Day 13 (Italy/Slovenia): Viola - Ajdovscina

today’s distance: 116km
total distance: 1323km
riding time: 5.25h

The day started out pleasantly - the sun came up and dried my tent out somewhat from the moisture that was in the ground (it could do a bit better in that regard) and soon enough I was on the road towards Slovenia.

Beating the Italian police state by using a store owner’s internet connection, I was able to figure out my initial route in Slovenia. It was also the last flat sections before Slovenia showed its face with gorgeous mountains as a backdrop. Crossing the border was a no-brainer … there isn’t one to speak of. I tried to come up with some kind of stamp, but that was not to be - and rather unsurprising. Maybe an exit stamp when crossing into Croatia. Before entering Slovenia I met Petra (pronounced with a German R) and her parents - her mother being Slovenian, her father Italian. We had a good conversation about the trip and about the Slovenian minority in northeastern Italy. Already on the way in, signs had been posted bilingually - both in Italian and Slovenian. There was also a noticeable increase in Slavonic names on store fronts and houses.

They also told me about a race that had just finished on the Piazza della Transalpina and arriving there I was given pasta, drinks and some munchies for the way by Tamara. It was also the last easy border crossing as you can see.

Headed on to the largest stone bridge in the world, destroyed twice - rebuilt twice. Impressive structure.

I’m also pretty sure I know what this sign says …

On into Slovenia I went and the wind that was pushing me before started to turn against me quite a bit. All things considered it wasn’t bad though. Flying blindly because I was devoid of any guidebook and relied on a map only and without any planning I asked a biker whether there was a youth hostel around that he knew of. He pointed me to Ajdovscina. So I changed course and after crossing a few ridges finally arrived there. But there was no youth hostel to be had and I was about to give up after the first internet connection failed constantly … The idea was to move on a bit further and camp there as I was sure I would find a spot. I was then directed to a bar called B52 and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Tea (pronounce Te-A) is the owner of this place in the middle of Ajdovscina and she helped me in more ways than I could have hoped for. She made a good number of calls trying to find out whether there was anything close that would be good for me … she finally called a friend of hers who said that the communal grounds would be good and the city government would have no problem. Had that not worked out, she would have offered the couch in her bar, figuring that she had gone through the same problems as a traveler many times. Perfect spot the communal grounds, I must say. Protected from the wind and out of sight pretty much I set up camp and then returned to B52. Once there, Tea treated me to a Coke (it was her b-day the day before) and though I had eaten plenty I was given some pizza, potatoes and fried calamari. Thank you very much Tea for setting everything up!!! It was a perfect ending for a roughish day … with the rain coming down, I eventually fell asleep soundly.