In Kranjska Gora: to Bled and back - The Road to Rome, Part Two: Europe - CycleBlaze

September 26, 2021

In Kranjska Gora: to Bled and back

So this is at least the third or fourth day in a row that’s been so full and interesting that it needs a long post to capture it all.  I’m going to keep this brief though and let the pictures tell most of the story.   Here’s the snapshot story of the day.

We took an out and back ride to Bled, a spot we visited in 1998 on our first visit to Slovenia.  Or at least we started out with the intention to take an out and back route.  Fifteen miles into the ride though we changed our plans, lured on by how wonderful it was biking down the Sava Valley.  On impulse we improvised when we came to Mojstrana and decided to continue along the Sava, making a loop out of the ride.  Unfortunately we hadn’t loaded the loop option on our Garmins, so we relied on our map reading skills for the next seven miles to Bled.

Our map reading skills proved inadequate to the task.  We missed a turnoff on the signed bike route and ended up with a mile-long scramble on a beautiful but scary footpath.  At one point Rachael was visibly shaken when she felt like she was too close to going over the edge as she was passing some hikers.  

Bled is quite changed from the quiet place we visited 23 years ago, not that long after Slovenia gained its independence and before so many tourists were finding their way back here again.  You won’t see it from the photos, but the place is packed now.  It’s easy to see why though.  Bled Castle and the church on Bled Island are two of the most iconic spots in this tiny country.

The ride home, back on course with our Garmins and following the Radovna River, is very beautiful.  Also very steep in spots.  We were both proud of ourselves for making it up the final climb and its 18% grade without stopping or falling off our bikes.  

By the end of the day the skies were clouding up quickly, with rain in the picture by mid-evening.  Walking back to the same restaurant we ate at yesterday we were amazed by watching one of the limestone peaks towering above town quickly disappearing behind a cloud bank.  

Also, as long as I bothered locating it, you might enjoy this article giving the interesting history of the pletna, the gondola-like boats that ferry people across Lake Bled.

Looking back west to the Julian Alps, we leave Kranjska Gora on the beautiful D-2 cycle route.
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Progress is halted briefly when this farmer threw up an ad hoc crossing lane for his horses. It was entertaining watching him coax his colt (not shown here) across the path and then keep shooing it further out into the field before he reopened the path for us.
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For the first fifteen miles we gradually descend along the upper Sava valley, nearly always on a separate bike trail. It’s a very slight gradient, and we see many roller bladers racing up and down the track along with the bikers. It’s Sunday and the weather is gorgeous so of course we have plenty of company.
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Crossing the Sava, which we’ll do several more times this morning.
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In the Sava Valley. A beech tree, I think. They’re just starting to turn, giving the hills a slight golden glow.
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Crossing the Sava again, we encounter a string of bad luck. What’s worse than a black cat? Seven of them!
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Steve Miller/GrampiesOn the other hand.......7 is often considered a lucky number.
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3 years ago
Jen RahnI agree .. seven is lucky!

And I've never met a black cat that seemed scary.

Now you've got me wondering about the source of this harmful feline stereotype ..
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3 years ago
In the Sava Valley.
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Still descending through the Sava Valley, looking at the Karawanke Range lining its north bank. This range forms the Austrian/Slovenian border here. The high point, which I think we’re seeing here, is Stol (Hochstuhl in Germany), elev. 2,236 meters.
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Parasailors come to ground in front of the Karawanke Range.
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If we’d stuck with the D-2 I’m sure we’d have had smooth but hilly sailing all the way to Bled. But we didn’t, and somehow missed a turn climbing out of Jesenice. Instead we enjoyed a mile plus hike-a-bike on this rugged, steep, precarious trail above the Radovna River.
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This is really a beautiful trail through a beech forest, but much more suited to hikers than bikers. This is one of the more manageable spots, but in places it’s narrow, very rocky, and drops off very steeply into the canyon on one side. Not that much fun when you’re also easing past hikers with their kids and dogs.
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The carpet of fallen beech leaves covering the trail is beautiful but adds to the challenge because you can’t see the rocks and gaps in the trail.
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The view across Lake Bled as we sat on the grass at the water’s edge and ate our lunch.
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This is a pletna, the gondola-like boat that ferries passengers out to Bled Island and back. We rode one of these in our visit here in 1998, when it was much quieter here. We had to wait in the empty boat for ten or fifteen minutes until six other passengers showed up to make a sufficient load.
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The Church of the Assumption, on tiny Bled Island. To visit it, catch a ride on a pletna. If the arrangement is still the same now, the pletnar drops you off by the church and waits while you and your fellow passengers tour the church and island.
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It’s no wonder that Bled is such a popular destination. This is Bled Castle, perched high above the lake with Stol Mountain and the Austrian border behind it.
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There’s a rowing regatta on today, and about every ten minutes a new heat starts off on a race to the finish line by the marina at the far shore.
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We returned toward Kranjska Gora by following the Radovna River (the same one we biked above on that rocky trail) up into the mountains toward its source. In the distance we can still see the crest of the Karawanke Range, now blanketed in clouds.
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In the Radovna Valley. A beautiful route - very quiet, but in spite of the look here very steep in spots, topping out at a grueling 18%.
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In the Radovna Valley.
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In the Radovna Valley.
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Jen RahnWow! This makes it look not-so-bad to be a cow in Slovenia.
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3 years ago
In the Radovna Valley.
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In the Radovna Valley. I was intrigued by the ruined home on the right, but got the probable explanation further down the road.
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A memorial to the victims of German soldiers who burned down the village here in retaliation for a partisan attack on them in World War II.
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The memorial to the victims of the burning of Stredna Radovna. Many of them are identified by only their birth year and first name.
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Finally cresting the summit above the headwaters of the Radovna we drop steeply back to the Sava River, dropping 700’ in the next two miles.
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Looking across the Sava to the village of Dovje.
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Looking west up the Sava River and our route back to our apartment.
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Video sound track: Jendna Pjesma (One Song), by Vladimir Kreslin

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Ride stats today: 47 miles, 3,000’; for the tour: 1,508 miles, 54,300’

Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 1,508 miles (2,427 km)

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Suzanne GibsonWhat a beautiful ride, I am so envious!
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonIt really was wonderful. This whole three day detour was exceptional. I’m so glad we decided to do this and that we were blessed with such wonderful weather.
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3 years ago
Gregory GarceauThat is some beautiful mountain scenery. It beats the Sawtooths all to heck.
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3 years ago