Driving to Slovenia from Cortina in winter is quite a roller coaster – it is tricky to see if the passes are open, but if they are, then a trip over to the Soca valley is very much worth it!
A visit here is like entering a different world, or going back several decades into peace and tranquility. No sounds beyond that of the crystal clear river, no tourists really at this time of the year, and some awesome places to hike. That said, if you are planning on going for a long walk/hike, we would highly recommend taking any form of low-intensity crampons, ours saved us on many icy patches from nasty falls.
If you find yourself in this area, we’d recommend staying at the hotel called the Residence Soca. It was an awesome place to stay in – very welcoming and a great breakfast included using all local ingredients. They even had excellent washing facilities (something we desperately needed after a long time without access to these in the weeks prior).
From Soca, if the Vrsic pass is open, we would recommend heading towards Bled via this crazy winding road with plenty of view points where you can stop and take in the view and the epic silence. There is a particularly good viewpoint (Supca viewpoint) where you can see down the valley and enjoy the total peace.
Bled and Bohinj:
Once in Bled, we had a great time being a tourist around the lake, running and walking and enjoying the still surprisingly excellent weather.
Deciding that, as we had our ski gear in the car, we may as well double up a visit to Lake Bohinj with a trip to the Vogel ski area, we set off early in the morning. Parking here, at the other end of the lake, can be a bit stressful but just once you accept joining the queue of cars lined up on the side of the snow bank lined road in the one way system, it is actually very simple.
It cost a grand total €40 for a day pass for an adult. While there aren’t a huge selection of runs, it’s a very sweet resort, and as always, it is just fun to be out and up on the mountains. The mix of runs was fun – the blues and reds somehow all seemed like greens compared to our home slopes, but we had so much fun to do things like the t-bar lifts and the one man chair lift… which Tom may have embarrassed himself on (only while trying to save Eliza, it should be noted)! Eliza was not convinced about the T-bar lift initially but eventually admitted they were quite an experience.
Compared to home, it was also balmy weather, a grand total of 7 degrees! We definitely could have gone in just our fleeces, but didn’t know this at the bottom of the cable car so had a very full backpack of layers. Sadly Run 14, the one run that we could have taken all the way down the mountain, was shut so ultimately we had to take the cable car back down. All the lifts feel fairly old and rickety but it adds a quaint charm to the whole experience!
The following forming, we enjoyed a sunrise walk in Bled and were rewarded with some epic views over the water.
We returned and headed out for a run around the lake before packing up and moving out.
In our limited time, we didn’t get to Ljubljana, but from everything we saw in and around Slovenia, it certainly looks like it could be worth a visit – hopefully we will be able to return to find out for ourselves!
Boondock Puffins 
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