Tarvisio

My bike tour has started! My bike trip is around the western part of Slovenia but given the logistics (taking my bike) it meant starting in Italy. First it was a ferry from Piran to Trieste. Didn’t start too well as the ferry trip (35 minutes) took less time than the time taken to board and then disembark. But then it is an Italian ferry company. I discovered that not only I am invisible but my bike is as well with people steaming past me on getting and and off the ferry. Then there was a long wait in Trieste to catch a train to Tarvisio, about 2 1/2 hours by train (near Udine). At Trieste train station the police seemed to be concerned about something, they had the place barricaded then you go only come in and go out one way. There were more police than railway staff, they even had a german shepherd. Tarvisio (Trbiž in Slovenian) is only about 11km from the Slovenian border and even closer to Austria. It is located in the top north eastern corner of Italy and traditionally has had German and Slovenian speaking populations. It’s an alpine town, with it being surrounded by mountains and skiing being the big thing. It required a 3km cycle from the station to the town along the route of the old railway line, past two of the old railway stations!. I stayed two nights in Tarvisio as I arrived quite late the first day and so had a look around this pretty region. I walked down the valley and took the cable car up to Mount Lussari (1790m)) with its large church and great views.

The hotel I am staying at is an alpine style building but I think the hotel is an afterthought as it’s the restaurant that gets most of the signage, the entrance is at its bar. Also had a problem getting into the room. Apparently it’s a special door that you can only open by pulling the handle up and it’s the opposite way when you are in. It’s very easy to lock though. Also had problems getting back into the building as the restaurant was closed. I was told to use the second key to get in but that didn’t work but then I saw a keypad, looked at the key fob and noticed a number. Guess what, it opened the door! Also the wi fi is terrible but the breakfast superb, you even get a fresh, warm apricot croissant brought to your table. Also why does pizza, pasta and ice cream taste better in Italy?

I cycled from Tarvisio to Lesce-Bled in Slovenia today, about 60km. Fantastic day but more of that later!