Sunday 5 September 2010

Kobarid, Lake Bohinj, Lake Bled, Skofja Loca AND Ljubljana!!

24th August
Kobarid

We went into the town of Kobarid today to visit the internationally acclaimed WWI museum. We spent most of the day pondering it's exhibits, including some pretty nasty-looking spiked clubs used by Austro-Hungarian forces. The museum focused on the Isonzo Front and the 12 battles that were fought around the area of the Soca river (the area surrounding Kobarid). In fact all around the mountainous Alps in the Upper Soca region were part of the war between the Austro-Hungarians/Germans and the Italians and it was hard to imagine how such a vicious war could be fought in such a beautiful land, and also technically how it was possible. High up in the alps there are caves, trenches, pillboxes and fortifications of all kinds as the two sides fought for control of the valley, a key access point to the area. During the 12th battle, the Austro-Hungarians (led by German forces managed to force the Italians from the mountains overlooking the town, and began the foray into Italian territory, as described in Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms". One of the many interesting topics brought up in the exhibition rooms was the use of caves and "mine warfare", where each side would try to burrow into the other sides cave complexes to destroy them with explosives, encircle the enemy and disrupt their supplies. We had passed many caves the day before and could see from the plans on show that these were part of the immense underground systems built during these battles. German commanders were in charge during the 12th battle of the Isonzo Front and used tactics showing early signs of the Blitzkrieg tactics that would be used extensively during the Second World War. Poison gas was used during the initial bombardment of the Italian line, as well as the use of storm troopers with flame throwers to break the resolve of the Italian soldiers, both with devastating effect.
Another point worth mentioning is how often Kobarid itself has changed hands - including during both world wars - and this was represented by a wall showing the flags of various states which had ruled here, and the corresponding dates. The town has changed hands 10 times in total, including occupation by the Austro-Hungarians (twice), Italians (twice), Germans, Americans, as well as being part of the Kobarid Republic (twice), Yugoslavia and modern-day Slovenia.

We had checked out of Camp Koren before visiting the museum and when we had finished, we hopped back in the van and set a course for Lake Bohinj. When we arrived at the small town of Bohinj, we found a choir singing local and well-known songs in Slovene, which was a lovely end to the day.

As we settled down for the night the first flashes of what would become a heavy, and prolonged, thunderstorm began...

25th August
Lake Bohinj and Lake Bled

When we got to Lake Bohinj early the next day, the weather was pretty bad again. Heavy rain and deep clouds meant the views were limited and going for a walk around the lake didn't seem like such a good idea, so having found a nice little layby right next to the lake we had a little nap. Once our batteries had recharged, the weather hadn't improved so we decided to carry on to Lake Bled.

When we got to Lake Bled, it had stopped raining at least. It was still pretty overcast and as such, when we arrived we could not see what all the fuss was about. When we saw the tourist brochure pictures however we could clearly see that our timing had been bad on this one. If you really want to see Lake Bled in all it's glory look at these pictures. We didn't even see the surrounding mountains, and would not have known they were there had we not driven over them! To make matters worse, parking was a bit problematic, not to mention expensive, but there were some very good plus points even on a day like this one. Firstly whilst trying to find a cake shop to try the illustrious Bled "specialty" cream cake - the Kremna Rezina - we stumbled upon this church which had wonderfully bright paintings adorning the walls.
Next we found the aforementioned cake shop - Slascicarna Smon - and promptly devoured said cake which was a bit like a custard and vanilla slice - only much, much better and bigger. Finally even though the clouds had blocked the views of the surrounding Julian Alps and the Karavanke, there were still lovely views to be seen.

In the late evening we decided to push on, and get to the town of Skofja Loca. The route seemed simple enough, but we soon began a continuous climb and spent much of the time in second gear. Half an hour into the drive, we were halfway to the heavens and deep into layers of cloud. The views across the valleys, marked by dots of light from dozens of houses far below was simply awesome when the clouds allowed, and near the summit of the mountain we passed a church completely lit from on side, seemingly lording it over the vast expanse below. Night was drawing in fast and we were relived to get back down the mountain before it went completely dark - it was hairy enough being able to see the massive drops in the fading light. We found a suitable carpark and bedded down for the night.

26th August
Skofja Loca

We woke up early and moved the van into the heart of the town of Skofja Loca. As we were up early we beat much of the morning hustle and found a space quite easily in the heart of the old town. We made our way up to the Castle, Gradska Pot, amidst the early morning mist, to have a look around the castle grounds and see the sun rise over the town.
The town itself was incredibly cute. Everywhere we looked we found amazing looking buildings bursting with character, colour and style - from half bricked-up doors to ornate busts in the walls. In every window bright flowers erupted. The guidebooks said the town needs a lick of paint but I completely disagree - there was a real 'tumble-down' style to the place which I absolutely adored.

26th - 30th August
Ljublijana (pronounced Loo-Blee-Yaa-Naa)
For the afternoon we moved on to Ljubljana - the Slovenian capital. We had done our research on this one, and there was a plethora of entertainment just waiting for us in the city - all for free - as part of the annual summer festivals held along the banks of the Lubljanica river. As such we were able to re-balance our budget and plush it up in a campsite for a few days. The one and only campsite the city had to offer included free accesss to a "fancy dan" heated outdoor pool/spa with 60 kinds of water jets to aid relaxtion. As soon as we had checked in and set up camp, we hit the pool and got down to some serious relaxation in the blistering heat (yep, the weather had turned in our favour).

On to the evening, and we cycled into town to see international and local artists of all kinds. Craftsmen, musicians, painters, photographers, sculptors, acrobats, and dancers were all there to entertain and amuse. It was a real carnival atmosphere.  There was all kinds of cuisine from around the world, a free dance festival (featuring Carl Cox), salsa classes, free lessons in Slovenian language, science lectures entitled centreofgravityology and soundology, readings of Slovenian folk tales, puppet shows, art installations on the subjects of time, rubbish, graffiti and loads more installations that we didn't have time to see. There was also loads of stuff for children (which we also found highly entertaining) such as massive metal puppets that you could make pick their noses and workshops on making corn-dolls.
All along the banks of the river you were presented with band after band after soloist after quartet and even a full swing band playing the most amazing songs from the crooner-era. There was even free breakdancing dance-off competition, Slovenian Folk-Punk gigs including a free gig by Laibach (the only Slovenian band to get on MTV) and jazz of all kinds including some of the most exquisite accordion playing I have ever heard. Possibly my favourite was a "guerrilla" brass band called the Orkestar Kobre which just strutted around playing the most incredible Mexican-flavoured music. They would come at you from down one of the streets and burst into the number just as they neared the main street in the most amazing explosion of style and sound, then saunter off (mid song), taking part of the party with them. It was just incredible.

Over the few days we spent in the capital we tried to get round and see as much as we could before the end of the festival, and it really was incredible to witness the commitment to the arts and the commitment that it should be available to all. It really was a privilege to be able to be here and enjoy it.

I need to make few other points about our stay in this wonderful city, as during the days we were able to soak up some of the more permanent aspects of Ljubljana. Firstly it is, as already mentioned, the capital of Slovenia however, it does not bear comparison to any other major city, let alone capital that I have witnessed. It's small and lovely and the people are friendly and don't mind saying hello, smiling and striking up conversation. It's nothing like London! As a result there is no pressure, no hassle, but as a capital like London, there are plenty of opportunities to do what you want to do. A quarter of the city's population are students, which goes some way to creating the atmosphere and creativity of the place.
Another feature of the city is the wonderful architecture. Most of the old town is in Baroque style, but here and there are masterpieces by world renowned architect Jose Plecnik, who was born here. In Preseren Trg (square) there is a statue to the greatest Slovene poet France Preseren who looks over the square towards a bust on a building opposite of his unrequited love. Ljubljana Castle is very picturesque standing over the city from Granjsk gric, or castle hill, and makes a lovely backdrop during jaunts round the city. There is also the only tribute to Napoleon outside of France as during the Emperor's conquest of the area he created the Illyrian provinces which promoted local customs over those of the Austro-Hungarians who had previously dominated the area.

Finally, we found these Weasley graffiti marks all over the city and couldn't help but laugh when we saw one.

Ljubljana was a strange city and although we should have had plenty of time to get round all the things we wanted to see, I came away thinking I hadn't got under the skin of the place despite it's small size and compact nature. It's definitly on the hit list of places we would come back to!

On the 30th August we packed up and checked out of the campsite, and the weather being awful again hauled up again 50m away at the nearest bar. Later the sun came out and we journeyed towards Predjama Castle...

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