To The Alps It Is

I was debating on which route to take once back in Ljubljana. After talking with a few different people it seemed the north part of Slovenia was an area not to be missed. It would involve longer days and more climbs but I've been building up enough to it that my body wouldn't go into shock. I headed out under dark skies but after an hour of rain it started to look promising.

    

The ride was mellow and there wasn't that much climbing but the mountains ahead were getting a little closer. I stopped at a small town called Kranj and when I got to a deli I did my "Ali Imate sandvich?" routine and got bread, cheese and meat for a sandwich. I circled around afterwards to the Informaciye to get some advice on how to get out of town. The kind and very well spoken information guide pointed out that the route that I would be taking was hilly. People love to tell you a ride is hilly. The map I have also points out hills. Hills take up almost as much thought as what my next meal is going to be. I get it, it's a hilly country!

I stopped at the local church on the way out of town, (I decided to give the castle a miss) to grab a photo and see the town. Even in larger town settings people still look at you as though you were riding a saddled pig through their town.

 

It was great again to be on the back-roads and admiring how forested and remote Slovenia countryside is. One third of Slovenia is covered in forest so it leaves large patches of beautiful country roads. You don't go too long before you pop out onto a major road or a small village. After cresting a climb and starting on the downhill I could see the next town across the valley. Its a town called Radovljica. Its not far from Bled so I knew there was only another hour or so before getting to the hostel for some food and a shower. It's the little things.

                                    

I got into Bled just after 5:00 so I headed to the castle before it got too dark as I was going to head to another lake the next day. 

                                               

Slovenes like to add Lake Bohinj to the conversation when you mention Lake Bled so I thought I would check them both out. Lake Bohinj is about 35 kms to the west. If you stay off the main and busy road you can take the mountain pass. Its a little longer and much more of a climb. I think its about 700 metres of climbing. I wisely, or unwisely chose not to calculate the climb before hand; sometimes not knowing

is good. It was pretty challenging and I could hear the voice of the woman at the hostel desk saying 'Its hilly!'

I got to the lake about three hours later, had some sandviches and decided to carry on to see the Savica waterfall. It was great but also gave a nicer perspective of the valley and lake. It's a beautiful lake and nowhere as busy as Bled. But does it have a castle as an island? Its like comparing apples to apples.

I was initially planning on biking back but by the time I got back to the main part of town I decided to enquire about the train. There were three trains left for the rest of the day the woman said. It would be €1.85 for me and €3.50 for my bike. I asked if my bike could sit next to me as a passenger. My humour was lost.

It was a great 20 minute ride back to Bled and after some food and a chat with some of the other travellers at the hostel I called it a day. Its a much different area than the east and the people that are here use it as a springboard to do hikes, mountain biking, canyoning or climbing. It was nice to have seen more than just Bled and my legs feel as though they are in some shape for the rest of the travels in the Alps.