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Day 4 and we are all set for what promises to be a hair raising day on the bikes. Picked up at 9:30 from the hotel, we join two other couples and are driven to the Pokljunka Plateau where we are dropped off next to a pile of logs beside the road in the middle of a pine forest, 1250 metres above sea level. With instructions to go down the road, turn left to the Sport Hotel, also as it turns out, is deep in the pine forest, we set off in eager anticipation and no small measure of white knuckle fear, for the almost 700 metre descent that is between us and Lake Bled.
In much the same way as a previous episode where we shared the navigation resources where Jean had the Passports and I had the train tickets, this time, I had the maps with directions marked off in kms to 2 decimal places and Jean had the odometer ( it wouldn't fit on my bike). There being some difference in riding styles ( and speeds) between us, it was perhaps understandable that a critical "turn left" map instruction was missed and the omission not realised until we were back on the valley floor where we had a chance to compare notes, and points of view. Facing a very definite "T" intersection, and being unable to find any such reference to said intersection in the instructions, we reached the unanimous decision that we were not where we were supposed to be and that the turn we had missed was somewhere between us and the top of the road we had just come down. Fortunately, it was only 2 or 3 kms back up a very steep climb that didn't seem all the bad on the way down, and then we were on track again.
The rest of the day went without a hitch, and after 60kms, 680m of climbing and 4 hours of riding, we were back in the hotel ready for dinner.
Now there are some places that have set menus and others that serve whatever the chef feels like cooking on the night. Last night our hotel had both. The pea soup with lobster tail was as per the menu and was delicious. The fresh lake trout morphed into a 250g piece of eye fillet which was just melt in the mouth delicious as was the pear pie that had transformed itself into a chocolate lava cake with mango ice cream and frozen raspberry crumbs. But overall it really doesn't matter what is served, it has all been magnificent.
Day 5 and today we are heading out for lunch at a highly recommended Slovenian Gostilna or inn that serves all in house made food. Located in the Triglavski National Park, we arrived after a very pleasant 20 km ride out through the most enormous conifer and beech forest along a mirror surface road. The inn is literally located at the foot of an escarpment that looks out across the Julian Alps and Mt Triglav. There surely couldn't be a more ideal place for lunch after such a ride. So after a lunch of clear beef broth and noodles, home made sausage, salami, prosciutto, cheese, pickled gherkins, bread and olive oil we set off for Lake Bled with dreams of coming back tomorrow.
Once again, the weather was kind to us today, perhaps a little too kind to start with as the sun was really starting to hit. As I sit here on the balcony overlooking Lake Bled, the thunder and lightening of what is becoming a regular late afternoon storm has unleashed a torrential downpour, but it only seems to last for 30 mins or so and its over, although this one looks like it's going to stay with us for a while.
Well tonight the chefs really excelled themselves. The menu and the food that was served coincided exactly and once again the meal was delicious.
What tomorrow holds for us will be determined by the weather and the state of my hamstrings, all of which is well out of my control.
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