The BIG reason that we started this blog is because we found planning this trip very challenging. Contrary to the TMB, there are no itineraries to be found online, beyond day trips or shorter hikes. We know the country has a long-distance route called the Transversala or Slovene High Level Route, which is 600km long; unfortunately we don’t have time to hike all of it. We heard a lot about how beautiful the Julian Alps were. The Transversala runs through these mountains, so we cobbled together an itinerary that works for us. Our route also follows part of the Red Trail of the Via Alpina (a series of five alpine trails that go through 8 countries).

Our planning took some time, partly because there isn’t one main resource and also because the Slovenian language (names with many consonants) is so foreign to us.

We used the book Trekking in Slovenia by Justi Carey & Roy Clark. It’s the ONLY book out there (in English) but we have diverted quite a bit from their suggested itinerary.

We also contacted someone from Hike & Bike Slovenia, who sent us a map of the Via Alina Red trail and Purple trail. The Hike & Bike Slovenia website has a lot of information, but it’s not always easy to find things when you are not already familiar with the country.

In the end, we were able to book almost all the doms and koča (mountain huts) through the Slovenian Alpine Association‘s website: https://en.pzs.si/koce.php

Ljubljana

Dober dan! (Good afternoon in Slovenian) We landed in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, on July 4. It’s a charming city, with lots of sidewalk cafes and restaurants, small shops, a central market, the Ljubljanica River, and a medieval castle high on a hilltop. Here are a few pics of our time in Ljubljana.