Slovenia 5: Triglav National Park

Route: Bled-Kranjska Gora

Cycled kilometers: 47
Elevation: 860

Wednesday, 08/25/2021

Today's stage was supposed to be short and intense with a summit to conquer, although it wasn't quite clear where exactly our booked accommodation was located. That's why I was a little bit apprehensive. But it turned out to be a truly beautiful stage!

First, we cycled away from Bled along the Sava River. The road gradually climbed uphill, but not excessively steep. Nevertheless, we couldn't go fast. Once, we passed through a larger town, and once, we cycled through the forest and arrived at a beautiful rest area with a bridge over the icy mountain river. We took a break and asked the friendly staff to take a group photo. The sun was shining, but it was already chilly. We were no longer surrounded by the hills of the past days, but by the mountains of the Alps. The scenery changed.

Just before reaching our destination for today in terms of kilometers, we cycled through a real winter sports tourist resort. There were ski lifts and rental shops, and everything looked very much like an Austrian ski resort. Even though it was August, there was a lot going on in the numerous cafes and outdoor shops. We realized: we had arrived in Triglav National Park.

Before tackling the pass, we took a rest at a completely beautiful lake that we actually discovered by chance. It was smaller than Lake Bled, less touristy, but it impressed us a lot.

Then we started the ascent to the pass. Wisely, we had agreed to wait for each other approximately every half an hour, otherwise everyone cycled at their own pace. It was a sweaty affair, which we actually enjoyed quite a bit thanks to distractions such as music or audiobooks and the magnificent views. At a particularly steep hairpin turn, we took a break at a mountain pasture, but it soon got cold. And we weren't far anymore. We reached our hut in the afternoon, which was still 4km and 400hm (elevation gain) before the actual summit, but that didn't bother us.

After exploring the really beautiful hut for the first time, we went for a walk into the surrounding mountains, of course with beer. It was so beautiful! In the evening, we enjoyed the cozy hut feeling, ate a lot and very well, drank beer, played various card games, which was really fun, and then we talked in bed until we fell asleep.