Hiking - day 2

Today was an easy day from Bohinj to Bohinjska Bistrica. We only had to walk about 6 miles so we took our time in the morning. We had breakfast and then hit the trail around 9:30. The trail had some ups and downs and went partly through the forest, but mostly it was on gravel or paved road that went in and out of alpine villages. Shortly into the hike we came across a ski jump Olympic training area. It is so cool to see training areas for sports we only see on tv. Walking through some parts of the forest was like walking in a land mine trying to step between or over rocks. But the rest of the trail was pretty easy walking and it only took us about 2.5 hours. While only registering about 75 degrees, the sun was intense and it felt very hot in the sun. We passed a few hikers going the opposite direction. They all appeared to be day hikers it hikers with a tour that transferred their luggage for them. No one was carrying full packs. We met a couple from northern California who was on a day hike. They were traveling by car throughout Slovenia.

The town of Bohinjska Bistrica is a cute alpine village resort area with plenty of hotels and restaurants. It is a short drive to the lake we were at yesterday and other towns. Many bike trips go through here. Our apartment wasn't ready so we found a place to get some lunch. The place we chose had Slovenian specials. We split a dish of sausage, sauerkraut, and mashed beans and had struklji (cheese stuffed dumplings) for dessert. After that we checked into our apartment. We were greeted at the door by our hosts. They have lived here for 50 years and have two apartments that they rent out.

After a short rest we checked out the town church (beautiful) and then walked to the train station to check the schedules. Tomorrow we are hiking to a town that has few places to stay and will take the train back to our apartment here in Bohinjska Bistrica. After checking out the train station schedule we went to the bakery and grocery store. There is no where to stop for food on the trail tomorrow so we will carry our lunch and snacks with us in our day packs.

We met up with Brianne, our Boston friend, and had dinner. We enjoyed a nice cool evening in a nearby park and then headed back to get an early nights sleep. Our intention is to leave early to beat the heat. Tomorrow is a much longer, harder, day than today.Read more