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Vršič Pass, SLOVENIA: After we have been in the area of the Vršič pass a few days ago, this time we want to go up the mountain on the opposite side. But this time we had no real information where to go. I had the information on my openstreet map that it could go to a mountain called Nad Sitom Glava without any problems.

So like the other hikers we first walked the main track to the left and then turned up to the right in time. From then on we were on our own. As we later found out, we had turned too early, but still a path went through bushes and over scree. It was a bit difficult to find the right way from below but we finally found it.

The path was quite steep and should really be taken by experienced hikers. At the top there is a ridge after which it goes steeply down. If you want to go down you have to be careful not to slip on the way so steep it is.

POSTOJNA, SLOVENIA: During this recreation day we went to the UNESCO World Heritage Caves of Postojna in the south of Slovenia. The Postojna Caves are huge and have large rooms with an infinite number of stalactites. There are also many animals that live in the caves. These include the largest underground living animal, the olm, but many more.

We started in the morning and reached Postojna after about 150 km at noon. Interestingly, there was not so much going on and we each got a ticket for the next tour. The tour goes in the cave first by train for about 10 minutes and then by foot for some kilometers.

There you can visit the numerous stalactites and different rooms. We additionally booked the entrance to the animal exhibition and could see the Grottenolm and many other animals like spiders, fishes and snails that only exist in caves. This animal does not get to see anywhere else. The entrance fee was with approximately 25€ per person quite high, but also worthwhile for such a big and important cave. After that we stopped at some places on the way back.

Kluže, SLOVENIA: Another rest day after a hike with a rather full program of sightseeing in the surroundings of the Triglav National Park in Slovenia. This time the botanical garden near Trenta in the Soca Valley was visited first. The botanical garden is over one hundred years old and has a huge collection of plants from the Alpine region.

The entrance fee was 3€, but it is definitely worth a visit. After the visit our car was consecrated by chance by a priest. Anyway, it did not hurt and he was so polite to ask before. Then we drove towards the Italian border and 5 km away from the small town of Bovec to the fortress Kluze. The fortress and the whole area in general has had a tremendous strategic importance over the millennia due to its proximity to Italy.

It was exactly there that an important front line ran during the First World War. Afterwards we drove to Bovec and further on to the Virje waterfall. Someone said that it is the biggest waterfall in the area and I had read somewhere that it is even the biggest waterfall in Slovenia. But maybe this is only true in spring when the snow melts. When we visited Virje, there were only a few daring people jumping into the icy cold water and only a few splashes of water.

Lepena, SLOVENIA: This time the hike went to Lake Krn at about 1400m altitude. We started at the Dr Klement Juga House near Lepena, which is located near the Soca Valley. The Dr Klement Juga House has a restaurant, so you can take care of yourself before and after the tour. The parking lots are a bit critical, so it can get really cramped when many people want to do the tour.

The way goes from the house up an old military road. From the road you can see mostly gravel, but it was once a cobblestone road, which you can see clearly in some places. It is impressive how something can decay again. The road was used to transport troops and artillery into the mountains during World War I.

Today the road is quite easy and has no difficulties except all the rubble on the ground. Here good trekking shoes are really essential. The path goes 700m quite steeply up another valley. There is again a kind of restaurant and guesthouse if you walk 10 minutes to the left of the path. We did not do that.

In the valley it hardly goes up and after another 20 min you reach the lake. From the valley there are more treks to the surrounding mountains. We went back quite fast after a meal, because again a thunderstorm announced itself.

Triglav National Park, SLOVENIA: After a strenuous hiking tour in the Soca Valley, this time we went to visit two waterfalls and the lake and the town of Bled. The first waterfall was actually located by chance on the road. The second waterfall was the famous Pericnik.

The special thing about this waterfall is that you can go underneath it. This is quite impressive and not often possible with other waterfalls in the world. The last thing we did was to visit the lake Bled and the castle at the lake. Unfortunately, the museum was not very interesting. The view was pretty much the only thing that was interesting but still worth seeing.

Soča Valley, SLOVENIA: We decided at relatively short notice to go to Slovenia for camping. Slovenia is not too far away from where we live and yet it is a new country for both of us. The region is the Triglav National Park and is quite touristic. The trip took place at the end of July 2020 and the campsites were full.

But it was not so crowded that there were crowds everywhere. The Triglav National Park is located in the southern part of the European Alps in the Julian Alps and allows a variety of activities like hiking, climbing, cycling, rafting and much more.

In this video I show the part of the Soča River where the campsite is located, right after our arrival in the evening.

As I said before somewhere, I did not know how many castle ruins are in the area. For this reason I went this time again to the ruin Fleckenstein in Alsace and from there I walked to the nearby ruins Loewenstein and Hohenburg. Unfortunately almost nothing of Loewenstein has survived the times. But from the ruins of Hohenburg Castle you can still clearly see the former mightiness.

This weekend we went again close to France to the Alsace and the Northern Vosges to visit the castle ruin Windstein. Actually, these are three ruins of the three castles Neu-, Mittel-, and Altwindstein in a rather small area. The castles are only about 10 minutes away. The castles all date from a period of about 12th century and were mostly finally destroyed in the 16th century. Especially the ruins of Altwindstein are evidence of an extremely complex complex complex with many remains as dug caves in the rock or as remains of masonry around the rocks. Even the well is still present at a considerable depth.