On the road near Bled....
31st May - 3rd June
We left early, (for us), great ride to Arnoldstein, down to Tomlin, then towards Bled. There was a bit of light rain, not bad, but enough to keep the road wet, and stop us enjoying the corners. The fog blocked what would have been fantastic views of the mountains. After stopping at Bohinjska for a drink break, the GPS took us through peoples' back yards to the right road to Bled. It is a nice town on a big lake, but very touristy. We scored a room in a hostel with 4 bunks, but just the 2 of us in it. Pizza
We left early, (for us), great ride to Arnoldstein, down to Tomlin, then towards Bled. There was a bit of light rain, not bad, but enough to keep the road wet, and stop us enjoying the corners. The fog blocked what would have been fantastic views of the mountains. After stopping at Bohinjska for a drink break, the GPS took us through peoples' back yards to the right road to Bled. It is a nice town on a big lake, but very touristy. We scored a room in a hostel with 4 bunks, but just the 2 of us in it. Pizza
The gorge near Bled
and wine for dinner on the verandah of a cafe overlooking the lake, very pleasant. The rain was gone the next morning, still cloudy but dry. Somehow we managed to get lost finding our way to the gorge on the outskirts of town, but made it eventually. Very pretty, with a walkway along the sides. From there to Kranj to try to find some legendary sausages made there, but couldn't find them, so a snack for lunch, then off across some really twisty passes to Postojna for the night. I must admit I had an image in my head of what Slovenia would
Entrance to the caves
be like, but I was way wide of the mark. Everything we saw was beautiful, spotlessly clean, green, with friendly people, most of whom speak english, especially the younger ones. It is taught to everyone in schools from the age of 8 up,and has been for a few years now. It is also very bike friendly, with publications showing recommended routes through scenic hills and valleys.
Although almost landlocked, (it has 48 kms of coastline between Italy and Croatia), it does well from tourism, and deservedly so.
Although almost landlocked, (it has 48 kms of coastline between Italy and Croatia), it does well from tourism, and deservedly so.
On the train going into the caves
The next morning dawned rain free, and we road to the Postojna Caves, a few kilometres out of town. Really impressive, they are 22 kilometres long, and on our 1.5 hour tour we went in about 5 kms, 3 of them by train! Very well organised for tourists, but still preserved for the future. It was cold down there, a steady 10 deg. C all year round. They usually get 2-3 thousand people per day through them, but can get up to 5 thousand. Leaving there, we stopped for lunch at a little town before the Croatian border, our meal could have fed 4 people, really tasty, and cheap. Definitely enjoyed Slovenia !!
More pictures from in the caves
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