We both slept well here in Vitanje - no mosquitoes or bugs of any kind. That was a bonus. But we were so comfortable because Marte's comfortably furnished rooms are lovely and make you feel at home. Looking out the window of our bedroom made us feel like we were in a wonderland.
Breakfast was one surprise after another. Marte appeared with coffee and buns, then she asked us in Slovene what we would like - we had no idea what she said so we just said yes. "Eier" (egg) was the only word we could decipher. First came a beautiful plate of meats and veg. then yogurt, fried eggs...
Today's riding out of Vitanje was as close to perfect as it can be for a cycle tourist. The route followed several rivers and wound its way mostly downhill gently through villages for 20 km to the city of Celje. It was a bit of a shock to be in a larger community as we have been in very small villages or farmland.
Oh yes, this is pretty spectacular but the previous corner the rocks came right overhead and it was like riding through a half tunnel.
The one distressing thing for us here is that most dogs are enclosed in a small chain link enclosure. This guy wasn't and he really wanted to visit us. We know that this custom probably has a good reason, so this isn't a criticism of a culture that we do not yet understand.
We have found that in Slovenia, we can't make the same daily distance that we were making in Poland and Austria. A big part of this is that when there is a hill, it is always steep (sometimes 18-20%) and these take a toll. We find the descents the most challenging as we are using all 3 brakes to slow us down. We are hoping to find a good bike shop, perhaps in Ljubljana, and get the pads on our brakes replaced. We sometimes take a busier road to escape the climb, but most of the time we take the bike route as the views and the farms we see perched up high are worth the work.Today's riding out of Vitanje was as close to perfect as it can be for a cycle tourist. The route followed several rivers and wound its way mostly downhill gently through villages for 20 km to the city of Celje. It was a bit of a shock to be in a larger community as we have been in very small villages or farmland.
Honey is an important industry here - we see bee hives frequently. We liked the little one in the back that resembles a Slovenian home.
We liked this barn - the decorative brickwork providing ventilation for the hay, grapevines creating an arbour and flowers planted amongst the retaining wall stonework.
These cyclists are from Wroclaw Poland and are riding the same route as us. They will finish in Croatia. These are the first fellow cyclists we have met.
We have been following the rail line for part of the day. It is a bit hard to tell with all of the grafitti if they have a bicycle car as we cannot see the bike icon on the side of the car.
The Salvinje River is a larger river that we have been following. At present, we are loving riding alongside on the flat, but we soon will be climbing inland and straight up.
Partway up the hill, we had a bizarre experience as we could not understand the situation or what was being said. Barry and I stopped to take a breather and this man emerged from a shack and offered Barry pivo (beer). Barry declined and then the man described the route ahead - it's only 6 km more. Yikes! Then he summoned his companion, a woman of indeterminate age as her appearance showed neglect and malnutrition. We ploughed on.
Lasko beer is "the" beer to drink in the region we have been in. Unfortunately we learned that it is now owned by Heineken who have been bought over 150 breweries around the world. The good thing is that Heineken understands Slovenians are passionate about their beer and so far, they have not changed the time proven recipe. The other beer in Slovenia, is Union (in Ljubjana) and it has also been acquired by Heineken. As a result, the long standing rivalry between the breweries is no longer as strident, however each beer sponsors a soccer team and that rivalry continues to be passionate.
