Home

10%

Slovenia 2014 (#1)

Part 1: April 27th – 30th

By Watracz Is Traveling

During the winter, my bike gets a full repair. The plastic cases and fairings get a new coat of pain. All the worn out parts are replaced. I put in a luggage rack and a large, 55-liter topcase. I buy some camping equipment (a sleeping bag, a tent, a camp burner, etc.) and I’m slowly getting ready for my first solo outing in a new direction.

I pick Slovenia. The country has an area of only 20,000 square kilometers, and the distance from its eastmost to its westmost points is just 245 kilometers. Moreover, it’s located on the shore of the Adriatic, so I’m hoping the Mediterranean climate will have an effect on the temperature and there won’t be much snow in the mountains.

I prepare my route: I mark spots that would be good to visit and I look for accommodation on Airbnb. I manage to find a nice spot in Ljubljana, the country’s capital, at 12 Euro per night. Gal, the host, is a student who rents a flat with some friends, but at the time of my visit they’re all going for a trip and I’ll have the apartment to myself. The plan is to leave Ljubljana for two-day outings to all the corners of Slovenia, then to come back to restock and rest. The whole thing is starting to take awesome shape.

Day 1: Mikulov, Vienna, Maribor, Ljubljana

April 27th, 2014

View day 1 route on Google Maps

I leave Krakow very early, around 5 am, and take the highway towards Katowice. From there, I go towards Austria through the Czech Republic, passing Ostrava. It’s cold, barely 10 °C on the thermometer. In the Czech Republic, near Olomouc, I stop for hot tea and gas.

Riding through Brno and Mikulov, I reach Austria, where it gets warmer. The traffic is terrible in Vienna. It takes me nearly an hour to get around the city on the beltway. Late in the afternoon, around 6 pm, I reach the border with Slovenia.

It starts to rain as I get closer to Maribor, so I stop and put on my rainsuit. I meet a group of bikers from Poland who are going to Croatia, and for a while we talk about our respective destinations. When I reach Ljubljana, the rain stops, but only for a while. I reach the meeting spot around 8 pm. I meet with Gal, my host, get the apartment key, unpack my cases, and we take a ride in the area, with Gal showing me the closest shops, bus stops, and gas stations. I also get a special municipal transit card, so I can take the bus to the city center. In the evening it’s dinner, shower, and off to bed.

Day 2: Zgornje Jezersko, Kamnik Bistrica, Mala Planina, Logar Valley

April 28th, 2014

View day 2 route on Google Maps

Wake up time is 4 am. It’s still dark outside. You can hear the thick rain. I put on my rainsuit and I leave in the pouring rain at 5:30 am. It rains so bad I can barely see the road – so I’m riding carefully. I want to see the sunrise over the Alps. I get there one hour later. My rain suit passed the test. I’m dry, just a little bit chilly.

Lake Planšar (Slovenian: Planšarsko Jezero)

The thick fog makes it impossible to see the mountains, but the lake is pretty regardless. The water is transparent, and you can see stones and sticks on the bottom. Little fish are swimming right under the surface. I walk around the lake, taking lots of pictures, and I get back to the clearing where I parked the bike.

A couple of kilometers beyond the lake is a clearing with a view to the Kamnik-Savinja Alps (Slovenian: Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe). The tallest peak – Grintovec (2,558 m.a.s.l.) – is on the right, hidden by the fog.

Zgornje Jezersko

I enter a side road leading to the mountains. The asphalt road quickly turns to a dirt one, lined by tall trees. At the end of the road there’s a parking lot for tourists starting their hikes in the mountains. The scenery here is amazing. The fog that covers the summits starts to disperse, and I’m hoping I’ll get to see the Alps in all their glory soon.

Bašelj

The peaks become visible around 10 am. On my way back to Zgornje Jezersko I ride along the river Kokra, and reach the small village of Bašelj. On a hill, in a clearing, there’s a small chapel that you can see from far away.

Ambrož Pod Krvavcem

The road up takes me through a forest and a series of hairpins. The higher I go, the more I can feel the cold, mountain climate. I only pass a single car along the way. At this time of year, the place is not very popular. It’s cold and windy. When I get to the top, I stop for second breakfast, then move on.

Kamnik Bistrica (Slovenian: Kamnička Bistrica)

I ride through the towns of Apno and Stahovica, and I get to a shelter, where I leave the bike in a parking lot. It’s a great starting point for a tour of the Predaselj canyon that was carved by the Kamnik Bistrica and Krvavec rivers. The canyon is about 30 meters, deep, but the views from the top are not the best. For those willing to take a closer look, the local mountain rescue team organizes trips where you walk down to the canyon on ropes. A walk around the canyon takes an hour, and around 2 pm I hit the road again.

Podlom

My next objective is Velika Planina. I don’t really know how to get there, or even if you can get there on a bike, but I want to try anyway. I turn back towards the village of Stahovica again, then take a left towards the village of Podlom. The road is steep and winding, and after some time it takes me into the woods, where the asphalt breaks off. There are no other vehicles on the road, so I start to wonder if I’m not lost.

Following the stony road, I reach a fork. Unfortunately, the road to Velika Planina is blocked with a boom bar, and a “no entry” sign next to it.

Mala Planina

I arrive at a small clearing under a cliff. It’s a great spot for camping, but I decide to press on. At some point, I get the feeling that I don’t have enough air in my rear wheel. But it turns out it’s just the wheel falling into the soft ground that makes it seem that way. The ground is wet and very boggy.

Write your story here. (Optional)

I browse the GPS map of the area, and I found an alternate route to Velika Planina. Unfortunately, snow is still blocking the road, making it impassable.

Podvolovljek

Logar Valley (Slovenian: Logarska Dolina)

It’s late when I get there, so I start looking for a place to camp. I have a couple good options. I pick the rocky riverbed of Savinja and set up my tent there.

My supper consists of two bananas, an apple, and some cookies back from Poland. At night, I can’t sleep for a long time because of the storm. It’s the first time I’m sleeping in a tent all by myself. I feel a little uneasy on my own, spending the night in the mountains, in this weather, and so far from home… On the other hand, I’m happy I came here, and I can’t wait until tomorrow.

Day 3: Velika Planina, Bled

April 29th, 2014

View day 3 route on Google Maps

Rinka Waterfall (Slovenian: Slap Rinka)

I wake up at 6 am. After breakfast, I pack my things on the bike, and leave the camp. I stop at a parking lot 500 meters on, and then walk towards the waterfall. On the way, I take pictures by the stream. I try to take a long exposure photo to better capture the water, but my tripod is not stable enough. Almost any photo with an exposure time over half a second comes out blurry.

The waterfall is 105 meters tall, and it is awe-inspiring. There are no tourists around yet, so I can take photos in peace. On the right, there’s a wooden viewpoint booth. You can normally buy postcards and souvenirs there, but it’s closed at this hour.

I want to take a photo close to the waterfall, so I set my camera on the wooden stairs 40 meters away. Putting the camera any closer makes the lens catch water instantly, and that’s just no way to take a good picture. On top of that, the wind is much stronger close to the waterfall, and it could tip over the tripod. I set the timer in the camera to 10 seconds (the range on the camera remote is too small) and run towards the waterfall, jumping over tree logs.

I pose for the series of photos that the self timer takes. After a couple attempts I manage to make it in time and get a sharp picture without drops of water on the lens.

Podolševa

I ride through a small mountain village, less than 2 kilometers from the Austrian border. It starts to drizzle. You can see the peaks of the surrounding mountains in the horizon – they’re partially obscured by clouds.

Velika Planina

Heading towards Kamnik Bistrica, I arrive at the parking lot next to the cable car station. I buy a round trip ticket for about €10 and wait in front of the entrance until we get a full compliment of passengers. The end of April isn’t exactly tourist season. It takes about 30 minutes until we have a sufficient number of people; the car doors open and we can go up. The final ride back is at 3:15 pm, which leaves me only 3 hours to do some sightseeing. The cable car doesn’t go all the way to the top – you have to hike for about 40 minutes to get to the highest point of the plateau, i.e. Gradišče (1,666 m.a.s.l.).

At this time of year, the pass looks abandoned. Most of the time, the wooden huts are occupied by shepherds whose herds graze here. Two tourists warn me that there’s a storm coming. I do have rain clothes, but I’m still happy that the clouds turn in a different direction.

The pass is very big. Walking across it at a good pace takes me almost 3 hours. In order to make it back for the return ride that’s after 3 pm I really need to speed up. You need at least twice as much time as I have to really explore the pass and its surroundings.

On my way back, an old man chats me up in Slovenian. I tell him I don’t understand but I can speak English. Turns out, so does he (he actually speaks it better than I do), and we talk some more along the way. When we get to the cable car, we meet a couple talking in Italian. The old man joins their conversation in amazingly fluent Italian. I’m really surprised he knows Italian and English – and that he knows them that well. But, I guess that’s not all that unusual: in Slovenia, even shopkeepers know several languages.

When we get down, I browse through the photos I’ve taken so far, and find that I’ve filled up all 3 of my memory cards. I need to buy a new card. I stop at a gas station. They do carry memory cards, but only 16 GB ones, and priced at €18 – a little steep. I check the supermarket nearby, but they don’t have memory cards at all. Not much of a choice – I go back to the gas station. I need to spend the evening cleaning out the photos I don’t need.

Bled

I turn back towards Ljubljana. I still have a good deal of strength left for the day, and it is early, so I decide to take a look at Lake Bled (Slovenian: Blejsko Jezero). When I get there, my GPS gets quite confused, and I accidently ride into a bike lane. It’s too late to turn back, so I press on. Fortunately, there’s no police or municipal troops in sight. Eventually, I get to the main road, and soon after that I stop at the parking lot in front of the castle. The sights are undeniably impressive.

I ride to the other side of the lake. I park the bike on the sidewalk by the Penzion Mlino restaurant. The weather changes rapidly. There are dark clouds in the sky and the wind picks up, so I get back to the bike, set up the GPS, and go. It starts to rain a minute later.

I reach the capital about an hour later, around 8 pm. I shower and eat a hot dinner. Later in the evening, I clear out photos I don’t need, and I browse through the sights and monuments I’m going to visit the next day.

Day 4: Ljubljana

April 30th, 2014

No-bike-day. I download an app that features the city’s top attractions and a map (Visit Ljubljana and More), and I mark the places I want to see. I take the bus to get to the center, using the transit card I got from my host. And I finally see throngs of tourists.

The bus stop isn’t far from the Congress Square, with its spacious market and a park on its north side – the Star Park (Slovenian: Park Zvezda). On the opposite side from the market, there’s a castle sitting on a steep hill.

Congress Square (Slovenian: Kongresni Trg)

I walk through the cities of the old town, taking in the surroundings of the University of Ljubljana, the Robba Fountain, the Town Hall, and the Cobblers’ Bridge.

University of Ljubljana (Slovenian: Univerza V Ljubljani)

The Robba Fountain (Slovenian: Robbov Vodnjak)

Cobblers’ Bridge (Slovenian: Čevljarski Most)

The streets are chock-full of tables from the many restaurants here. There’s a cover of clouds in the sky, and at one point, thunder starts to rumble. The restaurants’ employees quickly drag the tables inside, just seconds before it starts to pour down. I hide in the entrance to an old townhouse opposite the cathedral. It keeps raining for almost half an hour, but as soon as the rain is gone, the tables are back out.

I reach the Ljubljanica river, which has several dozen bridges over it in the capital. One of the more famous ones is the Triple Bridge (Slovenian: Tromostovje). The structure is very old, and first mention of it was made in 1280.

There are tons of boats sailing on the river, taking tourists on tours around the old town.

Ljubljanica river and the Central Market

A view of the castle hill from Stritarjeva ulica

The Triple Bridge (Slovenian: Tromostovje)

Ljubljana Castle (Slovenian: Ljubljanski Grad)

I take the funicular to the castle hill. It’s not crowded, but I still meet some Polish tourists. The castle walls offer a panorama of the entire city, and far off on the horizon, you can see the Kamnik Alps, some 50 kilometers north.

After a tour of the castle I take the funicular down. Time to try some local food. I pick the Vodnikov Hram restaurant, and order bear in hunter’s sauce, with cranberries and baked potatoes, accompanied by a local beer, Laško. The food’s tasty and there’s plenty of it, but the price isn’t small, either – €35. It looks like it’s just sandwiches and frankfurters for me from now on until the end of the trip.

After that, passing through the Vodnikov Square, I walk through the Dragon Bridge and go towards the Tivoli City Park, with the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, the Prešeren Monument, and the building of the Ministry of Finance on the way.

The Dragon Bridge (Slovenian: Zmajski Most)

The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation (Slovenian: Frančiškanska Cerkev Marijinega Oznanjenja)

The Prešeren Monument (Slovenian: Prešernov Spomenik)

The building of the Ministry of Finance (Slovenian: Ministrstvo Za Finance)

Tivoli City Park (Slovenian: Mestni Park Tivoli)

It’s Ljubljana’s biggest park, and it’s a mere 2 kilometers from the castle. The main attraction of the park is the Tivoli Castle: a residence built in the 17th c. on the remains of a Renaissance castle.

Tivoli Castle (Slovenian: Tivolski Grad)

Tivoli City Park (Slovenian: Mestni Park Tivoli)

The Main Post Office (Slovenian: Pošta Slovenije)

Ljubljana is rather small, and you won’t find skyscrapers or office blocks here. A walk and seeing the top sights takes me about 5 hours – lunch included. Other than reaching the city center, I don’t need to use the municipal transit, since you can walk anywhere. The upside is that the town is clean, full of green areas, nice townhouses, sculptures and statues.