Coda

 Shortly after we shuttled from Triest back to Ljubljana, checked our bag, did the security thing, and settled into our un-comfy chairs to wait for our plane: our flight was cancelled. 

So, we're spending an unexpected "extra" day in Ljubljana, courtesy of Lufthansa.

Dragons are Ljubljana's mascot.  This one was guarding the entrance to the old city.

This door is at the entrance to St. Nicholas church and commemorates its 20th century bishops 

When people talk about locks on a canal, I don't think this is what they usually mean.

Mary, pondering tomorrow's redo at the Ljubljana airport

Trieste

 

Church (TBD)

The lighthouse at the southern end of the harbor 

Roman era entrance to the old walled city

Remaining column from the Roman forum 

View from the castle 

Roman era coat of arms

The ? Monument

Trieste, from the castle

Jewish Synagogue.  Built in the early 1900s when Trieste was home to 5000 Jews; today there are only 1/10 as many living here. There were soldiers guarding the building, which was closed (probably for the holidays)

References

Much of.the "Walk of Peace" is along what was the front lines between Italy and Austria-Hungary during WW1.  It passes many memorials, cemeteries, trenches, gun emplacements and monuments.  We decided to brush up on our WW1 history to better appreciate what we were walking by.

• The Guns of August (Barbara Tuchman)
• A 1962 Pulitzer winner that covers the 1st month of the war, and informs our domestic narrative of WW1
• The Eastern Front (Nick Lloyd)
• In a similar narrative style to the "Guns of August", this is one of the few detailed accounts of the Eastern front I could find in English
• A Farewell to Arms (Earnest Hemingway)
• A fictional account based on the author's time as an ambulance driver in WW1 Italy that was required reading in high school.  I reread it on the plane ride home.  The descriptions of the front included many of the places we walked by.
• WW1 for Dummies
• A basic introduction to all the key players, form those of us who mostly slept through (or forgot) our high school History classes
• To be identified:
• A video diagraming the 12 battles along the Isonso river between Italy and Austria-Hungary-Germany

In the Trenches

 (Under construction)

Odds and Ends

 

They all went to Italy and left me in Slovenia

The cows in these parts are all sporting very chic wet mop hair-doos

It's 144 steps to the top (I counted)

In the early 90,'s the Slovenians built giant rock "Tito" signs high on the slopes facing Italy, just to piss them off. 

We were hoping we'd found a banana slug, but it turned out to be a yellow zucchini, escaped from a nearby field.

This bench looks uncomfortable 

There are war monuments scattered everywhere near the front lines.  This one was built by the Romanians in honor of Archduke Joseph, using materials they had at hand

This dog, constructed from discarded war materials, was guarding the entrance to last night's lodging. He was one of many sculptures on the grounds made by the owner. 

The snack of choice during long walking stretches between breaks.

Mary, posing next to a large stalagmite 

Perhaps some of the mystery keys in my junk drawer could come in handy here

Slovenia has lots of hiking trails. The major ones each have their own markers.

This church's bells were quite insistent, and rang for a long time while we were walking past

What goes up must come down

 Today's walk, from the mountain hut where we spent the night to Tolmin was only a little farther than yesterday's walk: 9.4 miles. There was only 1650' of up, but almost 3500' of down. 

Leaving the mountain, the Soča valley shrouded in fog.

Croucus's in their full fall glory. Sheep for reference.

There are signs of WW1 bunkers and emplacements all along the trail

For more than 2 years beginning in 1915, a Hungarian regimen defended this hill from the Italian army, and build this shrine to their dead and wounded, chiseling tunnels and caves into the rock to protect them from artillery fire.

...

Up to Planina Kuhinja

Today's walk was 9.35 miles, but included 3500' of up, much of it quite steep.

Off we go, over Napoleon's bridge*

Following the "Walk of Peace"  insignia.

This area was on the front lines of the Italian/Austrian front during WW1.  Over the years the locals have repurposed the war dentifrice into memorials of remembrance.

The rain of two days ago has given way to blue sky's, so we can see the mountains that surround us,

except when we're in the forest.

The church at Dreznici.

A chapel, built by Italian soldiers during WW1, while defending the high ground from the Austrians.

We made it!

* Although the bridge was built by Napoleon's army in 1750, when the Venetians got here in 1616 there was already a wooden bridge at this spot, so they tore it down.  In WW1 the Austrians blew it up to keep the Italians from getting across. Then the Italians re-built a wooden bridge, then an Iron one.

That one was partially destroyed during WW2, and restored by the Slovenians.  It's easier to just call it Napoleon's bridge.

(to be continued)

A Rest Day?

 (Placeholder -we didn't actually get much rest)

- museum tour

- waterfall walk  (5.7mi)

- Tonocov Grad

- Italian war memorial (3mi)

Slovenian wildlife

The slugs around here must be derived from a variety of red bananas.

 

This must be a grate green lizard

Not a snake: a legless lizard

Run-of-the-mill lizard