Through the Julian Alps

Today we are greeted by the day with bright sunshine, dream weather! After a delicious breakfast at our hotel, we set off to the Vrsiska Pass without much luggage.

There is busy traffic on the ascent, cars, small buses, campervans, and many cyclists. Since the curves of the hairpin bends are also paved with cobblestones and the road condition is sometimes a bit dilapidated, fast progress is not possible. But that changes on the descent side, where the easy-to-drive hairpin bends nestle into the beautiful landscape. It reminded me of Corsica!

From the pass, we eventually turn right into the valley of the Soca, a turquoise blue mountain river that gives the valley its name. Sometimes wild with large rocks, sometimes very narrow and deep in the rocks, and then wide again, the waterway runs. There are many hanging bridges that connect the many hiking trails. You can also swim well in the crystal-clear but icy cold water!

Then we leave the Soca and drive up a former military road to Mangart. It was built by the Italians during World War II and was only paved from 1994. At an altitude of 1,896 m, there is a small hut where we have our lunch break.

When we start again, unfortunately the weather changes, it thunders and rains quite a bit... once again putting on rain gear. The whole region is covered with clouds in no time, so we decide to interrupt the tour at the Italian border and drive back to the hotel on the shortest route, about 40 km. A wise decision, because it had hailed from Treviso and the roads were full of leaves, sand, stones, and golf-ball-sized hailstones. And quite a lot of water that couldn't drain away anymore. Quite a driving challenge, especially when it suddenly got quite cold.

We are glad to reach the hotel, albeit freezing, and once again the hot shower saves the day. And once again, the gloves need to be dried...

By the way, it continued to rain merrily until the evening 🙄. Tomorrow we will try to escape from the ⛈