Cycling in Slovenia

For our final activity in Slovenia, we spent the last week riding bicycles from the Julian Alps to the Adriatic Sea. We hired a company called Visit The Good Place to do the logistical planning of bike fitting/issuing, hotels, routes, and luggage management. All we had to do was nag the kids to ride at least 20 minutes every day in anticipation of toughening up their butts. For eight weeks, the kids would sigh, fake smile, and get on a bicycle, probably thinking I was the worst. In the end, our persistence paid off, because they crushed over 300km and their butts were in fine shape. Deets even said thank you for it, rediscovering his love and talent for climbing mountain passes and bombing down them. Margo learned the best skill of all: how to minimize effort on the bike by drafting. She got so good at conserving energy and riding in the peloton, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets recruited to ride for the professionals. 

On the plus side of taking this kind of tour, the company moved all of our bags every morning, so packed several cases of wine to bring back to Tashkent. We used an app that kept us on our personalized route, and we got to see many fabulous towns, rivers, and views, at the pace we wanted. The bikes they supplied were fantastic, and I am now partial to gravel bikes. Bike culture in Slovenia is amazing too. We felt safe on the roads and the trails, all of which were in good condition. I learned how to manage loose gravel better on this trip and crashed only once. We had mostly good weather too.

On the minus side, we had to repack all of our junk every morning which got tiresome and SO smelly.  Every time someone would unzip a bag, I'd have to brace myself. There was not enough time to get anything washed except for scrubbing the essentials in the shower or sink. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who bothered to hand wash my bike shorts. Some of the routes ended up being too difficult for the kids' grandfather so he had to travel with the bags a few times. On the day it rained, we had no choice but to ride on, though this was actually not so bad. I had never seen Mark so happy, the kids learned how to manage wet weather, and it wasn't too chilly (when we were moving). Breaking for lunch, on the other hand, ended up being uncomfortably cold and I had to fight the urge to drink an extra glass of wine.

After the mountains, we rode into Italy for parts of the ride, through vineyards, and tree logged hills. Nearing Koper, a shipping town the Adriatic Sea, we rode through fields with signs warning of land mines. According to a Landmine and Cluster Munitions Report, they were remnants from World War I, II, and the War of Independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Although the country has since reduced the vast majority of the antipersonnel mines, some are still present for training and research purposes. Slovenia has such a chill vibe, it's strange knowing the country has gone through hell and back. The signs were sobering reminders.

Once we arrived to the sea, we celebrated with gin and tonics and ice cream. The kids played on an inflatable swim playground in the Adriatic and we watched the 29th European Handball Festival competition. The city partied so hard into the night, making for some very grumpy Schlinks the next morning, but at least we didn't have to drive.  The tour company took and our mess of stuff back to Ljubljana. We also experienced an impressive amounts of traffic- we'd been warned that beach hungry Germans and Frenchies clogged up the highways in the summer forcing everyone to add several hours of travel time. On our last night, we celebrated a family dinner for Deets' 13th and Mark's 46th, eating steak at Restavracija Špajza, the place our Tour de Slovenia pals recommended. The next day would entail overnight flights, a family locked out of the house, and eventually completing six loads of decontamination dirty laundry.

from the Alps...

Schlink fam

Kranska Gora to Bled
hundreds of km of exclusive bike trails

hydration break

Lake Bled; credit: Deets

catching the next leg of the trip

psyching ourselves up for rain riding

pretending it wasn't annoying AF to be soggy

the one and only time we had to walk our bikes

Soca River Valley + Downpour + Bikes = fun?

hydration break in Italy

discussing the benefits of drafting

"beware of mines - do not enter"
outskirts of Koper

recouping after a bike vs curb

to the end

my cycling fools

Grant, Slovenia: Village at the End of the Road

Curious to experience what was on the other side of the Julian Alps, we rented an Airbnb in the village of Grant, population 24. There are no services and the closest grocery store is an hour drive down the mountain in Tolmin. Padlocked Virgin Mary statues and Catholic shrines were everywhere, with LED candles and fresh flowers, contrasting the rural mountainy feel of log homes and farm animals. But, what really caught my attention were the automatic external defibrillator signs posted along the single lane roads. I was only allowed to stop once to take a picture, while everywhere else we went, the camera was glued to Mark's face. I guess AED signs just aren't cool. 

Most days, we would drive down to swim in the Soca River, visit more waterfalls, and occasionally hit up a super old castle and WWI mountain top trenches. We also visited the Skocjan and Postjna Caves, each famous for different reasons. Skocjan, because it's the largest known underground cave in the world, and Postjna for its underground train (and first in the world) and Olm habitat. Also known as baby dragons, they are tiny, blind, and territorially aggressive salamanders that can live up to one hundred years. I think they look like tapeworms with arms and legs, but the kids think they're cute. So much so, they bought stuffed Olms and named them after famous Slovenian cyclists.

On the days we stayed home, we read, napped, hot tubbed, watched the entirety of The Good Place, and fantasized about retirement. In fact, that was a big reason why were vacationing - to investigate towns where we might want to live and could afford. We want decent access to things like outdoor activity near or in the mountains, fresh water, a yard, medical care, and my most recent request: near a highway. I can handle windy mountain roads most of the time, but I would prefer to not be nauseated every time I drive. Dreaming BIG here, is that asking too much?

too many people tried to turn left to find Grant.

shed behind the house

hiking up to Veliki Rascovec summit

like father like son
Great Soca Gorge - right off the road, no hiking required!

electricity and fire management

Tolmin Gorge

more gorge (Soca)

and another. We never got sick of the looking at clear water everywhere went went.

the only place we were allowed to take photos at Skocja Cave: the exit

Kozjak Waterfall

outside the park.

the hike I did NOT take

tripod gathering in Grant

Wet Hot Slovenian Summer

Lake Bled might be the most famous lake in Slovenia, but Lake Bohinj in Ribcev Laz is the biggest. Surrounded by mountains, waterfalls, and trails of all kinds, tourists of all seasons come here to do outdoor activities. Since our pinnacle activity of the trip would be to bicycle 300km of trail from the Alps to the Adriatic, we focused this part of vacation on watersports and attempting to relax. In classic Mark Schlink style, he'd start our days with the casual comment of "let's take a walk, make no plans" and end up hiking 15 miles. Not all of the meandering was annoying since we'd usually end up at a waterfall or pretty mountain view, but sometimes we found ourselves overly thirsty and sore, or inadvertently looking at very naked sunbathers (a normal thing for Europeans).

The highlight of Ribcev Laz was canyoning, a general term for people dumb enough to jump, rappel (abseiling when it's done in water), and slide down waterfalls. In order to earn the fun stuff, we had to first hike up about a mile wearing 10mm thick wetsuits, boots, helmets, and harnesses. In Margo's case, she canyoned in two left foot boots, because I wasn't paying attention when I tossed them into the barrel. But she made it work. Our most important instructions were: jump and land with flat feet, slide with arms straight and cross-crossed, and no peeing in the wetsuits. Check, check, and check.

our cottage: bigger only on the outside

walking to "town" 
Ribcev Laz

Slavica Waterfall

Mostnica Gorge

Mostnika Gorge

water break and strudel stop in Voje Valley

Jake and Elwood

Mostnica Waterfall

Lake Bohinj

gear prep

watersliding

surprisingly warm wetsuits

jumping with two left boots

abseiling down to dad

holding onto my butt

Slovenia says to get outside. Maybe you should.

Regarding singles-life in Slovenia, someone recently commented in a Tales Mag post report that only those who absolutely love the outdoors should live there if they have hopes of meeting a mate. In my opinion, if that's the perceived reputation among expats, then Slovenia is surely doing something right. While the Slovenian Tourist Board capitalizes outside acticity and exploring the "green boutique quality" of the small Central European country, Slovenia also has a chic indoor scene with world famous cuisine, cool museums and shops, and spas galore. Despite its size, the place is packed with natural wonders and things to do, so even the most hermity of hermits can enjoy fresh air at least once in a while.

After marinating in our own sweat during an 11-hour layover in the Istanbul airport due a missed connection and nugatory airline staff, we landed in Slovenia with renewed determination to get outside and stay outside. The Tour of Slovenia coincided with our stay so we headed to the mountains to watch stage 4 from Ljubljana to Kobarid. Swag-vans threw out "I Feel SLOVEnia" flags, while cyclists threw out empty water bottles to cheering fans. Deets snagged one a blue one and declared himself loyal to Bahrain Victorious therafter.

We made friends with a couple (Ljubjanians? Ljubjanites?) living in the capital who recommended a steakhouse where we could celebrate Mark and Deets' birthdays in coming days, and we shared beers with like minded fans, screaming like goons as the competitors rode past. An Italian named Philippo Zana won the tour despite crashing on a descent, flipping over his bike and nearly hitting an unsuspecting horse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYytaV1Rn3Y. He and the horse were unharmed from the incident. Happy with our day, we felt that vacation had officially started. Kind of.

Unfortunately, we took more than a few wrong turns and a few extra hours to reach our next location. I blame Google Maps for not playing nice. Carsick, tired of each other, and very hungry, we arrived to a town called Ribcev Laz located on the other side of the mountains, where the best burgers in the world exist. On a previous trip to Slovenia 5 years ago, we ate at a restaurant called Forksner three times in a single week. The curt staff don't write names on a clipboard or take reservations, which matches its aloof online presence. It's strictly first come, first served, so if you can ignore the line of people mentally willing you to leave the table once you finally make it, the local beer and beef are well worth the wait despite mediocre staff.

By the end of this trip, we would repeat our visit twice more. Physically, between hiking, biking, canyoning, and swimming, and mentally just being outside, we would earn it.

Kobarid and Soca River view

watching the racers begin the climb

credit: Mark

20km to go after double summiting a 10.3km climb at 9.5%

so HAPPY

credit: Mark

beefed up in Ribcev Laz

walking off the food babies by Lake Bohinj
credit: mark

Urungach Lake, Uzbekistan

Knowing what I know now, February is not best time to visit the Jade Lakes (aka Urungach Lakes) when ice, snow, and mud make for a painful and dangerous journey. A better time is in April, where landslides, boulders, livestock, and narcissists suffering from selfitis make for a painful and dangerous journey instead. Much later than April, we were told, the glacier water stops flowing which means stagnant, filmy water and hordes of mosquitos.

Sighing in resignation, we agreed to drive the gauntlet once more because a friend of ours really wanted to see what is probably Uzbekistan's most famous lake. And, we had to follow the advice we dish out to the kids, that in order to have a friend, you have to be a friend, especially when interests aren't aligned.

 

This particular weekend marked the end of Ramadan, which equaled extra days off, which equaled many people visiting the park. The upper and lower lakes were very much an Instagram versus reality: the sound of rushing glacier melt filling the nearly translucent blue-green lakes, the cool air and no bugs, versus the noisy diesel engines of the Lada 4x4 taxis, piles of trash, lines of impatient hikers, and people attempting to picnic along the rocky, narrow edge of the water. From bottom to top, the hike took us about 90 minutes, but the view was worth the effort of dodging Ladas gunning up the unstable terrain, dealing with the large amount of soda-drinking, must-disobey-all-rules kinds of visitors.

Reality: 4x4s and roaring engines. The driver was
filling the radiator with creek water.

IG: clarity

Reality: smoking, music, and nowhere to sit

IG: nothing but the sound of rushing water

IG: glossy, crisp, green

Reality: lines with nowhere to safely get off trail to avoid the pushy types.

Reality: Lada, Lada, everywhere. However, it was fun to watch them
navigate the tiny parking lot ala engine revving Tetris.