 |
| Photo: Admiring the beautiful St. Primus & Felician church in Jamnik |
It was a
beautiful September day – you know one of those days when on the one hand you can already feel autumn just around the
corner, and on the other hand summer is
just not yet ready to give up its reign. The skies were crystal clear, there
was not much on the work itinerary – what else was I supposed to do than rev up
my bike and take it out for a spin. I've decided to hit the road in the
direction of the Gorenjska Region, to the north-west of Slovenia, attacking the roads of a few
not well-known (at least not to me) towns and villages of this part of
Slovenia. The first stop on the agenda was the old medieval town of Škofja
Loka.
Škofja Loka
 |
| Photo: Škofja Loka Castle |
Leaving
Ljubljana city centre and heading to the north, passing the town of Medvode, it
took me just about twenty minutes to reach Škofja Loka. The beautiful old medieval town is located
between the Škofja Loka Hills and the Polhov Gradec Hills, with two rivers
(Sora and Selca) having paved the way for the streets and roads of the town. It has a
population of just little over 12,000, yet it has plenty to offer to even the
most-demanding a visitor, culture- and nature-wise. The town's architecture and
history were most affected by the Bishops of Freising who lived here in the 10th
century, while the town's appearance was extensively affected by the Turkish
attacks in the 15th century and by peasants revolting in the 16th
century.
 |
| Photo: The remains in the park along the castle |
Even though
the town's centre is inviting, pleasant and clean, graced by some old
architectural marvels, I opted to ride atop the town, to the old Škofja Loka Castle which was renovated a couple of years back. First, I
needed a couple of minutes to cool off, so I sat down in the shade and studied the architecture of the castle, as well as the neatness of the park near-by. I walked through the park,
observed the sights over the town and the surrounding hills and even
“discovered” a natural amphitheatre – well, made of stone – where I guess they
hold old medieval games with horses and knights and maybe some cultural events,
such as concerts. Off to the town of Železniki ...
Železniki
 |
| Photo: Who won in the end? |
 |
| Photo: Železniki |
Železniki
is a town literally just around the corner from Škofja Loka, so I rode the bike
for just fifteen minutes before stopping in the centre of the town. I actually
didn’t even plan to stop there, but riding through the town I saw
something that immediately caught my eye. The town is known for its smelting and production of iron, marked also by a huge monument in the town. What
made me stop in Železniki was a big chessboard with chess pieces. Of course – wouldn’t you stop? Well, I played a quick chess match with
a worthy opponent, as you can see from the photo, but I am not too eager to
share who actually won the match. Soon, I left Železniki to continue on my way to
Davča ...
Davča & Dražgoše
 |
| Photo: Road to Davča |
I had a
plan to visit Davča, a village with a population of only 250, known for being the most spread out village in Slovenia, at an altitude of almost 1000 metres.
But as the weather quickly shifted and it looked like there was going to be a
heavy storm, I decided to turn my bike around on my way to Davča. But not
before reaching the section of the road which carves its way between the mountain
rocks, as you can see in the photo. As mentioned, I didn’t ride all the way up
to the village, but instead turned my bike in the direction of another village –
Dražgoše, known as the place where one of the most known WWII battles on
Slovenian soil took place.
 |
| Photo: Parked in front of the WWII monument in Dražgoše |
The village of Dražgoše is located at an altitude of 900 metres with lots of long and twisty turns towards the big monument in honour of those who fell
during WWII. I went to check out the stone monument first before having some
coffee in the near-by tavern, where the view over Lubnik and the Blegoš peak
was just perfect. Soon, even the sun burst through
the clouds with its rays. The game of light and shade started to unfold right before
my eyes which made this a perfect opportunity to take some beautiful photos of
the majestic scenery. After having a chat about the birds with a local, I left Dražgoše for
Kropa.
Jamnik
 |
| Photo: Road to the Church in Jamnik |
 |
| Photo: A New Friend ... |
Even though
I was planning to visit the town of Kropa in the valley just underneath the
Škofja Loka Hills, I was so smitten by the beautiful St. Primus and Felician Church
in the hamlet of Jamnik that I needed to stop there. First, I passed the church, but later on returned back
on the road as I really wanted to see the view of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps
gracing the background of the church. It was again very hot, and walking in
full gear from the road to the church was kind of a
pain in the ass, but it was well worth it. The grass was as green as it gets, the
mountain peaks in the distance were truly majestic due to the rays of sunshine
and I met a new friend, as you can see in the photo. I sat down on the bench by
the church and was left speechless by the beautiful vistas to all sides – the
Alps to the north, the town of Kranj and the hills and forests to the other
side.
 |
| Photo: Taking in the Views in Jamnik |
It was
almost 6 o’clock and I still wanted to have some lunch, so I took the road through
the forests down to Kropa, where I could not really find a good place to eat so I
simply continued my way towards Ljubljana and stopped at a pizza place in Kranj
before heading back home.
Follow my blog to find out what my next bike destination will be ...
 |
| Photo: Map of the Route |
No comments:
Post a Comment