Italy, Slovenia, Italy and Slovenia again
Going in circles?
4 countries in one biketouring blog post?
We get instant cravings in Italy and Joel becomes a stuntman in Slovenia. Re-entering Italy we go sightseeing in Trieste before going back to Slovenia! Confused? Find out more in this blog!
Instant Cravings
After leaving Austria and having an awesome night couch surfing in Villach with Ezter and Varun we are on our way and heading towards Slovenia, via Italy.
It is conveniently lunchtime and as good as the bikeway is, as soon as we cross the Italian border, we instantly crave pizza! We sit down to our first meal out since my birthday and go to town on two huge pizzas which we wash down with multiple cans of coke. Finishing lunch with a couple of typical Italian espressos we are pumped full of caffeine and race off towards the Slovenian border.
The Busy But Empty Lake
The bikeway coming from Tarvisio in Italy into Slovenia is brilliant. A converted railway line, it has perfect tarmac paths and stunning surroundings. The bikeway passes beautiful rivers, small waterfalls and provides unbelievable views of the Julian Alps to the south. It is arguably the best bikeway we have been on to date. We are hoping to stay on camping Spik, which is just past the ski slopes and Kranjska Gora, a lovely little well-kept tourist town.
After the escapades of Austria, we need another break, so Kranjska Gora and this campsite, where we have great views of the surrounding mountains, seems a good place to stop.
On our day off we decide to stay active and hike over to Lake Jasna. Despite the signs advertising that there may be snakes crossing the path, the walk up to the lake was pleasant. (In hindsight the river on the walk up to the lake was maybe even better than the lake itself as it wasn’t as busy).
Arriving at the lake, it is truly staggering, the water is crystal clear and the backdrop is breathtaking (hence the name “Jasna”, a female name meaning “clear”). The area is rammed but weirdly everyone is surrounding the lake and barely anyone is actually in the lake itself. It is a scorching day so we strip off our clothes and head to the waters edge in our bathing suits. I put my foot in the water, wowwww, ok so now I understand why nobody is in the water. It is ice cold!! I don’t know if I have ever felt such cold water on my skin.
Trying to be brave I hobble over the stones into the water and submerge myself. Jana does the same, albeit slightly slower. After 1 minute I state that I am done, to which Jana replies “ah it’s not that bad once you get used to it, shall we swim to the other side?”. No chance, I am out of there! We find a spot to read next to the lake and before we leave, Jana gets up and goes for one more dip. Nutter!
From Icy Water to Warm Baths
We leave the campsite on 3rd July and head off towards Lake Bled, via Mojstrana on the Radovna valley bike route through Triglavski national park. It should be pointed out that this isn’t the way our navigation app is telling us to go, this is a “Piper route”. To Mojstrana is all downhill. Afterwards however is 3km straight uphill. The slog uphill is accompanied by the moaning of Jana that I am a bad route planner and that if we went the normal route via Jesenice, there wouldn’t have been any hills.
The uphill battle however is rewarded by truly magnificent views of the surrounding mountains as we descend once more into the valley below. We seem to be following a river along the valley and with it being lunchtime decide to stop for a picnic. We both envisage setting up our stools in the shallow waters of the idyllic river and eating lunch with our feet dangled in the water.
Preparing the bikes and packing ourselves like Esels, we carry everything over to the river. Taking our shoes off at the river bank we step into the river water. It feels like daggers of ice are being shoved through our feet. If we thought lake Jasna was cold, this was another level. We can’t hold our feet in the water for longer than a couple of seconds due to the pain. We scrap the idea of having our stools in the water and sit on the bank for our picnic instead.
After a long days ride we arrive at Lake Bled late afternoon. We approach the lake from the north, coming downhill until we get to the level of the lake and are instantly blown away by its beauty. We bike around the lake anticlockwise and stop halfway, at a beach on the southwest side of the lake. With the surrounding mountains, island and castle, it is easy to see why masses of people visit on a daily basis throughout the summer season. Another scorcher of a day, we are keen to get in the water. Compared to other sources of water we have experienced so far in Slovenia, Lake Bled is like a bath! Maybe due to the sheer number of people in the water heating it up?!
Bad Memories From Childhood
After a night of wild camping we head for Lake Bohinj (pronounced Bohin) just down the road. A much quieter lake and smaller in comparison, we treat ourselves to a campsite on the west edge. When we look from the entrance the site appears to be full, but we are told it is ok and we can pitch our tent anywhere except for the beach. This explains why the site looks full and why tents, vans and caravans are so close to each other, throughout the forest down to the beach by the lake. The facilities at the site are brilliant and the bar/restaurant area is busy. We happily plonk ourselves down in the bar area and indulge in a few pints of Czech beer – Kozel – presumably the only beer they sell due to the number of Czech people on holiday in the region.
Later, while Jana is setting up the inside of the tent, I am starting to prepare dinner and am reorganising the bikes. All of a sudden I feel a burning sensation near the knuckle between two of my fingers. Ouch! A wasp sting. I literally don’t remember being stung since childhood. Fighting off tears I go over to the front of the tent next to where Jana is sitting. Jana applies fenistil gel as well as some other spray, but doesn’t give me what I really want…huge amounts of sympathy. So off I run like a child, probably as I did the last time I was stung, down to the lake. I return a few minutes later and finally get the sympathy I was hoping for, albeit no doubt sarcastically from Jana. I just about survive and continue with my duties.
The Stuntman And A Bit Of Luxury
We leave Bohinj and bike towards Kranj, staying on a campsite next to the river Sava. Only one more night in the tent before Penny and Graham treat us to pure luxury at their house in Apno, in the mountains north of Ljubljana.
Due to the steep climb up to their house they are so kind and offer to pick us up from a nearby town and drive us up to the house. We arrive a few minutes before the agreed pick up time and stand with the bikes next to a park. I notice that just next to the park there is a kind of skate park with what appears to be a bike assault course, with ramps and banked curves.
Not contributing much to our social media account I decide to pounce on an opportunity to create some content. I’ve seen kids of about 5-8 years old on scooters and bikes on an assault course like this near where we lived in Frankfurt, so I thought it would be easy, and fun, to ride my bike with all the bike packing gear attached around the course while Jana films me.
I push the bike to the top of the first ramp. Going down the start ramp is surprisingly easy and I master the first couple of humps/obstacles like a pro bmxer at the Olympics (that’s how it looked in my head atleast). At the first corner I lose control and the bike falls away beneath me. I luckily put a leg out and manage to kind of run off and out of the way while my bike falls flat on the ground.
Take 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all similar. I almost fall flat on my face each time. I get back on the bike however after the 5th attempt and continue round the circuit. Jana is filming the whole time whilst giggling to herself. Luckily with videos, they can be edited and sound can be added on social media. So after some Steven Spielberg -esque editing, my first video for social media is a masterpiece; I look like a daring stuntman. (In reality more like Rod Kimble from Hot Rod – great film btw – than Evel Knievel).
To spend a couple of days with Penny and Graham is an absolute dream. Good food, wine, conversation and lots of relaxation is exactly what we need. The road up to their house would have been, as we were told, impossible with our bikes and bags, so we are glad that we agreed to a lift. We quickly learn the passion that Penny and Graham share for their second home/country and completely understand why. Slovenia until now has been bliss and one highlight is definitely the view from their terrace in front of their house. Phenomenal. A huge thank you to P&G, it was awesome to spend a few days with you!
We pick up some tips regarding the area and plan the rest of our route through Slovenia into Croatia via Italy (once more). I have organized quite a few things for the next couple of days as Jana’s birthday is coming up, but Jana tries her best to ruin my plans by asking if we can stay in places longer or go alternate routes. No Jana, we are going to Ljubljana!
The Legend Of White Pista
Ljubljana is only a day’s ride from our haven in the hills from the last couple of days, so we arrive on a Friday evening, just in time to see Jana’s first surprise for her birthday…the apartment that I have booked us for the weekend. We don’t spend too much time in the flat though as on a Friday there is a street food market (“Open Market”) on one of the main squares.
We are massive foodies, so often when we like somewhere, it is due to the food! Ljubljana is a small city, probably more of a large town really. The history, architecture and cuteness of the city are great, but what stands out to us most is the young, positive vibe. We enjoy a couple of different dishes at the open market, paired perfectly with gin and tonics (our first “cocktails” in a while).
Our stay in Ljubljana is extended by a few nights, sleeping in a tent on the roof of a hostel. The days are spent meandering through the city and taking in the sights.
The weather is good and so being the supreme tourists that we are, we need ice cream!
On to the next recommendation. Cacao. No not the drink. An ice cream parlour.
I am of the opinion that the phrase “this is the best ice cream I have ever had” is massively overused. People seem to say it loads and maybe without even realising it. It’s almost like they have to say it at least once on their annual summer holiday, else their holiday just isn’t complete.
Well, we are not on a summer holiday, but “White Pista” flavour ice cream from Cacao in Ljubljana is definitely the best ice cream I have ever had, it smashes every other ice cream out of the park.
I often order things in restaurants or bars and find myself sharing what I have ordered with Jana. White Pista ice cream is one of those things. My mind is scrambled after the first lick. I don’t know what to say. Initially I think, OK Joel, play it cool, try to dissuade Jana from trying it, otherwise that’s it, you won’t get it back. Then I consider that maybe if White Pista is so good, then maybe Jana’s is just as good or potentially even better. As with most things it doesn’t matter what I think, Jana reaches in to try the White Pista and I am handed her ice cream. Life changing. For Jana, not me. The fact that me nor Jana can remember what she even ordered now looking back, tells it all. Jana’s ice cream is good, but it has nothing on White Pista.
Giuseppe, thank you for the recommendation (and friendship), you have changed our lives!
No Dragons, But The Caves Are Still Nice
We choose to stay on a campsite near some caves as we head towards our next destination, Trieste. We are not sure if it is the heat, the hills, the number of ice creams we have consumed in Ljubljana or that we haven’t been on the bikes for a week, but it is really hard! Camp Speleo is awesome and despite having only ridden for one day we decide to have a day off and explore the caves, even treating ourselves to lunch out. Pizza is of course on the menu and as it turns out, we still manage 22km on the bikes on our day off! Slovenia, you have been amazing!
Conceptions That Would Change Bikepacking Forever!
New day and a new country. Italy, again. Finishing this blog article where it started. No we are not driving around in circles, although some days it does feel like that. Check out the map if you are confused on our route.
It is a belter of a day and the weather app on my phone says we have an air temperature of 33 degrees celsius as we are climbing the hills on the outskirts of Trieste. Trieste is of course at sea-level, but we will be staying on a site in the hills to the north east of the city. We are riding in the sun all day and when we stop for a drinks break on one of the many ascents I glance down at the bike computer on my handlebars, it shows 45 degrees! The view that greets us when we arrive at the front entrance of the campsite makes up for the sweat that we have shed all day. Stunning.
Reading the news in bed in our tent, the riders of the Tour de France had one of the hardest days in the whole competition today. They did 160km with 4500m of elevation. Madness. We struggled with our 50km and 800m of elevation today!
Leaving Trieste and Camp Obelisco we have a depressing 24% descent into the city centre. So you understand, it is so steep we have to have breaks, yes, breaks going downhill, due to our hands cramping from braking so hard! It is depressing due to the fact that we know we have to climb from sea level back up to 600m tonight, having passed back through the southern tip of Slovenia and into Croatia, near Buzet. Italy to Slovenia and into Croatia in one day.
While on one of the many ascents in Slovenia I begin to contemplate how amazing it would be if the flat earthers theory was right, not the idea of the world being a disc as an oppose to the sphere that it is, but if the name for the conspiracy theory was literally true and the world was flat, without hills! Well, if being a flat earther also means there are no hills, I am now a flat earther and we would probably be in Southeast Asia by now.
It doesn’t just take a lot of time and energy to write a blog article, but also a stable internet connection. That is why our posts are usually delayed by a few weeks. Check out this map to see where we are right now or follow us on Instagram for daily updates!
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Really good Joel and great to join you and Jana in Istanbul for a few days
Well done Joel and congratulations as well
I will be very disappointed if your adventures do not appear as a book.
Michael Clear