A week in Slovenia - a week between wonderful nature - wonderful encounters and a highlight at the end!

Although the weather has not always been so nice to us, we have enjoyed the ups and downs very much! We would definitely recommend Slovenia to everyone!

The time in Graz was just too beautiful, but even the most beautiful time must come to an end! In beautiful weather we packed up our things on Saturday (06.05.). Down on the street we had to realize that we were dressed way too warm. In the time, where we still sorted our luggage, some of Florina's WG were allowed to try out the bikes.

However, after this intermezzo, we really had to go! Going out of Graz we continued to follow the river, which we had already followed before. Behind us the rain clouds were already piling up and behind the Slovenian border they decided that we needed a shower. But not with us! We found shelter on an industrial site and snacked a bit. When the weather became a bit more bike-friendly again, we continued our journey and Slovenia also showed us its profile right away - a very high mountain at the beginning. But just like the Pyrenees, we made it and passed through one of the few major cities in Slovenia - Maribor. So far we drove along bigger roads and felt more or less stressed, so we didn't make a longer stop in Maribor. But for a photo of the bridge was still time =)

A little out of town it was also slowly time to find a suitable place to sleep. Behind a railroad crossing we saw couples standing in a garden. Confidently and with only broken Slovenian I asked for a place for our tent: "Hello - excuse me - tent - one night - tent - next morning - gone" apparently that was enough, because one of the couples got into their car and said we should follow them. They drove to the nearby pond and said if such a thing was ok for us. We said "yes", just not so publicly accessible. They said if we followed them a few km more, they would know a place for us. And so we pedaled properly to be able to follow their car. Despite all our efforts, they had to pull out a few times to wait for us. About 5km later we drove into the driveway of a fishing club. Apparently they had friends there and we were allowed to camp on their property. Even the toilet was unlocked for us. Tilman talked a bit with the man in English. He was a welder by profession. Immediately contact data were exchanged with the promise that we snow times over =)

So we put up our tent when again a car drove onto the site and we were already afraid that someone would complain right away. But to our surprise the couple came again and brought us juice and pastries to eat with the words: "You are good people" - what a nice compliment!

After this day we fell asleep very happy with the sound of rain on the tent.

On Sunday (07.05.) some of the fishermen were already on site when we woke up. The early bird catches the worm. Or the fish. Tilman went out of the tent to clarify the situation and we were invited for coffee and tea. The conversation proceeded with a mixture of English and German. One of them even gave us another shrink-wrapped sausage. For "breakfast" . By the time coffee was over, the fog had also lifted and the sun came through.

For today we didn't really have a plan. A few days ago, we had written to the only planetarium in Slovenia, but had not yet received a reply. But as they say: Better late than never! Sebastian wrote us an SMS that he could show us his planetarium in the evening. So we set off and drove to Podčetrtek. And because there were only 40km left, we drove a short 1km through Croatia and were allowed to spend the rest of the time in the shade of the Touri-info, which by the way also turned out to be a good rain shelter!

Around 19:00 Sebastian opened the gates to his planetarium for us. By the way, exactly at the right time, because a heavy thunderstorm started outside! The planetarium in Podčetrtek is a tilted, directional planetarium. There was no central projector. The image was composed of several beamer images. Along with the beamers, there was quite a bit of other viewing material. Sebastian showed us a cross section of his program. He has many of the films produced himself according to his ideas or modifies them accordingly. But what he enjoys most about live shows - for the same reason as all planetarians - is the contact with the audience. This is the best way to transfer his own enthusiasm - a win-win situation. Sebastian has the management and organization of the planetarium only as a side job! Slovenian education policy really still has some gaps! He is also to thank for the beginnings of the planetarium. It all started when the workshop of the family business was once again flooded by the river... time for something new! And so the idea came to buy a transportable planetarium and to turn his hobby into a... well very extended hobby. If not now - when then? So much passion and perseverance is really super impressive.He also told us how he came to astronomy. It started with a cactus. When he was just 4 years old, he did what I think many kids do at one time or another. He touched a cactus. His mother carried him to the nearby hospital - fortunately. As he was carried on his back, he saw the clear night sky for the first time and fell in love. A stroke of luck for Slovenia, because without him there would not be a single planetarium in the whole country. Besides the permanent planetarium, he also runs several portable ones. With these, he and his crew go to numerous schools in Slovenia and Croatia. And because he had to go to such a school the next morning at 5, it was time to close the gates again.He offered us before that we could sleep at his house, because it was too late to find a place to camp. So we loaded our bikes into his van and drove about 40km south. Once again it shows that people are not made for such speeds. At least my stomach suffered quite a bit as we drove through the winding valleys and mountains.When we arrived at their home, we helped to put the portable planetarium and other props, such as an astronaut, back into the van. The school programs are mostly assigned to certain mottos, to which then also smaller experiments are made - a really inspiring work! In the house his wife welcomed us. At first she was a bit shy with English (which was pretty good!), until Tilman said that her English was definitely better than our Slovenian. Although we politely declined dinner, we got the leftovers from their son's birthday dinner - cevapcici.That evening, the conversation seemed to have no end! Too bad that the human body also needs a minimum of sleep. We enjoyed the time with Sebastian very much and once again a much too beautiful day ends much too soon.

On Monday (08.05.) we got up early, because all had a working life and also had to get up early. Unfortunately, it should have been the end of the good weather for the time being, because the day began with wind and rain - defenitley time to go to Lidl. Also today we drove without any plan through the area, because one Warmshowers after the other declined us. Our plan to go to Ljubiljana dissolved into thin air. A bit further south we wrote to someone with whose parents we could stay with. Until we received an answer, we frittered away our time until Novo Mestras. Motti McMottface accompanied us for a few kilometers. We took a rain break and reorganized our things in front of a church. That's when we received the confirmation for the WS in Črnomelj. BUEN CAMINO!

On the way through beautiful Slovenia we passed the only water castle in the country. Today it is apparently a posh hotel - at least judging by the luxury cars driving in and out.
On the way to our WS we drove along beautiful roads with hardly any traffic in the forests and mountains of Slovenia. And since Slovenia has not only beautiful scenery, but also many bears, I tried to keep them at a distance with beautiful singing. At least one fox and one wild boar it has driven away.

When we arrived at the WS, we were more than warmly welcomed by Justina and Joze. Actually, we had expected to sleep in the tent, but we were offered the guest room to sleep. Justina and Joze are both physically older, but in the head not yet. Maybe the evening Sudokus help, or just the fact that they regularly host young people and share stories. Their son himself did a bike tour from Slovenia to Portugal (you can see it in a picture of Cabo da Roca) to Morocco. That's how he came to WS, too. While we talked with Justina in English, Joze practiced his German with us. We found them both to be super inspiring personalities. At their age, the 2 still go on 30km hikes around Ljubiljana (to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall there) or fly to Nepal to visit old friends. They also try to do a lot of things themselves and gave us some apple juice for the next day. And although we were not very lucky with the quantity of WS in Slovenia, we were at least with the quality!

On Tuesday morning (09.05.) we woke up with the smell of pancakes. The farewell was not easy this morning, but our journey always continues. First we fought our way slowly but steadily up the mountains. Although there is a lot of up and down in Slovenia, most of the climbs are quite manageable and you are rewarded with fabulous nature. The animals of the forest, however, were certainly not quite so taken by our constant singing...

Only 150km were missing until Trieste and Madita was supposed to arrive on Friday. Therefore, we had to idle away some more time. For example, we enjoyed the sun on a small square, while left of us pigeons performed a funny dance and right of us teenagers listened to their gangster music. Towards evening, before the next climb, we decided to try our luck in the village to find a place for our tent. Once we were politely refused. The next time happened quite spontaneously. An older couple was working in the garden and waved at us. So I took the chance and asked if we could camp in their garden. Without hesitation they said "yes" and asked us in fluent German if we might want to sleep in the garden house. We took the offer of a warm tea and where then served again (under protest from us) a dinner. Chevapchichi - delicious!
Erika and Josef were fluent in German, since they worked and lived in Stuttgart for over 10 years. They also told us that their son had also done the a long bike ride. What a coincidence again! Since the son lives in the same village, he also came right over and recommended us some good bike tours in the area. Once again an evening that could not have gone on long enough. We had a lot of fun talking to them and they were happy to speak German again.

On Wednesday (10.05.) we still got warm tea and they gave us tins for milk teeth, which they had once made themselves. In such moments we really do not know what we have earned so much kindness of heart.

Since it should rain in the course of the day, we drove off with a heavy heart. However, before we had breakfast on the mountain with dense forest and bears, we simply took a more or less free place on the side of the road. Apparently one looks suspiciously having break at the roadside in Slovenia, because 5 minutes later policemen came down the mountain and wanted to see our ID. After asking us about 5 times if we were just coming from Croatia (the border was only 10km away) and denying it 5 times and explaining that we had only been in Slovenia for a few days, they asked where we were going. We said "direction Nova Vas", whereupon they said we were wrong, because we could take the busy main road. Then we said of course that we didn't want to take this main road because of the cars and rather take the empty mountain road which is why we had breakfast there in the first place. After about 15 minutes they let us go again. Our first police check and not even at a border - Europe can be funny.

We mastered the bear forest this time with our small jukebox. At the top of the mountain, we sought refuge in a church. Some of us took a nap, while others photographed the landscape, which slowly sank into the fog.

Our next destination was Lake Zirknice - a periodic body of water, which was fortunately quite full when we arrived. From the karst soil, when there is a lot of precipitation, the water comes out of the holes in the ground and fills the lake. After the lake we got only a few kilometers and seized a place to sleep. We asked a man who was working in the garden during the rainy weather. He offered us a place behind the barn to be out of sight of the dog. We were just about to set up our tent when the neighbor came and offered us a covered spot in his barn. Very tempting! So we moved and set up tent loosely in the barn. On this day we even had dinner from our warm camping kitchen. :) Of course, his children also stopped by.

The next morning, Thursday 11 May, we woke up fortunately dry for once.

After about 3km we stopped again to see the natural bridge - the natural bridge, which was recommended to us yesterday by our host. It was really worth it! It belongs to the Rakov Škocjan valley, through which the Rak river flows. Over the millennia it has made its way through the limestone. As a result, there are many underground tunnel systems in the area. Sometimes the river is above ground and sometimes underground. And sometimes there are just such bridges.

The rest of the day was unspectacular until about 5 km before our hostel. The rest we had to fight through the traffic chaos caused by a road closure. After that we had to realize that the bike path (old railroad track), which we wanted to take the next day, was partially closed. Guess why? Because they want to build a car tunnel through a nature reserve and to close the only bike path in the area for access. Fortunately, we have scouted that before. Arrived at the hostel, we first took a long shower and stored our smelly socks and shoes outside - for a better indoor climate. The hostel lady said, we could take the wheels with us in the room. How that looked like, you can see on the photos.
In the kitchen we met an archaeologist and an American couple, which was also on the road with the bike.
With all the new impressions and the prospect to see Madita again tomorrow, we went into the land of dreams.

Friday (12.05.) was then the day of days - Madita arrives with bus + bike in Trieste! A little later than planned Tilman and I drove off and fought us once again through the traffic chaos - the old railroad line would certainly have been more relaxed! After a few km we found a good access to the bike path. However, with very shitty... Gravel and at one point with 15% slope - no fun! Later it was fortunately better, however, good brakes are still recommended! With drizzle we then drove along the edge of the mountains to Trieste purely - and behold! The road became asphalt :-)
With some delay we arrived in Trieste at the train station, where Madita had already made herself comfortable. After a warm welcome, we made ourselves comfortable on a jetty, made a coffee and showed Madita how a real tourer's breakfast goes.

Equipped with new strength through caffeine, we then rode out of the city in light rain. For Madita, this meant riding up the first mountain of her bike tour - including great views and the first border crossing!
When we wisely turned off the railroad line early, we were chatted up by a guy who wanted to sell us eggs and bicycle tubes.

Since we covered a lot of altitude on the first day and Madita didn't have a good night's sleep in the bus, we went back to the same hostel as the night before. There the cat "Alejandro" was immediately taken over by Madita. By the way, the same cat that had woken Tilman and me at 5 a.m. with a scratching at the door to be let out. The two Americans from the night before were also still there :-)
So we spent a cozy first evening on Madita's bike tour.