Originally, we planned to go to Plitvice National Park in Croatia but after considering the 6hr drive and how we always get lost, we thought better of it and decided on something less ambitious. Abe suggested Lake Bled in Slovenia which is only a 3hr drive, including the "we're so lost" time. With less than 20km to go we were stopped by a Slovenian cop. We were going 110km/hr in a 80km/hr stretch of highway. We were going with the speed of traffic but we we're the unlucky ones. Hmm, I wonder if it was our Italian plates?! He was pretty nice and instead of fining us the mandated €200 he let us go with a €25 ticket which we had to pay on the spot. Luckily, we had €30 on us and avoided getting the car towed. Phew! (In Europe you have to pay traffic fines on the spot and if you don't have cash and the cop doesn't have a credit card reader, you are screwed!) I thought the whole thing was pretty funny, since I'm always complaining to Abe about his speeding. So that was the first time we were stopped by the cops, 2 more to go.
Once there we set up our tent, watched the mallards and took a siesta. Afterward we walked around the lake and hiked up to the castle. Inside the castle's museum they had exhibits on the area's past settlements and even some fossilized coral, shells, and a 230 million-year-old Birgeria sp. found on Mt. Triglav (highest peak in Slovenia). As we usually do on the first night at a new place we gorged ourselves on local food. We found, 'Gostlina Murka', where I had venison in a dried plum sauce and gorenska prata. Delicious!
Lake Bled, Gorenjska, Slovenija
I took this picture from Blejski grad (castle). We camped in the valley to the right of the little island (Blejski otok).
Late Triassic Birgeria sp. found on Mt. Triglav
All these were found in the Julian Alps.
The next day we awoke at 5am to the "baa-ing" of an enormous flock of sheep somewhere in the neighboring hills. After a slow start we headed towards Vintgar Gorge in Triglav National Park about 15km north of the lake. As usual we go lost on the way but made the best of it by taking in the gorgeous countryside.
Radovna River
Soteska (Gorge) Vintgar, Triglav National Park
Dov'e Waldo, anzi cercami?
What better way to end this beautiful day than getting screwed by the man? Ignorance is not cheap. On the way home we had to drive ~30km in Austria and right before we entered the Italian border we got pulled over again. This time the cop asks for our Austrian vignette (road toll sticker). He points at our Slovenian one but apparently we need one for Austria too! Immediately he points to "€120" on a pre-filled out ticket on his clip board. Vaffanculo!! Grinding our teeth we hand over a credit card. We drive away with our spirits dampened but not defeated. Not 5 minutes go by that we get stopped by the Italian police in our own country!! This time he just wants to see our documeti. With sour faces we hand over our Italian registration and license. He then asks for the passports. Fortunately, I got my visa in Marzo. He let's us go. Another, "Phew!". Now defeated we head back home, surprisingly we don't get lost navigating the foothills from the highway to our little village of Giais. Abbiamo avuto abbastanza (We've had enough). I don't think we'll be driving anywhere anytime soon.
