We got a late start today as we were very tired from the heat and heavy hills we endured yesterday. Last night there was a thunder and lightning storm with rain. The humidity created a battle with mosquitoes (and earwigs) in our room so we had to keep the window closed. The heat in our room was stifling and unbearable. 3 cold showers apiece and we tried to sleep. Just like our lovely dinner here last night. we had a great breakfast at our guesthouse and then headed out. We knew that today there would be more thunderstorms and lightning throughout the day. It was just of matter of when it would happen. As always happens on a tour, we realize as we climb a hill or carry our trailer in to a hotel, that some of our "essentials" aren't so necessary after all. We once again, downsized our belongings and mailed a package home to Canada. We have now reduced our load by 9 pounds!! Soon, we'll have one outfit each and that might not be pretty. The riding today reaffirmed for us why we are in Slovenia. Yes, it is hilly but the scenery is breathtaking, the infrastructure is improving with some signage and best of all, Slovenians are friendly and very interested in our bike and what we are doing in their "little green" country. An example happened today when we realized that a car was slowly following us and pulled up alongside, all the time trying to take our photo. The elderly fellow finally stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road and he got out to get our photo. The traffic was happy to go around him. People are frequently calling out to us from their homes and waving, calling out "bravo" or just standing and staring with a smile of welcome and bemusment on their faces. We had intended to go much further, but when we got to Vitanje the sky turned black and the thunder began. It is now 9 pm and it is finally settling down. There is more to come tonight, but tomorrow looks cooler and sunny. That will be good. Vitanje is a tiny village positioned in the midst of verdant tall peaks. It is beautiful here. Ski hills are within sight and they go as high as 1600 m. Our view from our guesthouse is of the surrounding countryside and uphill pastures with sheep and farmhouses. We could stay here for longer as the hiking would be wonderful, but we want to move along as there is much more of Slovenia to experience. As the storm was at its peak, I took shelter with the bike and Barry ran to the only guesthouse in town. It is lovely and luckily was open for a special 60th birthday gathering (most places like this are closed on Mondays), so we got a room including breakfast. We are the only people here.
Barry, "a happy camper" enjoying breakfast on the deck of Gostilna Danika. We find that in Slovenia, the coffee is cheaper and excellent - more like what we loved in Italy.
Despite the weather and heat, we had a pleasant stay here as Danika was very hospitable, the setting was lovely and the food was outstanding. Our dinner last night was so extensive (4 courses) that she put our leftovers in her frig and we will take them to have for dinner tonight.
We saw this pole in a field of grapes leaving our guesthouse this morning. Farmers put this pole with a propellor and greenery in their fields to deter birds from eating their crop. The theory is that the propellor rotates with the wind and the branch moves as well.
This man was determined to take our picture. In retrospect, it is good that he finally stopped his car and got out to take the picture. He could hardly walk, but he was delighted to see our bike and also that we were touring his country.
Seavo is relieved that we are shedding some of the weight he must transport for us. Now if we would just stop eating cake and ice cream, that might help too!
The post office was really efficient and easy to deal with. Sometimes it can be an ordeal, depending on the country you are in. The document that is glued to the box was only in Slovenian, and my google translate was defeated by the words on the form, so I asked a young man who was a customer to translate for me. I really needed his help, as I was putting the "to" name in the "from" and vice versa. The post office does it all - there is a small bank, stationary, gift ideas, food and even candles for the cemetery.
We loved this view we were riding along the secondary road. We have been watching the white tower for some time and hoping that we don't have to climb up there.
Barns and houses are most often attached. A detail we like in Slovenian barns is the decorative detail with bricks at the end which provides ventilation.
Uh, oh - our route is going in to territory where we don't want to go. It will wind circuitously up through the forest - we have opted to take the more direct and a bit less high route on the secondary road
The church in Vitanje where we are staying tonight. An interesting detail is that there are 4 churches in this area and each of them is used for a different season of the year.
We have arrived in Vitanje and are feeling pretty good that we have dodged the storm. Barry went in to the local supermarket (Mercato - from Italy) and while he was gone, the skies turned black and the storm began. Guess we're staying.
This young fellow, Nic, was very curious about us and kept a close eye on us, riding by several times. We finally spoke and he was able to speak very well in English. He was very excited to make contact and I gave him our card to check out our journal on the internet. He sai it was ok to post his photo.
Nic came back with his phone so that I could show him our journal, and then he proudly showed me where he lives - the yellow house. It was delightful chatting with him.
When we arrived, Barry and Marte, the proprietor struggled to communicate as we speak very little Slovenian and she speaks no English. Google translate was not helpful today! We feel very lucky to have stopped here and have the opportunity to stay in such a lovely Gostilna. When we arrived, We cold hear men singing and it turns out that these men were celebrating a 60th birthday. They sang and laughed and drank and ate. Great fun.
Currency - the Dinar - from Slovenia when it was known as Yugoslavia. The high value of the bills is a result of the extreme inflation here in the early 1990's.
Gostilna Kuzman is run by Marte Kuzman and it is a wonderful discovery for us. Gostilnas are small, privately owned guesthouses and offer great value. Our room is the two windows on the right with the flower boxes.
In the traditional scenery here, it feels like a spaceship has landed. It is a notable Planetarium inspired by Herman Potocnik Noordung, (1892 - 192), a Vitanje resident who was a pioneer and important figure in the field rocket technology and its development in the early 20th century. His book, "The Problem of Space Travel" was an important resource for the Soviet and American space programs. His book was the inspiration for "2001, A Space Odyssey"
