Lovely Slovenija

 

Its been one week since I left Slovenia and the trip is still settling into my psyche somewhere. Its easy to remember all the positive experiences and in time I will likely forget the bad ones that werent character building. There is a song that Geoff Berner wrote titled, 'Light Enough to Travel'. It was covered by the Be Good Tanyas and I always thought it was in relation to your luggage. I think that keeping the decisions and thoughts that whirl through your mind when traveling light and easy might make more sense.
I became absorbed in decisions and outcomes and began to test the edges of decisions based on intuition and feeling as opposed to pre-determined plans. If you say 'sure' to anything and have no expectations very rarely will it result in regret but most of the time, most, it will lead you into a new direction that will reinforce a light and positive frame of mind.

Trying to sum up thoughts from the trip only a week after is a bit like forcing toothpaste back in the tube; its messy. Like my previous trip through South East Asia it wasnt until well after that the trip and the experiences caught up with me and it became more clear as to what the trip meant.

I do know that it is a beautiful country filled with friendly and generous people who would give you anything that they have and would be insulted if you didnt take it. I had no expectations for the trip so being there with space to be filled up on hospitality, good food, friendly people, fantastic wine, family, history and stunning scenery has added some weight to my memories and waistline. It will be a while before I digest everything, as is the case with traveling, but it wouldnt take much for me to head back and spend some more time getting to know a little more of the country as it feels like I only scratched the picturesque and friendly surface. Until next time.

Last Weekend

Knowing that I would only have one more day of riding, and only three hours at that, I took my time heading down to Kanal from Kobarid. It was a fitting end as I headed back downstream along the winding road under ashen skies. A mellow ride with some moderate climbs and equally moderate descents got me into Kanal for 3:00 in the afternoon.

I met my cousin Angelika and her boyfriend Grega at her grandmother's place. Draga, my father's cousin, had made a welcoming meal and after a full stomach and a third serving of dessert (I only learned how to politely say no to seconds towards the end of the weekend) we headed into town to see the houses that my grandmother and father grew up in respectively.

Ajba is a cluster of homes that qualifies as a town, and with only half a dozen residences we explained why we were wandering through. The details of what house my grandmother lived in are sketchy but I believe this was the area that she was raised in after being born in June of 1905 until she left for Belgium in 1928.

Strolling along in Ajba

My father was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1937 and moved to Slovenia in 1940. They stayed in the Kanal area for eight years until 1948 when they headed to Fara In Sabina near Rome. After a year in Italy they travelled back to Belgium in 1949. They lived in various places in the Kanal area but the photo below is the house that they lived in when in the town of Kanal. 

Old home with new look

Soca river in Kanal

There is a term in Slovenija that I dont think translates equally to english. As Slovenija is so small and connected, if you need anything done, you go through the established channels setup via family and friends. For example, say you have a cousin coming to town that youve never met and may not have the time to show him around, you would enlist the help of your daughters boyfriend to provide 'tour guide' services. The term for this is called 'zrikta'. Everything that gets done in Slovenija it seems, is through connections. Its like a scaled down version of the internet minus the computers, search engines and advertising. Their search engine is a gathering around a kitchen table and a cell phone.

Zrikteur Grega

The Koncut family had a full weekend planned with attending baton practice, an education seminar for my cousin Andreja who is a teacher and repairing a hot water heater. This meant catching up in the evenings and seeing the area with Grega during the day. We went to the wine region of Goriska Brda and met another cousin of mine for the day. We also agreed that a hike the next day would be great as the weather looked promising but as luck would have it the weather changed and the views in the alps were kept under a blanket of fog when we got to the ridge. It was still great to get out for a hike.

Wine region Goriska Brda

Start of hike

View before fog rolled in

The evenings were spent eating, talking and trying to find a promising Slovenian movie to watch; I will need to do more research when home. There is a comfort in sitting around with familiar blood in a foreign country and just being able to be still and chat. I know Ive mentioned it before but the welcoming experience that Ive had at each relatives has made the trip more than I was expecting. Being a tourist can often leave you feeling like all you are doing is making financial arrangements for services, food and accommodation. Spending time with family in between travelling and experiencing the country was a type of re-set button and helped me feel more stitched into the fabric of the country. 

Photo: G. Zorz





The desserts

The last weekend was a fitting and great way to end my time in Slovenia. When I arrived in Slovenia I had five days of spending time in Ljubljana with relatives so to have my trip book-ended with family at the western most part of the country was perfect. To be both welcomed and sent off with Slovenian hospitality was a moving and formative experience that will likely linger somewhere in my personality until my dying days. Its hard to express gratitude and appreciation adequately enough for everything that family does but with some family its just something that you do, no questions asked. 

It was tough to leave given how effortless the travel felt at times and I could have stayed longer but it felt like I was running out of areas to see by bike. Knowing that I had two more weeks in Italy and Switzerland I was excited to see a different part of europe and finish off the Slovenian bike chapter on a positive and memorable note.

View from WWI bunker

The Soca Valley

"Ever since I was a baby child I knew I was born to roam/I had to climb to the top of the hill just to see what lies beyond". -the Waifs

Those lyrics seem to be on repeat some days and probably help with understanding the decisions that I choose to make. After two days in the hostel, one night with other guests and one night solo, again, with the ghosts, I thought I would have an easy day and ride the 30 km to Novo Gorica to relax, do some laundry and start to wind down my trip.



I arrived in Novo Gorica which by comparison to other towns in Slovenia is still in diapers. After the border was redefined after the 2nd World War, in 1948, the original city of Gorica became Italian, and the Slovenians perhaps as a way of starting anew, developed 'new' Gorica. Its primary draw is the myriad of casinos for the Italians who live less than 1 km away. It also has a University. Insert cricket sounds here.
I had arrived in Novo Gorica by 12:00 and after heading to the TIC and extracting as much info on the highlights of the town I opted to ride another 50 km up the valley to Kobarid to see a military museum, which seemed to be the better option.

I had passed through Kobarid on my way down from Bovec but didnt have time to stop in to see the town or the thorough World War I museum. So this became my reasoning to head back to the foothills of the alps.

                                                

The weather was changing as I headed up the valley and it felt like it would start to rain any minute. Thankfully Kobarid is in the lower part of the foothills at the cusp of a plateau which meant a less chance of rain. As I rode closer into town the skies were getting darker but was fortunate to have another ride without October rain. The nice thing about every town having a church is that it gives you a landmark for how close or how far you are, depending on how your legs feel.

Once I arrived into town I went to the TIC and found a place for the night. When I came back outside I met a touring couple, but not just a regular touring couple.

They are Anna and Mikael from Poland. Mikael lost his job and Anna still had two months of maternity leave so they decided to take five weeks and bike through Austria, Italy and Slovenia before heading back. I couldnt get over what they were doing. They average about 30 km a day and were joking that their son wouldnt learn to walk as he is in his chariot for large stretches of the day. He seemed quite attached to it and started to cry as he wanted to get back in after his feeding. I know people have been nomadic for eons but knowing what touring can be like as one person taking care of only one person and one bike its still amazing to see.

I caught up on caloric intake and chatted with a couple from Germany here for some mountain biking and had an early night. I was planning on heading to the museum in the morning and then heading back down the valley.

Earnest Hemingway, in his book A Farewell To Arms, was using the battle of Kobarid or Caporetta in italian as the source of his writing. Having visited the museum and getting a sense of what the area was like during World War I, I think it changed the way I looked at the valley on the way back down. It started to develop a narrative of sorts and became more than just fields, forrests and farms.

It was interesting to have experienced the valley with a cultural optic that was void of history from the area and then to have the knowledge of what happened here in the mountains less than 100 years ago. I was glad that I made the extra effort to head up to see part of the history of this area and also to meet Anna and Mikael. Somehow I dont think the two experiences could be any further from electronic machines designed to rob you of hours and dollars from your life.

Post-Coast

Monday morning was an early start and after sharing a breakfast and a round of hugs we said our goodbyes and headed off to start our respective weeks. I was heading up to Vipava to sample the wines and see the valley.

 Heading to Vipava meant riding back the same way that I had come only a few days earlier so also meant climbing up from sea level. After three days of good food and rest, and with the advice of an old italian man to be 'piano' about life, it wasnt too bad of a day.

I stopped in at a few wineries on the way to the Vipava area but being the off season and without setting anything up before hand it became more of a trek sampling the variety of barking dogs at each house. I found a place to stay in Vipava, talked the 'accordion' with my host who is developing an app for the accordion, listened as he performed a traditional waltz on one of his many accordions in his studio, headed out for a late meal and decided to head out to Pliskonica to stay at a hostel the next night.

Its not far of a trek to Pliskovica from Vipava so I shared a two hour breakfast with two other bike tourers from New Zealand. I think they were part of the New Zealand propaganda group and planted seeds for my next trip. They are in their late fifties and still travel by bike when on vacation. With shared tales of biking and after exchanging emails we headed off to meet our days.

A 'road' I found myself on heading out

There isnt too much to visit between Vipava and Pliskovica but there is one town called Stanjel that is now known for weddings as much as it is for its unique design. The town, because of its position in the Vipava valley was used as a area for fortification and has been rebuilt numerous times in its history. One of the last constructions was the Ferrari Gardens designed by Max Fabiani, who was also born in Stanjel. It was completed in 1920 and is now used as a photography backdrop for the happy new couples.

I took my time sauntering along the quiet mellow roads and subdued villages and  enjoyed the flatness and effortlessness of being on a small plateau. On my way I chatted with a Slovenian cyclist who was doing a tour on his own, but besides lycra, a phone and presumably some money he didnt have much. Most Slovenian people I talk with appreciate their country and landscape, but it seems like its the cyclists that not only know what their landscape looks like but what it also feels like in their legs, lungs and heart. As a cyclist it feels like you are being shaped by the landscape as much as you are by the people, culture and their stories. Some landscapes will inevitably be more memorable.

Signs of autumn around each corner

Village honesty at its sweetest

I arrived in Pliskovica and learned that I had to head 4 kms from town to the closest grocery store for any food for the night so after taking off my panniers and with one empty bag I headed into town. It was the first time I had ridden my bike without the extra 30 to 40 pounds of weight and it was one of the most satisfying rides. I thought I would catch up on rest and reading so being in a converted farmhouse, and also with some weather coming in, I grabbed some food and wine and stayed put for two days before heading back up to the Soca valley to see family and the town where my father was raised.

Olive the family

Things learned from life on the Adriatic coast with family:

1. You will be fed until you start to become suspicious that perhaps you are being fattened for slaughter.

2. You must never tap on a wine barrel; you'll only learn how much is left.

3. People you've never met before will treat you better than the best all-inclusive resort money can buy.

4. Your wallet will be treated as though it has leprosy and will illicit reactions of repulsion.

5. Your capacity to learn the Slovenian language will be dramatically outpaced by your capacity to grow nose hair.

6. You will have teary eyes saying goodbye to family, some of whom you only met for one hour and said nothing more than hvala.


7. Despite being told you speak good slovene, you will conjur up the idea that you sound like a two year old with a cleft pallet everytime you open your mouth.

8. In some circles, Skype is the equivalent to pulling a rabbit out of a hat in the 1830's

9. Babylon translator will not do a good job of conveying sentiments and thoughts whereas eye contact, a hug and a glass of wine will bridge any language barrier everytime.

10. Jaw muscles will be as developed as if one were to bite their way up mount Triglav.

In the cantina sampling the goods. 

Cousins: Mitja, Vojko, Ida & Valentina

Looking over a complex family tree

Cousin Ivo and his transport

Mitja and his mother Ida

Skype conversation with family in Montreal

Precursor to 4000 calories

In the man-cave cooking meat with cousin Ivo. Similar to Canada culture but they also build the cave.