17th May - Slovenia, through Hungary & into Slovakia

Its happened to me before, about a week into a trip something ‘disagrees’ with me.  Its no big deal really but when you have a long days riding planned through unknown territory, the last thing you need is to keep having to make ‘emergency’ stops.
Maybe it’s just over exuberance in the early days of a trip finally catching up with me, I’ve never been able to pinpoint exactly what the cause was.  In this case, the last thing I ate was a departure from my norm, but not in any extravagant sense.  I spotted a Vegan section on the menu and decided to select a dish from there on the basis that you shouldn't knock what you haven't tried.

It was certainly very tasty and I retired feeling pleased with myself for taking a healthy option.  My feelings by morning were somewhat different!

Anyhow enough of that, suffice it to say that my planned early start didn't happen and so I had a lot of catching up to do to get from Slovenia into and all the way across Hungary into then well into Slovakia by evening.

The early part of the run through Slovenia to the Hungarian border was pleasant but uneventful - I was still concentrating on other things to take any pictures!  However, by midday I had reached the Hungarian border with its border offices still standing but of course deserted.

Immediately after the entry to Hungary was the normal sign advising drivers of the regulations pertaining to the new state being entered.  The thing to note here is the change in road surface - the first picture is the last point of Slovenia and the second is the first point in Hungary just 200 meters later.

I recall when travelling across Asia, the stark contrasts in road conditions that were sometimes found either side of a country border.  The most memorable of these was the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan which had a 40km section of sand and rock (ie no discernible road) across the desert between the tarmaced roads that existed in both countries leading up to that point.
I was expecting not really to notice border changes in the EU and indeed so far had not, this was the first time that the earlier relative economic health of the two countries was evident.  Its fair to say however that there are some pristine highways in Hungary, presumably helped along by EU funding.

I jumped on one of these highways for a couple of hours to catch up some time.  Whilst the highway was pristine, they had not yet built any services anywhere and so comfort breaks required an exit and  suitable tree to stop by.

The landscape was largely flat until the approaching hills of Slovakia could be seen in the distance.

The border crossing between Hungary and Slovakia occurred half way across an old iron bridge and was almost unnoticeable by contrast to the earlier one.  Once into Slovakia it was another hour and half run to my stopping place for the night, the pretty town of Banska Stiavnica, built apparently in the middle of an immense caldera caused by a collapsing volcano, you can see the shape on this photo I took from the restaurant where I ate something meaty that night! 

Description

16th May - beautiful Slovenia

Whilst riding along small roads in Slovenia’s forested areas I had come across warning signs for bears, not really surprising as Slovenia is one of the few countries that continues to enjoy a successful wild population.  This morning I came across this warning sign, and later on one with an image that looked like an otter!

Once again my attempts to ride Slovenia’s famed mountain passes were thwarted as the ones I wanted to see were all closed due to snow.  So I plotted an alternative route though the Triglav National Park and surrounding areas before heading over towards Maribor for my next stop.

Slovenia is full of picture perfect villages like this one, there is just something about the way they are laid out amongst the rolling hills that appeals to me.  The higher ground tends to be more forested and provides some exciting riding opportunities on pretty decent small roads.

Climbing or descending is punctuated by multiple hairpin corners, usually well signposted but occasionally not, so its important to keep close attention to the landscape and anticipate the next bend.

Back down in the valleys there were many of these structures, I believe they are a kind of Hayloft where the bales are stacked against either side of the horizontal poles, protected from the rain (vertically at least) by the small pitched roof.  They were all empty on this trip so I cannot say for sure.  They look very attractive through.

I headed off up into the hills following a sign to something I though I recognised from prior reading.  The tarmac stopped not long after and the way continued as a stone track, a lot more loose and uneven than it looks on the photos, generating quite a bit of wheel-slip at times, but the Michelin Anakee Adventure tyres I had put on for this trip kept things reasonably stable.

The track carried on for several miles up and down the wooded hillside ....

.... without apparently getting anywhere particular ... 

.... and then finally petered out into just a forest trail, at which point I decided to turn around and go back, having spent the best part of an hour getting to this point.

Lower down, the picturesque villages continued to appear with comforting regularity.

Usually accompanied by one of the pretty little chapels.

The final leg of todays journey involved a climb up to the Pohorju region where I had booked a B&B near the top of one of the mountains.

15th May - In search of a pass to Slovenia

It was still raining in the morning and the websites I had been consulting were still showing all the nearby passes closed apart from the motorway, which I was determined not to take.  Also the Vsric pass which I had planned to be my spectacular entry into Slovenia was also closed due to deep snow, necessitating a complete re-think of my Slovenian route.

There seemed to be just one possibility in terms of the Austrian passes, the Obertauern, which was showing open with regards to snow but closed due to re-construction following a rockfall I believe.  I figured if I could get to the roadworks they might let a lone motorcyclist through - its happened before.  So that was my plan - if that didn't work, i’d have to take a multi-hour diversion.

I had quite a diversion to get to the Obertauern, which started pleasant enough, with the rain mainly being drizzle at lower levels.   By the time I had reached the start of the pass, the rain had turned to sleet and the temperature dropped to 1.5 degrees.

The road itself would make a glorious ride in good weather as it wound its way along a gorge and steadily climbed.  I hit the road works about half way up and it was open but controlled by temporary lights.  Half the road was covered with piles of rock and it seems they closed it only during the afternoons and nights to allow the reconstruction work to continue.  Good choice to take this route then.

Not long after, I reached the snow line and the road continued up to the summit.  It was all clear but quite slippy in places as the temperature had now dropped to minus 1.5 degrees.

I pulled off the road near the summitt into a layby and nearly lost it as whatever they had been putting on the road to stop it freezing was not on the lay-by!  Time for a selfie...

Once over the summit and heading down the other side, the weather started to improve a little and though still only 2 degrees and raining a little it was an enjoyable ride.

As I approached the Austrian / Slovenian border something caught my eye just off the track in the forest so I went for a look .... didn't seem to be any indication why it was there but it had clearly been there for some time.

A little further on I seamlessly entered Slovenia, open borders really are a great thing when travelling.

Slovenia weas one of my ‘must visit’ countries on this trip after I had spent a couple of days going through on my 2015 trip to Thailand.  It struck me then as having a great combination of beautiful un-spoilt scenery, great riding roads and really friendly people and I was looking forward to returning.

The pictures say it all ....

Finally I made it to Lake Bled, the stopping point for the night.  Tonights task is to work out a new route around Slovenia now that I cannot do the circuit I originally planned due to the passes being closed.

Slovenia - what a lovely country!

Day 6   440km (2359 km total)

Last night was my first in a real bed since I left the UK, so of course I overslept ...doh! Still breakfast in the little italian farm house I was staying in was lovely.
I had intended to explore the backroads of the area but needed to get to Slovenia today & so hit the toll road to get past the flat plains of venetian italy. Well that is of course after I had got lost ...getting lost when following a satnav takes a particular skill called ' trying to be too clever!' .... The satnav seemed to be taking me a strange way, & so when I saw a sign saying Vicenza, thinking this must be something to do with Venice, I ignored the technology and followed it. This dumped me right in the middle of a traffic jam, one way system & roadworks & of course the wrong town .... Double doh!
Anyway, sense & faith in technology restored, an uneventful couple of hours at high speed followed whilst I headed east. It was pretty hot so I thought I'd try out the 'cooling jacket' I bought.
Let me explain ....When I rode my bike in Thailand I used to keep cool by buying 2 bottles of cold water every time I stopped for petrol. One I drank & the other I poured over my head & down my shirt (much to the amusement of anyone watching). Result? Well an instant cool clearly, but more importantly the drying effect of the wind when riding kept you nice & cool for ...well 5 minutes or so.
Anyway the bike gear guys must have been watching as they now sell 'cooling jackets'. These are waistcoats made from material filled with some sort of water retaining gel. You soak them in water, drain off the excess & then out it on before riding. The cooling effect as the moving air evaporates the water is supposed to last 5-6 hours. In my case I'd say only about 2-3 but much better than 5 minutes.
Feeling more comfortble, I decided to adandon the toll road & head to the coast & on into Trieste to explore .... Big mistake!
It started well enough ...

I followed the coast road & turned off into a little village that promised a historical castle ... But it was a kilometre up a hill away from the road & I didnt fancy leaving a loaded bike on display, nor hiking in my riding gear.

Nice & scenic though ...

I then headed on towards Trieste, which turned out to be one long traffic jam, full of tourists & just hot & unpleasant - I also got lost again, trying to cut through the narrow town streets. So it was back up into the main roads & head for the border!
Well all that excitement over & before I knew it I had zipped past the Slovenian border, almost without noticing. Now lets get off this expressway & explore a little!
What a lovely country Solevnia is, from the first impression to the campsite, just beautiful roads, scenery, villages and almost no traffic, all very clean & tidy too.
Here's a few snaps ...

See what I mean?
The camp site is really nice too ... & a lovely cool river ro swim in (yes I did!)

It also has a great snack bar for weary travellers

Must come back here some day, lovely country .... But the trip continues, Croatia tomorrow.