Day 39. Saturday 9 May.

A herd of elephants (perhaps one child) invaded the apartment above us at around 0530 – chance of going back to sleep: zero. Struggled along to a cup of tea at 0630 then time to decide what to do with the day. Hop on, Hop off Bus to get an overview was the decision. D was surprised that the red Ho/Ho bus seemed booked out online for the 48 hours we wanted, so Yellow was the go.

After breakfast got down to Yellow Bus Stop 9, waiting patiently for the bus that comes every twenty minutes. One did – and completely ignored us. There was a sign attached to the stop, only in German, which we then interpreted was telling us something like ‘this stop is not in use’. We walked down to Stop 10 and in due course a bus arrived and stopped for us. So we spent two hours or so listening to the audio, taking in the sights, trying to map read, and changing seats to either get better protection from the wind or to get a better view. As we’ve found previously it is an easy way to get a feel for a new place, even if not in any depth. Views of the palatial inner circle are indeed sumptuous and then it was across the Danube (it branches into 4 sections to mitigate the flow) the modern tower landmarks, the gardens (Prater), past the UN complex and we were back at our start point.

Having done the Blue Route, we got off at Stop 10 – and yes, the bus bypassed Stop 9, although the commentary promised great things if we got off, primarily the Wiener  Kriminalmuseum (Vienna Crime Museum) with assurances of gory exhibits.

A quiet afternoon, with some research into our next stay – likely Prague (now confirmed). Looking for a stand-alone place to avoid elephants above.

An evening stroll to the Danube – not particularly blue, and full of huge cruise vessels, which strangely seemed empty, with buses alongside.

Back through community areas: Mexikogedenkstein (Mexico Park), so named in honour of Mexico being the only country that opposed officially the Anschluss in 1938. Where were you Australia: was a pattern emerging? The church of Hl. Franz von Assisi is right on, or in, the park, which had lots of families doing normal things, and a few old men on benches having a quiet tipple.

We commented on the prevalence of women in hijabs and wonder at the ethnic mix here in Vienna. We had earlier been in the old Jewish quarter (but, as the bus commentary had mentioned, Austrian Jews were dispossessed & then killed during WWII (65,000). Then back through Venediger-au-park, another community/family space, to arrive at a ‘street party’ not far from home organised by, we assume, the local Turkish community. Again, great atmosphere.

 Impressions of the area we are in…immigrant workers(?), lower socio-demographic, very little personal glamour, tired, daggy, apartment blocks… but traffic is very quiet, making for easy flat walking. A warm day, cloud building…

Dinner: frittata, with a purple onion & broccoli (sourced after much angst about not needing the quantity they come packaged in). Seems you can’t just buy 1 onion or a small head of broccoli…so, there might be some waste.

Day 38. Friday 8 May.

Early start, easy one hour or so drive to Ljubljana (according go Apple Maps) to hand back the car to SixT, with enough time to go back to Lupo, our favourite café, for a humorous chat with the barista who remembered: ‘double espressos, hot water’…  ‘Well, no, we’ve changed…1 double shot Americano & 1 normal A.’ The change is to extend the savouring with a bit more lingering. The playlist had Animals, Bob Dylan & Stones today – T tapped her feet. ‘There is a house in New Orleans’ took D back to 1969 when another Animas’ hit  ‘We’ve gotta get out of this place’ was almost an anthem. On leaving, ‘Lupo’ asked where we were going next…Vienna, for music…’Ah, classical’ he said.

At an outside table T engaged in conversation with another customer, a woman sitting alone & with a broken arm (the café is next door to the hospital). She explained she’d fallen over 10 days ago on a trip to Uzbekistan; the break didn’t need plaster, just a sling. She said that Uzbek had terrific, brightly coloured Islamic architecture, was very clean & safe (now added to the bucket list).

And enough time to get to the bus station – D had conniptions when looking at the departures board and not seeing our bus, until the ticket lady told him that  he was actually in the train station and he needed to cross the road to the buses!

While seated awaiting our bus, T was joined by a young woman on her way to Rijeka, on the bus before ours. She was wearing a splendid hat & when T complimented her, she said that she’d got it in a shop that sells hijabs…it comes in a variety of colours & is good for hiding unwashed hair (T’s, btw, was freshly washed). There was then chat; a Bosnian,  she has been living in Munich for 3 years & will qualify for residency after 5, giving her a more flexible passport for work opportunities (Bosnia’s situation is still not so good). She cycles & hikes…’if you want to change your life, just cycle or hike’ (followed by some detailed travel routes accomplished). It’s safe for a woman, too. In summer she has a tent. T asked her about living in Germany now…’better than Bosnia, but in these last few years, Germany has become very expensive…rent!!! Because of Ukraine…economy has ‘fu….d up the working people’. She talked about Bosnia having the oldest pyramids in the world…T asked what they were made of…the explanation sounded a bit ‘supernatural’…maybe ‘forest bathing/positive energy/chakra stuff ?…she was studying in that field & that is where her next job will be. Then her bus pulled in and she waved farewell.

T navigated the bathroom at the bus station. It meant lining up at the ticket office to buy a token to go into a slot at the gate…on arriving at the gate with said token, a woman behind T asked where to get a token. When T explained the system, the woman (Pommie accent) was not happy, so T offered that we go through the gate together…the gatekeeper was not happy! D had an equally convoluted experience getting his token.

On the bus for the five-hour drive to Vienna – stops on the way to drop off/pick up passengers but no relief stops for those continuing. We dared not take much from the water bottle and wished we’d brought some snacks. Drivers changed over at Graz – neither had any compunction about letting other road users know they’d stuffed up: horn, flashing headlights. To be fair, on every occasion some gentle remonstrance was justified if not really such a good idea. The worst was a Tesla driver who was driving slowly until the bus started to overtake, then sped up and cut right in front of it from an inside lane. Drivers not impressed, nor was D.

Arrived at Wien, debussed and called Uber, as it was too far to walk: Ahmad was there immediately. D had seen him drop someone off and do a U turn to wait opposite. He was very chatty and particularly happy to pick up Uber rides (he was also a ‘phone’ taxi driver, which was far more stressful) as Uber was prepaid, with a pre-arranged route, so no arguments with suspicious customers…so ‘no stress’. ‘ I’d rather have a smaller amount of money with no stress’.  A philosophy for life.

Arrived at the apartment, self -checked in, shopped for essentials (salmon, spuds…milk, tomatoes…) and that’s the end of the day, with 2 little baked spuds to kick start tomorrow.

Day 37. Thursday 7 May.

We booked a tour of the Škocjan Caves about 40 km away for 1000 – D says we need to be on the road by NLT 0900 and we actually left before that and arrived at the correct start point in good order, with time to spare. The day started well.

The cave system is an underground phenomenon in the Karst region of Slovenia – along with the underground stream of the Reka River it forms one of the longest karst underground wetlands in Europe. We were met by a guide who leads the whole group – about 80+ – down to the entrance to the caves where we were divided into three groups for the actual walk through, which is about 2.5 km – plus the return to parking. We were not allowed to take photos inside the cave system, which was terrific for us as it prevents those annoying halts for pics and selfies ( but of course, there were the rule-breakers). So there won’t be a lot of photos of this part of the day.

The entrance to the caves is the Globocak Collapse Doline, which leads through a man-made tunnel into the Silent Cave. This is a dry fossil tunnel rich in diverse stalactite formations. We then moved into the Murmuring Cave, above the Reka River (Reka means river) – this is one of the largest underground caverns in Europe.And it was not murmuring; water gushes and thunders over rapids and this underground river can rise 100 metres in 10 hours in torrential rain. We saw flood markers from previous times and couldn’t help but recall the Thai cave incident some years ago. Fortunately, yesterday’s damp conditions had no impact. The size of the chambers is huge and reflecting on this having been created by the underground river over Millenia makes us feel very insignificant.

At the end of the guided tour we walked by ourselves back to the Information Centre (about 40 minutes) on route 2 (orange). We were advised that the tour included 500 steps, up and down: there were definitely at least that many! Our guide was terrific: she waited for the group to catch up (we weren’t the slowest) before starting her spiel. Needless to say, the ‘no photos’ was ignored at least once. But now the walk is finished, we can take photos.

After coffee and lunch a visit to the museum – we were the only ones. It was a simple display but lots of information, and an excellent video. The video mentioned an observation we’d shared yesterday: the dimension of time in the creation of these caves makes our existence miniscule: a very small example – it takes ten to fifteen years for one mm growth of a stalacmite. There were references to the magical, disappearing river (it goes underground for 30+kms after 55kms abover ground) as early as 2nd century BC.

From there, a drive to the village of Štanjel, which had been recommended by our hosts.We were suddenly in vineyard territory, & obviously a drier environment,  close to the Italian border. Not quite knowing what to expect as we walked up the hill and entered the town we were struck by how derelict & deserted it was. It turns out that it had been extensively damaged during WWII and is being renovated and reinvented: there are now only about fifty residents and it hosts facilities such as a reception hall, a regional wine shop, & wine -making school. Popping into the grocery store for 2 potatoes to complete dinner (T needed an ice cream),it felt a bit like an Italian deli with an inviting fresh, unpackaged meat section. T had already planned to focus the main dish on the home-made sausage back at our accommodation. But she admired the selection on display.

Last stop for the day was Predjama Castle. Parking was some distance down a steep road so, rather than park and walk, we opted to have a ‘remote viewing’ from a green area above the castle, which worked fine given that we were only there for a photo moment. The castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult. Later, we were surprised to discover that the castle was just down the road from our apartment.

Tomorrow, we return the car and catch the bus to Vienna. Dinner was a full and flavoursome feast with Marjan’s sausage added to the kidney beans & tomatoes. There were even oven-roasted potatoes accompanying -D in heaven. The evening was beautifully quiet with no adjacent neighbours. What a treat! The day finished well.

 Slovenia has been a gem: 100 shades of green, superb natural scenery, friendly people, some quiet spaces, even the capital has a comfortable, small-town feel and the prevalence of English makes it very, very easy.

A special 16th birthday today (and yesterday in Australia).

Day 36. Wednesday 6 May.

Forecast: rain. A meandering drive along secondary roads was planned to get to our next stop for two nights, near Postojna. A persistent rain, sometimes heavy, put paid to the idea of exploring on foot the towns we passed through. Already usually slow, our speed was even further reduced: we were frequently passed by other drivers, often over unbroken lines, but were never tail gated or beeped or otherwise abused. It was reasonably comfortable being an old fart trundling along (T pleased not to be on freeway).

We tried for a coffee at Idrija, but after trawling through the narrow streets could not find anywhere to park, so moved on – to find a bar at Godovic, populated by old men, served by a lovely young woman, who served terrific coffee. D fitted in.

The road from Skopja Loka to Postojna was frequently narrow and winding, through a mountainous region much like yesterday. The rain made concentration serious – and the low cloud made sightseeing ‘difficult’ but T still comfortable.

At coffee we decided to head straight to our apartment if we could get an early check in (before the usual 1600). Tamara was happy to oblige and we arrived at about 1300 to be greeted by her and Marijan our hosts, who provided comprehensive briefings, including on the operation of the sauna,  plus bread, cheese, schnapps and sausage (both  home made)…and Marijan will bring croissants to the door in the morning! The set-up is amazing, beneath the extensive main house, very, very stylish & with under- floor heating (it will dry today’s wet shoes).

We left for the Postojna Cave at about 1400, having been advised to be there 30 minutes before entry. On arrival D missed the turn into the car park necessitating a long detour into town to do a U turn. Got back, parked and headed for what we thought was the cave – which was in the other direction. With instructions from a bemused passer by, we headed for the ‘big house’, with no idea where we should be. Walking up and down the rows of souvenir shops and cafes, we saw a cave entry sign, flashed our etickets – which didn’t work. Tried another version. Tried enlarging them. Tried the email version. Tried to brighten the colour. The guy overseeing the turnstiles eventually tired of this and just took us around the barrier. Inside was a display of specimens, explanations about the olm, etc but no sign of the train. D went back to the turnstile guy who told him that it was just above, just keep going. Back he went, but it simply wasn’t making sense, so back D went. ‘Ah’, the turnstile guy said helpfully ‘you wanted to get on the train! Now I understand. But you’ve missed it. If you hurry to the ticket office, you should be able to exchange your tickets for the 1530 train’. D rushed to the ticket office in the rain, exchanged the tickets in exchange for a 10-euro levy, provided some polite advice to the ticket seller on the poor signage, and we rushed to join the queue to get on the train. And the reason our etickets didn’t work: they were for the train, not the display! So, we’d been in the wrong area all along. This is probably Slovenia’s biggest tourist attraction; D found the signage inadequate, although returning to the car park after the visit we did see signs that if we’d been more leisurely earlier, we might have noticed.

But the cave experience was mind-blowing…a little train took us 2kms into the limestone, along tunnels, through stalactites/mites: 15 mins of magic. Then it was disembark & walk (our group was large) for about 90 minutes, through ‘room upon room’ of formations and colours. The tour guide tried his best with information but because we were often at the back, we couldn’t actually always catch the spiel, plus people were talking & stopping to snap pics, so T abandoned the aural & just marvelled at the visual. D grumped his way towards the front but still missed out on a lot. Then back on the train for 15 mins to the exit. It’s the world’s biggest cave and has been dealing with tourists for 200 years. And the king of the cave-animals is a creature called olm, a bit like a gecko, living for up to 100 years, able to go without food for 10, still a glint in the eye at 80…but it is actually blind, has no pigment, breathes through gills jutting from its head and has no predators! Now T’s favourite creature.

Back to the apartment for a sauna and dinner – and to try Marijan’s home made schnapps. In accordance with Slovenian hospitality (we think) we’d been offered a sip on arrival, politely refused because D was driving. The schnapps was terrific – but wouldn’t want to have too much!

Staged photo!

Day 35. Tuesday 5 May.

A wet day forecast, and early morning it looked imminent. We had planned to do a road trip including the Vrsic Pass (highest pass in Slovenia) & along the Soca Valley to Bovec. A quick check of our map limited the preferred one-way round trip option, which would have taken us into Italy – the terms of our car rental don’t allow us to cross international borders. Our fallback was to do an out and back to Bovec, via Kranjska Gora, a neat 70 km each way. We knew by now that the timings on Apple Maps would not reflect ours!

Our first stop was after Kranjska Gora at the Russian Chapel, dedicated to Saint Vladimir (!) built by Russian prisoners of war used in forced labor in the area during World War I, in memory of 100+ of their colleagues killed in an avalanche in 1915.

The fuel gauge indicating range in the T-Cross was dropping by 10 km for every 1 km traveled. D was starting to get a bit worried, although logic told him this was not an issue. At the top of the pass (1611 metres) we figured that Bovec would have fuel: it did.

Plenty of cyclists do the pass & damp conditions would have kept them cool. The road snakes through tiny villages; snow sports and high-octane activities are the go: rafting, kayaking, canyoning and of course the familiar serious hikers. There are also plenty of motor bikes.

The sheer rock faces are awesome and on a fine day their peaks would glow. Today, the clouds came well down.

In Bovec a coffee with a traditional Slovenian cake, very like a strudel, although we were assured that it wasn’t the same. As we left, we took our cups and plates inside: the waitress thanked us and offered us a job: ‘we are short of staff’ for the season.

Back up the mountain road, hoping for the clouds to lift or part for that magical shot.

The Soca River is a marvellous sight & the aquamarine is accurate. Idyllic fly-fishing terrain.

On return, stopped at Kranjska Gora to marvel at the blinding white riverbed – not much water covering those rocks, but the same green hue. There’s a man-made recreational lake which would have been busy with swimmers during the last week but today? No, since temperature was 5.5 at mid afternoon.

Another full day of meandering in outstanding scenery. We comment regularly on the language being super challenging; so few words are easily identifiable for us: pizzeria and stop are no-brainers, as is one from a roadside billboard today (but we’re none the wiser what the issue is).

A comment on drivers in Slovenia – we have seen no road rage, blaring horns, angry gestures, tail gating etc even in Bled during that awful peak hour. Drivers in this region have been extremely patient with the many cyclists sharing the roads – and take care to pass safely. Bikers likewise have passed only when safe. It has been more relaxing driving here on the wrong side of the road than on the Tuggeranong Parkway! For D anyway.

Day 34. Monday 4 May.

Blessed with another bright day, GORJEous day for Vintgar.

Despite D, with Apple Maps help, heading for the wrong place requiring a U turn, we arrived at the Vintgar parking and shuttle bus area in good time. The parking attendant guided D to a spot, then continued to give hand signals to move over to the right about a body width, once we were in the position he put us (D is quite competent without attendant help, thank you) – he threw up his hands, presumably in frustration, when D decided to turn off the engine…he was then onto the next driver. The shuttle (every 7 mins) bus loaded with passengers of all sorts and ages, dress and footwear (yes, thongs featured) and including dogs. One sweet poodle thing snuggled into its human parents.

At the Vintgar entrance folk milled quietly. Tickets are mostly purchased online and entry times are strictly allocated…our ticket was valid from 1123. Gold Coast Jenny (from Our Bled experience) turned up a bit early for her 1150 entry & we had a very brief chat. We entered on time at 1123, of course, & were each issued a helmet and optional hair net.

If anyone tried to enter through the turnstiles before their allocated time, the QR reader would not open the gates (it happened quite a bit while we waited – so good to see…so orderly!) To be fair, there were no instructions at all, so it was easy to be uncertain of the procedure.

The one-way gorge walk was marvellous… water, trees, flowers (perfumed a bit like wisteria), busy little, long-tailed birds – later identified as a Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), chasing insects and flying aerobatically just above the water up and down the river.

And after the final waterfall there was some discussion about how to get back to the shuttle bus pick up point – D advised an American couple using Apple Maps (hmm) and more importantly the information board! We chose correctly.

A signposted 40-minute walk (some serious climbing) back through birch, oak & pine forest, to a very necessary short cheese plate and water refuel beside 15th century St. Katarina’s Chapel, then past summer-grazing pastures (cows & horses) with extensive views of tiny villages strung along valleys, Bled Castle visible in the distance…and finally we were back at the shuttle pick-up point. Of course, just to rub it in some very young children skipped and ran along the mountain track, as others of us huffed & puffed along. Forty minutes was more like 90!

Day 33. Sunday 3 May.

A warm day forecast. Agreed plan for today was to visit Vintgar Gorge. D looked it up online and confidently asserted that we’d be able to buy tickets once we got there – no need to book online. Arrived mid-morning to be advised by the lovely attendant at the parking entrance that the next available slots were not until1400, and that it was best to book online. Pulled into a parking spot to mull this over, deciding to defer until tomorrow – and book online. As we conferred, lots of other hopefuls did U turns!

We wanted to avoid the congestion of Bled, which is just down the road, so headed away, towards Skopja Loka, getting us on to the A2 highway. Before we quite got there T said let’s duck into to Brezje, having seen a brown tourist sign offering something. We arrived in this delightful little town towards the end of an open-air Mass. The Mary Help of Christians Basilica here is the Slovenian national monument to Mary. We thought on arrival that a Sunday market was happening but no, clustered around the church were a café and souvenir stalls, selling Catholic paraphernalia.

Our need was for coffee and a ‘first’ was actually ordering at the counter: until now it’s been table service. But they got the coffee, the jug of hot water and the strudel just right.

Mass finished, bells rang, worshippers moved into the church, queueing to offer prayer to Mary (T learned that this was normal Sunday post-mass practice) and then outside,  cars started to pull into a small adjacent parking area where a priest was addressing a crowd, followed by sprinkling holy water on people & cars. Again, T asked what was happening and learned that it was normal practice to seek ‘safe travel’ , blessings on cars, bikes and motorbikes, a regular event because of, apparently, Slovenia’s high accident rate.

On to Kranj, another quiet, neat pretty town. A walk through the old centre took in a visit to a museum/art gallery, with a retrospective of Alenka Kham Picman (1932 – 2025) which was delightful in colour and abstract shapes/lines.

 Inset in the floor of the building were windows into what had been an ancient burial ground – just a bit eerie,

Kranj Parish Church also had great stained glass windows in abstract shapes/lines.

Then a walk through the town and down to the canyon/river. Being a very warm day, kids were in the river whooping & splashing. T engaged with a couple from Manchester, visiting Slovenia for a week (as you do when cheap airfares get you anywhere in Europe in under 2 hours). They commented on how cheap Slovenia is compared with UK but T said that food prices were on a par with OZ and wages here are much lower. We chatted about this & that and the wonderful weather.

Last town for the day was Skopja Loka, with another ancient centre on the river, and a castle/monastery & steep steps to an outdoor museum within its gardens, showing some of the town’s previous agricultural heritage. There was a very welcome beer before wandering around the open-air museum.

The day had passed with terrific quiet ambling in picturesque settings within the surrounding Julian Alps…just lovely and no more than 40 mins from ‘home’.

Day 32. Saturday 2 May.

After looking at possible destinations for our next stay, weighing up attractions and distances, we wondered if we could extend our time here by two days and use this location as our hub. It worked, so we’ll be based in Jesenice until Wednesday (gives us time to use all the Lidl supplies).

Weather forecast looks unsettled from Tuesday, so decided to get the outdoors activities ticked off. Today was Lake Bled, with perhaps a canyon walk. It is a short trip, a bit under twenty km, but quite slow – which suits T.

Well, we arrived at Bled, along with throngs of tour groups, families, cyclists, couples, joggers, walkers…..the place was heaving with people, cars, buses, bikes, bicycles, scooters. Found a car park away from what seemed to be the main part of town and wandered down to the lake to start our circumnavigation. That became the sort of jostle experienced in big cities. So many people, groups, random crash halts and of course posed photographs! Stuck with it for a while (about 45 mins of the lake circuit) – long enough to admire the beauty of the place, both natural and built. Water colour is that green, surrounding forests also, and sky true blue. The little boats carrying about a dozen passengers each are rowed by burly-looking guys across to the island monastery, there is a bell ringing constantly, other little two person row boats are dotted about (so romantic, says D). And there are some fish.

Decided to abandon the walking circuit, it was time for coffee so tramped up steps to Kavarna Park café (the viewpoint was fabulous) but wallet was truly bled by the most expensive coffee ever: two doppios and a piece of the famous Bled cream cake, which D had never heard of (a bit like an overweight vanilla slice) was charged as four (expensive in their own right) espressos plus the cake.  T struck up a conversation with a woman from the Gold Coast & so didn’t challenge the bill & spent the rest of the day rationalising it as a ‘mistake’. Gold Coast Jenny waxed lyrical about Bled: T said ‘it’s a bit Disney’ and didn’t have the heart to say we were abandoning the scene. She was very grateful to D who, doing his Ove thing, cut off two potential queue-jumpers, young American women, pointing out that Jenny was actually next in line for a table. Jenny had waited at the beginning of the row of tables; everyone else just passed her and positioned themselves, hovering ready to jump on the next vacancy! What queue?

They didn’t take it all that well, one saying aggressively when D tried to explain the situation ‘It’s OK, I believe you’, which suggested she didn’t. D could take on several Ove-style jobs in any of the places we’ve been (policing rubbish disposal, traffic, tickets, queues…)

Giving Bled a miss, we drove along the Sava Bohinjka. That worked well – crossed the river a few times, taking parallel minor roads through some of the villages we saw yesterday from the train, and had a picnic lunch in a quiet spot on the river near Brod. A couple pulled up in a simple oldish, home-made motorhome (French plates) & put out the table & deck chairs. We reminisced about our Gloria days. And there was the kozolec (the iconic Slovenian structure, complete with hay), showing its style. We’d only come across a few with hay hanging; mostly they have been storing timber. Timber…it’s the primary source of heating in rural areas & we’re wondering about the effects on forests & air (especially as Slovenia prides itself on being green).

Continued our drive along the river and arrived at Bohinj. ’Let’s do the the Vogel funicular’, gulped at the price, but after the coffee experience, who’s counting?

Joined the informal ‘queue’ 15 minutes before the ride: watched in resignation as later arrivals just walked past to be in a better position. Eventually accepted that this is how it is – no apologies, no quarter given, no embarrassment – and joined in.

Took the ride, gulped at the height and ravines underneath, held on tight and bravely kept eyes open. Views of Triglav and Lake Bohinj below on such a perfect afternoon were magic.

Return gondola trip boarding was the same as going up: and the carriage was crammed over full. But safely on the ground, it was time to head for home via Bled; maybe all those folk have also turned around! No such luck, it was peak hour…traffic crawled along, bumper to bumper, for about thirty minutes, travelling only about two kilometres. Folk swimming & sunbathing, cycling, walking, cycling, walking, jogging…there was really no time pressure & the mountain vistas were terrific.  Eventually the traffic eased once we through the town, and we were home by (late) beer o’clock.

Tonight is meatballs and the long-awaited mash.

Day 31. Friday 1 May.

Fantastic doonas, albeit singles, meant a cosy night’s sleep… and the serenity! What to do today? Well, first thing check out the railway station for whenever we look to do the Bohinj Rail scenic journey between Jesenice & Nova Gorica, through the Julian Alps that we’ve heard about/read about). Apple Maps took us to the closest station: deserted, no doubt due to the three-day long weekend. Hmm. T asked a couple of (slightly suspicious of us) women pushing a pram, and one told us we were at the wrong station, pointing generally in the direction of the main town. Back to Apple Maps which took us, probably giggling – got you again – to the main Jesenice station, again deserted, but with information in English about train schedules. There was a train going in about twenty minutes to Nova Gorica, it was a highly recommended journey, we had a car park, we could buy tickets on the train: ‘why not?’ said T.  D was compliant. Duly boarded, and D had enough time to buy online the SZ Turist weekend option, which included the return trip, in First Class! We were away.

Terrific photo opportunities – except that either the train was going too fast, there was vegetation in the way, or we weren’t quick enough. We passed picturesque, perfectly manicured villages; rivers and streams; canyons; fisherfolk in the river; cyclists; hikers; villagers tilling the soil or telling tales; rail officials in red hats…..

Nova Gorica was a bit of a surprise. Lonely Planet describes it as ‘the best thing about Nova Gorica is leaving it’ amongst other similar put downs. Nova Gorica is right on the border with Italy – it’s adjacent town is Gorizia.

We had a couple of spare hours after coffee, so just strolled from Slovenia into Italy. Suddenly, we understood most of the signs! There had been a serious event in 2025: constant signage for Go 2025 (the prestigious European Capital of Culture (ECoC) title. Although much was closed, being May 1, we got a positive feel for this border town – or rather, for the Italian side which had plenty of charm & style. We could have easily spent a few hours wandering but there was a train to catch.

As we headed back to catch the return train we agreed that the Lonely Planet assessment was very harsh and didn’t reflect our admittedly very quick visit on a public holiday. But perhaps we’re not the main LP audience?

Return journey a repeat of the outward one, except for a long delay at Bohinjksta  Bistrica  waiting for the train coming from the other direction.

A lovely day out!

Day 30. Thursday 30 April.

A beautiful bright morning. Checked out of the apartment in good order. In lovely sunshine, but a very cool breeze, walked to pick up the hire car from SixT, stopping at the café we’d dropped in to yesterday. The proprietor greeted us, remembered our order, and said that if our luggage was stolen from outside, we could run after it; we suggested HE could do that. Had a quite long conversation about life in Australia – tried not to be too pessimistic! At least we’re all safe.

VW T-Cross SUV picked up and on our way.

Rather than the direct route we detoured on minor roads, more or less parallel to the highway (A2). Traffic was light (because of the holidays, we’re told) and patient – no rush or pressure as D reacquainted himself with driving on the wrong side of the road and T got use to the closeness of the shoulder.

Good views of the mountain range in the middle distance, with quite a bit of snow on the higher peaks.

The final leg into Jesenice was a flashback to Spain and Portugal – narrow, winding roads with very sharp corners.

Arrived at the location, but unsure of which was our house: D was picturing a different set up – one we’d considered but passed on. Fortuitously our host Natasa arrived at this point and checked us in. The house was inherited from an uncle of her ‘man’, who had no children, and they have renovated it. We are the only occupants! Luxury, with no one scraping above or running water, or doors closing. Views of mountains are terrific.

Natasa advised us that the next two days are Public Holidays (something to do with May Day), so no shops will be open – and, as we’ve discovered, they’ll be shut on Sunday too. So off to Lidl for a big shop to see us through. The supermarket was SUPER-busy with the impending long weekend panic-buying. It’s difficult to buy in small quantities: although D’s potatoes are vital, we really don’t need a 5 kilo bag of them (T’s opinion). And how’s the garlic supply? T only wants one bulb, not three, but will buy three to get one. Where’s the consistency? But a real treat…some beef that will make a stovetop casserole (no oven).

Mid-afternoon and the central heating is on – it will be a cold night, the air chilly at 5 PM as we walk down to the local Mercator for a few things we forgot (primarily the aforementioned trinity of garlic). Down the road, then a lane, peeking into backyards that are laid out market gardens, down some steps and there, under an umbrella was an older lady with a fruit stall…it’s strawberry season, and she’s got mandarins, asparagus… and the pears? Just about every house has a vegetable and/or fruit garden, all looking very ready for the new season.

Come 6pm & we need the heating…the lovely hydronic is not so responsive…we can ‘hear’ some action, but the panels and pipes are only lukewarm at best. Across the road a chimney has smoke…it’s rather inviting.