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| Day 2: July 11,
2007 - Velika Planina |
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Ljubljana - Velika Planina - Bohinj
Today's trip takes us to the land of shepherds
in the Velika Planina of the Kamnisko-Savinsjske
Alps. A modest hike will bring us to the Great
Highlands (5,305') where some 50 wooden huts
are scattered around. These conical-roofed
huts are centuries old but still in use by
shepherds today. We'll have a chance to visit
with these shepherds and perhaps even sample
some of their fresh curd and sour milk. In
the late afternoon we'll drive to Bohinj,
in the alpine section of Slovenia. (4-5 hours
hiking; 1,926' elevation gain/loss.)
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We
gathered in the lobby with our bags and departed
at 9AM for Velika Planina, a ski resort about
30 minutes outside of the city. Along the
route, we stopped for water and some fresh
lunch supplies.
A cable car took us to our starting point
and we hiked up the ski service roads to the
herdsman settlement. This settlement preserves
a way of life for people with cows. Each herdsman
(historically male) has a number of cows to
look after. In the past, if they kept the
cows from being killed by wolves, they would
get more cows to look after. The milk from
the cows is used to make cheese, sour cream,
and yogurt. Each herdsman would carve out
a unique design out of wood that they would
use to emboss the cheese so that everyone
knew who made it.
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| Shepherd huts |
Hut reflections |
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After hiking through
the village and dodging cows and rain clouds,
we stopped for lunch at the home of one of
the locals. Due to impending rain, she generously
allowed all of us to squeeze into her kitchen
for lunch. We sampled some of her yogurt (very
sour) and a nice mild cheese that she produced
3 days ago. The cheese takes five liters of
milk to make a 6-inch round!
On the way down, we kept our eyes on the skies
as we heard a rumble or two of thunder. We
scampered back to the cable car, took our
ride down, and climbed into the van for our
drive to Bohinj (note: j is silent, o is short).
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| Our rooms are in
the Hotel Zlatorog at the far end of the lake.
On the way through the town of Bled, we did
see a sign for a rowing center - we knew it
was here somewhere. The group cleaned ourselves
up and met in the lobby to head out for dinner.
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