Day 7 - Kobarid
Thursday 29th June 2017
Everything is good here at the Bierhotel. So of course the buffet breakfast is excellent. German/Austrian brekkies usually are. Everything hinges on the quality of the bread rolls and today they are epic. There are boiled eggs, 4 or 5 different sliced meats, the same variety in the cheeses. The jams and marmalades are all in big jars and the butter is served as curly slices in little pots. Loads of different cereals and muesli stuff, fresh fruit of all kinds. No sticky-fingers plastic-wrapped portions in a good German breakfast. And the coffee is unlimited and good.
It is a murky morning and rain is in the air as we head off up Plöckenpass for the second time. Traffic is light and as we drop down the fabulous winding roads and hairpins (tournanti) on the Italian side the roads are drying fast and the sun is trying to shine.
After a few miles we turn off the main road and start the climb up the Cason di Lanza Pass on Attilla's Route. The road is narrow and poorly surfaced as it climbs up through the forest to the 1,522m summit.
The rifugio at the summit is where I had planned our stop over before the rains came last night. It's a good job we didnt carry on then; the road is pretty rough and the going is slow.
The south side is not a lot better. There have been rock slides in places and we have to keep a keen eye out for rocks in the road.
There are a few nice tournanti though and as the weather continues to improve we wind down the valley to Pontebba and a much needed coffee in the town square.
I love this part of Italy. The great Passo di Pramollo (Naßfeldpass) runs down to the Canal Valley here, just to the west of our Attila's Route, and Predil Pass and the Sella Nevea road lead into Slovenia.
After coffee we continue south down the SS13 to Chiusaforte and find the Sella Nevea route. The climb up to Predil lake starts here. As does the rain, so after a few miles we stop to shelter in the porch of a tiny church in order to don our waterproof outer skins.
We are joined by two German guys on new GSA bikes with all the trimmings who do the same.
We stop at the rather scruffy cafe on the shores of Predil Lake and take some pasta on board. Then we are back on the road and heading up and over the Predil Pass into Slovenia.
I love this country. It is rugged and beautiful, full of fine people and just exudes history. It's a beautiful run down the Soca Valley to Kobarid (Caparetto in Italian). We know this place well. In 2014 we watched Germany win the World Cup final in a small bar in Kobarid. We always camp at Kamp Koren above the Soca river gorge next to the Napoleon Bridge.
The rain comes on heavier than ever. It's deja vu all over again. Mick and I got a serious soaking on this road a couple of years ago. By the time we get to the supermarket just near the Napoleon Bridge the rain has eased up. We stock up on essential supplies before checking in at the camp office. The rain holds off as we get the tents up. There is even an hour of hot sunshine before the sun dips down behind the surrounding mountains.
We have a couple of beers in the bar and catch up with our emails and web stuff. We are in our sleeping bags before it gets fully dark; We've been in and out of three countries today; it has been a long and tiring day.
Everything is good here at the Bierhotel. So of course the buffet breakfast is excellent. German/Austrian brekkies usually are. Everything hinges on the quality of the bread rolls and today they are epic. There are boiled eggs, 4 or 5 different sliced meats, the same variety in the cheeses. The jams and marmalades are all in big jars and the butter is served as curly slices in little pots. Loads of different cereals and muesli stuff, fresh fruit of all kinds. No sticky-fingers plastic-wrapped portions in a good German breakfast. And the coffee is unlimited and good.
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| Damp day on Plöckenpass summit |
After a few miles we turn off the main road and start the climb up the Cason di Lanza Pass on Attilla's Route. The road is narrow and poorly surfaced as it climbs up through the forest to the 1,522m summit.
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| Maybe Attila the Hun woz ere |
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| Rifugio Casera on Lanza Pass |
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| Rough road through the forest |
The rifugio at the summit is where I had planned our stop over before the rains came last night. It's a good job we didnt carry on then; the road is pretty rough and the going is slow.
The south side is not a lot better. There have been rock slides in places and we have to keep a keen eye out for rocks in the road.
There are a few nice tournanti though and as the weather continues to improve we wind down the valley to Pontebba and a much needed coffee in the town square.
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| wouldn't want to hit that bugger |
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| Winding down to Pontebba |
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| Coffee stop in Pontebba |
After coffee we continue south down the SS13 to Chiusaforte and find the Sella Nevea route. The climb up to Predil lake starts here. As does the rain, so after a few miles we stop to shelter in the porch of a tiny church in order to don our waterproof outer skins.
We are joined by two German guys on new GSA bikes with all the trimmings who do the same.
We stop at the rather scruffy cafe on the shores of Predil Lake and take some pasta on board. Then we are back on the road and heading up and over the Predil Pass into Slovenia.
I love this country. It is rugged and beautiful, full of fine people and just exudes history. It's a beautiful run down the Soca Valley to Kobarid (Caparetto in Italian). We know this place well. In 2014 we watched Germany win the World Cup final in a small bar in Kobarid. We always camp at Kamp Koren above the Soca river gorge next to the Napoleon Bridge.
The rain comes on heavier than ever. It's deja vu all over again. Mick and I got a serious soaking on this road a couple of years ago. By the time we get to the supermarket just near the Napoleon Bridge the rain has eased up. We stock up on essential supplies before checking in at the camp office. The rain holds off as we get the tents up. There is even an hour of hot sunshine before the sun dips down behind the surrounding mountains.
We have a couple of beers in the bar and catch up with our emails and web stuff. We are in our sleeping bags before it gets fully dark; We've been in and out of three countries today; it has been a long and tiring day.
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| All set up at Kamp Koren |
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| The Soca River gorge spanned by the Napoleon Bridge |
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