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Published: August 12th 2020
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After a short, chilly set of stretches on our room’s balcony and the typical ham and bread breakfast, we drove to the other end of
Bohinj Laketo walk back via the woodland and lakeside path. Equipped with hiking boots and poles to ensure our safety, our energetic friends blazed along, and we photographers strolled along, captured by the morning light reflecting the distant snowy mountains in the lake.
On Bohinj Lake, scullers were training, a lake craft chugged tourists around, mallards nipped the green underwater plants, trout swam back and forth at the shallow edge, spring flowers showed their fresh blooms – and, we took pictures of it all. When we caught up to the others, Bill showed off his wet clothes. He had gone for a quick dip in the cold water (not so cold, he said)! Susan had gone wading but found the pebbles on the bottom very painful.
We all walked across the road to hotel for a quick wash before driving to the Gostilna pri Hrvatu restaurant. Of course we ate outside on the terrace with its dramatic view into the valley. At a large picnic table we relaxed, cheerful after our mild accomplishment. I was
excited to try the venison goulash, stewed long and slow in a hearty gravy, accompanied by Erdinger zero-beer.
We were promised ice cream at the top of the
Vogel cable car. Although this didn’t happen, we weren’t disappointed. The gondola cabins each held eighty people, and ours may have been full. The ride was excitingly terrifying, slowly rising against the cliff of Mount Vogel and revealing ever wider views of the long, flat valley hemmed by forested low mountains. At the top, slushy snow remained from the ski season, melting in the bright sun. With lots of giggles we took pictures of each other and for other tourists in a heart-shaped frame (sLOVEnia) showing the tallest mountain in the country. After all the photos we could manage, we had coffee and soft-drinks on the sun-drenched terrace.
The automatic gate stopped me after half our group had entered the gondola area; no problem with my ticket – the limit of eighty had been reached. We waited at the front of a long line of people returning to base, while at the bottom our friends waited just as long.
We stopped to visit a WWI graveyard, still meticulously kept. One million
Triglav National Park
Spring cross-country skiing season people were killed in the Slavic countries. The grave markers were wooden crosses, each protected by a little sloped roof. Most of the dead were identified as Austro-Hungarian, because at the time this area was part of the Empire.
We were not finished! Most of us undertook to climb 500 stairs to view the strange
Savica Falls about ten minutes away. One of the ways that such excellent facilities are afforded so soon after the 1990s war is through ticket-purchase.
At first, the steps were separated by pathway, but soon enough we were climbing up a wide, stone staircase through tall trees dressed in bright spring green leaves. Occasionally, we could lean over a fence and see the stream rushing far below. Rounding an edge of rock, suddenly a violent cataract of water startled our eyes! Spewing right out of the rock from a cave in the mountain it poured into a deep green pool that drained from its bottom into another cave and spilled only a little into the stream. After summer, the water level in the first cave drops enough to stop the water falling out.
Dinner was welcome after our outdoor adventures. We ate indoors
Savica Falls
From a cave, back into a cave at the same restaurant where we had eaten lunch on the terrace. This time Manka had ordered a feast for us. Kindly, Tomas asked the kitchen if the bit of cream could be left out of my bowl, so I could revel in the hearty mushroom soup starter. The waiter, whose dead-pan jokes rivalled Bill’s one-liners, brought us big platters of mixed grill: cevapcici, Bavarian sausages, pork chops, pork skewers, and chicken. Other big plates offered grilled vegetables, rice and roasted potato wedges. Red wine was good with all of it. No desserts!
View map of trip to date.
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Isabel Gibson
non-member comment
sLOVE the photos
Of the group's shadow and the tree gremlin, especially. Spring is a wonderful time of year. And I was amused by your comment on your satisfaction after a "mild accomplishment". Not a bad way to live, eh?