Slovenia 2011

Lake Bled, Slovenia

From Budapest I took the train to Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana. It's a small city full of green spaces and absolutely plastered with graffiti. After a couple of nights I moved on to the tiny village of Zirovnica, perfectly situated for visiting the nearby resort town of Bled but without the crowds. The country is known for being a mountain hiking paradise, and I climbed two during my stay. The first was Stol, which at 2,236 metres stands imposingly looking over Lake Bled and the surrounding area. It took me three attempts to reach the summit! I got lost wandering around in the forest looking for the trail's starting point on my first try, but returned the next day determined to succeed. This time I was accompanied by two Dutch siblings I had met in the hostel. We were making good progress until, after we'd rested at a plateau to admire the stunning views towards the Julian Alps, the path became considerably steeper and the sister decided to turn back. Me and the brother pressed on making it to the 1750 metre waypoint. Unfortunately the weather was rapidly changing for the worse, and a group of hikers making their descent advised us not to continue, so we returned to the bottom defeated. My final attempt went smoothly, the weather was perfect and the views from the summit made the whole endeavour completely worthwhile. Mountain number two was Debela Peč, this time I had the luxury of a guide. He was an experienced local mountaineer and an extremely kind person, who drove approximately 25 kilometres each way to collect and return me safely afterwards. When I offered to pay extra for the inconvenience he said, "It's such a wonderful area I feel a duty to make sure as many people as possible see it." It was an unforgettable day, and there was a small valley with a log cabin cafe where we stopped for refreshments on the ascent. Before leaving Slovenia I took a trip out to see the famed Lake Bohinj. I hadn't gone expecting to swim and so didn't have trunks with me. However, it was a nice sunny day and when confronted with the pristine clear waters I felt an overwhelming urge to dive in. I stripped down to my boxers, went for a quick dip, and felt no regret at having damp underwear on the ride back.

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