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Published: August 16th 2010
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Today was a day that every motorcyclist dreams about. If your idea of heaven leans more towards alpine settings that tropical islands then you were in heaven. Crossing through the center of Slovenia and the slightly western side of Austria I decided Slovenia was heaven and Austria were for those who had committed only one or two minor indiscretions in their lifetimes.
It had rained over night and there was now a mixture of sun and clouds with that freshness that seems to last all day. Being Sunday it was quite out. Funny thing on trips like this days have no meaning, yet Sunday still holds something special. Perhaps it is to ride without guilt (some of us feel guilty if we are not working all the time). Guilt free and amidst the most amazing mountain scenery imaginable. It does not get any better than this.
Zagreb is close to the border with Slovenia and crossing was easy. Slovenia as Frommer says (right for once) is the hidden jewel of Europe. Everything is absolutely picture perfect. Even the road works (which are limited) appear to be manicured. Temperatures were cooler here (mid 20’sC today) and clearly plenty
of rain as everything is a rich green. Contrast this to farther to the north west, past Ljubljana, where the gray of the craggy peaks combine with a sky of mixed blue angry black and white fluffy and you get the idea of what picture perfect means.
Plenty of tunnels today - I figured out that not seeing was a function of light in the tunnel (sounds silly now) and in paradise (Slovenia) there is plenty of light not just at the end of the tunnel but in it. The Karwanken tunnel (gotta love than name) which joins Slovenia to Austria in 4.9 miles long and that is just one of them. Looking on Wikipedia at the world longest road tunnels I hit about 3 of the top 30, not bad for a days outing.
Stopped for lunch in Bled - not a good name for the epicenter of paradise. Picture a castle on the hill, a crystal clear lake below, an island in the lake with a fairytale style church and green around and towering mountains as the backdrop and there you have Bled. All you need would be the perfect meal. And there it was at the
castle, homemade barley soup bubbling in a caldron and ladled into a bowl you can eat - a sort of deep fried cup shaped pancake. I sat in the sun taking in the view with my soup and thought life does not get any better that this. Where else can you have your bowl and eat it too?
It was breathtaking all the way to Salzburg. In Slovenia alone I had been treated to the Julian Alps and the Karavanke that forms the ridge separating Slovenia from Austria. Peaks ranging from 5-9,000 feet were in view for most of the afternoon as I motored along.
Then it did get better - Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart and home to 3 universities. I got a not-as-cheap-as-I-hoped room near the railway station and wandered across Salzach River into old town. The Hohensalzberg castle looms above the old town has the expected historic cathedral etc. What was cool was that Siemans was sponsoring an outside event where an opera was being shown on a large screen to an obviously enraptured large audience. I must confess I did not know what it was, but the catering was good and I had some Austrian variation on the baked potato and a beer. I do miss the prices in eastern Europe. It was quite a day.
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