Lake Bled and Castle
Klagenfurt Airport
He gave us the scenic drive back by going over the Lobil Pass instead of taking the autobahn through the 8-km tunnel into Slovenia.
Whimsical woodpile near Lobilpass
17 Sep - Our base was in Ribcev Lav, a small village at the end of Lake Bohinj, a noted destination for hikers and other nature lovers. We bunked in the apartment hotel Triglav (photo, right) which had rudimentary cooking facilities in each room so we (photo, above right, Apartment Hotel Triglav, Storza Fusina)
Our first flights were at Gozd, not far from Jessinica where we had a 15 min walk up a trail to the privately owned launch. Unfortunately (or fortunately considering how jet-lagged we all were) it was not very soarable and we all had two short flights.
18 August - Our next flight, however was from the world-famous Kobala launch near Tolmin and it was definitely soarable. Most of our group got up high above launch and flew from ridge to ridge above the emerald-green Soca River past Kobarid to a turnpoint at Stol Pk, about 27 km from Kobala. Then we turned around and flew back (some) to the landing zone (LZ) at Tolmin. It was the high point of our Slovenian flying (although we didn't know it at the time - we were thinking that everyday would be a cross-country day!). The photo below shows the view west towards Stoll from Kobala with Tolmin and its conical hill and fortress in the near distance.
Tolmin valley from launch looking W to Stoll
To get to Tolmin from Lake Bohinj, one could take a road full of hairpin turns and logging trucks over the Sorica
pass, but the easy way is to drive the short distance to Bohinjska Bistrica (Ya gotta love these names!) and get on the car train, chug through a bunch of tunnels and drive off just a short distance from Tolmin.
19 August - We went back to Tolmin but the wind was unconducive for another cross country flight. Our guides suggested a quick flight to the LZ just beyond the conical hill and fortress (photo, below) and then a trip to another flying site.
An hour's ride put us near Nova Gorica and the Lijak (lee yock) ridge but, after a stop to assess conditions, Brett decided that the Kovk (pronounced like coke) ridge would be a better bet. Soaring the six miles of vertical limestone walls in the late afternoon sunlight was another highlight of the trip. The clifftops were a mix of forest and
meadows delineated by white rock walls - very scenic.
And the food and drink a short walk from the LZ at Pizzerija Anja made a perfect end to the day.
20 Aug - Wednesday - After a late start the group headed for the lift above Lake Bohinj to fly the Vogel site. Unfortunately, we were too late and the wind turned "over the back". To add injury to insult, it started to rain as we were on our way down on the chairlift. Later, the sky cleared a bit and we went back up to find that the wind was still OTB. We didn't even get off the chairlift - jus
t rode on down. By midafternoon, however, the sky had cleared and we drove up a private road to the trailhead for Vogar launch. It seemed like more than a kilometer to walk even if it was mostly downhill. Launch was short and steep which was good because the wind had died and conditions were beginning to look iffy. We got a nice scenic sledder to the LZ on the shore of Lake Bohinj (photo, above right with Hotel Triglav, Lake Bohinj is farther right).
The evening of the 20th the whole group went to dinner at the Gostilna Rupa in nearby Srednija Vas. The design echoed the construction of the Slovenian hay shed (photo, left), but the food was world class. If there was had been any negative feelings about Slovenian cuisine, Gostilna Rupa dispelled them. We missed the Thursday night pig roast but the venison and pork dishes were excellent as were the veggies and desserts. Among other celebrations this was my birthday party and C.J. gave me a handmade King of Hearts card (photo below left).
21 August - Thu - Vogel was the call; Brett's weather forecasting really worked today as the NE winds kicked 
in. C.J. and I went up for the second round hoping to get soaring flights (and trying to avoid paying the 13 Euro lift fee more than once). I launched early (10:44) remembering that the wind had reversed around 11:00 yesterday and managed to get up enough to cross the lake (photo, right) and scratch around on the south-facing side for a bit. C.J. did much better and crossed the lake and soared the cliffs all the way to the end of the lake. I had to go back up a second time to get a flight that came close to matching hers. 22 August - Fri - Back to Tolmin with great plans to go deep to Krn Peak and jump to Stoll and fly at least to the Italian border and back. However, conditions were not the same as on our first Tolmin flights and many of us "dirted" early after trying to push too far too fast. Tina and Steve were the only ones to make the task. We watched and listened to them on the radio from a cafe in Kobarid until the van picked us up. Still, it was a heck of a lot better than another day at one of our local NW sites.
Because it was Friday, the queue for the train was longer than usual and we had to take the windy, mountain road through Sorica. We stopped for dinner at "the fish place" on the way and had some interesting dishes including a "fisherman's salad" which seemed to be German potato salad served cold. Good though!
23 Aug - Sat - Rain was the forecast and, sure enough, it rained on and off all day with occasional thunder and lightning as well. We did some equipment repair, downloaded/uploaded tracklogs and photos, and got some rest. Most of the group went to Rozle, a pizza place in Ribcev Lav for dinner and we had some Croatian (?) dishes Cevapcici (small, hamburger-stuffed sausages) and raznijici (turkey on skewers), both of which were very good. Steve had discovered Radler, a drink with a mix of beer and lemonade or other soft drink, and turned us on to that a few days ago so that had become our drink of choice.
24 Aug - Sun - The plan had been to go to Gerlitzen, near Villach just over the border in Austria, but the wind direction and velocity were wrong so we did a tourist trip for the morning hoping that conditions would improve. Vintgar Gorge is near Bled and it's about a one mile walk along a steep-walled, well, gorge on suspended wooden walkways (photo, left). The river was flowing fast due to the recent rain and did not have the glass-like clarity that is its usual hallmark. Around noon our guides got back from picking up a new wing for Mike and brought us back to Bohinj where a number of people went up to fly Vogel again. We'd had such good flights two days ago that we just hung out in the busy LZ. That evening the whole group got rides to near the end of the lake and Don Andro's Italian restaurant.25 Aug - Mon - Today we got the Austria trip. It was about an hour or so to drive there once we got the bakery, petrol, banking and whatnot done. Like Vogel, there was a gondola and then a chairlift to the summit. It was
pretty chilly up there in the clouds at 1900 meters. C.J. and I waited to see if it would become less cloudy and more soarable while others launched for what would be multiple sled rides for some. There were lots of other pilots and many were doing acro over the large lake below, the Ossiacher See. When we finally launched around 14:00 we flew through the clouds edges and found it sunny just beyond...and soarable. We managed to stay up for almost 40 minutes and felt no need to go back up for another flight. Near the end of our flights we had each crossed the lake to get a better view of the castle on the far ridge (photo, above right). Apparently there was some sort of demonstration of raptors and/or falconry going on in an arena within the castle grounds.26 Aug - Tue - Took the car train to Tolmin for another XC attempt but it was blown out. Our resourceful guides headed us off to Lijak where it might be possible to fly the SW-facing site even though the upper level winds were strong NE. We shared the launch with a party of Czech pilots and, when their leader launched and soared, C.J. and I, Reed and Dan got ready to go, too. We were mindful of the NE winds and when the air got turbulent suddenly, we went out to land finding strong ground wind from the SW. Later most of the rest of our group launched and had long, high flights. We headed back early enough to have a farewell banquet at Gostilna Rupa and the food and service were just as good this time.
27 Aug - Wed - Brett arranged to have Urshka (sp?) borrow her father's car so she could drive the three of us to
the airport in Klagenfurt. Dan was going to rent a car and fly the sites nearby; we were renting a car and joining seven others of our group in the Italian Dolomites. We took the autobahn and then the autostrada for the first part of the trip in our rented Audi, then we started up the highway to Cortina and over one pass after another.(photo, right, at our lunch stop in one of the cheesemaking towns) The switchbacks were so numerous that they were numbered (tornanti). Eventually we reached the area around Sella Pass, got in contact with our group and met at the Rifugio Carlo Valentini right at the pass. We were on half-board and the dinner that night was excellent.28 Aug - Thu - After a hearty breakfast buffet (after all, it was a climber's hut), we scoped out the flying possibilities and some of us started right from the Rifugio to hike the paved trail/road to Col Rudella and the take off. C.J. and several others drove down into Campitello di Fassa in the rented van and took the gondola up to launch. I was about ready to take off around 1100 when they reached the top. My flight took me to Sella Pass
with the Grupo di Sella (photo, left) in front of me and the Sasso Lungo to my left, then towards Canazei and Campitello where I had to scratch for a long time before getting back up and heading across the next side valley to the W. My flight track shows a ragged pentagon-shape ending at the LZ in Campitello. C.J. also had an excellent flight getting so high that she could look down on the featureless desert atop the Grupo di Sella, then flying down the valley to where it narrowed enough to make landing very sketchy. After getting back together, the two of us had lunch in town at a sidewalk cafe on the main square - expensive but fun. Others went back up for another flight and Steve's flight fulfilled his longtime dream to fly to the Marmolada and look down on the glacier. We returned to the Rifugio for another night.29 August - Fri - In the morning many of the group hiked up to fly one last time before heading back to Venice and the flight home. We decided to skip the flight since the previous day's had been so incredibly good. Instead
we packed the Audi and went down the north side of Sella Pass to Val Gardena (photo, left) just to see what it looked like. When we returned later in the morning to Sella Pass, every parking area was filled and the roadsides were packed with hikers, climbers and tourists - it must have been the last gasp of the August holiday. We headed down valley and then turned to climb through forest, then over Passo Rolle and down out of the mountains to Feltre and Belluno. Finally we made our way
to Pieve d'Alpago and the winding road to Rifugio Dolada located meters away from the Monte Dolada launch (photo, right). After checking in with Mauro and Francesca, and noting that people were still soaring and toplanding, we geared up and got in another Italian flight. I managed a toplanding after several tries while C.J. chose the LZ in the valley where she was greeted by Felice with a welcome drink. Dinner was included at the Rifugio; it was definitely Italian and very good, with wine, too.30 August - Sat - Mauro forecast high pressure and late launching if we wanted to soar and try to go XC, but we 
opted for a morning hike to a small col above the Rifugio where we could look down on students taking off for top-to-bottoms. Since it still wasn't soarable by the time we had returned and loaded up the car, we decided, based on Mauro's suggestion to head for Sillian in Ost-Tirol. The route through the mountains was, as usual, beautiful. We saw people flying at Sexton/Sesso but continued on across the bo
rder to Sillian where we stopped in at the TI to find a place to stay. They arranged a nice apartment for us and we moved in for three days at Haus Margreth. (ad, right) 
Later we drove to the Blue Sky LZ and met some pilots from Germany who spoke good English and gave us good advice about flying and where to eat. We arranged to meet Michaela and her boyfriend Jurgen and their friend Michael at the Blue Sky shop in the morning. Even though people were flying, it looked awfully windy, so we decided to get cleaned up and go for an early dinner at Gasthof Burg Heimfels, a traditionally-decorated inn just beneath a ruined castle at the edge of town - great food and ambiance.
opted for a morning hike to a small col above the Rifugio where we could look down on students taking off for top-to-bottoms. Since it still wasn't soarable by the time we had returned and loaded up the car, we decided, based on Mauro's suggestion to head for Sillian in Ost-Tirol. The route through the mountains was, as usual, beautiful. We saw people flying at Sexton/Sesso but continued on across the bo
rder to Sillian where we stopped in at the TI to find a place to stay. They arranged a nice apartment for us and we moved in for three days at Haus Margreth. (ad, right) 
Later we drove to the Blue Sky LZ and met some pilots from Germany who spoke good English and gave us good advice about flying and where to eat. We arranged to meet Michaela and her boyfriend Jurgen and their friend Michael at the Blue Sky shop in the morning. Even though people were flying, it looked awfully windy, so we decided to get cleaned up and go for an early dinner at Gasthof Burg Heimfels, a traditionally-decorated inn just beneath a ruined castle at the edge of town - great food and ambiance.31 Aug - The Blue Sky shop was busy in the morning as a tour to Lake Como was leaving as we arrived (Jurgen had just returned late yesterday from one to Umbria). It was a full-service shop, for sure, with wings, harnesses, flight suits, instruments and clothing. In fact, it was a Swing demo center and also provided other demo wings
such as the Skywalk that Michaela was flying. When the three Germans arrived, we determined that Sillian was not a good choice but that the Obertilliach site (photo, left, of village from the air) might be good and it was only a 15 minute drive to the chairlift. We may have launched a bit too early, because no one had very long flights but later, when we were sitting on the terrace of Cafe Weiler, we could see lots of gliders soaring. When we returned to Sillian, the wind seemed a bit strong, but we decided to drive up to the Stalpe launch and check it out. Conditions
were very light and Michael took off and soared near the gondola lift line. Jurgen volunteered to drive our car down so we decided to fly. It was a mix of ridge and thermals. After a time, C.J. and I headed out to get a closer view of Burg Heinfels (photo, right) and ran into strong wind in the valley. C.J. actually hit a gust that pushed her backwards at 13 mph. Fortunately, the LZ was large and our landings were uneventful. By this time we felt we had been adopted by Michaela, Jurgen, Michael and his girl friend Ingrid, and we agreed to go to Italy for dinner at the Helm Hotel in Innichen. Another great meal, with lots of wine!1 Sep - Sun - Back to Obertilliach but this time we walked down from the lift terminus instead of up, and it was
soarable right 
away. The cloudbase was low however and we weren't able to get up high above the ridge as hoped - a cross-country flight to Sillian being the goal. We all ended up back in the LZ again finding the wind in the valley to be very strong. We went back to the same cafe (photo, right) for drinks and pastry and were introduced to Oma's Uber Druber Torte, a cream-filled, calorie-laden cake. We were on our own again as we parted with our German friends so we went back to the same Italian (literally) restaurant to try the very-thin crust pizzas.2 Sep - Mon - With our wings packed as airline luggage, we departed Sillian along the Hochpustertal to Lienz, the first city we had passed through in quite a while. We made our first stop in Greifenburg to check out the LZ
for the Emberger Alm, site of a recent World HG comp, and obviously good for PG based on the number of wings in the air and packing up on the ground. Conditions did not look stellar although people were soaring, anyway we had all our gear packed away. We stopped for lunch in Sachsenburg, a small town with an old market square from 1730 (photo, left) and a Roman milestone. We avoided the autobahn and drove through Spittal, near Villach and past a cloud-covered Gerlitzen on the way to Klagenfurt. The TI helped us arrange a night at a hotel on the edge of the Old Town and we spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the mostly pedestrian-only street. Based on the advice of the Hotel Liebestegger's manager we had dinner at Zum Augustine, a brew pub in a historic building. Trying to avoid our "last day bad experiences" we made an effort to get back to the hotel before it got completely dark.3 Sep - Wed - The manager advised us that we didn't need to be at the airport two hours before our flight and he was right - the doors didn't even open until 0500 and our flight was at 0600. On the way to the airport we were fortunate to find a 24/7 gas station so we could fill up and return the Audi without additional charge.(BTW, we put about 1000 km on the rental car and only put 75 Euros worth of diesel in it - a little less than one full tank.)
We had a five-hour layover in Vienna and then a long flight to Chicago on Austrian Airlines with two meals and lots of beverages (including the complimentary bottle of water everyone received when boarding. We had a couple of hours to kill in Chicago, then another long flight to SeaTac - no food on domestic flights, of course, but at least it wasn't a full flight and we had three seats to ourselves. By the time we got home, we had been travelling just about 24 hours. But it was still a great trip!
