Kamnik > Limbus 120km and Limbus, Slovenia

August 19, 2014

Kamnik > Limbus 120km and Limbus, Slovenia > Graz, Austria 75km

[Originally posted Aug 19, 2014]

That’s a lovely accent you have there, New Jersey?

Austria.

Austria????

Well, then g’day mate! Let’s put another, shrimp on the barbie.

Let’s not.

Country, #7. Austria. It seems that from here on out countries will be much shorter stops. With England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia down - we are still looking forward to Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Belgrade, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Greece and Turkey. It’s kind of like when you drive to Bear Lake and pass through Randolph and Woodruff - don’t blink or you might miss it.

So we’re here at the bakery having our first apfelstrudel. It’s so interesting how you can travel a mere 10 or 20 km and culture and language and food change entirely, compared to back home where you have to travel hundreds of miles to see the slightest of variation.

Slovenia, it’s over. It’s rather unfortunate. Of all the countries we’ve been in thus far, it consistently packed the greatest punch. Yesterday was a picture perfect ride. The colors were amazing: a bright blue sky that stretched across the sky, a multitude of greens (corn, trees and fields all having their “own” green), the traditional orange clay colored roofs of homes sparkled across the rolling hilly countryside and homes that were mint green, lemon yellow and turquoise. It truly seemed that any moment of our ride yesterday could have been put on a postcard.

The last thing to mention (last the best of all the game) about Slovenia is their food. We have read a bit lately that a large movement towards “Slow Food” is present in Slovenia - a return to sustainable agriculture, locally sourced food, small farms and food prepared the way your grandmother would make it. And no where was this more prevalent than with our WS Hosts Chantal and Luca last night. They are a young couple, about our age, who met during one of their many travels in New Zealand. Our dinner was a delicious traditional stew of potatoes, corn, onions and beef (the way to best understand Slovenian food is to assume you’ve been working in the field/farm all day and return to your home late in the evening and you’re looking for something warm and hearty to fill you up - and you’ve got some traditional grub). Luca also enjoys experimenting with his own fruit and dairy concoctions (Chantal apologized that their kitchen looks a bit like a laboratory of many jars and bottles each fermenting and turning into a different treat - one of which was opened and sent fermented sour cherry compote flying across the room). This morning we were led into Maribor to the market (they don’t use the American term “farmer’s market” because I guess it is assumed that if it’s food it must have come from a farmer) where we picked up some homemade cheese, sour cherry yogurt, sausage, a bag of slives (plums - which when handed to the lady at the stand, were placed on a scale and came to a total of €1.44, but the lady said, no, no, no, €1.20 this is okay, and so Katy gave her €1.20 and she gave us €0.20 back as change - that’s my type of shopping) and some pears and then at the bakery picked up the densest, heartiest half loaf of bread I’ve ever set my hands on (never before have I picked up a loaf of bread and my first thought was, this thing feels like a weapon, I wonder if you’re allowed to bring it on a plane?).

And then a ride north towards Graz, Austria to stay with another WS couple. From reading this WS host’s blog, it seems as though a couple days ago he just won a 1,000km race around Swizterland (36 hours or so), so we will truly be in the home of a cyclist. Just another Tuesday afternoon, life as usual.

Expenses Day 1: €9 Food

Expenses Day 2: €15 Food