TRAIN RIGHT NOW! IT LEAVES IN TWO MINUTES! So we did! And it did! And here’s the fun part – we had no idea where the train was headed! After lots of pointing, grunting, puzzled looks, etc. – we figured out that we were, in fact, going to Lubjlana…the opposite direction from Goritzia. If we went to Lubljana however, we could change trains, take a long, convoluted journey north, then southwest to eventually arrive near Goritzia. Or, we could leave the train before Lubjlana and bike the short distance from Postojna to Goritzia. Well duh!
With that decided, for the remainder of our our train ride we chatted with two girls sharing our compartment. They had just graduated from high school in Germany. Armed with Eurail passes and backpacks, they were traveling Europe for a month. Fairly common here, that seems unheard of in the States.
Postojna was filled with pleasant surprises. The massive cave system we’d read about was actually right here in Postojna. We were pleasantly surprised to find a tasty Chinese restaurant, which was a welcome change from our normal fare. Postojna is also home to a unique boarding school known as the Secondary School of Forestry and Woodworking. During the summer months this school’s dormitory functions as a hostel with a very cool vibe.
Tuesday (7/5). Postojna cave was first discovered in 1818 and almost immediately opened for tourists. Understandable! It is so large that visitors ride an electric train through the cave for over a mile before getting out to walk. In spite of its size, seemingly every square inch is covered with fascinating mineral deposits and formations. We suffered a little sticker shock, but ultimately were glad we stopped.
We left Postojna midday and had our first taste of cycling in Slovenia. Every cyclist we met who had spent time in Slovenia raved about its beauty. They weren’t exaggerating! It is every bit as lovely as we’d been led to believe. In fact, when we dream about cycling, we dream about cycling through places like this.
We had visions of riding to Goritzia today. The weather had a different vision of how the day should go. We found shelter as one thunderstorm rolled over. We made it as far as Crnice when the second big storm of the day caught us. Weather radar showed massive cells covering the entire region. We retreated to the sole guest house in town. What a treat. We were graciously received by the host, whose family happens to be third generation wine makers. She happily shared the fruits of their labor. Simply the best wine I’ve ever had! Since their wine is only made and sold in this region of Slovenia, a happy memory is all I’ll be able to take with me.
Wednesday (7/6). Today confirmed our first impressions of Slovenia. We enjoyed some of the best cycling of the trip. Bucolic countryside. Charming villages. Excellent roads. Dedicated bike paths. Drivers who are almost embarrassingly gracious. Stunning mountains. Crystal rivers. Lush forests. Wonderful people. This trip just keeps getting better and better.
Our route today took us west to Nova Gorica, with a slight detour into sister city Goritzia so we could say we cycled in Italy. Then it was north along the Soca River into the Julian Alps, named in antiquity for Julius Caesar. Again, this day had everything that makes cycling great.
Our day ended at a campground in Tolmin where we met Rik from the Netherlands. He and some friends had planned a holiday in Croatia…so he decided to ride rather than fly. Why not? After a sticky morning spent climbing into the Alps, we enjoyed cooling off in the local stream, watching the Tour and Tennis on the camps two big screen TV’s, and talking life with Rik.
Our new friend Rik
Thursday (7/7). Today…Tolmin to Bovec. Just “Wow!” We dove deeper into the heart of the Julian Alps following the Soca River. We arrived in Bovec and found a quaint village that is an adventure sport hot spot. We set up at a local campground and while sheltering from another massive rain, we quickly decided to spend tomorrow off the bikes exploring this area.
Camping Euro style
Friday (7/8). These mountains caused an itch that needed to be scratched. We forked over some euros for a gondola ride 5,500 vertical feet up to the top of the local ski area. Being at eye level with the surrounding sea of peaks was worth the price of admission. Eventually the wind chill sent Sharon down. I headed a bit higher and eventually stood atop Prestreljenik. I was impressed by a) the ragged peaks stretching off in every direction, and b) the fact that this remote location was actually a battlefield in WWI. It beggars belief!
Saturday (7/9). We wanted to head north from Bovec and had two options. An Austrian couple I met on the mountain yesterday said. “The Soca River valley is the most beautifullest place. You must go that way.” Can’t argue with such high praise! I’m glad we didn’t. We stopped repeatedly to take in the beauty. We also stopped repeatedly during our five thousand vertical feet of climbing. It was definitely a day of superlatives. The mountains. Both the difficulty and reward of tackling Vrsic Pass.. The number of cyclists and motorcyclists joining us on the climb and descent. And finally, our amazing camp along the Sava River. Slovenia brought its “A” game today! Well played Slovenia.
WWI mass burial of unknown soldiers 
Soca River 
14% grade 
Prior to Slovenia, week after week of sticky mid 90′ was sucking the life and joy from us and from the trip. Slovenia has literally been a breath of fresh air. We were beginning to look forward to being done with the ride just to be done with the heat. We are both feeling reinvigorated. Thank you Slovenia. We are very much looking forward to seeing what else we can discover in this magical place.
