This hike across Slovenia is a combination of the Via Alpina Red Trail, Slovenska Planinska Pot, Via Dinarica White Trail, E7, Great Kočevje Alpine trail and a bunch of other hiking trails in Slovenia. Because there is not a Via Dinarica Green Trail in Slovenia, I made some adjustments to the White Trail. My route turns towards Kočevje where it meets the Croatian Green Trail in Brod na Kupi.
More information about the routes
Triglav National Park
I’m blessed with amazing weather in Triglav National Park, it makes everything so much easier. Pure joy! This is the third time I’m here, first I biked up the Vršič pass, then I made a mini road trip through Slovenia and now I’m hiking.
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- More Triglav beauty
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- Vršič pass
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- Triglav NP
Škrbina pass
And then there was karst. Maybe it’s because of the Dinaric Alps and all the good memories of my Via Dinarica hike that love love love karst mountains. Or maybe it’s just because it’s so super beautiful. Here I semi accidentally left the Via Alpina and went up to the Škrbina pass. The 10th stage of the Via Alpina red trail is a kind of tricky 8-10 hour hike on an exposed ridge. Probably extremely beautiful, but also dangerous with bad weather. And guess what’s on the menu. Jep, thunderstorms. Blehh.
There are pros and con’s about following a route. Actually the pros are at the same time the con’s. You know exactly what’s coming when it comes to the altitude, the distance, facilities, difficulties etc. You don’t have to think of where to go, you just follow the description and the blazing. But after a while I start to miss the creativity of finding your own route. The not knowing what will come and not knowing what you miss. This view was totally unexpected and totally amazing. With a little detour I still can go back to the Via Alpina. If I want to. I’ll see what I feel like tomorrow.
Porezen
These are the good things: finding out that your camel bag wasn’t closed properly, but knowing that everything will be dry in a minute. Skipping a potential beautiful hike on a ridge, but finding a grocery store (that sells cookies) on your alternative route. Hiking for three hours through a dark forest and get an awesome coffee break location as a reward. And last, but not least: order a cup of coffee and get the pot (đezva) for a refill.
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- Rakija on the road
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- Slovenian refreshment stop
Nanos
This is the view from Javornik mountain, they build a lookout tower on top so you can actually see something. I love the forest, but when I hike up to a peak, I want a view! This one I like.
I wanted to share a photo of Predjamski Grad, the end of my Via Alpina trek, but halfway a long boring macadam road down, I found a real nice hiking path to Sv. Lovrenc Gora, where I planned to camp. So, here’s the view from this sweet peak. And here is the start of the next part of my journey: the Via Dinarica Green Trail. Green Trail? Yes! For Slovenia I created a route that’s basically a combination of local (mountain) hiking trails, trail run tracks, thematic hiking routes and a bit of my own previous hikes here. I’m super excited. Even though I skipped Predjama where I more or less ended last year, it feels like I’m “back”. Back in the Dinarides and back on “a” Via Dinarica.
Sv. Lovrenc Gora
This is Slovenia, there’s a church on e-ve-ry hill 😉 And what’s also funny, people RUN up mostly before breakfast or after dinner, ring the church bell and run down. Really. It doesn’t matter that there’s a girl camping next to the church, that bell has to be ringed. Dobro jutro!
Cerkniško jezero
This is a lake. Cerkniško jezero. And I’m camping on the bottom. Beautiful!
Although I know that it takes at least four rainy days for the water to rise to a certain level and then at least four more days for the water to fill this enormous lake… I kind of couldn’t get the flood stream visions out if my mind.
The next day when I walked across the lake, I found traces of a bear. Yes, there are bears around here. Lots of them. In the village on the other side, a man showed me photos of two sheep that were killed last night. “This town is dangerous at night. Many bears.” I’m usually not afraid of bears, I believe that they won’t bother people, but I noticed that some people try to scare me.
Why?! If it’s not for the realistic fears, it’s the fantasy-flood-stream-fears that rub me from my sleep.
So please, let’s stop scaring each other! Stop the stupid (well-meant) warnings that are just a product of your own fears rather than useful advice. And please stop comparing me with a sheep. Really.
Loška Dolina
I’m back in Loška Dolina, the green heart under mount Snežnik. It’s a relatively unknown region, but last year it kind of stole my heart. Some say it’s less developed, that they’re behind. I think they have just the right pace. It’s a region where people used to work on the land. Men in the forest, women in the garden. This changed over the years, big city jobs pay better, but still you can feel and see that people live differently. More relaxed. Old grannies are watering the flowers while the old men sitting together with a cup of something. They wave and smile with a heart-warming twinkle in their eyes.
Of course, I’m generalizing ánd romanticizing, but hey, this is what I feel. And hey, look at this photo… Need to say more?
Kočevje
