Bohinj Railway

His Lordship, a railway enthusiast, was determined to take the train that, rather unnervingly, roars through the forest high up above our campsite several times a day – and night, damn it! I’m not a fan of those night trains when I am trying to catch up on my beauty sleep, but I had no problem keeping my eyes wide open on the wonderful trip from Jesenice to Kanal.

What a ride! It was hard to know where to look; the passing scenery was stunning from both sides of the train. Her Ladyship had my head in a spin as she hopped from one side of the aisle to the other in a manic attempt to take it all in. His Lordship just sat there, grinning like a Cheshire cat. You’d swear he’d just scored a first-class ticket aboard Thomas the Tank Engine! I simply enjoyed the views. I was particularly delighted to see the gorgeous Vintgar Gorge again – even if it was only for about three seconds – as we chugged over the Radovna River.

After dragging Himself kicking and screaming off the train, we spent a happy afternoon pottering around the lovely town of Kanal. What a wonderful spot! We were there on a particularly hot day, and I have to admit that I was rather green with envy of the humans diving and swimming in the turquoise blue Soča River. I didn’t see anyone jumping from the diving board on the bridge across the river, however. At 17m high, I suppose it’s not for the faint-hearted!

Back in Bled, His Lordship had us out biking at every opportunity. After a few days however, probably as he was fed up with Her Ladyship’s whinging about her saddle soreness, he suggested a drive through the mountains for a change.

We set off towards Tolmin; partly retracing our rail route, then drove along the magnificent Soča Valley. Later, we turned up the old military road up over the Vršič Pass towards Kranjska Gora. As we tackled the winding route which rises steeply from about 200m to over 1600m, I noticed that each hairpin bend is numbered along the way. Would you believe that there are forty nine of them in all, and that’s not including the countless other bends in between. I’m used to steep, winding mountain roads in Austria, but this one really takes the biscuit!

So I was all the more horrified to hear that this road was built as the supply route to the Isonzo front during World War I. Waging war is crazy enough in my opinion. Only you crazy humans could come up with an idea like that. But what a crazy location to fight a war! Flying up this route must be hard enough. Imagine how hard it must be to simply hike up this mountain, let alone fight a war here and in the dead of winter into the bargain. Sheer madness!

Once we reached the top of the Vršič Pass, I did my best to put that violent history out of my mind and enjoy the peaceful vista all around me. The local sheep kept their heads down, but we blow-ins, staring up at the magnificent peaks all around us, were completely blown away.

I overheard an elderly Viennese lady telling the Oldies that she’d never been to Slovenia before. She was only here because she couldn’t take her usual trip to Croatia due to the Covid restrictions. She added that she had had no idea how incredibly beautiful this little country is and that she would definitely be coming back. I’m quite sure she’s not the only “accidental tourist” in Slovenia this year, and I bet there will be plenty of return visits in the future. It’s an ill wind … and all that.

I swear I hadn’t drunk anything stronger than water, and I definitely wasn’t suffering from altitude sickness, but when I took a close look at this one particular mountain I saw a giant human face, clearly visible in the rock face.

Now, you may think that I have sawdust for brains, but I do take an interest in human current affairs from time to time. I remember hearing something recently about the head honcho of the US. What’s his name, now? You know who I mean – the chap who’s always blowing his own trumpet? Anyway, apparently he had been looking into the possibility of getting his face added to the famous Mount Rushmore sculpture. “Hah!”  I thought, “Perhaps he’s been using his Slovenian influence to get his head carved into the Julian Alps instead.”

On closer inspection, however, I realised that this face was far too friendly and natural-looking to be his.