To Kranjska Gora

September 24, 2021

Another glorious day! It looks like we have two more of these in our future, but beyond that it looks questionable at best again. Enjoy it while we can! We check out of our hotel not long after nine and head for the riverfront, where we rejoin the Alpe Adria trail and continue following it south along the Drava.

Leaving Villach. Not the best photo but it seemed like we should include at least one photo of the town itself.

We saw this view last night, but since it’s one of the two finest things we found in Villach (and we’re taking the other with us), let’s take a second look.

Our ride continues south on the well marked Alpe Adria. We don’t plan to ride it all the way to the sea at Grado, but we’re making good progress. We’ll lop off Etappe funf today.

We don’t follow the Drava for long though. After only two miles we cross it on the Friedensbrücke (Peace Bridge) and cross over to the Gail River which empties into the Danube here.

Crossing the Drava on the Friedensbrücke. You can’t see much of the river from the bike lane because there are motor vehicle lanes on either side, but the skyward view is nice enough.

For the next eight miles we follow the Gail - upriver but basically flat on the usual mix of paved and riverside paths. As we bike I tug deep into the memory bank to see if anything falls out - we’ve ridden this stretch of the Gail before, back in 1994. This was on that curious ride from Vienna to Venice. As part of that tour we took the train from Althofen to Villach, and then biked up the whole length of the Gail and then continued on to Dobbiaco, Cortina and eventually Venice. I still have vivid memories of biking up the Gail, which 27 years ago felt very remote and exotic.

No new memories come back though, I’m sure because we’re not even following the same path. Back then, guided by the most detailed Michelin map we could find, we stuck to the roads instead of all of the serene byways we can take a chance on now with the much more detailed maps on our Garmins.

We follow the Gail for about ten miles, the landscape growing steadily more dramatic as we work our way into the hills. I feel a bit wistful once we finally cross it and continue on south, a part of me wishing we were continuing east again to see what’s changed there over the last third of my lifetime.

Southwest along the Gail, which is just to our left but often out of sight.

Ten miles on, we cross the Gail over this narrow pedestrian bridge.

For the next five miles we continue biking up the Gail Valley, now on the opposite side of the river and gradually climbing away from it. The views from this side are dramatic as we look across at the awesome south face of the Villacher Alps soaring up above the river.

Five miles later we come to another river crossing, cross the Gailitz, and then turn south along it and soon enter Italy. The Italians prove to be rude hosts at first though as we encounter a series of short but steep climbs, the hardest work of the day. At a gap we find a bench in the sun with a fine view of the peaks in the south and stop for lunch - today, some sandwiches Rachael picked up from the bakery next to our hotel this morning.

Looking across the Gail Valley at Dobratch (the Villacher Alps), the dramatic range that rises steeply above the north bank of the river.

Continuing south and beginning the climb to the Italian border, leaving the Villacher Alps behind.

In Italy, enjoying of the finer lunch breaks of the tour.

As we eat and enjoy the view, a pack of about twenty racers zips by and shouts out to us. I barely got the camera out in time to catch the tail end of the group.

After lunch we continue following the Alpe Adria south along the Gailitz, but a few miles north of Tarvisio we leave it for a last minute diversion from the plan - we’re going to Slovenia! We have the GBO to thank for this. He was looking over my shoulder at the map a few days back and pointed out something I hadn’t really noticed before - our route passes only a few short miles from the Slovenian border.

The GBO can be quite persuasive when he puts his little mind to it, so he coaxed us into a detour so he could add a new country to his life list. Five miles later we reach the border, and in another five we reach Kranjska Gora, a ski town on the Sava River just north of Triglav National Park, surrounded by jagged limestone cliffs. We’ll be staying here in an apartment for three nights and then working our way back west to Italy and the Alpe Adria again.

From the looks of that plank I’d say this stream sees more water than this at times.

I could look this church up for you, but then I’d never get done with today’s entry. You could probably look at the map and figure it out yourself if you really need to know. I shouldn’t have to do all the work here, folks!

Entering Slovenia (in Italian), or Slowenien (German), or Slovenija (Slovenian). Take your pick. The trilingual sign also names the summit in all three languages too. The concrete post identifies the current border, established in 1947. The borderlands here have been contentious for a long time and it’s moved around a lot.

Big bike meets little bike at the Slovenian border.

In Slovenia! We’ll see much more of this little corner of this little country in the next two days.

We enter the country in another rail trail conversion along another abandoned train line with old stations still standing as museum pieces along the way.

Video sound track: You Are the Sunshine of My Life, by Stevie Wonder

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Ride stats today: 33 miles, 1,800’; for the tour: 1,461 miles, 51,300’

Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 1,461 miles (2,351 km)

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Keith KleinHi,
Isn’t this the same map you posted yesterday?
Cheers,
Keith
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Keith KleinHuh. You make a good point. Why did we go to all that work today if we were already here? Thanks.
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2 years ago

marilyn swettSounds like you are country bagging! How fun! We've done that with our tours in the US and have now biked in every state except for Hawaii.
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2 years ago

Jen RahnThanks for taking GBO to Slovenia!

I can't imagine a happier little bottle opener.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnYup. Definitely a spoiled little bugger.
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo marilyn swettThat’s very impressive!
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2 years ago

Bruce LellmanTo Jen RahnDo you think you will ever get that GBO back from him?
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2 years ago

Jen RahnI hope not. The adventures of GBO are unparalleled!

What's funny is that this is a Next Generation GBO. Do you remember that the original ran off with a cork screw in Italy a couple years ago?
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2 years ago

Lyle McLeodWe were very tempted to head east into Slovenia for a little out and back to Lake Bled when we hit that junction just north of Tarvisio. Still regretting that we didn’t do it, but there’s always next year! Looking forward to seeing your Slovenian adventure.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnNo, you’ve misremembered! It’s still the original one. He underwent some cosmetic surgery before his escape from Italy.
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2 years ago