Slovenia
It's already been 2 weeks that I am on the road, mid June, and I am leaving behind the beauty of Istria peninsula to make it further North to Slovenia. Croatian days were over and fantastic they were too. However, I could have no regrets at all for leaving all these behind as my ride towards the Slovenian border was epic. Riding around those forests there is just impossible to disappoint you. I must admit I felt lucky that a place in Italy didn't responded so I contacted another one at Slovenia hence I found myself riding on wonderful routes. (There's something even luckier and funnier about my contact with my next place to stay in Slovenia - wait for it).
Around 20 km after the border I make a short stop at Stanjel Castle:
Riding the 103 following the green Soca river was unforgettable:
The whole route attracted me enough to stop every 5 minutes but this way I would never make it to my next destination so I tried to delay only for the very best of it. Here is the harvest from my short stop at the water power plant of "Pregrada Podselo", still riding on the 103:
Slovenia doesn't run out of nice rides and so did my last part up to Grahovo where I would stay for the next days, with the only exception that part of the route that Google made for me was too narrow so I ended up at a road wide as a medium van where I met with a trash truck and a big van, both offering funny times (wait for the video summarising the whole trip).
Here's how Grahovo looks like:
Last but not least, the place I planned to stay:
How I ended up there is the funny thing (I told you to wait for it). Since my contact with another place in Italy failed I found this one instead while Googling hence I made it to Slovenia. I decided to sms the owner asking about availability before I hit the road but decided to arrive there anyway despite the lack of reply. However, I found no one there. As I was walking around his guesthouse looking for vital signs with my fully loaded bike parked outside a friendly local lady came smiling asking me if I needed any help. I told her the story and she told me that John (the owner) was away but will be back very soon so I'd better wait for him. She didn't forget to remind me how nice John is. I then tried to call him but I couldn't. There was a problem with Slovenia's cell providers and my phone was actually left without signal. No I knew why I had no reply. A few minutes later John arrived in his Land Rover, a very nice guy indeed that was surprised from my arrival when I explained him that I am the guy who texted him earlier asking for a place to stay. His surprise had to do with the fact that he actually replied to me saying he's be away for other commitments therefore not available but something was cancelled on the go so now he was back and his whole place was empty waiting for me. Luck is the best movie director and here I am at a fantastic place with a top host that I cannot recommend enough. Don't miss Hisa Brdo Guesthouse if you are around. John Cusack (the owner) is a fantastic Irish guy with stories to tell.
With John it felt like old friends from the very first minute. Also a biker himself, he took me to his barn a) to offer parking space for my bike and b) to show me a custom bike project he had almost finished. I knew by then we'd get along pretty well. The stories we exchanged were of great variety and high interest. The priceless wonders of meeting the right people while travelling. Especially when these are escorted by some red wine:
I had a great sleep at his cozy place. He worked a lot to renovate this whole thing and turn it to a great BnB. In the morning he prepared his "Bosnian" breakfast for me which gave me enough power to explore some of the surroundings. A super bright sunny day helped a lot as well. Especially in drying my hand washed clothes at a fraction of time.
As I come back to my BnB John was away, everything was closed on a Sunday so I called him asking him if it was possible to bring me some food since I was starving and actually he was just queuing for take away food on his way back so he enhanced his order with my needs. How lucky can I be? Waiting and drooling I decided to try some of his walnuts when...yeah...they were a bit hard and I was a bit hard on them too:
I apologised when he arrived and gladly consumed the goodies he brought.
Next morning John was kind enough to offer to show me around a bit on his Land Rover. We left the car and hiked around Baca river for a while which gave me the following images:
A really epic place was waiting for us - the gorge of the nearby town of Tolmin. John ignored his tired knees and followed me all the way through it. I can't thank him enough. Plus he took some pictures of me - a rare thing for a solo traveller who hates selfies (that's me):
Tolmin gorge is a must - see for yourself:
I was told that people consider/attempt suicide there. At the same time, look how this tree offers a life lesson by surviving literally on the edge with barely any soil:
On our way back, again not running out of scenic routes we stopped for some fish by the river at a nice restaurant with a view and it really worth its money:
This was my second time at Slovenia and was totally confirming the fact that this country is undoubtedly recommended. Scenic routes, reasonable prices, nice food, it's got it all. But it was time to move North West the next day. Switzerland was waiting!
Follow my ride(s) and stay tuned for part 5!