Ending with a Smile(y)

After our return to the States, and while we could still leverage jet lag to rise early, we decided to hop back in a plane at dawn and meet up with our friends at our favorite annual fly-in event at Smiley Creek, Idaho. We ended a great vacation among friends. And what could be better than that?

Thanks for following along!

Ljubljana

Slovenia's one city, Ljubljana, is a gem. We spent a few hours wandering the city and practicing how to say the name but our throats got so parched that we had to eat more fig ice cream.

Spectacular Soca

Most of the rivers in Slovenia flow underground deep in the limestone, but the ones that do show their color do so in the most spectacular way. The Soca River flows crystal clear over white limestone rock and gives me even more reasons to cross suspension bridges and take photos.

Over the pass

Time to moo-ve on so we steered the car out of town following our noses and the dairy air. We headed to Vrsic Pass with 50 hairpin turns through Triglav National Park.

Cream cake

You've gotta love a country that is famous for its cream cake and brags about it. We stopped in to a dessert cafe (a common occurrence) to try a piece. But when we tried to put our forks through the crispy top pastry, the cream splooged out the sides in a most inelegant way. A group of 12-year-olds on a field trip arrived and they showed us how it's done: pull off the top pastry and eat it like a cookie and then eat the cream cake with your fork. We thanked them for the help and told them we would make them famous in America on my blog.

For the record, we actually prefer prekmurska gibanica, a traditional cake layered with poppy seeds, apples, walnuts, cheese, and raisins.

Engorged

Engorged by gorge photos yet? We learned of a trail to Mostnice Gorge within walking distance of our farmhouse. Who could pass up one named that? A waterfall is a "slap" and Arlo wanted a lift to the Slap Mostnice.

After the hike we found a pizzeria that was still using a 352-year-old cabinet (marked 1763). Antiques Roadshow would be horrified!

Rainy day ride

A paved bicycle loop through the countryside seemed a good way to spend a rainy day. Traditional hay drying racks and bee boxes dotted the scenic route through the fields. A stop to meet some Icelandic horses had fringe benefits.

Smor'n

Our host told us the Slovenian Philharmonic was opening the summer music festival with Mozart's Requiem in a nearby church. We decided to go early and find some pre-concert strudel. Imagine my glee when, for the first time on the trip (and believe me I've been looking...I've even climbed mountains looking), I found Kaiserschmarrn on the menu! A bonus: the Slovenian word for it is Smor'n!

Farm stay

After a 12-mile hike down the mountainside to Lake Bohinj, we found ourselves looking for a room late in the day. We ended up at a farm with four generations of farmers, 26 hens, 3 cats, and a 5-week-old kitten living under one roof of a large barn-house. We were immediately warmly welcomed and offered schnapps in the garden, cherry strudel, and playtime with the kitten. We could not have been happier campers.

You don't know until you go

Our hut for the night had just opened for the season and the paint was still wet. Literally.

After a cold night wearing all our clothes to bed, we headed up the seven lakes valley to snow level and saw two chamois on the rocky cliffs. But then we turned and high-tailed it all the way back. There wasn't another open hut within range and the weather and food were getting worse.

On our way down we passed horses carrying beer to the hut. Yes, they were draft horses...

Cuckoo

Three years ago we spent a couple of weeks hut-to-hut hiking in the Austrian and Italian Alps and planned the last section of this trip to relive the joy we experienced of hiking the high country with the amenities of the civilized European hut system.

Before leaving Lake Bled we learned that, in addition to the weather not cooperating, most Slovenian huts don't open until July, but a helpful tourist info office guide showed us a route in Triglav National Park. As we started up the trail we could hear cow bells and a cuckoo bird (sounds just like the clock!) and it felt like a Disney cliche of the Alps. What could be next, a yodeling accordion player?

After an hour of climbing we came to our first hut--just in time for lunch. And then the rude awakening began: we weren't in Austria. No Kaiserschmarrn (my favorite Austrian dish of sweet pancakes chopped up and served with jam) even though we were only a few miles, as the cuckoo bird flies, from Austria.

As if to appease me, the hut manager pulled out his accordion and played a few oompah tunes as we headed back out on the trail. The wildflowers cheered us along the rocky and steep path as we climbed ever higher.