Day Five: Podkoren to… Podkoren
We pick up the trail in the hamlet of Podkoren, Slovenia nestled beneath the Julian Alps. On stores of potica (Slovenian sweet bread stuffed with a ribbon of walnuts and cinnamon) from the previous night’s dessert, we shoved off for a loop ride around Podkoren. First stop: the Laghi di Fusine (Fusine Lakes) just back across the Italian borders, then a stop at the Planica ski jumps. Lastly, a trip into the popular Slovenian ski town Kranjska Gora for a bit of local flavor: polenta covered in smoked cheese sauce and a glass of white wine. All in a day’s work!
Day Six: Podkoren, Slovenia to Bled, Slovenia
And the next day, we’re chasing rain (or is it chasing us?) all the way to the shores of the lake in Bled, Slovenia. Some of us got wet, some of us holed up in a restaurant like medieval lords and ladies under siege. In the end, we all made it to Bled in time for a wine tasting with pours taller than the puddles outside. As the Daniel (our Slovenian wine connoisseur) said: “We’re in Slovenia, they must drink like they’re in Slovenia!” No complaints here.
Day Seven: Bled + Rain = ?
Another rest day (ahhhhh). After making the trek from our hotel to the clients’ ritzy one (Hotel Triglav), we attacked strong cappuccinos and peered out the tall windows at a gray, soggy sky. Although half of the clients showed up half-heartedly in riding gear, everyone agreed the short loop ride to Vintner Gorge was a wash (literally). Instead we opted to meander into town (bedecked in umbrellas) in search of Bled’s famous cream cake. Later on, when the weather improved, we’d make the journey to dramatic Vintner Gorge.
Day Eight: Bled, Slovenia to Adergas, Slovenia
Another damp morning only added to the magical exit from Bled, especially since additional dampness stayed in the clouds. Today’s highlights: a fascinating stop in Kropa to learn about the excruciatingly hard yet interesting lives of iron workers and lunch (another round of Slovenian garlic soup for this gal) in the colorful center of Kranj. Extra points for dodging the rain during both stops!
Mama also cranked up an old music box in the hallway, circa the 1800s and worth over 60,000 euros. It played less than a dozen tunes, of which we heard two or three…
After the museum portion, we were fortunate enough to see an iron forging demonstration. The grandfather of the man who gave the demonstration was the last generation of traditional iron forgers in Kropa.
On the next Sylva Lining… the wolf pack makes it to Ljubljana, Slovenia and the tour’s end (tear). Then, Sylva and Tyler go it alone in Croatia for a week-long island bike tour. First, a little Ljubljana teaser…
The Sylva Lining 
Nice, Sylva. Love the “poop hard” sign! It also rained a lot during my time in what was then called Yugoslavia. It was soggy but beautiful, as your photos proved.
Thanks for reading mom, love you 🙂 Rain and mountains, it’s the way of things. Although today we have snow!
Hi Sylva. It’s fun following your trips and we’re enjoying your blog, both scenery & comments! Wish we were there but….. Maybe some other year. Bob
Hi Bob and Lynn!!! I miss seeing you two!!! I am so happy you’re enjoying the blog and so happy you chose to follow it 🙂 I’m back as of last night, totally jetlagged, hope to see you at the Cafe this week!
It’s so fun seeing your pictures and following your adventure. Glad you are back. Good thing you were cycling since you were eating all those yummy desserts! We’re in Denver right now. Not sure for how long. Lynn and Bob
Sylva, not sure if this appropriate for your blog, but the gentleman for whom I’ve worked for the last 40 years, who was a prominent Denver business man and philanthropist, died last Friday, and we’ve had to come back to Denver to work on settling his estate. So we’ll see you one of these days. Once you recover from your jet lag, copy the below link & read the article, if you are interested. Bob
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/01/fred-hamilton-art-museum-dies/
Hey so sorry to hear it Bob… my sympathies and thank you for sharing with me; feel free to post anything you’d like on here. I look forward to seeing you both when you’re back up in Summit.