Day 2: Alpe Adria Trail… we’re almost there!

As expected, the rain clouds rolled in last night and are likely to hang around for a few days. No biggie—we’ve got plenty of rain gear. We are a bit sad that the surrounding Julian Alps will be masked by the clouds.

After a lovely European breakfast at our B&B, we said "adijo" to Slovenia and "guten tag" to Austria.

Nothing beats a breakfast of meats, cheese, and fresh bread!

We traveled by bus and train, with time for a mid-morning coffee. I had my first chance to try a barley macchiato, and I’m definitely not complaining. It was tasty!

Barley Macchiato…It’s a coffee-like drink made with toasted, ground barley and milk.

There are countless reasons I admire Bob, but today, it’s for being such an astute traveler. He’s spent weeks practicing basic Slovenian words and phrases. Every local we’ve met speaks excellent English, and they all smile kindly when he mixes up his ‘zdravo’ (hello) and ‘hvala’ (thank you).

By early afternoon, we arrived in Velden am Wörthersee, our stop for the night.

The area is known for its iconic Velden Castle, originally built in the 1500’s. It’s now a hotel.

We’re staying at an equally lovely youth hostel on the lake. No complaints!

With a rainy afternoon to fill, we enjoyed a beer in the hostel lounge and played some Farkle (the most travel-friendly game we know).

Poor Bobby! He’s 0 for 2 in Farkle.

The hostel managed to squeeze us in for dinner, despite being packed with Austrian middle school kids here for a week of sports and games. The schnitzel was underwhelming, but Bob was thrilled with the mashed potatoes—his all-time favorite side.

This picture is a poor representation of just how many kids there were in the cafe… there’s got to be over 100 teenagers buzzing around this place and eating all the desserts!l

Tomorrow, we’ll begin our first day on the trail, covering 13 miles to Baumgartnerhohe, a remote and charming mountain lodge. The trail will take us through southern Austria for two days before dropping back into Slovenia. So, two more days of German before Bob can resume practicing his hellos and thank yous in Slovene!

We’re both looking forward to some trekking tomorrow.

Gute Nacht to you all!