Day 15: Ljubljana to Bistra

We are back on the road today. Seemed like a long walk getting out of the city under cloudy and drizzly skies. Had to opt for the pack covers and eventually had to put on our rain jackets for a brief time. We eventually got a break about 16 kilometers in at Podpeč. We had coffee and smoked some cigarettes (not really, but the locals smoked enough for everyone in the cafe). We grabbed a few things at the store there and continued on our way.

Ljubljana Rest Day

Today was a scheduled “rest day” and much needed after the long hot days. We had heard much about Lake Bled (all good) so off we went on the 8am bus. That gave us time to sleep in and enjoy the wonderful breakfast at the hotel. It was overcast and by the time we arrived it was raining, but no worries as we popped into the cafe for an espresso until the rain cleared.

Day 14: Brežice to Ljubljana

The EPW is still in it’s infancy. The trail has changed a bit since inception. But for whatever reason (maybe tourism) they have chosen to forward us west to the capital, Ljubljana. So we got up leisurely this morning, packed up and headed to town for proper coffee and pastries (brioche-type donut and cinnamon swirl) before heading to the železniška postaja (train station). 

Day 13: Zagorska Sela to Brežice

This morning was sort of a mixed bag of emotions. We had a long way to go in front of us but we were also leaving Croatia. Other than the first day when we crossed the border into Croatia and we had the whole trail issue and surprise accommodation, we have enjoyed the country so much. The land was beautiful and so were the people. They showed us wonderful hospitality and taught us about their culture. But today we had the daunting task of walking 30+ kilometers into Slovenia in high heat. We left the old estate at 5:30 under a layer of fog. When we arrived at the border crossing, it took almost 20 minutes to get through the checkpoint while they checked out our passports. Not sure why and a bit disconcerting.
Goodbye, Croatia 

Day 12: Krapina to Zagorska Sela

Breakfast at 5:00 a.m. included omelette, fruit, vegetables and good yogurt. Good fuel to start a long day. We said goodbye to our gracious host and set off. We chose not to travel to Zagreb today and walk on. Steep up and down is the best way to describe our morning. Of course, the fruits of our labor was beautiful views.

Day 11: Klenovnik to Krapina

Slept in this morning…..until 5:30 a.m.  Hit the road with the group just before 6:00. The temperature was just a bit over 60 degrees and it was so nice! The overnight rain settled the dust nicely. The terrain was a lot more up and down than usual and the vistas were very beautiful. After 14 kilometers of hoofing, we stopped in Bednja village. There we found a very fine coffee stop with more great views. 

Day 10: Veraždin to Klenovnik

Yet another early morning. Starting our walk with new folks this morning, Jenny and John who walked the first half of the EPW four years ago. We were greeted with slightly overcast skies this morning which helped keep the temperatures down. We spent the first hours walking, talking and getting acquainted as we passed the somewhat monotonous cornfields. Although Sunday morning, we lucked into an open cafe where we all enjoyed a little espresso (John’s treat).Afterwards, we ticked off a lot of kilometers before we finally took a rest stop. At that point we were only two and a half kilometers from our destination. We arrived at “Grešna Pilnica” at 11:30. The place is a cabin and old home place on a knoll that is a quaint oasis. We were greeted by our host’s father who brought us water and good tidings. Tatiana came and showed us to our cozy rooms in her little bungalow. The rooms actually have a/c which is a much welcome respite. We took care of our daily chores then had a mini picnic on one of the patios here that has a great vista. 

We spent a bit of time wandering around the “estate” checking out the many things that Tatiana’s father has created. He’s quite the artist/craftsman. A small thunderstorm blew through which brought only a little rain to settle the dust but much cooler temperatures. So nice! After some rest we enjoyed a hearty community meal. 

We found Fred Flintstone’s car

Day 9: Zasadbreg to Varaždin

After what ended up being a horribly frustrating day we tried to regroup. The Accreedo guy picked us up at our unknown location and returned us to the path where we left off. Unfortunately, it was 6:30 a.m. and already getting warm. We took a deep breath and started walking. The first half of the walk went quickly and even a deer nearly jumping over us couldn’t stop our steady pace.  We stopped for some espresso and then carried on to our destination.

Day 8 Lenti to ???

Once again our band of four set out just after 5 am.  The heat continues to rise.  I (Joan) had scoped out a dentist office about 10 miles ahead as one of my caps on my tooth fell off last night. We stayed together for over an hour and then Ed and I got ahead as I was wanting to get to the dentist office but, once there the “dentist” said he could do nothing.  So we had an espresso and walked on.  The trail marking ended so we followed our route sheet for awhile until the main road that lead to the Croatian border crossing.  That crossing was a bit anti-climactic and things went down hill from there.

Day 7: Szentgyörgyvölgy to Lenti

Dawn departure again. Walk was fairly pleasant until….some confusion between the cue sheets and the arrows. Too hard to explain but suffice to say the organizers of the EPW have some fixing to do. We took a crazy overgrown route through the woods (I won’t call it a path). We eventually emerged and a short time later had to traverse a dirt road that was SO overgrown you wouldn’t believe that anyone would try to go down but this was a marked “path”.