15508

Slovenia: Geocaching from Skaručna to Šmartno

Autumn. Nada, Bronco and me decided to have a walk near Ljubljana with geocaching. We were successful and we picked up 13 of them and made a little more than 6 kilometres.

  

Bronco's new training - finding geocaches.

  

Along Gračenica creek.

 

Swampy area.

 

Bronco found a cache.

Hiking and geocaching.

Geocaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "Alpenschlumpfine", TB8F2VE, "Memory Lane Tag", TB9JVH7, "Romulan4's Salute to Birds of Prey", TB5K3T8 and "Get a photo of a tree", TB8JV00):

- #13 - Povodje trail, GC97Y7P

- #12 - Povodje trail, GC97EJG

- #11 - Povodje trail, GC98FGC

- #10 - Povodje trail, GC97Y74

- #09 - Povodje trail, GC98FG8

- #08 - Povodje trail, GC97EHZ

- #07 - Povodje trail, GC98FFX

- #06 - Povodje trail, GC97Y6X

- #05 - Povodje trail, GC97EJA

- #04 - Povodje trail, GC98FF0

- #03 - Povodje trail, GC97Y6F

- #02 - Povodje trail, GC97Y0W

- #01 - Povodje trail, GC97E9F

#hiking #geocaching #CatahoulaLeopardDog

15507

Slovenia: Hike & Fly - Sveti Peter

Nice days continued and with Rok we did a short hike & fly trip to Sveti Peter above Begunje.

Hike & fly - Sveti Peter above Begunje na Gorenjskem - Garmin Connect.

#hiking #paragliding #mountains #Kamnik-Savinja Alps

15506

Slovenia: Hike & Fly - Kladivo

Another wind free day in the mountains and I was on my way to the nearby peak called Kladivo, 2094 m. I started hiking from Matizovec in the fog and when I reached mountain pasture Kofce, the only thing above me was the clear sky and the Sun. I continued past Šija all the way to the top of Veliko Kladivo. I had a short break and since the fog didn't move at all, I decided to fly through it back home.

When you feel sorry for all the people in the dark.

View to Zavetišče na planini Šija mountain hut.

On the border between Austria and Slovenia with the view to the Karawanks and Julian Alps.

Top of Veliko Kladivo, 2094 m.

Our neighbours in Austria had the same weather.

The fog remained on the same position for quite a while, so I decided to fly through it.

Moments of fear.

Optical phenomenon called glory.

Let's dive into the cold and darkness.

Flying with instruments. Without them I would probably hit some tree or a mountain.

Home sweet home - Garmin Connect.

#hiking #paragliding #mountains #Karawanks

15504

Slovenia: Hike & Fly - Dobrča

Rok and me gathered on a nice afternoon in Bistrica pri Tržiču and Aleš took us to Bistriška planina. From there we hiked to take off site Podgorska planina on Dobrča, where we spread our wings. Conditions were great, so we were quickly airborne and on our way back to the valley, where we landed in Bistrica pri Tržiču - Garmin Connect.

Rok preparing his Viola.

On our way to the valley, with the view to Rok and the Košuta ridge.

Sveti Jurij - St. George's Church and Gassner's Vila and above them Rok with Viola.

#hiking #paragliding #mountains #Kamnik-Savinja Alps

15501

Slovenia: Hike & Fly - Potočnikova planina

Samo called me in the morning and asked me how is the take off site on Potočnikova planina. I said, I can join you and we will see. Everything was quickly arranged and we we started hiking a little past 10 a.m. Foggy weather scared us a little bit, but when we reached the take off site, everything was in order, so we simply spread our wings and flew back to the valley.

At the take off site. We were lucky, since the layer of fog was just above us.

Landing site near my home - Garmin Connect.

Samo approaching the landing site.

 

One from close and one from far.

 

Bronco and Nada visited us.

#hiking #paragliding #mountains #Karawanks

15500

Slovenia: MTB - Bistriška planina and Sergo #6

6th memorial cycling for Sergo was on today and I decided to participate. As usual, the destination was mountain pasture Bistriška planina, where we had a little longer pause and then we descended over the Rock'n'roll trail to Ravne. On more stop and then we lit the candle at the cemetery. We continued back to our starting point, where the goulash warmed us up.

 

On our way to Bistriška planina.

6th memorial for Sergo.

We lit the candle.

Tona created a video of the event - Sergo 2021.

Mountain bike ride tor Sergo - Garmin Connect.

#MTB #mountains #trails #Kamnik-Savinja Alps

15498

Slovenia: Day in a Spa

Nada and me had a free day and we decided to spend it in the spa. In the morning we started driving across Slovenia to Podčetrtek. On our way we stopped by the Žusem castle and we made a short hike to the Tower of Love. Soon we arrived to Podčetrtek, where we entered Wellness Orhidelia. Saunas and pools were waiting for us and we were ended our visit very satisfied. On our way back home we stopped in Chocolaterie Olimje, where we bough some goodies for home.

 

Approaching Žusem Castle (German Sussenheim), that stood on a mounded pier above the settlement of Dobrina pri Žusmu, southeast of Šentjur. It was built at the beginning of the 13th century, underwent numerous alterations and was abandoned around 1781, leaving only ruins of it.

First time the Žusem castle is indirectly mentioned is in the year 1203 in a gift document of a knight, ministerial of Krško Poppo de Suzzenheima, and directly in 1364 as vest Suzzenhaim. In this year the castle was inherited by Counts of Celje from brothers Heinzel and Albreht.

In 1635 the castle was ransacked and demolished by rebelled peasants, in 1695 it was burned. Until 1871 owners have changed and the last among them, L.Fieglmuller, left the castle to collapse in the mentioned year, so he would not have to pay taxes for the castle.

From now on, Saruman will guard the castle.

After the visit to the castle, I had to attend the meeting.

 

Our next goal was a hike to Žusem, 669 m.

  

For ascent, we chose a little more demanding path.

 

The Žusem quarry is located near the peak.

The Tower of Love on Žusem is located on the north-eastern part of Veliki špiček (669 m), the highest point on Žusem, representing the northern edge of the Kozjansko region.

The idea of setting up a 25.90 m-high outlook tower from larch wood, which is the highest wooden tower in Slovenia, arose in the Žusem Mountaineering Association some time ago. The tower was named "The Tower of Love" because a church consecrated to St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, is located on the hill of Žusem. The princes of Žusem, first mentioned as early as 1203, found their shelter on Žusem, as still proven by castle ruins and numerous legends circulating about them.

Nada and Tuši on top of the Tower of Love.

The view from the 25.9 m high tower is breath-taking. You can see Croatia, Hungary, Austria, as well as Triglav.

 

There are 116 stairs leading to the top of the tower, with 22 landings in between and two viewing platforms.

Staff less bar.

 

Time to continue towards the Wellness Orhidelia.

After the day in a spa, we visited village Olimje. On the photo we can see Olimje Castle, currently a Franciscan monastery, and a local Chocolaterie.

 

Walk to find a geocache in Olimje.

The production of chocolate products in Olimje is linked to the ancestor Alfonz Videtič, who worked as a confectioner in Vienna at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries until 1915. Rudolf Videtič always lived with Kozjansko and always had a desire to return to his roots. He bought the old folk school in Olimje and made a chocolate line from two classes. The Olimje chocolate factory has expanded over the years and today has four chocolate boutiques in Slovenia and the recognizable "Sladkosti iz Olimja" brand.

Geocaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "Alpenschlumpfine", TB8F2VE, "Memory Lane Tag", TB9JVH7, "Romulan4's Salute to Birds of Prey", TB5K3T8 and "Get a photo of a tree", TB8JV00):

- Grad Žusem, GC6VYDX, where I dropped of trackable item "Saruman NC Travel Bug Dog Tag", TB6D3EZ

- E7_SLO_67, GC3P87B

- Zelišca in sladkarije / Herbs and sweets, Multi, GC1Q8E7

#hiking #spa  #sauna #geocaching #chocolate