Savica Waterfall in Bohinj -Senior backpacker goes to Slovenia (5)

 On the 3rd day in Bohinj, July 26, I went out to see the water fall named as “Slap Savica” in Slovenian, which was located within two hours walk from the pension. It was a nice easy morning promenade without using a bus, trains or cable car. I started at 9 am to follow the path in front of the pension, walking along the left bank of the Savica brook, which was the main permanent influx into Bohinj lake with its source at the waterfall. 

    

Steep rocky wall & U-shaped valley
The trail gradually ascent under the the steep rocky slope of Mt. Pršivec (1,761 m), reaching to the entrance point to the waterfall where there was a tiny gift shop. I paid entrance fee at the gate and crossed the stone bridge over the brook. On the way up to the waterfall, I could recognize the U-shape valley over the lake basin between the mountains of Pri Vogel and Prsivec, which were carved by the glacier after the last glaciation about 20,000 years ago. 

    

Savica Waterfall 
 The waterfall's water comes from Črno jezero lake at an altitude of 1319 m in the Seven Lakes Valley and bursts out through the rocky walls of Komarča, a cliff stretching from Mt. Prsivec.  In the spring when the snow melts, the Savica waterfall has its glory and is described as a dragon that has hidden in the Komarča wall and rumbles fiercely to express its unstoppable rage. As I visited there in late July, the water was calmly running down the face of the rock instead of falling vertically as usually seen in Japan. The waterfall is 78 meters high with another smaller fall on its left tail of 25 m high. The color of the water was crystal green and very impressive.   

    


In return I took the different broader road along the right bank of the Savica brook, which eventually brought me to the meadow land with a variety of wild flowers still blooming. I saw few hikers and only one pair of father and son enjoying cycling on the way to the lake in the forest. It was a really relaxing and comfortable walking under the summer sunshine.   

    

        




Savica brook
 The Savica brook finally flows into the lake at the Ukanc bridge near the pension that I stayed in. They said that people jumping into the lake to escape from the summer heat will soon get out of the water as it is too cold.   

   


(To be continued; the next is "Horse riding along the lake in Bohinj )   

Mt. Sija in Bohinj -Senior backpacker goes to Slovenia (4)

 On arrival at the pension, I asked Jože about his recommendations on the day trip hiking around Bohinj. Among his valuable suggestions, I chose the hiking trail to climb up to Mt. Sija (1880m) for my first day's excursion in Bohinj. As the Japanese proverb is saying that a foolish likes to go higher just as smoke do, I always like to be on a peak to enjoy a magnificent view of mountain ranges stretching in the distant. 

Mt. Sija (1880m) 
 Next morning on July 24, I departed the pension at 9 am after breakfast and walked down to the lower cable car station. The hiking trail to Mt, Sija started from the upper cable car station with the altitude of around 1500m. It was quite comfortable for me to have an Alpine breeze cooling down my body under the summer sunshine while ascending along the ridge line. 

     




<Alpine Flowers>
After taking a rest at the crossroads to Mt. Vogel, I continued to climb up slowly a steep rocky roof taking a glance carefully at lovely wild flowers that grew humbly between rocks.  Bohinj and its surrounding mountains boast diverse flora with many indigenous plants and have attracted botanical experts around the worlds. I'm not an expert in this field, so I can not confirm, but the purple flowers on the photo below look like a Zois' Bellflower ( Campanula Zoysii), which has been present in this land since before the last ice age and is said to represent  the Slovene. According to the Slovene government's web site of "Pearls of the floral wealth of Slovenia", it flowers in August high in the mountains in rock fissures. On lower meadows in Bohinj, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of colorful wild flowers blooming gregariously, but these small alpine flowers were so humbly gentle and encouraged me to keep going higher.

  

<360-degree view of the Julian Alps>
 Shortly before noon, I stood on the peak of Mt. Sija, which offered me a magnificent 360-degree view of the Julian Alps in the Triglav National Park. The king of Mt. Triglav stood solemnly in the distance far behind me on the photo below with Mt. Vogel (1923m), an elder brother, sitting quietly next to Mt. Sija, which looked like inviting me to come closer. Oh the way up, I had seen so few climbers, but around lunch time hikers were gradually gathering at the peak. They were mostly young and came in a group or a couple from various neighboring countries like Poland, Germany or Italy. They all had happy faces and chatted with each other a little bit clamorously. Maybe I was only one in the sixties. A young polish whom I asked to take a photo of me was surprised to know that I've come all the way alone from Japan. After taking photos, I took lunch. The lunch package which they had prepared for me at the pension contained one apple, two Nectarines, one big sandwich and a bottle of water. I was so thirsty that I grabbed a nectarine first of all. It was so refreshing and sweet. 

   

   

After about one hour of lunch rest, I gave up the idea to go further to Mt. Vogel and retraced my steps to the lake. Descending to the same crossroads I met the married couple with a daughter taking a rest. They came from Czechoslovakia for hiking and were heading to Vogel. They were very friendly and we had a nice chat. Their lovely daughter seemed to have a special interest in Japan as her boy friend in her high school had been staying in Tokyo as an exchange student. I asked him "if I would go to Czech for hiking, what mountain do you recommend me?". His answer was Šumava Mountain or Jeseníky and gave me his email address saying "Stay with us when you come". It's always the best way for getting a valuable information about the nature in foreign countries to ask its countryman who himself love hiking. I memorized those names in my note for planning the next summer's trip.




(To be continued; the next is "Slap Savica", the water fall in Bohinj )   

Bohinj -Senior backpacker goes to Slovenia (3)

The 1st day in Bohinj, Saturday July 23 

The Julian Alps 
  Bohinj is an emerald-green mountain paradise lying in the heart of the Triglav National Park(TNP), one of the Europe’s largest protected natural area with towering Mt. Triglav (2864m), the highest in the country. The mountain ranges that stretch from northeastern Italy and reign over the TNP are called as the Julian Alps. There are approximately 150 mountains over 2000 m high in the Slovene Julian Alps with 25 of them over 2500 m high. They provide visitors with varieties of hiking trails ranging from an easy family hiking path along the lake shore to climbing to the nation’s symbolic Mt. Triglav which usually require two days of ascent with a mountain guide accompanied.  

     

Lake Bohinj
  Lake Bohinj is located 26km southwest of its glamorous twin sister of Lake Bled which is the most popular tourist spot in Slovenia. According to the description on a sign board on a hiking trail, Bohinj is an excellent example of a typical glacier landscape and its Glacier was the largest in Slovenia during the last glaciation about 20,000 years ago.  Many traces of glacial erosion along with moraine dams and glacial erratic still remains here. It is directly connected by bus from Ljbljana in 2 hours. Leaving Kamnik, I was planning to get on the bus for Bohinj that would depart the Ljubljana bus station at 11:20am, but it was already fully booked before 11:00 am. So I waited for one hour and took the next bus, which was also crowded with many young wanderers coming from the various parts of Europe. But most of them got off at lake Bled. There were only two couples besides me who got off at the end stop of Bohinj Zlatorog in Ukanc village on the far west shore of the lake. It was a place for  nature lovers who like camping, fishing, swimming or hiking.

  


5 nights stay in Ukanc village
  At the Ukanc bus stop, Jože waited for me and took me to his pension by car where I was going to stay for 5 nights to enjoy hiking in the Julian Alps. His pension not only entertains guests at dinner on the comfortable open terrace with traditional Slovenian food and wine, but also provides hikers with the lunch package of sandwich, fruits, and drink at their requests. This was critical for a lonely senior traveler like me, which allowed me to explore the area anywhere and at any time without having to care about food.

   


(To be continued; the next is "Hiking in Bohinj" )  

Kamnik -Senior backpacker goes to Slovenia (2)

 On the next day, July 19, I flew to the Ljubljana airport from Warsaw and headed straight by taxi for the B&B in Kamnik, where I was scheduled to stay for 4 nights. This old town in the country side is conveniently located between the airport and the capital Ljubljana and also provides a good access to the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. 

<a medieval town of Kamnik> After tidying my travelling bags, I started to explore the town looking for a nice restaurant to take a dinner before dusk. As I was walking down a backstreet and turning at the corner, I casually looked up to find a lot of colorful umbrellas floating like balloons in the sky over the deserted main street.

    

 I have not yet fully recovered from jet lag and felt a little bit sleepy, so it was as if I were suddenly thrown away into the Middle Ages when it was flourishing as a trading town on the road between Ljubljana and Celje. Looking ahead I saw a two-story Romanesque chapel standing on Mali Grad hill which used to be a part of the castle complex built in the 11th century.  Although the chapel of St. Eligius had Gothic and Baroque alterations in later stages, it still preserved its original Romanesque color.

    




 From the hill top, I had a splendid view of the town with rich history along with the mountain ranges of Kamnik-Savinja Alps in the distance.      

   

<Velika Planina>
 Next day I visited Velika Planina which was located about 11 km northeast of Kamnik and could be easily accessed from Kamnik by using bus and the cable car. This herdsmen settlement comprises 63 huts scattered over the pasture plateau with the altitude of around 1600 m. Those huts still form a community with the so-called Parliament, the dance floor, the chapel and the museum. Early in June, herdsmen come to Velika planina with about 380 head of cattle from the nearby villages and spend 3 to 4 months here for cattle pasturing.  

   

 I entered into one of the huts called as "Preskar Hut Museum", where visitors could learn the herdsmen's life in 19th century. According to the description of a young man in this hut, the first settlers came here at the time of Maria Theresia, around 300 years ago. Herdsmen used to live alone in his hut during the summer away from his family, which means most of them were senior who did not need to take care of his family. They made everything necessary for their own living by themselves including a specific type of hard cheese decorated with special carved pattern using by wooden sticks. 

   

There I also found the hut which served visitors their traditional meal of a sour milk and corn mush shown on the photo below on the left side. The photo below on the right side shows a cheese produced here by an old woman, which I bought as a souvenir. She put a slip in the package for a cheese, on which some lyrics is written in Slovenian, but I can't remember now what it is all about.      

   

<Kamnik Alps>
 On the 3rd day in Kamnik, I went hiking to the Kamniki-Savinja Alps. The hiking trail starts from the end stop of the bus route, a few stops ahead of the lower cable car station to Velika. Local people called this end bus stop as the source of Kamniska Bistrica, where "Bistrica" meant a clear river in Slovenia. I got off the bus at around 10 am and moved by the perfectly clear water which was drinkable as in Japanese mountains.

   
  
  There are several peaks exceeding 2,500 m in Kamnik Alps with Grintavec (2,558 m) as the highest among them. Considering my age of 66 years and the bus schedule, I chose heading for Kamnisko Sedlo (1,884 m), situated at the saddle point between Planjava (2,394 m) and Brana (2,253 m). The estimated walking time to Sedlo was 3h45m with a steep elevation of more than 1000 m from the mountain lodge (601 m).  The hiking trail was well marked, but I missed the mark to take the wrong direction above the stone house of the cargo lift and lost one hour. The young hiker whom I met on the way said he had also missed the trail at the same point in the early morning. So it might be a single point that could possibly make hikers confused. But I gave up climbing finally at 14 pm because of my physical exhaustion and the last bus schedule. I regretted not to have started climbing earlier. In the summer time when the temperature is so high, I should have started at least 7 am. Furthermore I am not what I used to be.               
     

   

<Kamnik Train station>
 One of the reasons why I chose to stay in Kamnik for the first 4 days in Slovenia was its vicinity to the capital Ljubljana. Not only by bus or taxi, but also trains frequently run everyday except on weekends. On the 4th day in Kamnik, I went to Ljubljana by train after washing my dirty cloths. Surprisingly there were three train stations in this small town, but the two of which were not staffed. It's nice to be able to get on a train at the nearest station. It took only 45 minutes to arrive at Ljubljana from Kamnik by train.   

   

 Next morning on July 23, I left Kamnik for Bohinj, my next destination for hiking in Slovenia. In Kamnik, I had been staying at Pod Skalo, the family-run B&B, which was conveniently located within the walking distance from the center of the town, the train station and the bus stop. I felt comfortable and relaxed during my 5 days stay just like I was at home. Many thanks for your warm hospitality, Vesna and Blaz!

(To be continued; the next is Bohinj or Ljubljana)

Warsaw -Senior backpacker goes to Slovenia (1)

 Last summer I was on a top of some peak in the Glossglockner national park, looking toward distant mountain ranges stretching to the east. That’s why I decided to come to Slovenia for this summer. So far Moscow has been the gate-way for me to travel to Europe from Japan just because I could not endure the long flight of more than 10 hours. But fortunately this year the LOT Polish airline launched a new direct line between Warsaw and Tokyo (Narita) this February, which allured me to try this airline to add also Warsaw to one of my destinations for 2016 summer. 

  

 I made a reservation for two nights in total at an old hotel in front of the Old Town Market Square, one night on July 18 before going to Slovenia and the other on July 30 before returning to Japan. The plane arrived at the Frederic Chopin Airport around 14 pm, so I had a time to stroll around the square with the Royal Castle and St John’s Cathedral before dusk and was surprised to find that this area gave really a medieval-like atmosphere as if they had been there for centuries although it was completely devastated during the WWⅡ. 

  

  

 On the way back to the hotel, I noticed a standing signboard along the backside street of the Cathedral, indicating the opening of Chopin piano concert at 18:00 played by one of young eminent Polish pianists. At first I hesitated to enter into the hall because I was not well dressed for attending at a high-class concert with a rough summer shirt in sandals. But I was so enchanted by a lady at the front who explained me about the today's event in a splendidly elegant manner and made me decide to be in. This was a salon-like concert with at most 30 seats in a cozy room and wine served during an intermission. Anyway I like Chopin as my wife is teaching piano at home.

  

After the concert, I learned that she was also one of the renowned Chopin pianists in Poland, so I bought her CD for my memory in Warsaw. Her name was Katarzyna Kraszewska and gave me her autograph. I regret that I could not come again tomorrow to listen to her Chopin due to my departure for Slovenia.


 In the music hall I happened to have a chat with a young French man. As we talked during an intermission over a glass of wine, I knew that his mother was a pianist and his father very recently had been appointed as a professor of physics at Tohoku University in Japan. He himself had been travelling in Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan one month ago. After the concert we took a dinner together near the old town market square and talked over Japan and EU in which I had a special interest after the UK voting to leave EU. It was a really pleasant and enlightening conversation for me as he was a lawyer working for EU. 

 Only one night in Warsaw, but it gave me a pleasure to meet talented people and learn their unique personality. Warsaw was more than expected!

(to be continued; the next is "Kamnik" in Slovenia)