Uly to Slovenia June 2023

[dolomoto]

After the spring trip to Abruzzo, I started planning a trip to Slovenia. Part of the EU and home of the eastern edge of the Alps (the "Julian Alps"), it has fantastic riding, is cheaper than most of the rest of europe and the backroads are relatively empty.

I left home and crossed into Austria via Nassfeld Pass.



Nassfeld Pass is really good riding, no LE, very little traffic (at least on a weekday)..superlative.





I made my way to Kranjska Gora and made camp.



Camp Spik is a great campground, typical euro campground...separate 2 wheel area, super clean bathrooms, on site store with fresh bread delivery in the AM. https://www.camp-spik.com/

 

[dolomoto]

I had stopped for some taters and a local sausage and rustled up some grub.



some after dinner reading...don't hate me but I enjoy the occasional manga novel.



Nice view for dinner.



the next day, I beat feet to some backroads...the more obscure the better.



nice views.





this was a nice spot for an apple. the road turned to gravel from here on out.



I ended up riding towards Deutchlandsberg, Austria and made a pit stop at a biker hangout, Biker-treff Kartnerblick. https://maps.app.goo.gl/YEWR4rcswyVCfyff9



It's a great stop so kick tires and there's lots of knee dragging on the corner directly in front of the parking lot. I had more gravel to get after and so headed back into Slovenia the "back way".







I caught up with this biker, a guy from Spain taking a trip thru the Alps.

 

[dolomoto]

During WW2, Slovenia was part of the German empire. As such, there was a large concentration camp in north central (now) Slovenia. thousands slaved away and died building a tunnel thru the Alps.





https://maps.app.goo.gl/q2Z3y7Q1ESjPzvR5A

It was late afternoon, I don't like riding at night in foreign countries and headed back to camp. Next up, more Slovenia!

 

[dolomoto]

the next day, I explored some backroads along the Slovenia/Austria border. And I mean back roads...single lane, 2 way traffic with no shoulder. But, it was nice (but slow) riding.

A waterfall near Zell-Pfarre Austria.



artys fartsy.



I had passed this sign before...I don't speak German but I recognize the sign "offen" and a bunch of words...could this be a toll pass (a rare but usually spectacular site in the Alps)?


Oh, yes.



super steep, single track but mostly paved...spectacular views.



ah...at the top was a restaurant serving roasted pork belly, 'kraut and breaded potato dumplings.



just kill me now...what a view...lol.





I should have taken a nap...there were adirondack type chairs and it was warm in the sun...but I had several more hours riding to get back to camp and was losing daylight. so, down I went.



a smart man would remember how steep the road near the gate was (it was 8 euro to enter) and also realize the magnet to trip the gate to open (to exit) was 30' back from this gate...I'm not so smart sometimes and rode right up to the gate...it wouldn't open. It was hella steep to back up. I started offloading gear...



Just as I got the bags off, another car came down and we were both able to get thru the gate..whew! On to more backroads!



the border road from between Austria/Slovenia, north of Jezersko is a racetrack. Most riders were dragging knees around the corners, superlative road. I admired the views. https://maps.app.goo.gl/VH98cmtC3VPuok9WA

I was back to camp soon enough to get washed up and get into dinner before the sun set at 10pm. Brown bread, meat and taters.





this was my last full day of riding...the next day...RTB!

 

[miatamarty]

WOW!!!!!!! Mind boggling scenery and roads. I'm envious. Thanks for posting

 

[dolomoto]

in the northwest part of Slovenia, near Krankska Gora is the highest pass in the country, Vrsic Pass ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/rR3mrApVrNoZdFuK9 ). The road was place over an existing goat path and built around 1918 by Russian POWs. Part of the original paving stones are in most of the corners.



At the top, there are some nice views. During the late spring and summer, it's tough to get thru as it's absolutely jammed with tourists...not so much on the day I went thru.



I recognized the Aerostich Darien jacket of one of the riders in the above photos'; they were two other Americans riding around the Alps during a 10 day vacay and took a 1 day detour to Slovenia. They were surprised to hear me say that Slovenia could easily be a 4-6 day moto trip all in itself.

the south ramp of Vrsic has some nice views.





I stopped by this old fort. Dating from the 1800's it never saw any real action but it was an important barracks along this pass road.



From there, I rode directly home via the Autostrada.

 

[Cooter]

Holy heck man, that looks awesome. I can't even fathom what that scenery looks like on person. Thanks so MUCH for posting!

 

[TheWood]

Yes indeed! Thanks again for sharing your awesome journey w/ us. Great pic.'s