Cycled Fernetti to Divača
Train Divača to Rijeka (Croatia)
26th May 2008
We rode to Škocjan Caves in time for the first tour of the morning. The caves are nothing less than terrific. You walk through a series of large caverns to a section with a river running through it. It reminded me a little of the mines of Moria. The walkway goes along the sides of the cave with the river raging 100m below. There's a bridge about 70m above the river, which ends as a waterfall disappearing into the depths. It's completely awesome. Sadly we weren't allowed to take photos inside the caves.
Audio update for the morning
Afterwards we caught the train to Rijeka in Croatia, ending our Slovenian experience. Rijeka was a very busy city, but there's not much else to say about it. We stayed at a hostel and looked forward to getting out of it.
Audio update for the afternoon
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Camping in Slovenia isn't as easy as we had hoped because there are so few campgrounds. Camping is only legal in the official campgrounds, which are all commercial. There are about 45 of them, and they are more concentrated in the tourist areas. So although in some areas they are easy to find, sometimes they are few and far between. This had quite an influence on the distances we did during a day, and of course sometimes meant we had to stay in more expensive accommodation.
On the plus side, every campground we stayed in was of a pretty good standard. For the two of us we were usually paying around €15, and the pitches were all grassed.
At Maribor tourist info we picked up a brochure Camping in Slovenia, which listed all the campsites and which we referred to quite often.
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Distance: 50km
Cycled Volarje to Gorizia (Italy)
Train Gorizia to Trieste
Cycled Trieste to Fernetti
25th May 2008
In the morning we passed through a few more nice small towns before reaching Nova Gorica. Kanal in particular was memorable as it was Sunday and it seemed the whole town was walking the streets on their way home from church. Just before Nova Gorica was the largest stone arch train bridge in the world, which was very impressive.
We planned to finish up our trip in Slovenia quickly and move on to Croatia, so the plan was to take a train to Divača to see the Škocjan caves. However there was only one train from Nova Gorica and it was in the evening. About 10 metres from the train station was the Italian border, and a couple of kilometres from there was Gorizia train station, so instead we caught the train from Gorizia to Trieste.
This was easy enough, but getting out of Trieste proved quite difficult. We had no maps and people we asked were of little help. When we did find the general direction it was a huge climb out on a narrow but very busy road with impatient drivers. I stacked it at one point and got a few cuts and bruises, but nothing major.
We ended up reaching the border a little out of our way but heading in the right direction. By then it was time to pack it in so we found a campground on the Italian side. The hard gravel pitch was a disappointment after all the nice Slovenian campsites.
Our side trip to Italy was shortlived and not so fun, but eventful.
May 25th audio update
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Distance: 78km
Cycled Kranjska Gora to Volarje
24th May 2008
This was the big day - over the Julian Alps through the Vršič pass. It was a sunny morning which was great for the views. It's about a 13km ride to the top of the pass (1611m). It's a steep road made a little harder by the hairpin bends being cobblestone. Each one has a numbered blue sign with the altitude. There are something like 24 to the top. Along the way there are huts, hikers, and some of the best views around.
The way down was very fast and fun, and with even better views. At the foot of the mountains we met up with the Soča river which we followed most of the day. At it's best the Soča is supposed to be a bright emerald green. It was quite cloudy for us, but still a beautiful green. In fact the whole day there was very little that couldn't be described as beautiful, including the place where we had lunch by a footbridge over the river.
We stayed the night in Camping Vili, which was a highlight in itself. It was right beside the river and Vili himself was a very talkative and energetic character. He also cooked a good dinner of trout and allowed us to dry our shoes in their house. Basically it was a very homely and welcoming camp ground.
I had been looking forward to this part of the trip and it exceeded my expecations.
May 24th audio update
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Distance: 45km
Cycled Bled to Kranjska Gora
23rd May 2008
Yet another rainy day, but an easy ride. There was a rise leaving Bled, but from then on it was an easy day. Around Mojstrana a proper bike track off the main road began. It started off as a rough gravel road, but eventually became a fantastic sealed road that went all the way to Kranjska Gora and beyond. At one point the clouds retreated a little revealing the view of the Julian Alps, which was quite impressive. The road goes alongside Triglav National Park and is fairly flat. Great views and an easy ride.
Although we made it Kranjska Gora fairly early, we were soaked and it seemed a good idea to leave the crossing of the alps until the next day. We checked into a guest house and went for a side trip to near the Italian border. It really is a fantastic place for cycling. A bunch of very good bike tracks around the foot of the alps.
May 23rd audio update
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