Day 17 - Triglav NP to Bled via Vintgar Gorge


Easy day. Sunny, moderate hike in Slovenia's most visited natural feature and only national park. Back-to-back hiking days are starting to take a toll. We're ready for a little less technicality and a little more sightseeing.
But first, another massive, delicious breakfast spread. I'm really going to miss these. The bread is the best I've ever tasted, a national treasure. Forget the lo-carb diet here. You're going to miss the good stuff.

Our ride to the Triglav National Park arrived promptly. It was time to burn some calories. Can't call today's effort a hike. It was more of a wander day. An amazing turquoise, super clear river flows through the Vintgar Gorge. The falls are not the biggest, the walls are not the steepest, but the gorge goes on for over a mile. There's no reason to hurry past.
On the way to Bled, our location for the next two nights, we sauntered by St Catherine's Church. It dates back to the late middle ages, late 1400s. Not ostentatious, despite baroque upgrades, it's been a constant beacon on the hill, sometimes to warn citizens of danger.
We passed through a few villages today. Gotta give people credit for some very practical signage. We clearly knew which way to turn.
Throughout our Slovenia tour we've observed immaculate homes and gardens. Denizens really show their pride with the care they take. All homes have wonderful flowers cascading from balconies or windows. Many, many homes seem to have been recently built or renovated. In contrast, many homes and entire villages we observed three years ago on the Camino de Santiago in Spain were shut down, abandoned. That was quite sad. Slovenia looks like it is putting a lot of effort into renewal. I hope Spain has had that opportunity, too.

We arrived in Bled mid-afternoon. Time for a bite of local fare, Thai food today. Bled is a tourist town, after all. Then another load of laundry. No German Alexa this time, but then it did cost much less than in Vienna. It also took a lot longer because we were in line behind a group of young male travelers who had A LOT of laundry. Bad timing on our part.

The day was effectively over, so we set out for a light dinner. The nearby happenin' place offered a bit of everything, including a nice Istrian red wine. Ahh. A very satisfying day.

Tomorrow we'll explore Lake Bled.