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From Slovenia we return back home


Home -> Europe -> Slovenia -> Travelogue Slovenia -> 21 & 22 September 2007

Friday 21 September, from Slovenia we return back home

We would be able to drive home from here in a long trip (it is 1,200 kilometers), but we prefer to take it a little easier, after all we still have a holiday. So we use the morning to see some more of Slovenia and only from 1 o'clock this afternoon we are really going to begin our return trip.
Mountain village Slovenia A blot on the landscapeWe first look for a place of which we now have forgotten the name, somewhere in the neighborhood of Kropa. Our travel guide is quite enthusiastic about it, but we are constantly being blocked by broken roads, mudslides that make the road impassable and other inconveniences.
Nice house near KropaAnd in the many detours we try to get there we see again and again a van with a Dutch license plate, probably they try to reach the same village and they also do not succeed. A narrow back road soon becomes a muddy sandy path and eventually we have to go all the way back to Kranj to be able to continue.
Lake Bled Lake BledSo we go to Bled instead and this time the travel guide is absolutely right by saying that it is a dream picture. The village itself is nice but everything revolves around the lake where the sun shines beautifully.
Otok Sveti Marija Mariachurch, Lake Bled Mariachurch on the island of Holy MariaThe water is azure and a church on an island makes the picture picturesque. Slightly to the north is an imposing castle on a cliff above the water. Because of the many springs (and the healthy mountain air of course), it is a popular spa in Slovenia..
Lake BledEven in this quiet period it is difficult to find a parking space, but in the end we arrive at a parking lot at camping Bled, on the west side of the lake, where we not only have a fantastic view of the lake but also have a cup of coffee. What a beautiful place, too bad we are just going back home now ... On the north side we pass a large modern complex with hotels, restaurants and the like; it seems to have been financed with money from Libya and is therefore also called the Gaddafi Center.
Radovna river, Vintgar gorge Šjum waterfall, Vintgar gorgeThen we drive to the Vintgar gorge, 5 kilometers north of Bled. there are roadworks going on and we are led to a faraway parking. After half an hour of walking (Lies has already given up), I finally see a waterfall and access to the gorge.
Radovna river, Vintgar gorge Šjum waterfall, Vintgar gorgeNormally this is the end of the gorge, so we just started on the wrong side! I costs too much time to walk the gorge and return again over the one and a half kilometer long wooden bridge through the gorge, so I decide to return. The gorge looks beautiful but will have to wait until another time. And then we make sure we park on the right side!
View on the Julian AlpsAnd then we are soon back on the highway, to Jesenice, cross the border at Villach where we have to pay toll for the tunnel and buy a highway vignette for Austria. In retrospect, we regret that we were here only 4 days, because we never expected that Slovenia is such an interesting and beautiful country.
On the way back through Austria Castle along the highwayBut our home is beckoning now and the kilometers are accumulating as we make our way through Austria. The mountains are getting less higher and after a while we are back in Germany, away from the Balkans.
Chiemsee, Germany, a break between the traffic jams Swans on the ChiemseeBefore Munich there is a long traffic jam but fortunately there is a also parking place where we can take a break. When the traffic starts to drive again, we move in and go north of Munich to avoid more traffic jams. Our navigation is also working again although it is still completely upset as far as our own chosen route is concerned.
Sometimes he wants to go to the right, then to the left and he can not choose between the different motorways that really lead to Groningen, our hometown. We even follow its instructions for a while but when we drive for some time on a two-lane road we take matters into our own hands. In the end we let the map and the traffic messages dominate and so we take a route over the E43 to avoid Nuremberg and Frankfurt where, according to the radio, there are quite a few traffic jams.
Hotelroom in Schnelldorf with radiation protectionAround half past 9 in the evening we see a motel along the highway, in Schnelldorf, where we are welcomed. A great place to stay before we drive home tomorrow.
Finally a night without terrestrial radiation! Let your car be healed as well!Soon we realize that this must be a very healthy hotel, because behind our beds are anti-earth rays plates and notes on the wall make it clear that we can also have our car irradiated to drive more economically. Unfortunately, we do not have time for ...
In the past (not so long ago) we had the habit of taking a photo of us together on the way back, somewhere along the way. A tradition that we need to revive. We are talking about it in the car, but once we are driving on the way home with still hundreds of kilometers to go on motorways that drive nicely, we forget to make such a photo, again. Next time we try to think about it. In the afternoon at 6 o'clock we are back home with 7002 kilometers on the odometer. We are very happy about this beautiful journey in which we have seen and done a lot, but also have taken enough rest. Enough sun vitamins to prevent a winter depression this year!

 


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