Thursday, May 15, 2008

Julian Alps


I LOVE Slovenia!

I can't say enough good things about the place. It's small...only 2 million people. It didn't exist two decades ago, but it's slowly making a name for itself.

I did get my rental car today...no problems with the rental place and no problems on the road either...*whew*.

So first thing I did was drive up to Lake Bled and take that picture I missed two days ago...lol. The lighting wasn't quite as perfect as it was that afternoon, but it still should turn out to be a good picture. I'll see if I can replace the one on the Bled post.

After that, I drove down along the Slovenian/Italian border in the Alps for much of the day. The drive up to Vrsic Pass included 50 hairpin turns and a climb up to 5,600 feet. The Alps here are almost up to 10,000 feet high, not quite Swiss quality but almost. After the drive to the pass, you descend into the Soco Valley. The Soco Valley is quite notorious as one of the major battlefield fronts in World War I (between the Italians and the Austro-Hungarians). They fought in the valleys, mountains and mountaintops here for 3 years with over 1,000,000 casualities...and almost all of those squeezed into this one valley. There are cemeteries, war ruins and memorials to the war everywhere. Amazing that such a beautiful place could have placed so a key in such horrific fighting.

The drive back to Ljubljana was rather uneventful and dull along a long twisting country road for nearly 2 hours at 30 mph...zzzzzzz.

Tomorrow looks to be my final partial day here in Ljubljana and then I'm headed off into Croatia for the next week.

Photo: Soco Valley (I've replaced the Vienna and Lake Bled posts with new pictures as well)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is so exciting following your blog!!! I leave for my vacation tonight, but I will still follow yours!! Thanks Wes!!

Kayce

Anonymous said...

How beautiful! Ken and I were just wondering if you rented a Smart car, what else is for breakfast besides strawberries, how many miles you've walked to save a couple of bucks, etc. We were surprised to see your early post today!

Looks like you're having a blast. There are lots of us following along with you now, more each day. We're all enjoying it too!

AdidasOrange said...

No smart car...tho the one I got was fairly tiny. It was black and it was pretty sleek considered I expected an old beatup 10y/o car.

My breakfasts have been pretty boring. I just try to get by in the morning...typically a pastry or bread...unless the hostel provides, which is usually bread and cereal with juice.

LOL @ me walking miles to save bucks. You'll probably see something along that lines in this next post. I can't find a room in Zagreb, Croatia and I am NOT paying $100+/night for a room. It could be a long day.

Anonymous said...

Hey Wes,
I love your pictures. Glad you are still having a great trip. Most of these places will only be seen by me through your blog, pictures and stories. Thanks for sharing. Be safe
Love you Aunt Kathy

Anonymous said...

I think your picture of Lake Bled is better than the first one that was posted. I hope you find a place to stay in Croatia...keep enjoying yourself!!!!!