MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Slovenia and Portugal Trip
Day 3 - May 6 2023
We had originally planned to hike lakes Bled and Bohinj, but changed at the last minute to give our feet a break for the day. Instead, we got in the car and drove out West towards the Austrian alps and Soca valley.
Along the way, we stopped at a small town called Kranj to grab some food for breakfast. We learned that towns in Slovenia don’t really open until 10AM. We thought the experience in Ljubljana the previous day was a fluke, but Kranj proved it to be true. It was 9AM and only a couple cafes were open. We were looking for more of a quick bite, so we wandered the small downtown area and settled on a bakery that was thankfully open. A croissant and loaf of bread in hand, we headed back.
Side Story: When we got into the car, we looked at the gas tank and saw that the arrow was below a quarter tank. We had only driven 30 minutes the day before so we started cursing the rental company for giving us a car with an empty tank. We found the nearest petrol station and were dumbfounded. There was no pay option on the station. We thought we maybe had to pay inside first but were seeing others start pumping right away. Afraid to make fools of ourselves, we googled it instead of asking an attendant and read that some gas stations have you pump first, then you pay after inside. So, Mike starts pumping and it clicks off after 30 seconds. So he keeps clicking it on and it keeps clicking off. Again, afraid to look stupid, we decided to just assume this pump is broken and hit the next station on the way. Mike runs in to pay our $10 gas bill and we start up the car to see how much gas we got. The arrow didn’t move! What did move was the ticker right next to it, which apparently shows the level on the gas tank. We had been full. We thought it was the foreign gas stations we could not figure out but really, it’s because we have never owned a car newer than a 2008 and these spaceships are too complex for us.
As we got closer to the alps, the roads narrowed and we started to climb in elevation. Very shortly, we were doing hairpin turns up the road barely wide enough for two small cars.
Thankfully, Mike is super skilled at driving ultra narrow streets in other countries now, so he tackled them like a pro. In the first section of windy roads, we had a stunning mountain in front of us and lush green surrounding us.
We started making our way down the mountain pass on what is called the Vrsic Pass, which led us into the Soca Valley. The river here, the Soca River, is a bright blue in color, made more stunning by the white rocks and sand beneath it. The road follows the river and is dotted with small pullouts so we could stop for exploring and pictures. There is so much to do in this area, we barely scratched the surface and would love to come back for some hiking or kayaking where the river opens up and calms a bit. We did get to climb down and put our feet in the ICE COLD water for a while. Even though it was a sunny Saturday, we had most stops completely to ourselves.
The next section took us through another incredible landscape. We have not yet been to Switzerland, but this is what we picture it to be like.
We stopped for some lunch at a restaurant with an incredible view. Unfortunately, the view was the only incredible part of the stop, but that’s OK.
On the way back, we took the scenic route which took us through roads that were somehow more narrow, but these had steep drop offs without guard rails! Every now and then, we would go through a TINY town with maybe 8 homes. We were really off the beaten path this time.
The last 45 minutes of the drive back to town were highway and we were glad for it. Once back at the hotel, we ignored the urge to climb into bed and left for dinner. We decided on Slovenia House for charcuterie boards. With great people-watching seats, we munched on tremendous cured meats and cheeses, all locally sourced. With Italy just across the border, there are gelato shops everywhere here, so we have to try them all, of course! This evening’s dessert was from Vigo. What a great day!
