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Slovenia 2014 (#2)

Part 2: May 1st – 2nd

By Watracz Is Traveling

Day 4: Bled, the Triglav National Park, the Julian Alps, Mangart

May 1st, 2014

View day 4 route on Google Maps: part 1, part 2

I wake up at 4 am, have breakfast and leave watching the sunrise over Lake Bled. When I reach the lake it’s still dark, and the castle, along with the entire hill, is lit by bright lamps. I take the first photo at 5:50 am. A moment later, a Japanese tourist sets up his tripod right next to me. We talk for a while, show each other the photos we’ve taken in the last few days. He tells me he came to Bled for a couple of days and that it’s his second trip to Europe.

I get on the bike and head north, towards Vintgar Gorge (Slovenian: Soteska Vintgar). At 6:30 am the sun is still hiding beyond the mountains. It’s fairly bright despite that, though. The traffic is rather dense, probably everybody’s going to work already. It was raining just moments before, and the road is still wet, but there are no clouds in the sky, so the weather should be good for the rest of the day.

The gorge is kind of hidden and it’s not really marked well, so I don’t really know if I’m going the right way, but in the end I make it there. There’s not a soul in sight, I’m completely alone. I park my bike, put the lock on the front wheel and walk towards the entrance.

Vintgar Gorge

At this time of year, the gorge seems closed to tourists. The entrance is barred, and there’s a “no entry” plaque hanging there. I jump over the wooden fence next to the ticket office to walk further in. Would be a shame to turn back and just hope to come here again next year.

You can hear the rumble of the accumulated water. At first, the gorge’s walls are low, but moments later the rumble grows, and the lines of the gorge turn more dramatic. I try to keep a brisk pace, cause I’m a bit scared that any moment an employee might show up and I’ll get a fine for coming in without a ticket.

The route takes me through wooden bridges affixed to rocks and stones. The planks are wet, and I need to be careful not to slip. There are trees torn out of the ground and partially underwater, right by the river bank.

The entire route is about a kilometer long. Walking through it takes me maybe an hour. When I get back to the entrance and the ticket office, for a second I wonder if there’s anyone inside. Luckily, there isn’t. It takes another jump over the fence and I’m right by the bike in the parking lot.

Bled

It’s almost 8 am. After second breakfast I ride south – back to Lake Bled. This time I’m on the west side of the lake. Just meters from the lake, there’s an interesting campsite with a view of the lake and the castle, and there are beach chairs for the tourists set up around the shore.

I’m riding along the Sava Bohinjka river towards Lake Bohinj (Slovenian: Bohinjsko Jezero). When I pass the village of Obrne, there’s a thick fog and I can’t see the road or its surroundings. I’m going through a forest where I take a couple pictures and eventually, I reach the next tourist attraction on my list.

Savica Waterfall (Slovenian: Slap Savica)

I leave the bike at the parking lot, I buy my ticket and set out on the trail. Some minutes later I get to the waterfall – and I can see a rainbow right above it. It’s cool you don’t have to walk a mile to get a nice view. The parking lots are usually close to the tourist attractions.

There is a lot of people by the waterfall, and there’s a line for taking photos. Unfortunately, you can’t get all the way to the waterfall. There’s a padlocked metal gate in the way.

Lake Bohinj (Slovenian: Bohinjsko Jezero)

On my way back I pop in to see Lake Bohinj. There are crowds of tourists by the lake already, and several kayaks are out on the lake. Just two hours before, when I was riding towards the waterfall, there was heavy fog over the lake, hiding the opposite shore completely. Now there’s no trace of the fog left.

Triglav National Park (Slovenian: Triglavski Narodni Park)

An amazing place. I keep stopping to take photos every minute. One time, stopping like that, I forget to leave the bike in gear, and the moment I get off, the bike tips over. I need to take off the trunks, the tent, and the bags to pick it up – it’s still 230 kg, including the fuel. Fortunately, there was no real damage, the crash pads saved it; only the left trunk got a bit scratched up.

Most of the way through the national park takes you through little-used, gravel roads. I don’t really know if it’s even legal to ride here, since apart from me, there are only cyclists around, and the few cars I’ve seen so far were probably owned by the residents of the local villages. I stop at a small clearing to eat something and have a short rest.

Zgornja Radovna

I reach a small village hidden in one of the many mountain valleys. At the end of the valley you can see the peaks of the surrounding mountains, such as Mali Draški vrh, Tošc, Begunjski vrh, and beyond them – the tallest peak of the Julian Alps, Triglav (2,864 m.a.s.l.).

Peričnik Waterfall (Slovenian: Slap Peričnik)

The waterfall is so close to the parking lot that you can hear the roar of falling water from there. The cataract has two sections, top and bottom. The top is 16 m tall, and the bottom – 52 m. What’s even better, it’s free to sightsee, making coming here all the more worthwhile.

There’s a grotto behind the waterfall. You can walk around the fall, and take a look at it from the other side. It’s tough to take a good photo in these conditions. Drops of water keep falling on the camera, and I need to remember to wipe it before each photo. The body is not waterproof, and I’d like it to stay operational until the end of the trip.

Podkoren

The dark clouds rolling over the mountains are not a good sign. It looks like it might rain soon. I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to ride into the mountains in the rain, or if it’s better to start looking for a camping site right away…

Planica

I stop next to the Letalnica ski flying hill. In 2003, Adam Małysz flew 225 meters here. The current record for the hill (248.5 m) was set by a Slovenian, Peter Prevc, in 2015. The hill is undergoing repairs now, there’s construction equipment and machinery scattered all over. Snow’s still lying in many places, and it’s pretty cold.

From the foot of the hill I head to the town of Kranjska Gora. It’s 5 pm, the sun’s about to set, and the mountains I’m riding towards are taking on darker and darker covers of clouds. In one of the parking lots on the way, some kids are playing with a kite – a gust of wind makes it fly into the air in an instant.

Lake Jasna (Slovenian: Jezero Jasna)

About two kilometers beyond Kranjska Gora lies Lake Jasna. It’s pretty shallow and small, but it’s very picturesque. Right by its shore there’s a statue of a mountain goat with golden horns (Slovenian: Zlatorog).

I’m entering the higher parts of the Julian Alps. The peaks are 2,500 m.a.s.l. and higher. The tallest one is Prisojnik – 2,547 m.a.s.l. The road is wet and slippery, and hairpin turns tend to have some strange paving stones instead of asphalt. I know I need to be careful. There are a lot of cars around, but I don’t see any other bikers.

The landscapes are wonderful. You can see sharp, rough mountain peaks – but only for a while, because they quickly disappear in the coming fog.

Vršič Pass (Slovenian: Prelaz Vršič)

I stop at 1,611 m.a.s.l. There are layers of snow two-meter high on both sides of the road. It’s really cold, and on top of that, it starts to rain. My gloves are wet, and my hands are freezing; and the heated grips can only do so much to improve my comfort now.

The rain is getting worse. And when you ride down the south side in these conditions, it’s a real challenge. I can feel my hands go numb and my shoes start to soak. It stops raining when I get near the town of Trenta. I pass Kal-Kortnica and take a brief rest by the Kluže Fortress (Slovenian: Trdnjava Kluže).

Mangart

I reach the foot of mount Mangart. It’s Slovenia’s third highest mountain, at 2,675 m.a.s.l. The road hasn’t been cleared of the rocks, branches, and leaves that were falling on it throughout winter.

I reach a spot where a snow pile-up blocks the road entirely. It’s a shame, since I was planning to set up my tent much further on, close to the mountaintop. I turn back and spend the night by a side road, next to a small stream.

The water’s murmuring keeps me awake. I keep thinking there’s someone walking around the tent and I keep hearing suspicious noises. Every couple of minutes I stick my head out of the tent and look around. I doubt someone’s taken a car through the blocked section of the road that I only barely got through on the bike. So maybe it’s some animal in the bushes? A bear? A wolf? Or maybe just a dog? The stream’s sound changes every so often because of the strong wind. After some two hours I finally manage to fall asleep. I promise myself to spend the next night away from water.

Day 5: Strmec Na Predelu, Kobarid, Tolmin Gorge, Kanal

May 2nd, 2014

View day 5 route on Google Maps

I wake up at 6. It was raining in the wee hours. I eat my sandwiches for breakfast, pack the camp, and move towards the Soča river valley.

I just wish I had managed to get to the top of Mangart. It was one of the main goals of the trip. As I ride down, I promise myself I’ll be back here. When the weather gets better, and when the roads aren’t blocked with piles of snow. I don’t know when I’ll do it, but I know I will.

Strmec Na Predelu

A small settlement by the foot of Mangart, along the road to Bovec. The houses and other buildings look much poorer than in other parts of the country. It’s just 3 kilometers from here to the Italian border. I’m a bit tempted to get off my planned route and hit the unknown Italian parts of the Alps, but in the end I decide to stick to the plan.

Kluže Fortress

The fortress was built in 1472 and it was a defense against the Turks. It was under Austrian command for a long time, and in 1797 Napoleon fought in a battle here. A very appealing place, but unfortunately – it was closed, and there was no way to get inside.

Bovec

A short sandwich and photo break.

Kobarid

I reach the town of Kobarid and pass the Orthodox church of St. Anthony with an ossuary in memory of Italian soldiers, who died in the World War I (Slovenian: Kostnica s Cerkvijo Sv. Antona) and I get to the bridge over the river Soča. I ride to the parking lot next to the Kamp Koren campsite, take my backpack and walk towards the Kozjak river gorge.