Slovenia

• Thursday, July 2, 2015

• Three Continents

Slovenia must be a mysterious country- i thought. As a raftguide i know the Soca river very well. But honestly that’s all i had ever seen before from Slovenia. Many people recommended me not to cycle along the coast. The traffic in high season must be a nightmare. „Across the mountains“ was therefore logically my slogan. I would not regret it…

Before, in Austria, i had the chance to weigh my bike including the luggage. Incredible 72.7 kg weighs my tractor. Are the drivers in Slovenia good natured to cyclists? After the first day i could immediately say: Yes, they are! Whenever possible i try to cycle on small roads with less traffic. Slovenia got more than enough of them. Well, they are not always asphalted but what kind of tracks will follow in Africa?

Some towns enrapture you from the first moment. Celje was one of them for me. Embedded between the surrounding mountains it looks a little bit sleepy. From Stari Grad (the castle of Celje) you have a nice view to that scenery.

The sun was shining all the time so i just had to throw my sleeping bag on the floor. One night a thunderstorm moved about the area. Under the roof of a tennis court i found a sheltered place. Immediately the players invited me to spend the night here and invited me to a beer. Dreamful! The Sava river flows slowly to Croatia. I just had to follow it. Brezice was the last town before the boarder. A nice old town is based in there.

The customs officer at the boarder was very interested about my bike ride. We had a nice conversation and he wished me all the best. I’m wondering if it always will be like that in the ongoing countries… Thank you Slovenia for the good time!