3. Off to the mountains - Lake Bohinj & the Triglav National Park

This was our time to get active - the Slovenian great outdoors 😃 

We arrived in the north western part of Slovenia to the most amazing backdrop of the Julian Alps and the Triglav National Park - truly stunning 😍 This was the area we had read most about before we set off, and had inspired us to visit - so many walking and biking opportunities, not to mention the stunningly clear rivers and waterfalls, so hopefully some swimming too - certainly what Rubes would enjoy 🤣 The downside though, very likely to be busy, as lots of tourist gems in this area - bracing ourselves 🤣Thankfully the temperature had started to drop, so much more manageable for all of us. 

Magnificent Julian Alps

Having a night to spare (before due at a planned reservation), we ended up at a most interesting Eco Camp on the banks of the River Sava. Run by a group of young people, it seemed to encapsulate exactly what Slovenia is about, with a genuine focus on environmental sustainability and preserving their beautiful country - a real sense of pride, and a passion for the freedom of outdoor life and nature. After a lovely walk along the river, and swimming for Ruby, we spent a very pleasant hour in Rex’s Bar - a very rustic festival type set up with great chilled out music, wonderfully cold beer, and a delicious take out of chips to accompany our homemade sausage stew 😃 Mostly young-ish people around (we felt that we fitted in 🤣), it was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening 😃

Opportunities for swimming along the Sava River

Festival vibe at Rex’s Bar 🎶

What a difference though the next day on our journey via Lake Bled! Although only a few kilometres up the road, the contrast couldn’t have been greater. Although the lake is truly spectacular, it was really hard to experience its full beauty due to the hoards of people, big tourist busses, and large corporate development - not our scene 😃 But thankfully we were only passing through, our destination being the (hopefully) less developed, though equally stunning Lake Bohinj 20k further on, and one of the main entry points into the Triglav National Park. 

Our camp was a few kilometres from the lake, with a prime spot right on the banks of the Sava River (again, but further downstream). Having booked this before we left home, and opting for a Premium spot (and boy does the price reflect that - camping is quite expensive in Slovenia), we were keeping our fingers crossed that we liked it 🤞 Thankfully we did - it was beautiful 😻 We’d definitely made the right choice. Access to the river was ideal for Rubes - who before long acted like she owned the whole beach area, woofing at any dog passing by 🤣 Great for us too, and the swimming in the stunningly clear water was so exhilarating and refreshing 😃 

Rubes swimming out to fetch me in 🤣

Owning the beach area 🤣

Given the more reasonable temperatures, between 20-25, Ruby was up for joining us on some walks. It does also help though that most walks include rivers, waterfalls and swimming opportunities. Starting from Stara Fuzina, a few km up the road, we entered into the National Park to do a stunning walk around the Mostnica Gorge, described as one of the most beautiful walks in Slovenia. Sadly there were notices saying no swimming for people or dogs, but Rubes managed to find some outer tributaries to cool off in 🤣 Another beautiful walk through the forest took us to the source of the Sava river. Unfortunately Rubes didn’t join us on that walk, preferring to stay in bed, which was a shame as there were no swimming restrictions on this 😢 The forests and rivers were superb, and just what we were hoping for - truly quintessentially Slovenian 🤣

Mostnica Gorge

Beautiful places to rest, and amazing wood carvings, so common throughout Slovenia 

Source of the Sava River

Mountain biking was also great for Dave, and he had fun exploring the mountain slopes up where the ski lifts usually operate in the winter - he says it definitely made for some fun, exhilarating and hair raising descents through the forests. Biking was a lot more tame for me. Again, the extensive network of green car free bike trails made a fantastic ride right from the campsite through the valley and pastures up to the lake at Bohinj. The trails are so well used, by locals as well as tourists, and certainly makes biking enjoyable for me 😃 The valleys and lower slopes are dotted with various wooden huts, hay drying frames, and beautiful wild flowers. We came across a small wooden hut to rest and relax, complete with books, woollen blankets and various interesting paraphernalia - so welcoming to visitors 😃

Lake Bohinj

Church of Bohinjska Bistrica

My kind of cycling 

Cycle routes throughout the valley

For rest & relaxation along the way 

The obligatory MTB picture 🤣

A truely magical experience one morning sitting outside the van was spotting a couple of kingfishers in the river below, and  inspired Dave to write a poem  - his first poem ever! Ssadly no photos of the birds 😢

The Kingfisher, the monarch of the river. It’s translucent vibrant colours beautiful to the human eye, so clear however fleeting the glimpse.

And yet one thinks the eye deceives, until observing in all its majesty the swoop upon the prey, innocent in its daily ritual, become unwittingly the latest to fall to the monarch of the river.

Staying here by the village of Bohinjska Bistrica was our opportunity to eat out and sample authentic Slovenian food. Hmmm….not an experience to necessarily be repeated 🤣 We opted for the much celebrated “Jota”, a traditional dish of sauerkraut and beans in a sort of stew, with or without the addition of a sausage. And to be fair, it wasn’t unpleasant, just rather quite uninspiring - so don’t think we’ll be heading back for Jota again soon 🤣 It’s a shame really as we’d heard from people back home that Slovenian food was great - not our experience so far 😢

Jota - with sausage 🤣

Anyway, the camp was a great place to base ourselves for a few days, with easy access to various activities and places of interest - and being able to sit outside way into the evening overlooking the river (cooking our own tasty food), watching the light fade and the stars start to emerge felt really special ❤️

Evenings by the river

But we couldn’t leave the camp without another game of tennis 🎾 The courts at the site were freely available to use, but as you needed your own rackets and balls, a quick trip into the village to buy a racket for Dave was needed - now we are all set up for this trip 😃 And what a fabulous backdrop to the tennis courts - the stunning Julian Alps! Again, we had fun, enjoyed a bit of a knock around, and maybe are improving a little 🤞

Dave sweeping the court 

So now it was time to leave and head to the northern side of the mountain range. There is actually a small train which passes directly through the mountain to the eastern side, and which would take the van, cutting down a large circular route around the perimeter of the mountains , but as we wanted to access routes into the National Park from the northern side, we decided to drive the relatively short distance to our next base. Despite being in a more touristy area, we’d thoroughly enjoyed our stay around Bohinj. The scenery is stunning, and the opportunities for outdoor activity are great. Slovenia is a really easy country to travel in, very relaxed and relatively slow. Approximately two thirds of the national income is generated by tourism, and that shows in terms of the facilities and infrastructure that is provided. And apart from a couple of particular honey spot areas, the natural surroundings and authenticity appeared to be well preserved. Slovenians are extremely welcoming and friendly, and the country generally feels a happy place to be ❤️

So onward for more activity 🤣