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.