Trip miles 1,455
It was a momentous trip day when after months of planning we entered the, amusingly named, Karawanken Tunnel. For nearly 8kms this took us through the peak of the Karawanken Mountain and into Slovenia. Once we had paid the toll (a surprisingly small 6.50 euros) we crossed the border and headed onto the sunny motorway with the towering and, this time, snow-capped Julian Alps in our sights.
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| The entrance to Karawanken Tunnel |
Arriving back at Lake Bled we saw the campsite on the beautiful water out of season and were able to camp up at our pitch of choice – which turned out to be just 5 metres from where we stayed previously two years ago! We were delighted to find Aussie Peter and Kiwi Deb at the camp (whom we previously met at the aire in Munich) and enjoyed an early evening beer with them at the lakeside.
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| Cycling into Triglavski National Park |
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| Slovenian mailboxes |
Back on the bikes we retraced our earlier efforts up into the mountains of the Triglav National Park to once again enjoy a Sunday lunch Slovenian style at the family bistro in the now derelict ski resort of Ztranik. It was steep going for five miles but once up amongst the snow and with far-reaching views of Lake Bled way down below us we rewarded ourselves with lunching on half a grilled chicken, a pork and bacon grill, fries and salad. We then free-wheeled at alarming speed for half an hour down the road we had taken two and a half hours to pedal, push and puff our way up previously.
Back at camp Peter invited us for dinner “just for chicken, mushrooms and s**t”, and despite Jo’s protests at not wanting ‘to even see another chicken for a week’ we happily tucked into a delicious pepper chicken risotto (and various accompanying wines) spending another joyful evening in the luxury of their grown up van (it’s got carpets, Sky TV and a coffee maker!) and once again enjoying their delightful company!
Needing to work off the late night on a very wet day, we meandered around the lake on our bikes drinking coffee, people watching and planning the next day’s outing to Lake Bohinj. Retracing earlier steps we were prepared for the frantic throwing on of our bikes onto the graffiti-covered train and the picturesque ride rattling through the mountains toward Bohinj Bistrica. The morning drizzle cleared to reveal blue skies and +25 degrees.
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| Throwing bikes off the train |
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| Splendid views from the train |
Again amused that the bikes cost more than us to travel – 3.50 euros one way compared to a 3.20 dayticket for us – we arrived at the station and were fairly hurled off the train by the conductor. The bike ride towards the lake was peaceful under brightening skies and we came across a herd of goats carrying out their own style of de-forestation gently consuming the pines felled for winter fuel by a local farmer.
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| Naughty chomping goats! |
Lake Bohinj was peaceful with only a few of us around its gentle shores. St Christopher’s – the most photographed church in Slovenia – was locked but beautiful in the bright sunshine above the shimmering green waters of the lake, and its many noisy, flirting ducks.
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| St Christopher's |
Cycling back through the closed ski resort of the valley we admired the local family farms and particularly the newly dug vegetable patches which were being planted with bulbs and cropped for winter onions by the older men and women, all of whom greeted our passing by with smiles and waves.
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| A way of life |
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| A lunch reward! |
We cycled home to the reward of a lakeside beer as the sun set over the Hungarian youth rowing team taking to the waters at the world-class Olympian training facility alongside the lake’s monastery. Schuss!
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| Beautiful Lake Bled |
