I like to learn in may ways, but traveling has the biggest toll. Because traveling puts you in front of facts, not against pure theory. I heard and read many good things about Slovenia, and this was a good enough reason to subscribe for Julian Alps Trail by UTMB 2026. This, and the fact that participating here ignites at another level my chances to return in Chamonix to actually run OCC some day. Hopefully sooner than later!
Kranjska Gora, my UTMB target
But for this, you can subscribe to many more by UTMB labeled races, so picking Slovenia really had to do with my intention to explore the country. I had some expectations from the very beginning, but the field proved me more than right. Target destination: Kranjska Gora. A small of 1,500 inhabitants, yet rather popular village very close to both Austrian and Italian borders. To reach it, though, planning needed to be made, as no direct flights from Bucharest to Ljubljana are available, to start with.
Night over in Ljubljana
Normally, Slovenia’s capital city was not on the plan, but we realized we need to include one night stay there, because it would be rather complicated to reach Kranjska Gora in one single day, all the way from Bucharest. We chose B&B Park hotel, and it proves to be a reliable option. We try to taste a bit of the old town in the evening of the arrival, but being so tired, we just budget a few more hours for next day, before travelling further.
Slovenia’s famous “dragons”
Ljubljana really looks good, and now it is added to the bucket list for the future – maybe for a marathon…? 🙂 For now, I can tell you that the initial impression is that it is a lovely town, which deserves a three nights stay, the least. The “Dragons” bridge has its special charm, so all the streets from the old town. Sure, to write more is useless, as we didn’t spent more than three hours wandering around. However there is something I would like to share, about the train station.
Slovenia’s main train station: link between Ljubljana and… Amsterdam!
It is seems to go thru a very elaborate renovation process, which reminds me of Amsterdam Central which is in full enhancement mode, and that is even documented in a wonderful documentary here! At a certain level, Ljubljana train station is the same, but trains are circulating, no problem! The thing is, in Kranjska Gora there is no railway, so I needed to improvise in order to explore the train ride in Slovenia: a trip to Jesenice, and then a 23-minutes bus to our last stop.
Craving for a train trip in Slovenia
Another reason for I wanted to split the journey with a train portion was linked to the fact that the direct bus from Ljubljana to Kranjska Gora was scheduled to go around two hours. Not that likable to spend two or maybe more hours in a single bus, especially if you have a decent train option. And trains in Slovenia really prove to be decent. At least comparing to what we are mostly accustomed in Romania…
Shuttle privilege, when arriving late
Speaking of journey, though, let me tell you what facile is to take a ride from the airport to the capital city. As you exit the “arrivals” you find a shuttle service that charges you between 10 – 14 EUR / person (depending of the size of the group) and takes you in around 30-40 minutes to your destination. This happens because the airport is quite far away from the town, but also because if you take the shuttle service, usually there are people to be taken to different parts of Ljubljana, and if you are unlucky, you can get off last, or among the latest.
Taxi is more expensive, but the trip can be shorter
It happened to us, so then our late night journey extended more than we needed. However, the option exists, and two people pay 26 EUR. Given the circumstance, if you want a faster ride, taxi seems to be 40 EUR or so. It doesn’t look much of a difference, but some – especially if you are travelling alone! – it can be a significant 26 EUR gap (14 EUR for one single person at with the shuttle). Back to Kranjska Gora, let’s mention the arrival at Ramada Hotel, a four star establishment right in the heart of the village.
Amazing views
Kranjska Gora is surprisingly well equipped for its size, not only with top chain hotels, but with a lot of restaurants, and even Intersport. You can’t even dream of this kind of facility in a mountain village in Romania, even if many are significantly more populated. And even we are, roughly speaking, in the same geographic region – more or less. Anyway, not only the facilities surprised us, but also the looks of the place, and of Slovenia in general: it is very often to see unpainted houses, or not cut grass. Everything seems to be perfectly and carefully taken care of. People are not joking.
Let us not to forget a name: Tadej Pogacar. He is from Slovenia!
The Julian Alps are raising amazingly above the squeezed at the border. We are here for the Julian Alps by UTMB trail race, but we can’t help and discover the cycling culture in the country. How can it be different when the best cyclist in the world right now, Tadej Pogacar, comes from Slovenia? I don’t ride too much bicycle myself, but I thought it might be a good idea to take one in our last full day here. This happened after I’ve discovered a path where tens of people were enjoying some off car-grid traffic.
Thousands of kilometers for biking in Slovenia
It seemed amazing, and then I saw an indicator: “25 kilometers to Jesenice“. After some “investigation” I’ve learned there are 3,000 kilometers of stand alone bicycle tracks in Slovenia. 3,000!!!! And this specific path is erected on top of a former railway. I felt safe suddenly, and decided to go for it. Two bikes, one day, 15 EUR / person. Helmets included. The thing, though, is that the store, Intersport – from where we hired the bikes, across the road from the hotel – closes at 18:00. “You can bring them back by tomorrow morning, 09:00, free of charge!”, the clerk told us. “But can we ride the bike everywhere you like?”
Kranj is closer to the airport than Ljubljana is
“You can go to Croatia if you wish!” is the final statement, and understood why: you can basically travel, easily, by bike, the whole length of Slovenia. We did enjoy only 22 kilometers, almost crossing to Italy, at Ratece, but we see that this country is basically a bicycle heaven. It is our epilogue here, and after storing the bikes in a safe room at our hotel, we hand them over to the owner, and head back to the bus, directly to Kranj, and then, from there with a Uber to Ljubljana airdrome to head back to Bucharest.
Bedanc, one of the best restaurants I’ve encountered
Of course, the closing experience and the initial described moments were dubbed by a bunch of others. The race itself is to be dealt with it separate, so the focus is in between. Kranjska Gora is a perfect place for any kind of holiday, and so is Bedanc! I did encounter dozens of great places to eat at while travelling, but this location at the foot of the ski slope, is for sure top five all-time. The service, the quality, the quantity, the location, and the price make a five way match which is very hard to be equivalated anywhere else. In short, eating anywhere else in Kranjska Gora is purely a waste of time.
Lake Bled, a must see and enjoy in Slovenia
Arriving in Slovenia meant we couldn’t miss one of the key landmarks of the country: Lake Bled. Not too far from Kranjska Gora, but a bit hard to reach. In the end, a bus ride and a short Uber trip paves our way to the location. First, a coffee and a lemonade, because we also need to go for a toilet, before our run & walk around the 6 kilometer perimeter lake. We find a cozy location, and enjoy the drinks. Restavracija Sova is a perfect place to enjoy some quality time, especially given their kindness.
The feeling when you realize you didn’t paid and then you are forgotten
Seven hours later, after enjoying the drinks here, I have realized: we left without paying! The embarrassment is maximum, I feel so bad, and write these guys on Instagram. I want to make up for my mistake, they accept my apologies, but don’t want to take my money. What can I say? How can you deal with this kind of people, if not to confess once more my mistake, and be forever grateful for their rection? We will be back there, for sure!
Withdrawing cash, a bit problematic in Slovenia
Back to the lake, we don’t have too much time to spend here, so we budget it carefully: 8 kilometer run, and then walk. We decide not to take the local specific boat to the small island with the church in the middle – you know, that famous Bled postcard! Firstly, because it is crowded and a bit time consuming from our limited “luggage“, but mostly because you could pay only cash. We didn’t have any cash, because withdrawing money in Slovenia meant a 6.5 euro tax. Quite a lot…
Enjoying the lake more, and putting the castle on the bucket list for future
Surprisingly, we found also a few cafes where money accepted was only cash, and we had some difficulties, but in general card payment was mostly accessible so we could cruise in peace. Back to the lake, we try to check the castle, we reach it, but as we ran and walked, our maximum time to be spent there would be 20 minutes. For such a short time frame, it is not worth it to pay a total 38 EUR. I suppose at least one hours is necessary to enjoy fully the location. We will be back.
Train station, but no train
Enjoying the lake a bit more is the best option, and, maybe, another short train trip! Normally, there is train station which takes you, in only 15 minutes to Jesenice. Or so I thought, based on historical information. Even if I checked the location & timetable to be sure the ride happens, I made a huge omission: the word “BUS”. Yep, no train is running, but a replacement bus. That didn’t look initially like a problem, but it proved to be.
Don’t rely on taxi between Jesenice and Kranjska Gora!
The replacement bus is delayed, and the ride is not 15 minutes, but more than 30. We miss the connection bus, and realize there is no reliable taxi / Uber option from Jesenice to Kranjska Gora. I don’t understand why, but the bottle neck is getting narrow, after the hick up caused by the non-existent train. We are hungry, and I need to pick up my race kit. In the end, we catch the next bus, but we need to wait for it around 35 minutes. It is not that pleasant, but in the end we realize there is no other option.
Bumpy road back to Kranjska Gora, but we make it
My race is the next day, so I need also to rest a bit. Slovenia has some negative parts, for sure. Especially against some expectations, but in the end, this kind of things can appear everywhere. Our day will go down in the books as challenging, also beautiful. Maybe the due bill was paid with a couple of bad decisions, but the evening reconciliation, helped me have a great day into the race. More to come! Now, the focus remains on Slovenia, not on myself.
Enjoying the place, the life, and the amazing landscape of Slovenia
The day between the two races doesn’t leave space for too many options, but to recognize a bit the terrain in the proximity of our town, and then a mild walk thru the village. Not something spectacular, but enjoying at full the location and the landscape. Kranjska Gora is really a place to explore at a very chill… pace! You have, basically, whatever you need. And so there is between this hub and Ratece. A peace of heaven, a wonderland indeed, with perfectly cut gardens and neatly arranged households.
Slovenia, a country for people, not for “barosani”
Six full days in Slovenia really makes you understand what is defining a nation. Slovenia is green, and built for people, for humans, for life. Not for cars, for traffic congestions, and for “barosani”. As a guy who learned to cycle in 2022, I feel no worry to travel from Ratece to any other place, because safety is at its peak. Apart from that, the view of the Julian Alps is something that brings feelings which can drive you to write a novel on spot, about what you see. Slovenia has it all, a small country, but an ideal place. For sure it is more to be seen there, and so it will happen soon!
Photo: MyMagicLenses