As we descended into Bovec, I was in awe at the scenery from the tiny little town. We'd been following the Soca river for a bit and both decided that we HAD to go kayaking at some point while there. It's such a beautiful little valley surrounded on an epic scale by the most beautiful peaks. Just the way the sun hits it and the smells of lilac and honey...to say that I was excited to explore is an understatement.
We found a campsite with power (yay, another warm shower!) on the outskirts, and set off towards town.
The next morning, we grabbed cappuccinos and made reservations for a kayaking trip later that afternoon, which allowed us several hours of exploring beforehand. We started up another pass towards the Italian border and, about 3 miles in, came across an old stone fort off the side of the road. Of course, we had to stop and explore. We managed to stumble upon another stone ruin up the mountain a ways...we were in heaven!
After a couple of hours, we made our way back to Bovec for a kebab and beer and then an afternoon of whitewater kayaking in the pouring rain. It probably would have been absolutely perfect if it was a sunny, clear day, but the thunderstorm made it an experience I'll never forget. I conquered some pretty good rapids that I was a little nervous about beforehand, and then rolled my kayak trying to get out of some trees. It was so much fun though. The water is so clean and clear that you can literally drink it out of the river.
The following morning, we continued on that pass towards Italy and then Austria. We opted to stay off of the Autobahn and instead, enjoyed the views from below it, through tiny little picturesque villages. We couldn't help but marvel at the engineering feat of building the superhighway through such mountainous terrain.
We drove several hours and really loved the views, but our only stop in Austria was Hallstatt, a picturesque little village on a lake. Little did I know that the history there dates back to 5500 BC and houses the first salt mine in the world. It was kind of drizzly as we walked around town and grabbed a kebab from a little street vendor.
We awoke to pouring rain the following morning and hit the road for the German border. I had no idea what we were looking for there, but decided to head towards a little town called Mittenwald...purely on the basis of it's adorable name. It certainly didn't disappoint...even in the rain. About 10 minutes after we arrived, the rain cleared out and graced us with the loveliest rainbow and a clear view of the incredible mountains.
After another kebab (of course), we continued on and found a spot to park on the side of a mountain overlooking a little ski town. The rain was clearing up a bit, so we went for a long walk and slept like babies before making our way towards Switzerland.
