Day 21 - Into Slovenia and the first real rain of this tour

Saturday 27 July 2019

Sadly it’s time to leave the warm embrace of the Bierhotel. The Pass roads are calling.

But first we spread out the tents in the warm early morning sunshine. They are still wet from the heavy dew in Cortina. And today is going to be another hot one.

Drying the tents in the morning sunshine

There are fifteen bikes in the Loncium garage this morning. Mostly German and Austrian but also a couple with Swiss plates and some Dutch.

It surely is an international venue here.

Crowded garage this morning

I had originally planned to head over into Slovenia via the Nassfeldpass and then over the Predil Pass border crossing. However yesterday’s ride has put me off riding Naßfeld again, the surfaces have deteriorated too much now and it is a careful rather than a joyous ride.

There is nothing quite like taking on a pass at speed knowing you can have complete faith in the surface under your tyres. Passo di Pramolo no longer has that fearless factor and it makes all the difference.

The last time we rode over the relatively short Würzenpass it was bumpy and treacherous. But surely since now five years later it has been resurfaced. And indeed it has. Smooth black tarmac most of the way and the sweepers and hairpins are a joy to ride.

So we ride along the 111 to Arnoldstein and thread our way through the foothills to the Wurzenpass. A sign along the route catches my attention.

International faux pas, or is it?

Although the pass has been resurfaced recently the going is slow at first. A long tail back on the initial climb until we come to the aftermath of a small accident. No great damage is apparent and the attending police don’t look too fussed.

After that the road is clear up to the top of the pass. We stop for the obligatory photo with the old abandoned tank near the summit. It is advertising the Bunker Museum here. We visited this astonishing place a few years ago as part of the 2014 Eurobimble.

You can read all about it here: https://eurobimble2014.blogspot.com/2014/08/day-15-austrias-take-on-cold-war.html

The old tank at the summit of Wurzenpass

It is an easy run down into Kranjska Gora in Slovenia. As with most borders here in the EU the border post and attached customs facilities are long abandoned. The only exceptions are for countries that are outside the Euro currency zone or countries that are not in the EU. 

For example last year there was a perfunctory passport check at the Slovene-Croatian border. I have seen cars and vans being searched at several Swiss and Andorran borders. Bikes are usually waived through; not much room for smuggled goods on a bike.

Coffee stop in Kranjska Gora at the foot of the Vrsic Pass

I really like Slovenia. The people we meet are invariably friendly and courteous and there is a vibrant ‘can do’ vibe about the place. Since nobody ever learns Slovenian as a second language all the natives not already in their dotage speak excellent English. And it is cheaper than the surrounding states. So all good I reckon.

The run up the northern face of the Vrsic Pass is famous as one of the few passes remaining in the Alps that still has cobblestoned hairpins. It made good sense years ago when icy winter conditions wreaked havoc with asphalt and gravel was washed away in the massive autumn and winter storms.

But as with so many things here in Slovenia conservation is foremost and the powers that be persevere with the maintenance of the 30 or so cobblestone hairpins. In dry conditions they are fun to ride.

Beautiful views over the Triglav National Park from the Vrsic summit

We stop for lunch at the hidden rifugio at thetop. Most people miss this place. It is up a very steep paved slope that leads off left from the road just before you begin the descent down the southern side and is completely hidden from view.

The track turns to gravel as the steep incline flattens out. Not much room for cars but plenty of space to park a few bikes.

And the view from the cafe terrace is spectacular.

Parked at the hidden cafe on Vrsic

Goulash and polenta on Vrsic, excellent fuel

The Soca valley that runs down from the Vrsic Pass to Tolmin is 70km of glorious sweepers by the side of the tumbling and crashing torrent. The Soca River is a haven for kayaking and rafting and the road is pure joy for riding a motorcycle.

The Soca continues all the way down to Italy and finally flows into the Gulf of Trieste at the top of the Adriatic.

We stop for coffee and a bit of nostalgia in Kobarid at the cafe where we watched the 2014 World Cup final. It was a very boring game which Germany won 1-0 with a late goal in extra time against Argentina.

Gun trained on the Kobarid bar where we watched the World Cup final in 2014

Kobarid had an interesting and horrific history in the Great War. The twelve battles of Caporetto were fought here between 1915 and 1917. There is a museum stuffed with artefacts and photographs from the time. I describe the history in detail is the 2014 blog, so follow the link near the top of this page if you are interested in this history.

Black clouds are gathering as we set off for the short ride to our digs for the night. We stop for petrol at a garage in Kobarid. More of this later. In Ciginj just outside Tolmin there is an interesting B&B called the Blue House where we hope to get rooms for the night.

Just a few miles shy of Tolmin the storm arrives. And boy what a storm. Within seconds we are completely drenched as we ride into a wall of water. There is nowhere to shelter and after a kilometre it doesn’t matter anyway. The gusting wind is horrendous, probably the worst I have ever experienced and we are nearly blown off the bikes as our speed quickly reduces almost to walking pace.

Finally we totter into Tolmin and take shelter under the eves of a Höfer (Aldi) store. We strip down and wring out our tee-shirts and gloves.

The exquisite Blue House in Ciginj

Our billet for the night is the Blue House. Tomorrow will be a wet day so as it turns out we are going nowhere until the storms have passed. Since we are set to do absolutely nothing tomorrow except stare out at the falling rain I will save a proper description of this extraordinary house until tomorrow.

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