Wednesday 31 August 2016

Slovenia: Day 10

This day, we visited the Dovžan gorge Geological Museum, which exhibited fossils that had been found in the rocks. The gorge’s natural sights were amazing.




Then we walked in Tržič and visited the skiing museum that had an exhibit explaining how leather is made as well as shoes.


We then drove to Selo pri Bledu to see actual hives and Carniolan bees in action. These bees are the least aggressive compared to other bees.




Here is a video on bees:


We then had lunch at Bled Lake.

Addresses

Tržiški muzej
Muzejska 11, 4290 Tržič, Slovania
www.trziski-muzej.si

Kralov med
Čeblarstvo Ambrožitč Blaž
Selo pri Bledu, 26



Slovenia: Day 9

This day saw a hiking trip by the Lake Bohinj through the Mostnice gorges and the Voje valley. The Voje valley was formed by a glacier. Since the ice age, water has passed underneath the ice from the top of the Triglav mountain, thereby forming the valley. Walking through the Mostnice gorge, you will notice the shapes of different faces engraved in the rocks, as happens in fairy tales. The hiking duration is two hours if you wish to cover the trail without pausing. We stopped many times to appreciate this wonderful natural sight, the sound of water falling into the gorges and the smell of the forest around. We walked for 75 minutes, and then came back, covering 5 kilometers in two hours.





See how water cuts into rocks at the Mostnice gorges in the Voje valley:

We went to Gostilna Mehovc in Stara Fuzhina, which was close to the gorges. After lunch, we took the family to the Studor village, also close to the gorges. They rode Icelandic horses around Lake Bohinj for two hours. After this wonderful time, we came back to Kranjska Gora in one hour.







Addresses

Mrcina Ranch 
Studor 4267 Srednja vas v Bohinju 
www.ranc-mrcina.com 

Gostilna Mehovc
Stara Fuzhina 118, Bohinjsko Jezero 4265 Slovenia

Slovenia: Day 8

We went to the Mercury Museum this morning. We learned that in order to extract mercury, mercuric sulfide is heated with oxygen. Mercury precipitates while the sulfur oxide vaporizes. My kids were amazed when they saw that an iron ball does not sink in mercury because the latter has higher density. We also learned that the average age of a miner was 50 years because of the dust in their lungs, and because of radon and mercury poisoning. For this reason, some of their wives would marry twice or thrice. To avoid man-made earthquakes, the debris and the sand that had been dug were reused to refill the holes the miners had made. The strange thing we noticed was that filth from the washrooms was carried out by those who had been punished that day or a bottle of rum was given to anyone willing to carry it out. 

 



Our lunch was in a farm called Naš Raj near the town of Idrija. We had sweet walnuts with a plate of cheese as appetizers. This type of walnut takes two years to prepare. It was green in color like olives. We also had noodle beef soup, salad made of produce from their garden, grilled trout, potatoes mixed with cheese, a delicious creamy cabbage covered with a crust of pie and a tray of beans covered with bread crumbs. The dessert was apple pie.

We then walked through a nearby valley and saw a small waterfall. We were lucky to see two deer.

Addresses

Tourist Mercury Mine
Arkova ulica 43, Idrija 5280 Slovenia

Naš Raj Restaurant
Gorenja Trebuša 95, 5280 Idrija, Slovenia

Slovenia: Day 7


We headed this morning to the Triglav Narodnic Park. We walked in the forest until we reached the Peričnik waterfall. The three of us who had strong knees went on a steep slope to the top of the water fall. It was an adventure for them. After having a good time, we descended and went to the mountaineering museum where we learned about Italian battles against the Austrians and the Hungarians. We also sat in a cabin listening to a simulated thunderstorm in the mountain.

After the museum, we went to see a Slovenian family house near the Bled lake to learn more about how they lived. They showed us a small museum that they made by collecting many old artifacts from the old days in order to reflect their way of living and their lifestyle. 













Addresses

Naravni spomenik Peričnik - 4281 Mojstrana, Slovenia

Slovenian Alpine Museum, also Slovenian Mountaineering Museum, is a mountaineering museum in Mojstrana, Slovenia.

Traditional Slovenian house and collections
Mlinska cesta, Bled 4260

Slovenia : Day 6

After breakfast, we strolled in Kranjska Gora, and bought genuine honey and its home-therapy derivatives that treat sour throat, breathing difficulties, stomach problems and immune system problems.
Afterwards, we went to rent bikes and rode them to the Sava river swamps. We stopped and walked to a small turquoise-colored lake nearby that had been formed by underground springs. We really enjoyed the beautiful scenes here. Then we returned and handed over the bikes. We had lunch at Kotnik hotel. We covered 14 kilometers today.

It should be mentioned here that there are good restaurants in Kranjska Gora. But my favorites are Skipass, Lipa, and Kotnik, in that order of preference. 






Addresses

Bicycle road: Borovška cesta Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

 Hotel, Restaurant and Pizzeria Kotnik
Borovška cesta 75, 4280 Kranjska Gora, Slovenia


Slovenia: Day 5

After a good breakfast, we strolled to Jasna lake; a thirty minutes' walk from our accommodation. Jasna is a beautiful small lake surrounded by mountains. The scenery is breathtaking. One wishes to just sit there, daydream or read a good book. 


We had to leave according to our plan but we would visit Jasna quite often since it was close by. We then went to Radovljica, which was halfway between our place and Ljubljana. The journey took us an hour by car. When we reached Radovljica, we visited the Lectar Museum for making Slovenian gingerbread. After a short brief about biscuit making as a souvenir, we had lunch at the museum’s restaurant called Gostilna Lectar. We had pumpkin soup, which was served in a pumpkin and a similar dish with cold peppers. The main dishes were rabbit, fish, steak, and frog legs. 




After lunch, we went to decorate our ginger biscuits. Everyone had a go at it and they made pretty good souvenirs.



We went directly to the bee museum next door. We learned about bees’ behavior and reproduction, how bees recognize their hive, how hives are made, and how hives are decorated with drawings depicting traditional stories. By instinct, bees work in two groups. One manages the hive and the other works in the fields. In the hives, bees clean their cells, build it into a hexagonal shape, guard the hive and receive the nectar. In the field, bees search for flowers, gather nectar and hand it to the hive bees. A complete order!




Then we went to the Kamen castle, which was built in the eighteenth century. The place did not have much of a historical background but it was a good place to exercise one’s leg muscles by climbing its stairs to look at the stellar views of the surrounding areas.



We concluded our day by visiting the Music Museum of Avsenik. It was entertaining to see the elderly dance to the folklore melodies.



The following video was taken in the Slavko Avsenik dining and dancing hall:


Addresses

Gingerbread Museum:
Gostilna, Penzion in Muzej LECTAR
Linhartov trg 2, 4240 Radovljica
http://www.lectar.com

Gostilna Lectar:
Linhartov trg 2, 4240 Radovljica, Slovenia

Čebelarski muzej Radovljica
Linhartov trg 1, 4240 Radovljica, Slovenia

Grad Kamen
4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia

Gostilna-Restavracija-Muzej Avsenik
Begunje na Gorenjskem 21, 4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia

Tuesday 30 August 2016

Slovenia: Day 4

At 10:00 am, we headed to the Triglavski Narodni Park. We saw the Sloveniak ski team practicing their ski jumps. This is a famous sport that Slovenia competes and wins medals in at the global arena. Their champion is Peter Brevec. We saw them jump from great heights over the slope of the ski runway. When they hit the ground, we heard a loud thud. I bet they suffer from knee problems. See this video:


We then hiked in the Tamar valley for 10 kilometers.



After coming back, we booked a zipline ski jump for six persons only. It simulates a ski jump for those who cannot take part in the actual sport. For this simulation, you have to weigh less than 120 kg. You should be able to carry a 12 kg bag, which has the pulleys and straps needed for the jump, on your back. Also you should not suffer from spinal problems and epilepsy. We had two people taking photographs and videos. After putting on our helmets and fastening the straps around our waists, we carried our gear to the chair lift that would take us to the top of the mountain. Up there were two people helping jumpers to get ready and strapping them to the jump cable. They also ensured the safety of jumpers and coordinated the release of the jumper with the lower station once the previous jumper had reached safely. The length of the jump was 600 meters at an initial incline of 60 degrees. Then it flattened as the jump progressed. Please look at the following video for further details:

After we had experienced this thrill, we went for lunch and then left for our accommodation.

Some of us needed Internet sim cards because Ooredoo, the Qatar communication company, does not have an agreement with Slovenia for discounted roaming prices. Ooredoo calls it a "passport". We found a 10 G internet sim card for €15 – much cheaper than Ooredoo rates. 

Address

Triglavski National Park
http://www.burger.si/TriglavNationalPark/Tamar/Uvod_Tamar.htm 
Latitude:46° 27' 00" North / Longitude: 13° 42' 33" East (1232)
Rateče, Slovenia

Slovenia: Day 3

At 11:00 am, we headed to our intended place of stay at Kranjska Gora. On the way, we stopped at Kranj, the fourth largest city in Slovenia. We visited a tunnel that the Germans had built using a local contractor in 1944 to protect the population from air raids during the Second World War. The tunnel could house 6000 inhabitants and was designed to reduce the bomb blast pressure waves. Through a simulation exercise, we relived a similar air raid as the ones during the Second World War and heard the raid siren and the thunder of passing attack fighters, and felt the shock waves underneath our feet.



Then, we went for lunch at the Gostilna Pr' Matičk. This Gostilna was unique in every aspect. The atmosphere was comfortable, the staff were very friendly, and we felt that we were at home. We had mountain white flower juice – a special drink in Slovenia. We also had freshly squeezed grape juice. We started with a cold starter consisting of five slices of different types of tomato that had been grown in their back garden along with mozzarella cheese and tomato jam, all produced locally at the Gostilna kitchen and their garden. We followed this dish with salmon and white fish carpaccio. The hot starter consisted of three-grain rice risotto with seasonal mushrooms and cheese, presented in a jar. The main dish was chamois leg with yellow cabbage, carrot paste and cottage cheese dumplings. It is important to mention here that chef Matičk himself hunts these animals and cooks them for the menu. The sweet dish was a plate of chocolate cake with ice cream and wild berries with sour cream. After lunch, Mr. Matičk took us around his place to show us the animals he hunted such as wild goats, bears, gnu, caribou and birds. 







After lunch, we continued our trip but there was a heavy rain that slowed traffic and cancelled our planned leisure biking at Kranjska Gora. Once we arrived, we headed to our two apartment houses, each consisting of three floors with one bedroom and a bathroom in each floor. This beautiful accommodation was called Berghi. Because we needed some immediate necessities to put in the apartments, we went to the Mercator in the village center opposite the Ramada Hotel. The rain stopped at that time.



Addresses

Tunnel under Kranj
Rovi pod starim Kranjem
Tourist and Culture Board Kranj
Glavni trg 2, 4000 KRANJ
lgk@tourism-kranj.si


Gostilna Pr' Matičku,
Jezerska cesta 41 4000 Kranj
http://www.prmaticku.si/index.php?lang=en

Accommodation in Kranjska Gora:
Berghi II
Borovška cesta 27, 4280 Kranjska Gora, Slovenia