Greg & Helen, our friends we met while navigating the Great Loop (they were aboard River Ranger), are avid cyclists and joined us last year in cycling the Erie Canal. After that trip, Greg shared a link to the “Bike Slovenia Green Gourmet route”, an 11 day cycling trip. After reviewing the details, we were hooked and booked it! The picture below depicts the cycling route; split between western and then eastern Slovenia, starting in its capital, Ljubljana.
First, where is Slovenia? It is in south Central Europe, nestled between Croatia to the south, Austria to the north, and Italy to the west. It is mostly mountainous and forested which lends to beautiful cycling country. It’s only 154 miles wide and 101 miles tall with a population of 2 million. It is has an incredible history with its territory being controlled by Romans, Austrians, Hungarians and others with Slovenes participating in many wars (for different sides), including a large WWI battle fought on its lands. It became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918 and an independent country in 1991.
We chose a guided (vs a self-guided) tour. We were joined by two other couples, Tom & Tara from Texas and Dave & Andrea from Perth, Australia. The guide, Bojan, was fantastic. He spoke English fluently and helped translate when in many of the villages we visited. He had a terrific sense of humor and often teased us as to what may lie ahead – especially the grade of the climbs. We enjoyed teasing him right back
The tour picked the group up in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and after boarding a van, we drove 2 hours to western Slovenia and toured the town. The following day, our cycling began. Each day was similar, we would have breakfast in our hotel, then cycle along rivers, alpine meadows, through villages, up and down valleys and hills, stop for cappuccino or snacks, stop at landmarks, and arrive at our next destination (and sometimes with a train ride as well). After needed hot showers, we ended the day with a gourmet meal and delicious local wines. Some of our accommodations were in houses converted to rooms or small boutique hotels, some had on-site restaurants and other times we ate nearby. The uniqueness of each stop was an enjoyable component.
Unfortunately, before our third day of cycling began, Dave and I came down with some sort of bug and could not continue riding. The tour operators graciously arranged transportation back to Ljubljana and Dave and I recuperated in the hotel the tour would pass through in 3 days. Luckily, we were well enough to rejoin at that time with 5 cycling days left. The best part was that no one else in our group caught whatever we had. Sadly, we missed prosciutto tasting, the Skojcan caves, and the Lipizzaner horse stud farm.
Most of the weather during the tour was a bit wet and cold. Cycling in the low 50’s would be okay if it wasn’t drizzling or downright raining. The Slovenes we met along the route apologized for the weather noting it was highly unusual to have so much rain in May. Of course, the day Dave and I rejoined the tour, still a bit sick, was the most miserable weather day of the tour. That day we even carried bikes across a landslide that had blocked our cycling path along the river.
Slovenia is also known for its Michelin star restaurants. Although we greatly enjoyed the gourmet food on the tour, Dave, Greg, Helen and I pre-booked a table at Hisa Denk, a Michelin star restaurant near Maribor, our last stop. Upon being seated, the waiter asked if we wanted 5 or 7 courses. Of course the men said 7. I guess Slovenes don’t know how to count as we had 11 different courses, some with 3 components. I was beyond stuffed but of course I had enough room for the 3 dessert courses! The pictures don’t do justice to the the amazing flavors, textures, and overall goodness of each course. We were so glad we added this to our itinerary.
Our tour guide, Bojan, needed to leave us for the last 2 days and guess what happened? We had beautiful weather those 2 days! We even stopped for ice cream (and of course sent Bojan a picture). Zhiva, Bojan’s colleague, successfully brought us back to Ljubljana via train to end the tour.
At the end of the tour, our tour mates went on for more exploring. Greg & Helen rented a car to explore Croatia, Dave & Andrea went to Tuscany for a bike tour, and Tom & Tara, took off on their bikes loaded with tents and their gear towards Croatia. Dave and I flew back to pick up Murphy, who had a blast at Jim & Anne’s in their mountain home in Tennessee. Dave and I cannot thank them enough for taking such good care of Murphy while we were gone.
As Dave and I were leaving the RV park in Tennessee and ready to continue our exploring, we had an “oops” and needed to take the RV into a body shop. Dave and I have returned to our townhouse in St. Pete while the repairs are made and then we will hit the road again! We will send out an email when we are back on the road. We haven’t received an estimated time frame yet but hopefully it won’t be long.
Slovenia cycling is fantastic Brenda, Slovenia’s hills are great Dave, and I love the mountains Murphy
Wow! That is some beautiful country!
Thanks for sharing the adventure.
I got hungry looking at the food pics 😉
Welcome back and good luck getting the Murph back in shape for travel!
Wes
Looking good
One of my favorite quotes from the Lord Of The Rings.
“Not all of those who wander are lost”
Seems appropriate.