“The threshold is the highest of the mountains.” Slovenian proverb

After a big breakfast in the parking lot of the funicular where we came to seek the rays of the sun, we still follow the river for a while Kamniška Bistrica before turning east and north again towards the glacial valley of Logarska Dolina.

The views on the road are sublime and we find them much more beautiful before passing the sign announcing the panoramic road of Solčava ! See that the valley where we enter, described as one of the most beautiful glacial valleys. Certainly it is beautiful but I do not know if that justifies charging the very entrance to the valley 8€, although these costs cover those that could have been on the car parks in the valley and that the money is normally used for the protection of natural and cultural heritage, education of the local population, sustainable development projects in the municipality, etc..

Logarska Dolina has two neighboring valleys : Robanov Kot and Matkov Kot but these are only accessible on foot. I'll keep them in mind for a future visit., because this time we only walk ten minutes after parking at the end of the valley, to go see at Rinka waterfalls, which falls from 90 meters, one of the highest in the country but not particularly impressive to see. On the other hand, we have a nice human encounter in the microscopic café perched high up near the waterfall and stay a long time to discuss with the mistress of the place..

After leaving the valley, we turn west and cross the border into Austria where the views of the mountains and valleys are more and more incredible at every turn. Too bad we couldn't find a place to stop for the night in these heights. We must begin the descent, which is long, steep and literally smokes the brakes ! We probably stopped in time to avoid disaster and we organize a cold snack while waiting for the platelets to find a cooler temperature too.

It is finally a few kilometers after entering Slovenia again that we stop at a small picnic area. The panorama is still grandiose and the night brings us an incalculable number of stars which makes me want to make the first night photo tests..

The temperature probably beat that of the night in le parc de Rakov Škocjan ! The weather gave for the village in the plain below us a little -5°C. But well covered, we can watch the sunrise over the mountain range before finishing our descent, crossing landscapes always more beautiful than the others.

Here we are back in the plain and the cities, the arrival in that of Bled first sends shivers down our spines. Here is one of the emblematic lakes of Slovenia, the one you will probably see on all the postcards. But as a result the place is distorted by a multitude of hotels, of restaurants and a mass of tourists even at the end of September.

We are halfway through the stay and this is where we decided to spend two nights camping., to use the amenities and also to have a base from which to explore the surroundings. The reception is quite cold and we realize with disappointment that there is no washing machine – but strangely a dishwasher. Fortunately, despite the train that passes nearby and the size of the campsite, the environment is very nice, between the mountains, and we are on the other side of the lake, away from the cluster of buildings.

After a deserved shower, we attack the path n ° 6, right next to the campsite to climb to a viewpoint at 685 meters, a hell of a drop in an hour to have a breathtaking view of the lake, its castle clinging to a cliff and above all its island which made it famous. Going down we push to the Belvedere Pavilion, a building perched on pillars thirty meters high, formerly dependent on Tito's villa hidden behind and now a café, unfortunately closed, which does not prevent us from enjoying the view from one of the balcony accesses if we do not taste a Kremsnita there, symbolic dessert of Bled.

The next morning, after having decently robbed the rolling bakery that is settling in the campsite – Slovenian version of the apple turnover, surprisingly less greasy than the French version, chocolate and vanilla boomerang… – we take the direction of the Triglav National Park. Only national park in the country, it is named after the highest peak in Slovenia which culminates at 2864 meters. It is not this peak that we decided to climb but the slightly lower one of Viševnik at 2050 meters. For this we do not start from the plain but Junior takes us to 1400 meters above sea level where we leave it parked in one of the car parks surrounding the Ministry of – I believe – Defense. There is a large paying car park but nothing is signaled before this one where we settle and we have not received any fines to date.

The excursion starts directly with a good drop, walking under buttocks. The score is given. As well as the fact that we probably won't have to worry about bad Slovenian markup, because hiking is one of the favorites of Slovenians and we are not alone. We need a good two hours and a few passages where we use our four limbs to reach the top of Viševnik. Already after an hour, the landscape unfolding below us was promising, but on arrival and despite the presence of a small group set up for a well-deserved lunch break, the view to 360 degrees is breathtaking !

We never stop admiring the spectacle of snow-covered Triglav although regularly masked by clusters of clouds, in the middle of other mountains and open or forested valleys. And like almost everyone, we sit down to snack before starting the descent. Most people just go back down the way we went up, but we opted for the loop which, in addition to being less violent on the knees, offers us incredible new views. Valleys, low angle view of Viševnik, small stream, walk in the forest, we take two hours to return to our starting point, exhausted but the head still full of extraordinary images.

On the way back, we stop at a laundromat in the village – the real village of Bled, not the fictitious full of hotel, où nous nous payons un tour sur les sièges massant installés en face des machines 😀 Le retour au lac est moins effrayant qu’hier, il y a moins de monde… ou alors nous nous sommes habitués. Nous profitons des douches et passons une fin de soirée tranquille avec un tour au restaurant en quête de la fameuse Kremsnita, mais encore raté ils n’en n’ont plus. Demain peut-être…

Une petite compilation en musique des vidéos sur les routes et dans les montagnes slovènes 😎

Oh yes, j’avais oublié, nous sommes allés en Autriche aussi ! Bon, sur une quinzaine de kilomètres seulement 🙂

 

Encore une fois, nos yeux ont dégusté sévère. Pas autant que les pieds, mais tout de même, c’est vrai que par endroits la pente devait bien faire 60°, c’est chaud !

 

Effectivement les slovènes montent cette montagne avec leurs chiens ou bien leur nouveau-né comme une ballade matinale. Pour nous… moi, c’était un peu plus haletant, mais le spectacle au bout de la grimpette valait largement deux infarctus 😉

 

J’ai tenté de lire un journal slovène dans la laverie, et j’ai bien compris… la date et les photos.

 

See ya

 

PS : la politique semble similaire dans de nombreux pays, la dame du café, je lui ai demandé qui était le politicien sur son journal sur la table et elle ne le connaissait point, tout en ajoutant qu’ils l’emmerdaient (les politiciens).