I, Juan Carlos (Spanish), and my wife Berthe (of Lebanese origin),
have been traveling the world together for years. We’ve been discussing launching
our blog that’s focused on our passion – Motorbike traveling – our favorite
mean of transport, for a while now; but it was only during our trip to Slovenia and specifically at Maissana
(Italy), when we met an Australian couple that happened to have their own blog,
that we finally decided to start writing about our journey.
Unlike many other blogs, ours will be written at the end of each trip.
This is because we use each journey as a way to disconnect from our regular
day-to day life, whilst gaining new experience and increase our knowledge of
the world, in order to create memories for the rest of our life. its, as such,
only once we are back home, while reflecting on our time together you will find
us sharing our memories with you in few words and images.
Now put your bike helmet on, and join us for
the ride of your life, as we embark into a new journey using one of
the multiple motorbikes we own (Honda ST 1300 ABS).
 |
| J&B |
We started our trip for 18 days on September 4, 2016 until 21 from
Bilbao (Spain) driving trough France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia that was our
main destination and crossing through Hungary and Austria.
Our great PanEuropean Moto did 5690 kms with no problems circulating on
highways, roads even tiny ways or “climbing” ports with 40ºC, rain even fog and
snow.
We will be posting gradually the maps of the roads and we hope that you
will enjoy the ride with us.
Gretchen Rubin said: "One of the best ways to make yourself happy in the
present is to recall happy times from the past. Photos are a great
memory-prompt, and because we tend to take photos of happy occasions, they
weight our memories to the good."
We left Bilbao on Sunday 4 September at 8.30 am excited to start our journey.
Although for us, we knew that this was to be the “boring part” of the trip as we had to ride along the highways around 752km to reach Arles.
We had our last “café con leche” but our first break at Irun before crossing the frontier.
The ride was
easy with no traffic but, yes, lot of tolls stops. At the beginning, we had good
weather but around mid-day the sun was shining stronger and the temperature
reached 40 degrees, which was not ideal
to wearing motorcycle clothes. However, as riders we had to continue and endure
the heat.
We had a
small accident at the last toll stop. After more than 7 hours driving in 40
degrees and arriving at the last toll I needed to drive close to the pay
machine. There was oil in the middle of
the road that I didn’t want to put my feet on it so I lost control and we fell
to the right side. You had to see the face of the driver behind, oH!
Nevertheless,
nothing major happened only Berthe hitting her leg with the exhaust. It was the
first time we see our bike on the floor and we were happy that no damage was
done to it. JC, as he reads lot of
articles and blogs related to motorbikes on the internet, had managed to pull
up the bike with a little help from the wife.
 |
| The mark |
We were
lucky to have a swimming pool in the hotel so we could relax a little before
heading to the old town.
Riders keep
the following in mind:
Checking the
website “viamichelin” for the tolls of the road as we did, the published amount
was 30.15 euros but at the end of the day, we paid 43.25 euros. After
investigating we discovered that once we introduce the receipt to pay we had to
click the button “calling for help”.
Once they answer, you inform them that you are riding a motorbike and the
amount changes automatically. It seems that their cameras do not detect the
motorbikes and the machines do not have an option to select.
We went walking along the riverbank to the old town;
the streets were empty which is typical on Sundays in France, except the square
of forum where there were a few people eating
and drinking.
Of course
not to forget a selfie of JB in the square de la République.
One of the
famous sentences of JC said during this trip was
“Berthe, you brought lots of
bags and things”
so no comment to say regarding this bicycle
After the
long hot ride today, we had a quick dinner and went to bed early to get up
early for the next day.
Deep sleep!
We decided to continue on the highway for two reasons: the first one to save time to reach Slovenia and the second is because in May 2015 we rode from Bilbao along the Côte d’Azur to Imperia Liguri in Italy.
Maissana is
a very small Italian village; we had the privilege to park the motorbike under
a tree in the square of the church.
And where we
could contemplate the views of other villages lost in the mountains and the
beautiful colors of the sunset.
The selfie
photo of the 3 of us!
Maissana is
surrounded by mountains, that is why we preferred to take
the evening time to just relax and walk around.
Finally, we are off the highway and reached Trieste in the North of Italy, and crossing through the city, we could not help but notice how nice it is, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit.
At Piran, we
choose to lodge in an apartment outside the old city on top of a hill.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination
and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to
excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. - Mario
Andretti
Day 2:
It was Monday 5 September, we travelled from France to Italy driving around 515 km in 7 hours.
It was Monday 5 September, we travelled from France to Italy driving around 515 km in 7 hours.
We decided to continue on the highway for two reasons: the first one to save time to reach Slovenia and the second is because in May 2015 we rode from Bilbao along the Côte d’Azur to Imperia Liguri in Italy.
The highway
that we took in Italy was different from the one in France. It was narrower with
less break areas and more traffic.
It was a
good ride and we did our last stop at Sestri Levante before heading to the
rural house.
 |
| Boats & bikes |
One of the things
that we like to do when traveling is to encourage the small businesses by
renting, for example, in rural houses or apartments, to try the local food in
traditional restaurants and to choose staying in small quieter villages & towns rather than
the more touristic destinations.
That is why
we choose Maissana, which is located 28 km inland from the sea; we needed 1
hour of driving to reach it, due to the mountain road which was full of turns
and bends, but which we liked.
We did not
imagine that in this small village we will encounter nice other travelers. It
was around the dinner table at the rural house where we were lodged where we
met Jacob and his wife from Belgium and Katherine and Peter from Australia and
we exchanged experiences and emails.
We became
fans of kathypetereurope2016.wordpress.com. It is always joyful to meet
nice people who at the beginning are strangers but after exchanging some words,
some of them become friends.
During our
conversation with Kathy and Peter, the idea of the blog that we had in our mind
was becoming a decision to make it real and here we are now writing our own
stories.
 |
| The two men fans of cars and motorbikes |
Thank you Katherine and Peter for the nice photo, hopefully we will meet again, who knows if in
Australia or Spain or any place on the earth.
It’s time to
leave Italy.
I love meeting new people; I think everyone has a story
to tell. We should all listen sometimes. - Kim Smith
Day 3: 531 km means
around 6 hours driving to reach Piran, our first sojourn in Slovenia.
On the way, we
could only stop few minutes to admire the Italian
coast. Perhaps in the future Italy will be our main destination.
Finally, we are off the highway and reached Trieste in the North of Italy, and crossing through the city, we could not help but notice how nice it is, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit.
Therefore,
we continued riding until we reached our main destination.
We
arrived to Slovenia by a very tiny road, guided by our “crazy” Tom-tom that was
indicating sometimes for us roads that we had doubts if to continue driving or
to take other alternatives. However, we decided to give it a chance and we
arrived happy and safe.
Slovenia has
not so many kms of coast but has very beautiful villages along it.
Our
impression when we left Italy to enter Slovenia was that people were driving in
a more educated way and all around looked like it had been designed with a
different perspective.
 |
| Izola |
Our first
visit was to Piran town wall that was built through three periods, the oldest
part dated from the 7th century.
From this wall, we had spectacular views,
which we were not the only ones to admire it because we met lots of local and
foreign photographers with huge amounts of photography equipment waiting for the sun to
disappear behind Piran on the Adriatic sea.
And what was
more curious was on the exit of the wall, there was a cord where to hang your
cheap entry ticket (2 euros by person) It is fun to follow the tradition!
We continued
walking down to the old town to visit the cathedral of Saint George, which is
not big, but beautifully painted from the inside, and amazingly located on the
coast edge.
It was a
slightly windy evening, which made our
walk on the path beside the sea all around Piran unforgettable with the feeling
of the salty water on our faces and the colors of the sunset in this magical
place.
And of course not to forget the Tartini square named after the famous violinist Giuseppe Tartini
Day 5:
After a
quick shower, we decided to visit the Postjona caves for the afternoon, leaving
the visit to the castle for early the next morning, we could go there jumping
from our window.
Yes, it was cold inside, around 8 degrees; you have to come prepared with a jacket and, if not, you have the chance to rent one at the entrance.
Postojna cave is the most visited tourist cave in Europe where you can see magnificent caverns and glistening stalactite formations.
After the
visit we went to the village Postojna where we enjoyed dinner and some beers
Day 6:
At 9.00AM, we were the first and only visitors (until around 9.45) to explore the treasure of more than 800 years.
Predjama
Castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stonewall to make
access to it difficult.
During a siege in the 15th century, the castle offered refuge to its infamous and notorious owner - Erazem of Predjama.
Erazem remained undefeated until he was betrayed… maybe we should not continue the story so you will have to discover it traveling there yourself.
It was one of the filming locations in the film ‘Armour of God’ starring Jackie Chan in the 1986 and other movies.
We were not the only ones...
If we had to choose the most beautiful house and garden in Slovenia, it would be so difficult. They were all nice, well located, maintained and decorated with multicolored flowers. We felt like we were in springtime!
The first stop was at Idrija where we wanted to visit the mines but unfortunately, there was only organized visits in the afternoons, so we took advantage to take some photos from the top of the church of Saint Anton.
Of course, one of the stops was to eat the delicious traditional Slovenian plate of pasta and potatoes. We chose the restaurant because we saw some motobikes parked in the front.
That moment when the Tomtom is lost and we had to stop to restart it and the wife was very happy to go down from the seat of the motorbike.
Continuing our way, we decided to visit Skofja Loka and Pustal, famous for their stories related to the devil, combs and frogs…
We were so lucky because when we stopped at the tourism office, the woman assistant was very kind, like all the Slovenian people whom we met during this trip. She suggested to us to keep our moto parked beside her office, to leave our clothes of the motorbike in a cabinet in her office, and to enjoy our walk along the river to the town.
Škofja Loka has one of the best-preserved medieval urban centres in Slovenia. Its name literally means 'bishop's (wet) meadow', referring to its ownership by the Bishop of Freising.
A selfie on the
devil’s footbridge
And a cup of cappuccino
Then we enjoyed some drinks outdoors because the weather was very nice. There were crowds in all the bars situated along the river. We imagined that not many bad people live in the area as when we had to pay, we had to wait until the waiter could attend us or even, it was funny to remind them what we had consumed.
Day 7:
We spent most of the
day eating. We were moving between the
different kiosks and all looked so delicious with good prices. We want to say
that Slovenian people are very honest with tax payments, it does not matter
what you will buy or the amount, for example, in one of the kiosk, we bought a few
pieces of plum for 20 cents and they give us a receipt.
Oh yes, we walked along the old town, crossing all its bridges and discovering all its corners.
We went walking up to Ljubljana castle without visiting it from the inside. Built in the middle of the 15th century, today it is a popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners also. No wonder. It offers an outstanding view over the city, a romantic atmosphere and a place of numerous cultural events.
We didn’t forget as well to do a walk in the Tivoli Park which is Ljubljana's largest and most beautiful park, stretching right into the city center. It was designed in 1813 by the French engineer Jean Blanchard. The park, covering an area of approximately five square kilometers, is crossed by three grand horse chestnut tree-lined walks and landscaped with ornamental flowerbeds, interesting trees and numerous statues and fountains. The park area blends into the slopes of the Rožnik hill, to which it is connected by several walking paths and a trim trail with several exercise stations along its length
Don't you agree with Elsa Schiaparelli saying:
Day 8:
The first thing that attracted our attention at the Main Square was The Plague Column. In appreciation for the cessation of the plague, the inhabitants of Maribor in the year 1681 erected the Plague Column – a pillar bearing an image of the Virgin Mary. The current one dates from the 18th century and is the work of Jožef Štraub. Arranged around the statue of Mary, Mother of God are six saints, all intercessors against the plague. It is made entirely of white marble.
As
much as we found interesting the old town of Maribor, we were as well
fascinated by its riverside. The Drava River has undoubtedly always been
strongly associated with the life in Maribor, and its development. There are
excellent walking and cycling trails along the river embankment and one of the
most famous tourist activities – rafting on the Drava River with traditional
rafts.
Day 9:
On Tuesday, we gave up for the temptation to
visit Hungary, which is very near to Maribor, and to add another country on the
list of roads done with our Pan European tour.
“There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.”
― Lemony Snicket
Day 10:
and for taking photos,
I saw this classic
Honda, we will not mind to add it to our collection…
Goodbye Bled until we go back again and thank you for amazing moments.
The first half of the
way to Italy, we were getting emotionally ready for the winter part of our
trip. Here are some photos of the sky preparing to rain and once we crossed into
Italy, we had to drive the second half of our journey under heavy rain without
being able to take any photo.
We ended the
day with a delicious dinner. Usually we check tripadvisor to choose where to eat,
Pirat was the first on the list, and we recommend it as well. It is well
located near to the port, nicely decorated and most of all we enjoyed
the food chosen with the help of the nice waiters.
We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty,
charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only
we seek them with our eyes open. - Jawaharlal Nehru
Day 4: Wednesday 7 September
was the day of the ants.
We woke up
to discover that lot of ants were eating the bread that we had bought for our breakfast
and had planned to enjoy it on the terrace under the vine.
So instead,
we went to a bakery where we were lucky to have some chocolate croissants.
We left Piran hoping that the wind will calm down as we were heading
towards Pula in Croatia.
The views were so stunning to the point that, between Vrsar and Rovinj,
instead of following the GPS we headed toward a tiny road to reach a small port
of the famous peculiar geographic feature called the Lim Channel. JC was hesitating
if to go or not to the water with the Pan, “I am still having doubts if it
could navigate or not”.
The “señora” Clara was very kind and generous, she offered for us grapes from her big garden, she is proud to live in Pula and although she was speaking only little Italian, we managed to understand her. Her daughter in law Monica was very nice as well and helpful, they took good care on us.
We dedicated
the evening time to visit Pula and its archeological sites. Once again, we had
the chance to contemplate a magnificent sunset this time from the Marina.
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| When you have the chocolate mark on the face |
I want to mention (although my wife didn’t want to remember this) that
when we left the apartment in Piran we had a little problem with the ants, they
didn’t only eat our breakfast, but some of them decided to travel with us.
When we were waiting at the frontier with Croatia at the police checkpoint
(only few minutes because it was easy to move from one country to another), my
wife started screaming and hitting the back of my head saying that there were ants
going out from my helmet. It was strange because the ants were only inside my
helmet, not in any bag or clothes. Anyway, I was glad that they choose my
helmet for a ride because I do not even
want to imagine what could happened if they were in the helmet of my beautiful
wife.
The croatian coast is very beautiful so we decided to stop at Umag, a small
town where we enjoyed a cup of coffee, the view of the blue sea and where we continued
hunting for any remaining ants that had hitch-hiked with us.
Beautiful
ride, Croatia has good roads for bikers and we were lucky with the weather, we
did enjoy going to Pula.
Then another
stop but only for photos
The “señora” Clara was very kind and generous, she offered for us grapes from her big garden, she is proud to live in Pula and although she was speaking only little Italian, we managed to understand her. Her daughter in law Monica was very nice as well and helpful, they took good care on us.
After changing
our clothes, we went to relax on the crystal water of Pula then we bought some
food and we savored a late lunch with a local wine at the terrace of the
studio.
Pula has a
long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding and lot of ancient roman
sights.
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| Pula Cathedral |
 |
| The Amphitheatre |
 |
| Arch of the Sergians |
 |
| Temple of Augustus |
And we finished the day with a delicious
dinner at Dante square.
 |
| Truffles Taste |
 |
| From Pula sea |
 |
| Cheers |
Eleanor Roosevelt: “The purpose of life is to live it, to
taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear
for newer and richer experience.”
Day 5:
On Thursday
8 of September, we left Pula to go back again to Slovenia saying goodbye to the
coast and heading exactly to Predjama castle.
We choose to stay in the rooms
facing the castle and we had this view from our small window. The pity was that
they don’t illuminate the castle during the night. Anyhow, the castle is a
treasure.
So we drove
our moto to Postojna, we bought our tickets which was a package of 35.9 euros
by person to visit Postojna Cave + Predjama Castle + Vivarium + Butterflies exhibition
and we started the tour visiting the butterflies exhibition.
Postjona
cave is one of the major attractions in Slovenia and is situated in a park with
hotel, souvenir shops, cafeterias and a large parking area. We noticed that it
was more expensive than the rest of places in Slovenia, yet comparing it with
other areas it was the most crowded although it was not the high season. There
were lots of tourists, the cave is beautiful that is for sure but we felt like
the area was more for business then for contemplating its beauty.
The cave is
24,120 m long but only 5 kms are open to the public. We began the visit aboard the cave
train for around 10 minutes, and then continued the tour walking, leaded by a
guide and listening to the information through audio guides for around 1 hour.
 |
| This photo was taken for a part of the long train before it was full of people |
 |
| Going fast |
Yes, it was cold inside, around 8 degrees; you have to come prepared with a jacket and, if not, you have the chance to rent one at the entrance.
Postojna cave is the most visited tourist cave in Europe where you can see magnificent caverns and glistening stalactite formations.
Moreover, Johann Valvasor, a Slovenian natural historian (1641 - 1693) did not exaggerate when he wrote, "I have seen many a uniquely beautiful cave in different countries and kingdoms, not only in Europe, but in Africa as well. However, none of them were as awe-inspiring as the ones in my homeland".
Not to forget that this cave is also home to the endemic olm or proteus, the largest troglodytic amphibian in the world.
 |
| what an olm could look like |
 |
| Dark & Unfiltered |
and guess
who was so tired and slept with the lights on…
“Travel is more than the seeing
of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of
living.”
- Miriam Beard Day 6:
We had the breakfast
on Friday 9th September in the Hotel
enjoying the historical view; As well as chatting with the first Spanish couple
that we met. They were travelling around Slovenia in a different way: hiking.
They told us that they had flown from Barcelona to Venice and from there took a
bus to Bled where they started their walking journey.
At 9.00AM, we were the first and only visitors (until around 9.45) to explore the treasure of more than 800 years.
 |
| Traveling back in time |
During a siege in the 15th century, the castle offered refuge to its infamous and notorious owner - Erazem of Predjama.
 |
| Legends behind the windows |
According to
legend, for a year and a day, Erazem was besieged in his fortress. He taunted
the attacking soldiers by pelting them with cherries: he knew of a secret
tunnel leading from the castle, which allowed him to travel to the nearby
village of Vipava and collect supplies and fresh cherries when in season.
Erazem remained undefeated until he was betrayed… maybe we should not continue the story so you will have to discover it traveling there yourself.
It was one of the filming locations in the film ‘Armour of God’ starring Jackie Chan in the 1986 and other movies.
 |
| the husband with "cuernos" (bad joke) |
 |
| The legend modern Warrior |
 |
| Perfect integration between the rock and the wall |
 |
| Ring the bell for your wish to come true |
 |
| The green scenic view from the castle |
A visit to
the castle is highly recommend and if you are there between May to September
you can have a look around the picturesque Cave under Predjama Castle which is
inhabited by a colony of bats.
By mid-day we said goodbye to Predjama Castle to
move to the capital under a clear blue sunny sky.
Although the
way to Liubliana was short, it took us more time than expected to arrive there as
we were fascinated by the views and decided to enjoy the beauty of the villages
on the way.
We were not the only ones...
If we had to choose the most beautiful house and garden in Slovenia, it would be so difficult. They were all nice, well located, maintained and decorated with multicolored flowers. We felt like we were in springtime!
The first stop was at Idrija where we wanted to visit the mines but unfortunately, there was only organized visits in the afternoons, so we took advantage to take some photos from the top of the church of Saint Anton.
Of course, one of the stops was to eat the delicious traditional Slovenian plate of pasta and potatoes. We chose the restaurant because we saw some motobikes parked in the front.
That moment when the Tomtom is lost and we had to stop to restart it and the wife was very happy to go down from the seat of the motorbike.
Continuing our way, we decided to visit Skofja Loka and Pustal, famous for their stories related to the devil, combs and frogs…
We were so lucky because when we stopped at the tourism office, the woman assistant was very kind, like all the Slovenian people whom we met during this trip. She suggested to us to keep our moto parked beside her office, to leave our clothes of the motorbike in a cabinet in her office, and to enjoy our walk along the river to the town.
The Selca
Sora River in Škofja Loka. The Cappuchin Bridge is the oldest preserved bridge
in Slovenia.
The Marian
column at Town Square, erected in 1751 in thanks for turning away a plague and a
fire.
Škofja Loka has one of the best-preserved medieval urban centres in Slovenia. Its name literally means 'bishop's (wet) meadow', referring to its ownership by the Bishop of Freising.
And a cup of cappuccino
“In a car you're always in a compartment, and because
you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you
see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you
boringly in a frame.
On a cycle, the frame is gone. You are completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
On a cycle, the frame is gone. You are completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
After
checking into the apartment, situated 15 min walking distance from the center
of Ljubljana, we went out to discover the capital on a Friday evening.
IMPORTANT:
If you are on diet, SKIP this part.
We were
impressed with the crowds and the beauty of the place. Many people use bicycles
as media of transport and the city is well designed with bicycle trails. There
are bicycles all around and we were not so sure who had preference.
The city is
amazing with its lights and the ambience of the nightlife and the different
styles of its bars.
 |
| The Triple Bridge |
 |
| The Butcher's Bridge |
We decided
to have a Lebanese dinner in a small restaurant.
Then we enjoyed some drinks outdoors because the weather was very nice. There were crowds in all the bars situated along the river. We imagined that not many bad people live in the area as when we had to pay, we had to wait until the waiter could attend us or even, it was funny to remind them what we had consumed.
 |
| The kiosks of food and drinks in the central market |
Passing
through the shopping area but not at the correct time
It was a
perfect Friday evening where we had lot of fun in this city, the food was
delicious and a great atmosphere for drinking and above all it was cheap!!
Day 7:
We spent
Saturday at Ljubljana as well, there was a Mercedes Exhibition around the
Triple bridge area, and of course, JC was very happy to check the details of
each car, dreaming to add one of the classical Mercedes to his garage between
his Spanish motorbikes, the OSSA, Bultaco, Montesa, Lube…
 |
| A huge variety of ice cream that we couldn't taste all |
 |
| Beers bottles 0.5 L |
Oh yes, we walked along the old town, crossing all its bridges and discovering all its corners.
 |
| The Cobbler's bridge |
 |
| The Dragon bridge |
We didn’t
miss to enter the Cathedral of St Nicholas through its holy door.
It is an
easily recognizable landmark of the city with its green dome and twin towers
and stands at Cyril and Methodius Square by the nearby Ljubljana Central Market
and Town Hall.
We went walking up to Ljubljana castle without visiting it from the inside. Built in the middle of the 15th century, today it is a popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners also. No wonder. It offers an outstanding view over the city, a romantic atmosphere and a place of numerous cultural events.
 |
| Needed to burn some calories and make space for the dinner |
We didn’t forget as well to do a walk in the Tivoli Park which is Ljubljana's largest and most beautiful park, stretching right into the city center. It was designed in 1813 by the French engineer Jean Blanchard. The park, covering an area of approximately five square kilometers, is crossed by three grand horse chestnut tree-lined walks and landscaped with ornamental flowerbeds, interesting trees and numerous statues and fountains. The park area blends into the slopes of the Rožnik hill, to which it is connected by several walking paths and a trim trail with several exercise stations along its length
 |
| Jakopič Promenade, a popular outdoor gallery |
And we
finished the day with more food and more beers
Don't you agree with Elsa Schiaparelli saying:
"Eating is
not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and
contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great
importance to the morale."
Day 8:
A perfect
Sunday weather to move from the capital to the second largest city in Slovenia,
Maribor.
So, are you ready?
The way to Maribor was beautiful, no traffic and scenic views.
We decided to have a light lunch, but the husband was not so happy
The perfect place to park the moto
Arrived to Maribor by mid-day, we were very pleased to stay at the
Guest House Parma. The room was big with a lot of natural light and the
apartment had a large kitchenette that we did not use.
Maribor
is a medieval city with beautiful churches, galleries, museums, mansions, a great theatre, a beautiful castle and more. Moreover, its
geographical position on the northeast is interesting as it is near to the
frontiers with Hungary and Austria, which we did not miss the opportunity to
cross it for a little ride during the next days.
For the moment, let us stay in Maribor, discovering its gripping
corners.
It is surprising but Maribor holds several records not only
mentioned in the book of records, but also that it can convert to a memorable
experience and felt with all your senses.
OK then, let's list them:
OK then, let's list them:
- Guinness
Book-certified oldest vine in the world
- world's
oldest women skiing competition
- one of
Europe's biggest classical wine cellars
- Europe's longest floodlit
ski run
- Lent,
one of Europe's biggest festivals
- one of
the best known aquariums in Southern and Central Europe
- One of
the oldest flying clubs in Europe...
The first thing that attracted our attention at the Main Square was The Plague Column. In appreciation for the cessation of the plague, the inhabitants of Maribor in the year 1681 erected the Plague Column – a pillar bearing an image of the Virgin Mary. The current one dates from the 18th century and is the work of Jožef Štraub. Arranged around the statue of Mary, Mother of God are six saints, all intercessors against the plague. It is made entirely of white marble.
We
continued our walk to Maribor cathedral, which was built in the 12th century as
a Romanesque building. Today it shows a Gothic style with a long chancel dating
from the 14th century and a central church nave from the 15th century. The
57-meter high bell tower dates back to the end of the 18th century as the
primarily 76-metre high bell tower, built by Pavel Porta in the year 1623, was
struck by lightning.
In addition, nearby the cathedral there is a statue of Anton
Martin Slomšek (26 November 1800 – 24 September 1862) who was a Slovene bishop, author, poet, and
advocate of Slovene culture.
As we were moving through the streets, we had the chance to visit
the inside of this beautiful Franciscan church.
Apart from the churches and the main square, the oldest part of
the town enchant you along with the Old Vine House, medieval towers and remains
of the city walls, as well as the square Grajski trg with the castle and
museum, the Jewish synagogue, the Art Gallery and theatre, etc…
Even you could cross under this rainy blue arch to refresh from
the heat.
We
went across to a statue that we did not have an idea about what it was, joking
that it could be a helmet from Star Wars…
Like most of old towns, this one too had many bars and art that
make the walk joyful and relaxing.
Walking and enjoying
The river basin is home to over 90 bird and 50 fish species, and
the white swans all along add to it an atmospheric feeling.
The romance site of this beautiful town.
All inhabitants are proud of the mighty river, which supplies them
with positive energy as we were told. Therefore, we decided to refill our
positive energy on the roof of a boat enjoying a drink and a trip along the
river meanwhile watching the sunset.
We noticed that there was only one boat working that day. The boat
had a covered restaurant and a roof bar and sails only once per day, in our
case it was at 18.00. So better to ask for its schedule once that you are
there.
We ended the day with a savory dinner commenting about the
generosity of the Slovenian people.
“All that is important is this one moment in movement.
Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away
unnoticed and unused.”
― Martha Graham
― Martha Graham
In order not to waste time in the center of
Maribor finding a bar to take breakfast, we decided to stop on the way. After
driving a while passing only small villages, we found a bar but unfortunately
the waitress told us that they don’t serve breakast but was kind to indicate to
us the nearest place on our way.
It was around 10.00 when we stopped at Pri
Antonu restaurant where we were warmly welcomed and were told that we can have
access to an open buffet for 6 euros per person. Our surprise was that the food
served was more a lunch then a breakfast (sausages and rice, fried chicken and
potatoes, salads, soups…) and moreover the place was almost full. Usually we
don’t eat this kind of food for breakfast but we decided to change our habit
once as we were feeling hungry and had stopped and removed all the motorbike
stuff.
After the heavy unexpected breakfast, we continued our drive
through the amazing countryside of the northeast of Slovenia.
However, unfortunately once we crossed the frontier to
Hungary, we did not like the road; we drove for almost one hour in a dry area
until we reached Szombathely. We were little disappointed from the road and
arriving there it was difficult to communicate with people because they don’t
speak English so we had to search for the tourism office to get some
information.
Moreover, we were told that they don’t deal with Euros so we
had to find an exchange office; the rate for 1 euro was 310 HUF.
We think that Hungary is much cheaper than Slovenia and is
worth a trip in the future.
So a brief description: Szombathely is the
oldest city and the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is
known as the capital of the Vas county and the birthplace of Saint Martin of
Tours.
It was founded by the Romans, remained inhabitant throughout
the Middles ages, was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1242
but was rebuilt shortly afterwards, was invaded twice by the Ottomans in 1664
and in 1683 but the city walls protected Szombathely both times. In the 1890s, the
city underwent significant infrastructure development and the prosperity
continued further.
After visiting the city center’s main square, we went for a
walk around the lake before leaving and we were making fun because we still had
1200 Hufs that we should spent before going back. And guess what, we could rent
a paddle boat for 1000 Hufs for 1 hour, we were happy to do some sports, burning
the extra calories.
It was time to go back to Maribor but driving through a
different way, crossing a little part of Austria, which was very beautiful.
We arrived to Maribor
at sunset and we had a spectacular view of the town from the top of a hill. It
was worth it to stop and to contemplate it for a while.
We were feeling a little tired after this ride and we read
some good comments about the restaurant of Tania, the one down the road from our
rented apartment that is why we decided to have dinner there. The decoration of
the restaurant inside is elegant but as it was nice weather, we decided to stay
on the terrace. The food was delicious and well presented.
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| Black noodles with octopus |
“There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.”
― Lemony Snicket
Day 10:
On Tuesday, we said goodbye to Maribor and headed to Bled,
driving through Austria where we had some stops.
For us traveling on a motorbike has two sides: one is
reaching our destination to enjoy the places with its historical sites and its
gastronomy; and the other is riding on the roads discovering the beauty of the
nature around and feeling the wind, the sun and even the rain. It’s true, that
motorcycle riding gives you a sense of freedom.
One of our habits is to stop wherever we see an unusual bar
for its decoration or location to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. So that day, in
Muta, we noticed a bar on the bank of the Drava River, it was the perfect place
for a stop.
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| Muta |
When we were taking coffee Berthe was not feeling good, she
was having some pain, but we decided to move on. Therefore, we entered the
Austrian territory, the views were breathtaking, and we added this country as
well to our list of countries to visit.
Hoping that these photos will describe a little on our behalf
what we felt riding there:
After sometime riding, B asked me to find a pharmacy so
checking the TomTom we found one only three kms ahead, in a small town called
Bleiburg. In the pharmacy, as you may know, they refused to give us the
antibiotic requested without a medical certificate and the pharmacist was very
kind to indicate to us that the public doctor was located next to the pharmacy.
At the outpatient clinic, both the secretary and the doctor
were super kind, they attend to us immediately, doing all the necessary tests
in a short time and giving us the adequate medicine, and with our European
medical card, we didn’t have to pay anything. We have to say that they were
professional and they treated us really well. Thank You!
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| Feeling better
|
After this we continued our way and we stopped in Ferlach
just to relax a little.
And early afternoon we arrived to the Hotel “Apartments
Shasha” in Bled.
We booked this hotel through Booking.com and we read very
good comments regarding this place, we want to say that John, the owner is a
very kind person who pays attention to all details, small and big ones.
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| The tiny beautiful way to the hotel |
Bled, this place is part of the paradise on the earth where
we would like to go back too, one day!
We took advantage to spend our first afternoon on Bled Lake,
which is situated in a picturesque environment surrounded by mountains and
forests with a special misty aspect.
The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origins.
It is 2,120 m long and 1,380 m wide, with a maximum depth of
29.5 m and has a small island. The medieval-era Bled Castle stands
above the lake on the north shore. The Zaka Valley lies at the west
end of the lake.
To note that The World Rowing Championships in
1966, 1979, 1989 and 2011 were held at Lake Bled.
We rented a rowing boat to go to visit the island in the
middle of the lake. It was a fun and relaxing experience. If you don’t want to
row, you can choose to be a passenger in a normal boat and the prices differ
depending on the time spent and the type of transportation.
We noticed the people enjoying the lake in different ways, as
there were activities of all types to do around the lake and lot of ways to go
visiting the island.
The lake surrounds Bled Island. The island has several
buildings, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption
of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century, and
decorated with remains of Gothic frescos from around 1470. The
church has a 52 m tower and there is a Baroque stairway from 1655 with 99
stone steps leading up to the building. The church is frequently visited and
weddings are held there regularly. Traditionally it is considered good luck for
the groom to carry his bride up the steps (poor groom) on the day of their
wedding before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.
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| Lucky husband for not having to carry his wife |
After this beautiful visit, we took dinner in a typical
Slovenian restaurant called “Gostilna Murka”, which was recommended by John the
owner of the apartment where we were staying. JC choose a main plate influenced
by the Germans with sausages and pork meat and B tried Duckling breasts with
red sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.
The great Gibran Khalil Gibran wrote: “The appearance of
things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in
them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves”.
Day 11:
The next day, 14 of September, we decided to ride our
motorbike around Bled. It was a sunny day with a cold breeze during the morning
time. Here are the roads that we had choose and below more details:
We are unable to describe to you the beauty of the scenery
around there. You will have to go and discover this wonderful area for yourself.
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| The reflect of the beauty around... |
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| Lake Jasna |
The main destination was to drive along the Vršič Pass, which
is considered, with an elevation of 1,611 meters (5,285 ft), the highest mountain pass in Slovenia, as well as the highest in the Eastern Julian
Alps. It connects Savska and Soska dolina or Gorenjska Region with the Trenta Valley in the Slovene Littoral The road across the pass, now known as Russian Road (Ruska
cesta), was originally built for military purposes by Russian prisoners during
First World War and followed an earlier trade route.
The Vršič Pass is an excellent starting point for excursions
to surrounding peaks, one of them being the famous Triglav.
We drove through the pass, which rises from Kranjska Gora,
in a series of 50 hairpin bends,
reached the top of the Vršič Pass,
and descended into the Soča
Valley.
Crossing beside the Juliana Alpine botanical garden, we
decided to stop for coffee at Andrejc guest house Soča which is located in the
embrace of the mountains by the main road in village Soča, between the big and
the small troughs of the emerald river Soča.
Perfect landscape
People taking advantage to enjoy all type of activities
The atmosphere around us made us feel so relaxed; it was a
perfect combination of great weather, breathtaking scenes and peaceful people.
We were not worried about the road to ride neither about where to eat.
We stopped for observing the beauty of the nature,
and for eating whenever we felt hungry.
Even for swimming when arriving to Bohinj Lake and checking
its crystal water
Note that Bohinj Lake is the largest glacial Slovenian lake. It
is 4.2 kilometers long, one kilometer wide, and forty-five meters deep and lies
between Bohinj's mountains. In our opinion, this place is one of the magical
places that we have visited so far and where we could spend days enjoying,
relaxing and storing energy and positive vibes.
Bohinj Lake has numerous inflows; the
most important one is the Savica. Its water bursts from the underground of the
Dolina sedmerih jezer (The Seven Triglav Lakes Valley) in the walls of Komarča
as Savica Waterfall, which is the most famous Slovenian waterfall.
Therefore, in the late afternoon, we
drove to Savica waterfall and we were lucky to arrive on time before it closed. We parked the motorbike, paid the entrance fees of 3 euros by
person, and then walked around 20 minutes through a beautiful mountain path
to reach the viewing point.
The Savica runs over 38 m long level
and falls almost 51 m deep.
The way back to the apartment in Bled
was no less amazing than this whole day. We were lucky to witness a beautiful sunset along
different scenes and villages.
Of course, we have to mention the
perfect ending of this extraordinary day taking dinner, a delivered pizza, in
the balcony of the apartment with the moon view.
Day 12:
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It
comes from your own actions.”
― Dalai Lama
― Dalai Lama
Another beautiful day in Bled, Wednesday 14 of September: we
decided to give our motorbike a break in the morning time and to do a round
walk to the Vintage gorge that is one of the most popular natural features in
Slovenia.
From Bled the route leads north towards the village of Podhom. All along the road there are clear signs for Vintgar, and then by local roads the route leads to the entrance to the gorge itself (3.5 km from Bled).
From Bled the route leads north towards the village of Podhom. All along the road there are clear signs for Vintgar, and then by local roads the route leads to the entrance to the gorge itself (3.5 km from Bled).
This area is well known and protected these days thanks to
Dr. Albin Belar.
The gorge has been
arranged for visitors for more than a hundred years. Along the narrow passage,
where the Radovan River thrashes loudly against the rocky confines, there are
paths, galleries and bridges constructed in the rock. The trail runs through
the 1600 m long gorge and ends with 26-metre waterfall Šum.
The misty ambience adds a mystery touch to this walk.
Moreover, we enjoyed the beginning of the autumn season feeling the fallen
leaves over our head and down our feet.
At the waterfall, the trail leaves the Radovna and rises up a track heading southeast to the chapel of St Catherine above Zasip.
At the waterfall, the trail leaves the Radovna and rises up a track heading southeast to the chapel of St Catherine above Zasip.
One can find their way
back, pass St. Catherine's church, to take a scenic walk across the meadows.
From there, is one of
the finest views over the entire area of Bled. The way back goes down to Zasip
and then along the road to Bled.
A must stop beside the St. Catherine church, is a nice bar
where you can savor the typical Slovenian desert called Kremsnita meanwhile
contemplating the picturesque views around.
Sometimes you find people in strange circumstances. Passing
through Zasip we stopped to watch a nice house under construction and suddenly
a man appeared and invited us to enter to check the house from the inside. It
was his house and he started to build it 4 years ago explaining to us in a poor
English that he is taking his time to finalize it in a very good way, paying
attention to all small and big details.
The next photo was
taken from the main room of the house.
At the end, he showed
us his water well where he puts some drinks to keep them cold, he was very kind
insisting to give us a cold beer, Cheers!
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| No not an advertisement
|
Have a look
to this photo showing a typical backyard of the region, and at the right side, you
can see how people place wood.
Nice
decoration with very beautiful flowers
Breathtaking views
We finished this walk taking a lunch in a place that we saw
in Bled, as always Berthe is the best at choosing the main meal.
And feeding the birds around
After lunch, we decided to relax on the shore of Bled Lake
for a while.
Then walking to a bar to take coffee, we saw this guy with
his funny T-shirt, looking at him he told us that we were not the first ones to
stare at his T-shirt and that we could take a photo if we wanted. After this,
we decided to take our motorbike for a ride.
Following the advices of John, the owner of the apartment
where we were staying, we went first to visit Radovljica.
It is a small town and walking through its streets, we
noticed lot of antiques shops.
It’s colorful main
square is the leading attraction, lined with houses from the 16th
century.
Moreover, the town is surrounded by breathtaking views.
Meanwhile driving to our next stop, our GPS was more crazy
than we were, choosing the most funny and tiny roads.
So the next town was Kropa, known for its traditional
smithies. In the past, this town was shaped by the blacksmith trade, which
still heavily marks its everyday life.
Walking around in the town you notice the variety of
decorative metal fittings and for the ones interested more in this art there is
an iron-forging museum that we didn’t visit.
It was around 17.30 and under a light rain we rode back to
Bled.
We had a rest, then to our surprise the sky cleared again,
and we were so lucky to enjoy our last night in Bled with a full moon. So we
walked around the lake making each minute an unforgettable memory.
Day 13:
That day B was sad to leave Bled and so was the dark sky as
we left under the rain.
“The world is a
strange and wonderful place” Laurie Anderson.
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| My cute magnet souvenir |
It was stressful
driving for around 4 hours under nonstop rain; we arrived tired and wet to the
hotel in Padova.
After taking a hot shower, we decided to take advantage of
the remaining daylight to walk around the city where we were spending the night.
The cathedral of Saint Antonio de Padova is not to be missed
and was the only place that we could visit the late afternoon.
Padova is a big city, but unfortunately, we couldn’t discover
all its corners as we were tired and the weather was not helping at all.
We spoiled ourselves with a delicious dinner in one star Michelin restaurant and we slept early that night dreaming that tomorrow is another
new day and new experience.
Day 14:
We woke up full of energy and drove from Padua, destination
to Settimo Vittone.
As well it was raining but luckily less than the day before. We
took the free highway most of the way, therefore we will share with you a few
photos from Settimo Vittone, 50 km north of Turin, where we spent the night.
We chose to stay at
L’Ospitalité del Castillo. We
were really amazed because as it’s name implies it is an old castle on a top of
a small hill.
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| The entrance of the castle |
The historical castle was converted to a hotel. in front of it is located the main sight of this town: The pieve and the baptistery of St.
Lawrence. It dates from the late 9th century. It is considered one
of the main examples of pre-Romanesque architecture in Piedmont region.
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| The view from our room |
Settimo Vittone is surrounded by mountains and the Colma di
Mombarone mountain is located nearby.
We had a peaceful walk to the center and we took dinner in a
recommended restaurant called Osteria La Sosta. The restaurant was full and we
had to share the table with an Italian couple.
Want to go for a
midnight walk? No, to bed.
The effect of the
Italian wine. Good night!
Day 15:
We have to mention the generous breakfast offered to us, a good way to start the day.
Stomach satisfied we moved to our next destination.
Hey husband wait for me!
It was an unforgettable ride passing through the Aosta valley,
crossing Saint Bernard Peak and reaching Grenoble where we decided to spend the
night with cousins from JC village.
At the entrance to the Aosta valley we started to see the
immense mountains with snow on their peaks, as we mentioned before this was the
winter season of our trip, luckily it was not raining and we could enjoy the
views and the ride.
It was Sunday and as
we noticed, the area attracts riders from different places and tastes. For
instance, we passed by a Lotus car gathering.
That morning, as lot of mornings, we let our dear tomtom decide
for us the way to reach Grenoble. Once passed the Aosta valley we started to
notice the sign to reach the famous “Mont Blanc”.
We were not expecting to pass through the Alps Mountains and
we were hesitating if to continue; it was starting to rain and the more we drove
up, the more the temperature fell, from 14 degrees to 2 degrees.
It does not matter how
much sometimes you feel like you are doing something crazy because always you
will find someone crazier than you.
Next time we pass by there, we will do as Paulo Coelho did in
his book “Aleph” in which the lake (Baikal – Russia) was calling to him; he
said: “My body enters the freezing water, I feel thousands of needles pricking
my skin… There I was, …, as happy as a child, because I had been enfolded in an
energy that was now part of me.”
With small snowflakes, we reached the top of the Little Saint
Bernard Pass. Its crest is at 2,188 meters above sea level.
Even thought it was Sunday, we didn’t meet too many people.
We stopped for a hot drink in a bar where the owner was explaining to us that
from there we could see the Mont Blanc but unfortunately it was foggy and all
was “blanc” so we could not. An excuse to go back there!
Hi Saint Bernard, see you in short time again.
As I said before it does not matter how big your bike is,
always you will find a bigger one than yours.
Riders in all places.
Many curves and we had to take care because the road was wet;
hopefully we will re do this part of the journey in better weather.
Once we left Bled, the idea was to go back home but not in a
rush way – what we mean is without using highways but enjoying the ride – we
didn’t have a clear plan of the way back and we were happy for the snow
experience that we had.
At Grenoble we stayed at our cousins’ house, we spent great
time with them, we are grateful for their generous hospitality, and we are
waiting for their visit to our place.
Grenoble is a city at the foot of the glorious French Alps
and is referred to as “The Capital of the Alps”. It plays the role of an
important scientific center of Europe. You can spend easily several weeks
exploring the surroundings and the sights.
As we preferred to spend time with the family, what we did
was to hit the streets for a casual stroll around the town to walk it off, without
unfortunately visiting any particular sight and we were honored to have
Jonathan, born there, to tell us some stories about Grenoble.
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| The view of the Bastille fort |
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Grenoble Museum       |
Day 16:
We said goodbye to our cousins and we entered in our tomtom
the address of “Le bouleau” in Goutrens, France, a rural house in Aveyron area
that we had chosen last night before sleeping.
We had the perfect weather for riding, therefore we did
around 390 km from Grenoble passing by Haute Loire region and reaching Goutrens
where we were staying in a small village called Les Hemps.
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Aiguilhe
– Haute Loire
Puy –
en – Velay, Haute Loire
 
Pilgrims on the way
of St. Jacob of Compostelle
 
“Le Bouleau”
what you need after a
long ride
|
The place was very cozy and beautiful. We went to the
supermarket, bought some items and we prepared the dinner in the common area of
the rural house. We were feeling like we were home. The owners Steve & Lisa
are very nice people.
This rural house was one of the best places in which we stayed
during our tour. It was an old barn, which was restored and decorated by the
owners themselves. We like the vintage style and the architecture: the upper
level is a full open space where you can prepare food and enjoy eating it. The
rooms located on the first floor were big with a lot of natural light.
The sunset from our room
“Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place
beautiful”
Day 17:
After crossing through The Alps Mountains, it was time to
cross the Pyrenees. We moved from Goutrens in order to spend the night in Aínsa, Huesca.
We have to mention
that we were impressed by Aveyron region in southern France. We crossed
beautiful villages however we didn’t have time to stop and visit.
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|
Belcastel, one of the most beautiful towns in the area
|
The area is famous for holding cycling events
Beautiful scenes along the way
Meeting friendly creatures
Stopping for some delicious French sweets
Perfect weather and road for a perfect ride
Approaching the Tunnel of Aragnouet-Bielsa it was becoming a little
colder and the views of the mountains were breathtaking.
Love story between the clouds and the mountains!
And here we are in the Spanish territory
We booked a hotel in the outskirts of Aínsa old town.
The receptionist was very kind explaining to us some sights
to visit other than the old town of Aínsa. We would like to go back there to go hiking and discover
the beauty of its nature.
Aínsa is considered one of the most beautiful towns in
Spain. It was once the capital of the kingdom of Sobrarbe and the birthplace of
the Kingdom of Aragon. It is situated in an idyllic position with a backdrop of
the Pyrenees Mountains.
The castle and the tower date back to
11th century and were built for defense purposes.
We walked along the wall of the
fortress enjoying the charm of the sunset and its effect on the natural views
all around.
Ainsa's historic centre is the lovely cobbled square, The
Plaza Mayor that is surrounded by medieval arcaded buildings.
Saint Mary church is beautiful; it is a pure Romanesque style
of Sobrarbe built during the XI and XII centuries.
Of course we didn’t miss the pleasure of eating.
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| Spanish Humor |
Day 18:
We had a special view from the balcony of our room, which was
worth to get up early to contemplate the sunrise.
Good morning
Getting ready to go back home
A good breakfast and a long ride
Heading home we followed the advice from the hotel
receptionist and we went to visit a natural reserve near “Monte Perdido”
following Añisclo route, it goes beside the river Beyos. The road opens only in
summer time, is just one direction for 20 kms and people go slow taking photos
and stopping for contemplating the views.
A beautiful surprise on the way: Ordesa y Monte Perdido
National Park, Fuente de Los Baños
Worth to go down
On this road we missed our dear Africa Twin
Little rest
Few hours to finish the trip
We reached home around 17.00 safe and happy.
The End.
Thank you readers for joining our ride virtually, Special Thanks to Steve Burchell who was advising us for some English corrections.
Live happy!
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