<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)
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)
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