Today was my most enjoyable day to date. Slovenia is a very special place. My only regret is that I spent so little time there. The overnight accomodation amused me. The hostel, which was built as student accommodation during the communist era, consisted of three separate large building each built VERY solidly out of brick and concrete.
It could be best described as a labyrinth of small rooms which would have withstood a nuclear attack. It was good to see that such a purpose built structure was still being put to good use. There were backpackers everywhere. The average age appeared to be twenty. Happy to stay there, very happy to leave in the morning and be back on the road as a solo cyclist.
I then rode around the medieval part of the town which is superb. Maybe it was because it was only 9am, but for whatever reason it seemed like a proper operating township and not a tourist theme park like many beautiful old medieval towns have become. I visited the historically significant three bridges which cross the Ljubljana River which, like most of the medieval part of the city, is only open to foot and cycle traffic.
To leave Ljubljana I took a tunnel which which goes under the land mass in which the castle sits above. My first tunnel riding experience. I felt very safe riding along the tunnel footpath. The first part of the ride was through flat farming land with constant traffic, a narrow road and no shoulder. At the top was the small township of Turjak where I stopped for a well deserved break and an enjoyable time Tej and his girlfriend who are bith from Ljubljana.
I was very hot but, for a change, felt great after the climb β maybe those endorphins which have eluded me for so long do actually exist!
