Day - 19 Bled to Bohinj

So here's a surprise, something definitely not on the tour brochure, today's hike began at a shooting range. On top of the Pokljuka Plateau lies the biathlon training center. This sport consists of cross country skiing and target shooting. We were not the targets. These are highly trained athletes. Without snow they practice on roller skis. The motion is just like cross country skiing. Several female athletes cruised past us as we observed the target range.

The difficult hikes were clearly behind us. Far below Triglav Peak we simply descended 3000 feet over nine miles, passing old farm houses, small solar-powered chapels, and the first fall colors.

Our walk ended at fun-looking Lake Bohinj. There were plenty of campers, day visitors, and weekend travelers boating, swimming, tandem hang gliding and enjoying ice cream. We were ready to disgorge our feet from our boots to celebrate the completion of our hiking tour. But where's the hotel? Ten interminable minute walk away from the lake later, we found it.

Hotel Kristal is known for its restaurant. With only Google translate, I thought I was ordering smoked trout. I received pork chops. I didn't care. Hunger makes the best sauce, but this cooking stands out on its own merits. Meat was perfectly cooked. Mushroom and cherry sauces matched without overwhelming. Try it if you visit Lake Bohinj. Just be sure to ask the waiter/owner for the English menu.

One of my many contemplations during these hikes concern things I do not miss. High on the list are burned forests and poison oak. There's quite a bit of forest management and wood stocks for household heating. I wonder if the winter air here is quite so clear. We saw cutting, but planting? Not so much. Maybe that takes place in the spring. There's a strict law in place since the reign of Maria Theresa, mid-1700s, which requires two trees to be planted for every one cut.

Tomorrow afternoon we exchange our Julian Alps tour for a couple days of touristing in the capital city of Ljubljana.