From Celje to Maribor, Slovenia (Sept. 4, 2022)

September 4, 2022

We are back to Jill reporting:

Celje's old town was resplendent with these topiary-like plantings.

We departed Celje around 10:15 am after our fun conversation with the Swiss couple. The ride out was through an industrial area east of Celje but there was a cycle route the entire way so it was pain free, plus it was Sunday so it was relatively quiet. Once outside Celje, the next 30 k was on a rural road through Poljcane with varied hilly and rural scenes and forests, and a number of spiky, steep, short climbs.

We enjoyed perfect weather and lovely countryside.

We had the perfect lunch stop at a pizzeria outside Poljcane. Slovenians are polite and enthusiastic and seem to idolize the idea of America. Our waitress offered to fill our water bottle (with ice too). Slovenians are not jaded by tourists and were very eager to help us anytime we needed it.

We arrived in Maribor after a long ride in from the south through an industrial area. Komoot did right by us and put us on small rural roads or cycleways. (See my previous route notes on Slovenia for details of getting out of Celje and into Maribor.)

Though it looked foreboding, the weather never turned bad on us this day.

Our hotel is Hotel City, and it doesn’t have the best curb appeal having a super modern boxy look but is very nice inside. Our room is large and comfortable except we have discovered the AC is weak so Dave is constantly tinkering. The dining terrace is lovely. And the best part: awesome tub.

Our room was large and largely comfortable except for the lousy A/C.

We were tired after our 60 k ride and watched the Vuelta on Dave’s tablet while cleaning up since we could not get Eurosport on the hotel TV. Our dining choices on a Sunday night were extremely limited so we opted for the hotel-recommended Jack and Joe’s, a burger and steak place a 1k walk away. (Our other option was La Cantina, which you actually might think is Mexican food, but nope, it’s a pizzeria!) The location gave us the chance to do a pleasant walk along the river one way and a walk through downtown coming home.

Maribor is built along the river and they are currently doing a whole bunch of construction along the river. It likely will be great on completion but right now it’s pretty torn up. Downtown was lovely, big squares, art work, with the usual cafes and bars with well-behaved Slovenes. Our pulled pork burger was actually pretty good with the usual shockingly helpful (at least by US standards) wait staff. Plus, we had a very good bottle of red - Doppler -produced by a nearby winery run by women, a concept near and dear to Jill’s heart!

The plague statute in the center of the town.

When we get home, I think I will need to go vegetarian for awhile!

Tomorrow is a sightseeing day or rest day, depending on how you put it!

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 906 km (563 miles)

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