Vipava Valley – A Gem Full of Natural Beauties

Photo: Relaxing near Zemono

I thought this year's heat wave won't reach Slovenia, yet, it seems that we will be treated to some really high temperatures at the start of August. For the past week or so, it has been really hot, with temperatures reaching even 35 degrees Celsius and more. It's hard to stay focused in such heat, so I decided to take a day off and get my bike out and ride towards the western part of Slovenia. Granted, the heat made it almost unbearable to be in my biker gear, yet the constant breeze that is quite common in the Vipava Valley made it ok. Apart from the far northeastern part of Slovenia, this part of Slovenia was probably the most unknown to me, quite undeservingly, since I was overwhelmed with its natural beauties.

Hrušica – Ad Pirum

I jumped on my bike around 10:00 a.m. and passed the towns of Vrhnika and Logatec before taking on the curvy – perfect for riding – roads leading all the way up to Ad Pirum, an old Roman settlement, now known as Hrušica. It took me about 50 minutes to reach the village of Podkraj from Ljubljana. Immediately when I started my way on the local roads, the long curves leading through the forest to the top of the Karst plateau made my heart beat faster. The road is truly perfect if you want to take your bike out for a spin and test your skills; on top of it all, I met only a couple of cars on my way up and according to the locals these roads are mainly taken by them alone and occasional tourists.

Photo: Ad Pirum

Photo: Breathtaking nature near Ajdovščina

As I reached Hrušica, I was greeted by some dark clouds that started to close in on me and I was already thinking where to find shelter, but luckily the sun eventually took over the skies. I admit that I was riding a bit too fast and at first missed the ruins of the old Roman settlement and needed to ride back to them after being pointed in the right direction by a local.

As you reach the top of the hill, there is only one big building in which there is a pub and on the other side a museum dedicated to the ancient settlement, established in the 4^th century. The excavations revealed a huge fortress extending over 250 metres, a few wall towers, and more features, all set up by the Romans to protect themselves from eastern invasions. I walked around a bit, read the inscriptions, and stayed there for a while, admiring the vistas of the valley below, before heading to Zemono ... 

Zemono Manor House

I descended from the top of the hills towards the Vipava Valley below, to the settlement of Zemono, located next to the town of Vipava; a town and a valley known for their excellent wines. It took me about 30 minutes to reach the beautiful manor house, amidst the village of Zemono. As I descended from Hrušica to Zemono, I stopped by a popular climbing rock, offering a perfect and somewhat frightening view of the forests and valley below.

Photo: Zemono

Zemono is an old manor house built in the late 17^th century among the wine-growing hills of the Vipava Valley, boasting some Late Renaissance features, not so common for this part of Slovenia. Almost hidden in a small park amidst a small village of Zemono, this manor is a perfect venue for prestigious state-protocol events and weddings. It is home to a widely popular restaurant that boasts spectacular top-notch dishes; yet, what immediately won me over was the view from the other side of the manor, from the park side, where one can admire the vast and wide fields and meadows covered with vineyards all the way up to the hills to the north of the towns of Vipava and Ajdovščina. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a private event at the manor so I did not sit down but rather got back on my bike and continued on my way ...

Štanjel

Štanjel is a small, yet spectacular village, about 20 minutes riding from Zemono. Established in the 17^th century in the municipality of Komen on a Karst plateau, the village still boasts the architecture quite atypical of Slovenia. I have never visited this region with my bike and never even got close to visiting Štanjel. So imagine my surprise riding on the winding (perfect for motorcyclists!) road to Štanjel as I all of a sudden saw the majestic village with settlement walls on top of a hill in front of me. 

Photo: The view across the valleys and hills surrounding Štanjel

Photo: Štanjel

I parked my bike and entered the village through the old entrance in the middle of the stony village walls and walked upwards on the stony pathway. It seems that in Štanjel everything is made of stone, which makes this village even more enchanting and fairy tale-like. It was steaming hot and in my full gear, I barely made it to the top of the village, but it was well worth it. What opened in front of me were beautiful vistas across the entire valley, to all sides of the village. Even though it was scorching hot in the summer sun, I admired the views for about fifteen minutes before heading down to stop at a restaurant for lunch with excellent local dishes on the menu. It was about 4:00 p.m. and time for me to get a move on ... 

Predmeja – Otlica

Photo: Spectacular view of the Vipava Valley from Otlica

As I was riding on my way back towards Ajdovščina, the clouds started creeping in on the valley but that was not going to stop me before heading to one of my favourite spots in Slovenia – the settlement of Predmeja with the famous natural window in Otlica – a truly magnificent view of the valley below through a window in the middle of a mountain. It took me about twenty minutes to reach Ajdovščina and from there another twenty minutes on the long and curvy road, which I absolutely adore riding on, to the top of the hills above Ajdovščina.

Photo: Thrilling ride to Otlica

If you haven’t yet visited this site, I strongly suggest you put it on your bucket list for whenever you are in the vicinity. The road is curvy and carved in the hills paving its way through the mountains via three tunnels. And not just that – the views from almost every corner of the road are spectacular!

Even though the sun already hid itself behind the clouds, I was eager to reach the top, before the rain would start pouring down. And I did. Of course, upon reaching the top of the mountain, it started to rain like crazy, so I quickly headed back to the valley. But it was already a bit too late, since the thunderstorm accompanied by hail forced me to stop in a small cave-like shelter for thirty minutes, where I waited for the summer storm to calm down. Dripping wet, I chose to take the highway route back to Ljubljana, since I was not taking any chance of being caught by thunder and hail again.

Photo: Admiring nature

Although what started off as a beautiful summer day turned into a stormy evening, I had a great trip to a region which I will visit again soon. The nature is simply so breathtaking and the roads perfect for riding – could a biker ask for anything more?! I’ll be seeing you on the road in the coming week ...

Photo: It seems I made a new friend ...

Photo: Map of the Route

Exploring the Posavje Region - Melania, oh where art thou, Melania?

Photo: Exercise is important ...

It was one of the first really hot summer days and once again I couldn't stand the heat in my office anymore. I made a choice between staying behind the computer and eventually dozing of behind the computer screen from extreme humidity and heat or simply forgetting about work for a day, putting on my gear and riding into the sunset on my bike. Well – is that even a choice? You don't have to think twice which option I chose …

Sevnica

If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you probably remember I already visited a part of the Dolenjska Region to the south, south-east of Slovenia, towards the border with Croatia, but I was not able to fulfill my plan of visiting all of the places I envisioned. So, the only logical thing for me to do on such a warm and beautiful summer day was to grab the bike and ride towards the hometown of America’s first lady – Melania Trump. Hahaha, I got you – of course that would be the last reason to visit Sevnica, an inviting town along the Sava River.

Photo: Sevnica Castle

It took me about an hour and twenty minutes to reach Sevnica from Ljubljana. Even though I prefer riding on the local roads when on my bike, I chose to take the highway in order to reach my destination quicker and to have more time to explore this region. I walked around the town a bit and finally rode towards the marvellous Sevnica Castle overlooking the river and the town underneath. I was lucky to be graced by beautiful summer sunny weather, as the temperature was not expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius. I admired the wonderful architecture of the majestic castle and took a walk through the park and just soaked up the sight of the town and the Sava River paving its way through the town. I treated myself to ice coffee and planned my next stop.

Brestanica Castle

Photo: Admiring the view from Brestanica Castle

The ride from Sevnica to Brestanica was a really short one, since they are literally neighbouring towns. It took me just about 10 minutes to get from one castle to the other. It was my first time visiting Brestanica Castle which is very different from any other castles I’ve seen across Slovenia, mainly due to its specific architecture, which partially dates back to the 9^th and mainly to the 16^th century when the castle was renovated for the first time (the last renovation took place just a few years back). Although the castle underwent serious misuse during WWII, it is now home to art and museum collections and provides guests with a shop and a café, as well as with summer film projections and concerts. The most prominent features of the castle are probably a somewhat unusual exterior and the beautiful interior as many of the castle’s walls are painted with frescoes. Since I just had coffee in Sevnica, I walked to the beautiful terrace just in front of the castle and admired the view of the Sava River and the surrounding hills before heading south to the town of Krško.

Photo: Brestanica Castle

Ribnik

My next stop was literally almost just around the corner. It took me about fifteen minutes to ride my bike back to the valley. I turned left among the hills to reach pond Ribnik in the middle of a beautiful forest. After visiting two castles, I wanted to enjoy some fresh air amidst the beautiful and almost untainted nature. I got off my bike, sat on the grass and just relaxed for a quarter of an hour, watching people fish by the pond, the beautiful pine trees, and the numerous pathways along the pond and in the forest. This is truly a peaceful place where I was able to relax, unwind and close my eyes for a couple of moments, before heading off to Krško …

Photo: Ribnik

Raceland Krško

Photo: Raceland - No racing for me ...

… or better said off to Raceland. It took me about 25 minutes to reach Raceland, located amidst the fields and orchards between the towns of Krško and Brežice. I have to admit, I really wanted to go for a couple of laps on a somewhat small racing ground, where you can test your riding skills on the bike or go-karts, but I should have made a reservation sooner, so this still remains on my to-do list. I observed a couple of guys taking their bikes for a spin, before I was ready to hop back on my bike and head to Raka Castle, just on the other side of Krško.

Raka Castle

Photo: Raka Castle

Raka is a small village located to the northwest of Krško. The road from Krško to Raka is quite curvy, just perfect for riding. Even though I was riding through villages and I was not able to go much faster than the speed limit, I enjoyed the undulations of the road which paved its way among vineyards and small forests. I got to the castle, which to my surprise was closed, which meant that I was able to admire only its exterior – it is actually more of a mansion than a castle – and take a walk around it to see a small park and forests underneath it. I snapped a couple of photos and was already heading towards the city of Novo mesto.

Klevevž

Photo: Klevevž

Klevevž is a small village located between Krško and Novo mesto. It is known for its remains of an old castle and maybe even more so for a hot source spring along the forest. It was not hot enough for me to take off my gear and dip my feet into the water, yet I managed to cool off by sitting in the shade in the middle of the creek running downstream. If you have time to make a detour from your planned route and take ten minutes from the main road to reach this destination, I promise you it will be well worth it. Especially if you decide to cool off and relish in the perfect atmosphere of a small natural jacuzzi …

Photo: Cooling off along Klevevž stream

I had another perfect day on my bike, as I explored a region of Slovenia I have not visited much in the past. But it persuaded me with all its natural beauties and castles, so I am definitely coming back to explore it some more. Although Slovenia is small in size, its natural and cultural heritage is so rich and vast that you simply need to take the time to find and explore even its most hidden corners and gems.

I'll be seeing you back on the road soon!

Photo: Klevevž

Photo: Map of the Route