Slovenia (4)

20 - 27 Sep 2025

Country Life

The next journey from Kobarid to Bohinjska Bistrica, near Lake Bohinj, was memorable! The road was not quite as expected, becoming very narrow in places, with lots of hairpin bends and steep ascents and descents. We were quite relieved when we finally arrived at the site.
                
                       

The reason for visiting Lake Bohinj was to experience the Cow Ball, which has taken place each year since the 1950s to celebrate the cows being brought back down from the pastures. There was a shuttle bus from just outside the site - ideal. The event was not as grand as we had expected; there was a stage with various performances (musicians, singers, dancers), and stalls with food and crafts and, of course, the highlight of the day, the parade of all the entertainers followed by a small number of cows.

                                

                                            

While in Bohinj we cycled along another dedicated cycle path to the eastern end of the lake where we ate our picnic lunch, admired the view, photographed the church and found a new delicacy in a restaurant, honey cake! I hope all our cycling and walking is burning off the extra calories!

It was then time to start the journey home. We had intended to spend one day at the Chiemsee but as the weather was forecast to be rather wet we decided to have our spare day in France instead. So the next three days were basically driving, from Bohinj to Siegsdorf in Germany (Camping Alpenkamp - sadly wet weather obliterated the view), from Siegsdorf to Camping Aichelberg, where we have stayed before. It was nice to find that they had our details on file! We walked round to the local Italian restaurant (4 minutes) - also used before - only to find they were full, but we were able to reserve a table for 45 minutes later. Excellent pizza and pasta was enjoyed by all. Then Aichelberg to Verdun in France. It had been very wet there for the last few days and the pitches were squelching. The gripper mats (to drive onto) came into their own!

In Verdun we visited three of the many sites in the area associated with the WW1 Battle of Verdun, which lasted ten months from February 1916 and during which 300,000 soldiers (French and German) died and another 450,000 were wounded. First stop was the Ossuary and National Cemetery, a memorial to the French soldiers who died at Verdun. Next was the very comprehensive museum, which covered all aspects of the battle such as rotation of soldiers, provisioning, medical care, medals .... It really brought home the complexity of war beyond the fighting. Finally we walked on the outside of Fort Douamont, a huge fortification, which, by the time of the battle, was mostly used for storage. Unfortunately we ran out of time and didn't go inside.

Part of the National Cemetery

The Ossuary

Our last night was spent at Escalles, close to the shuttle terminal, where we have stayed several times in the past. However, on previous occasions we have not ventured off-site. This time we walked down to the coast below Cap Blanc Nez, then rounded off the trip with a lovely meal at Le Cap.

Cap Blanc Nez

                            
It has been a great trip; lots of variety - lovely scenery, places of historical interest, towns, walking, cycling .... We have also enjoyed some delicious meals out and to top it all have had the company of friends.