Alpe Adria Tour
Today our guests from New Zealand arrived in Klagenfurt. After the welcome briefing, the bikes were handed over, so we are ready for our upcoming adventure. On a walk through the lovely town city of Klagenfurt, there were many old buildings to admire. Even more interesting, however, were the old legends of the area that Marko told us. Is it all true?? At dinner, we tried typical Austrian cuisine. Wiener Schnitzel and apple strudel were not to be missed on the menu.
We are on the way - 24 e-bikes are standing in line to explore the Alpe-Adria region. We leave Klagenfurt and head for the Wörthersee. Every once in a while we are overtaken by streamlined triathletes getting ready for the Ironman. We enjoy a few stops along the way, for example in Maria Wörth and Velden for a coffee. Now we switch lakes, from the Wörthersee to Lake Faak, where a typical Carinthian lunch is waiting for us. From now on, the beautiful cycle path is climbing slowly, we get closer to the Italian border and thus to our destination, Tarvisio.
When we looked out of the room, we could still see some dark clouds on the horizon. But as the saying goes: "When angels travel, the weather will show itself." And that's how it was. At least almost:-) Our first part of the day took us south along the abandoned railway line from Tarvisio through the Val Canale. What a pleasure. Gliding mostly downhill on the perfect cycle path past waterfalls, mountain panoramas and spectacular gorges and river banks. Always accompanied by the twittering of birds or the singing of the ladies in the many tunnels along the way. It's not without reason that this cycle path is one of the most impressive in the Alps. After our lunch in Venzone, we continue along the Tagliamento to San Daniele. Shortly before we reach our destination, we get caught in a few raindrops. Of course, we don't let that dissuade us from our plan to taste the wonderful Prosciutto di San Daniele, accompanied by Prosecco and good humor. At the hotel, our carbohydrate stores are finally filled sufficiently and we go to bed tired and satisfied. What a beautiful day.
After a very typical Italian dinner, which lasted about two hours and offered lots of great food, we were very happy to be back on our bikes this morning. A day full of highlights was waiting for us: the beautiful city of Udine was our first stop. Then it was time for lunch again, covered by a tasty picnic next to the huge city wall of Palmanova. In the late afternoon we still had time to admire the large mosaics in Aquileia, before we reached the Adriatic Coast near Grado. After three long days of riding, now everybody is looking forward to our first rest day.
After pedaling with full force over the last few days, our bikes deserve a break today. And we enjoy this in Grado, this historic lagoon city in the north of the Adriatic Sea. The morning begins with a city tour. Elen tells us more about the history of the city. It's impressive when you consider that the churches here are 500 years old. Everyone uses the afternoon as they please. Some go shopping, others explore the beach life or relax with a drink in the sun.
Even though some of our group asked for another rest day on the Adriatic Coast, we had to leave beautiful Grado again. The weather forecast was easy today: warm and sunny. We followed the beautiful coastline to the Isonzo river, where Gerald waited for us with some snacks and drinks. From here we headed north, towards Gradisca, where we spent some time with sightseeing and a light lunch. Our next stop was Gorizia, today's destination. Some of us decided to ride up to the Oslavia Military Memorial, the rest went straight into town to explore the beautiful Italian piazzas and cafés.
Mittlerweile haben wir schon den 7. Tag. Das heißt: unsere Beine haben schon einiges geleistet. Und dennoch fürchten wir uns nicht vor der heutigen Königsetappe, auf der wir einen Berg mit Steigungen von 15% meistern müssen. Morgens starten wir noch gemütlich in Gorizia und passieren die Staatsgrenze nach Slowenien. Entlang der Vipava erstreckt sich unsere Route entlang von Wein- und Obstfeldern, Olivenhainen und schattenspendenden Wäldern. Bei der Burg Stanjel laben wir uns mit Kaffee und Äpfeln (danke Gerald) und weiter gehts nach Vipava zum Mittagssnack. Auch ein gesperrter Straßenabschnitt kann uns nicht an der Weiterfahrt hindern, auch wenn wir unsere Räder 2x über die Betonabsperrung mühevoll hieven müssen. Dann wird es ernst. Jeder von uns ist gefordert und muss nochmal ordentlich in die Pedale treten um die Steigung Richtung Postojna zu bezwingen. Doch (wie vermutet) ist das kein Problem für uns. Verschwitzt und etwas außer Atem freuen wir uns über die Bergankunft und radeln in unser Hotel, am Eingang der Höhlen von Postojna. Die Führung durch die Höhlen ist natürlich ein Muss. Wir bestaunen die beeindruckenden Formationen die in tausenden von Jahren entstanden sind. Müde aber zufrieden gehen wir heute früh schlafen um für den nächsten Tag bereit zu sein.
Today we are enjoying a rest day in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. For once we are leaving the bikes in the (tightly packed) basement, because there is so much to explore within walking distance of the hotel. In the morning Mandy leads us through the city center, in the afternoon everyone explores the area on their own. And there is so much to do. Public viewing, a visit to the castle, drinks in one of the countless bars, the Street Food Festival, a delicious ice cream and much more.... In the evening we meet for our last dinner together. It's unbelievable how quickly the time has passed :-( But at least we have one last trip together tomorrow that will take us to Bled.
Caves to culture, that's the theme today. After the gigantic Postojna cave the cave behind Predjama castle didn't seem that big, but the amazing castle in the middle of a rock wall was still an incredible sight. The sightseeing for today was finished, now the beautiful ride through the Slowenian mountains and forests started. We had a very tasty lunch, and with new power we continued cycling towards Ljubljana. We avoided the main road as much as possible and arrived in Ljubljana in the late afternoon - plenty of time left to get a first taste of this magnificent city.
We start our last day with a little sadness. From Ljubljana we head north. In Kranj we have another coffee, accompanied by jazz music on the open road. The last section takes us through small idyllic villages to Bled. The way the lake lies on the edge of the Julian Alps is breathtaking. Unfortunately, it is now time for us to say goodbye. Over a last drink together we remember the moments we spent together. Hopefully we will see each other again sometime to experience something similar. A big thank you to everyone, see you next time, Marko, Gerald, Marco, Ernst