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Our time amidst the Julian Alps in western Slovenia has been excellent despite the initial high winds. Shortly after we crossed the border we missed a tree falling across the road by less than a minute. Thankfully the hold-up (beneath lots more tall, swaying trees) was short lived as a truck with a crane was on the scene within 10 mins to clear the road.
The journey across the Vrsic pass within the Triglav National Park was worth all 50 of the switchbacks en route. The mountain views and the Soca River just kept coming. Apparently this was a key supply route during WW1 and Russian prisoners of war were used to build a vital cableway with many losing their lives through a landslide in1915. It was bitter at the top, even in May; we can't imagine how it would have been during the winter of 1914/15.
We wanted to spend a few days near Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj, popular mountain resorts and destinations for outdoor activities. In the end we were there for six nights as it was just so stunning, despite the weather. It wasn't warm enough to hike much above 1,800m but there were plenty of choices below this. The houses in the area seemed to all be large chalet-style buildings with 3-4 floors - each in immaculate condition. The Slovenians we came across all seemed to be really industrious and very proud of how their houses and gardens looked. As in Italy, every little village had a church (at least 1) and the bells were rung regularly, with particular attention given to the 7am striking.
In addition to some great hiking - one of which was to the Austrian border at 1,800m with views of snow-capped mountains in both countries - and biking, we also took some side trips to villages in the area. We didn't realize that bee-keeping was such a significant activity in Slovenia. There is even a national museum to the activity which was surprisingly interesting and had some intriguingly shaped and decorated bee-hives.
Fran took the opportunity to source a physiotherapist to try and get some relief for some lower back pain. (Apparently this physio had been with the Slovenian ice hockey team at the Sochi Olympics.) It was also time for haircuts - although when Andy asked for a "number 2 on the sides and a number 4 on top" he didn't realize that the unit of measurement was different here. So with Andy looking like a convict and Fran reasonably pain-free, we proceeded to Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, via the small village of Kropa (famous for its wrought iron work) and Skofja Loka (a town with a lovely old central square and castle).
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