So this is at least the third or fourth day in a row that’s been so full and interesting that it needs a long post to capture it all. I’m going to keep this brief though and let the pictures tell most of the story. Here’s the snapshot story of the day.
We took an out and back ride to Bled, a spot we visited in 1998 on our first visit to Slovenia. Or at least we started out with the intention to take an out and back route. Fifteen miles into the ride though we changed our plans, lured on by how wonderful it was biking down the Sava Valley. On impulse we improvised when we came to Mojstrana and decided to continue along the Sava, making a loop out of the ride. Unfortunately we hadn’t loaded the loop option on our Garmins, so we relied on our map reading skills for the next seven miles to Bled.
Our map reading skills proved inadequate to the task. We missed a turnoff on the signed bike route and ended up with a mile-long scramble on a beautiful but scary footpath. At one point Rachael was visibly shaken when she felt like she was too close to going over the edge as she was passing some hikers.
Bled is quite changed from the quiet place we visited 23 years ago, not that long after Slovenia gained its independence and before so many tourists were finding their way back here again. You won’t see it from the photos, but the place is packed now. It’s easy to see why though. Bled Castle and the church on Bled Island are two of the most iconic spots in this tiny country.
The ride home, back on course with our Garmins and following the Radovna River, is very beautiful. Also very steep in spots. We were both proud of ourselves for making it up the final climb and its 18% grade without stopping or falling off our bikes.
By the end of the day the skies were clouding up quickly, with rain in the picture by mid-evening. Walking back to the same restaurant we ate at yesterday we were amazed by watching one of the limestone peaks towering above town quickly disappearing behind a cloud bank.
Also, as long as I bothered locating it, you might enjoy this article giving the interesting history of the pletna, the gondola-like boats that ferry people across Lake Bled.
Looking back west to the Julian Alps, we leave Kranjska Gora on the beautiful D-2 cycle route.
Progress is halted briefly when this farmer threw up an ad hoc crossing lane for his horses. It was entertaining watching him coax his colt (not shown here) across the path and then keep shooing it further out into the field before he reopened the path for us.
For the first fifteen miles we gradually descend along the upper Sava valley, nearly always on a separate bike trail. It’s a very slight gradient, and we see many roller bladers racing up and down the track along with the bikers. It’s Sunday and the weather is gorgeous so of course we have plenty of company.
Still descending through the Sava Valley, looking at the Karawanke Range lining its north bank. This range forms the Austrian/Slovenian border here. The high point, which I think we’re seeing here, is Stol (Hochstuhl in Germany), elev. 2,236 meters.
If we’d stuck with the D-2 I’m sure we’d have had smooth but hilly sailing all the way to Bled. But we didn’t, and somehow missed a turn climbing out of Jesenice. Instead we enjoyed a mile plus hike-a-bike on this rugged, steep, precarious trail above the Radovna River.
This is really a beautiful trail through a beech forest, but much more suited to hikers than bikers. This is one of the more manageable spots, but in places it’s narrow, very rocky, and drops off very steeply into the canyon on one side. Not that much fun when you’re also easing past hikers with their kids and dogs.
This is a pletna, the gondola-like boat that ferries passengers out to Bled Island and back. We rode one of these in our visit here in 1998, when it was much quieter here. We had to wait in the empty boat for ten or fifteen minutes until six other passengers showed up to make a sufficient load.
The Church of the Assumption, on tiny Bled Island. To visit it, catch a ride on a pletna. If the arrangement is still the same now, the pletnar drops you off by the church and waits while you and your fellow passengers tour the church and island.
It’s no wonder that Bled is such a popular destination. This is Bled Castle, perched high above the lake with Stol Mountain and the Austrian border behind it.
We returned toward Kranjska Gora by following the Radovna River (the same one we biked above on that rocky trail) up into the mountains toward its source. In the distance we can still see the crest of the Karawanke Range, now blanketed in clouds.
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonIt really was wonderful. This whole three day detour was exceptional. I’m so glad we decided to do this and that we were blessed with such wonderful weather. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
