We started the day by loading the car onto a train in Bohinj. Instead of a three-hour white-knuckle drive around the mountains, we spent an hour sitting in park while the train did the work. Pro: Kevin actually got to look at the scenery. Con: The long tunnels are pitch-black, rocky, and little terrifying.
Once we popped out on the other side, we hit the Soča Gorge. The water is an impossible to describe ice turquoise blue. It literally looks like someone turned the saturation up to 100%, though I promise I did not do that. We drove right alongside the river, but the actual gorge hike was when we really were able to appreciate the view.
Well until we ran into a guy with a long camera lens pointed directly at the girls sunbathing below. Kevin, being Kevin, didn’t miss a beat and muttered, “Well, that’s creepy,” just loud enough as we walked by. The guy immediately packed up his gear and retreated. Creep: 0, Kevin: 1.
From there, we headed into Triglav National Park to tackle the Vršič Pass. There were 50 hairpin turns and yes, they are numbered, just so you can count how many more you had left. The view at the top was breathtaking, but the hairpins were definitely nauseating.
To break up the drive down, we stopped at the Julian Alpine Garden. We hit it in prime wildflower season, and I’ve never seen anything like it in Europe. Field after field of wild lavender and splashes of yellow and pink. It’s one of those things where you take a hundred pictures and realize none of them actually do the beauty justice.
By the time we made it to the bottom, we were starving and found a local Gostilna. We split the Beef Goulash with polenta and a Chicken Schnitzel. That goulash was the star for me… rich, heavy on the paprika, and exactly the kind of thing I’m going to spend the next six months trying to recreate at home.
Our last stop was Grad Kamen. It continues to surprise me that some of the coolest castles are the free ones that nobody visits. This one was tucked into the mountains with these great wooden balconies and staircases that really help you visualize how it functioned back in the day.
On the way home, we unfortunately had to pass through Lake Bled. We’re planning a really early visit on Sunday to avoid the chaos, and being stuck in 20 minutes of stand-still traffic today was a very loud reminder of why we chose a quiet cabin instead of staying in town.
Especially a cabin that lets us eat dinner while the sun goes down over the mountains.
