After our little excursion up to Tre Cime di Lavarado, the rain rolled in and we hit the road to our next destination - Slovenia. I really had no idea what to expect...I don't know of anybody that has ever been and most of the people I told didn't even know it was a country (to be fair, it's only been a country since 1991, so...). Anyway, I'd done a fair amount of research, but that can only get you so far. Half the time, we don't even go to the places I've planned because they are too far away or we get distracted by something even cooler on our way there, so I was anxious to get to Slovenia and see what it was like. Little did I know that it would end up being my probably one of the most beautiful places, if not THE most beautiful place I've ever seen.
As we drove over the border, the mountains began to change to a steeper, more rugged, grey stone and the terrain became the most vivid green. We managed to find a campsite with electricity (I finally got to take a warm shower!) right next to an Olympic training park and, what happens to be, the largest ski jump in the world. We hiked around a bit, made some dinner, and struck up conversation with a retired couple from Australia who recommended driving a mountain pass through Triglav National Park into Bovek. The next morning, our first stop was a little town called Kranjska Gora and Lake Jasna. It looked like a painting, it was so perfect. We walked around the lake and watched the fish, made our way to the Havasupai-blue waters of the Sava Dolinka River.
After a couple of hours, we went to a local cafe and had gelato and a couple of cappuccinos and picked up provisions for the next couple of days (mostly chocolate and beer) and then hit the road towards the mountains. We took the Vršič Pass (the highest pass in Slovenia) by means of the Russian Road...in reference to the 10,000 Russian prisoners of war that constructed it in WW1. Each of the 50 hairpin turns in the road are built out of cobblestones and much of it is barely even one lane wide...a real hoot for us in our camper van. Let's just say that we had an unfortunate encounter with a massive tour bus and ended up getting a little too close to the stone wall on the passenger side. Having lost track of space and time, we didn't even notice that it was a Saturday and a beautiful one at that, so the road was packed with cyclists and motorcyclists alike, tour buses, hikers and campers, other RVs, and little old couples just out for a weekend drive. It was VERY slow going, but we didn't mind at all because the scenery was quite literally breathtaking. It actually made me emotional, it was so beautiful.
We pulled off at every single scenic overlook and mountain hut and walking path and hiking trail and just explored and took it all in. The wildflowers were unlike anything I've ever seen, the sun was in the perfect spot in the sky, it smelled like lilac and pine and honey, and it was the ideal temperature outside...I just couldn't get enough. We spent the entire day on and off of that road.
One of the first spots was a church that the POWs built to commemorate their comrades that had died while constructing the road. Tucked away in the woods, we explored it's grounds and grave stones.
Little cabins and huts spotted the mountains and we eventually came to one that was a motel and restaurant and had an unusually large parking lot. I wandered around a bit, taking in the views and took notice of a hiking trail that was just too tempting to pass up.
A couple of hours later, we grabbed lunch (brats with saurcraut for Brian and stew for me) and a couple of beers at the hut and just enjoyed the views before setting off for Bovec. I can honestly say that that was one of the best days of my life :)
