3 countries, 2 bikes, 1 pleasure

FOR A CAPPUCCINO

Our tour starts in Villach, the lively town on the Drau, where people really know how to celebrate. It is known as Austria's carnival stronghold and the traditional Villach Church Day with its preceding customs week (every year at the end of July/beginning of August) is legendary. We drive towards Italy on the main road and can admire the striking rock face of the Dobratsch on the right, which was created by a rockfall in the 14th century. We continue across the border to Tarvisio/Tarvisvis. The small town welcomes us with Italian flair and we make our first stop at the Enoteca Kirchenwirt bar on the main square to enjoy a good Italian cappuccino.

OVER THE PASS ROAD

Strengthened, we set off over the Predil Pass (1,156 m) into Slovenia. The approximately 30-kilometre-long pass road leads south of Tarvisio past the old mine and the turquoise-green lake (Lago del Predil), is not very busy and has some nice hairpin bends and plenty of scenery. The national border, which used to be hotly contested, runs along the top of the pass. Impressive monuments, such as the dying lion, and three ruined fortresses are reminders of the battles during the Napoleonic Wars and the First World War. Now we descend the mountain and enter the valley of the rushing mountain river Koritnica, which has created a gorge with deep troughs near the Kluže fortress, which can be clearly seen from the bridge. A stunning natural landscape opens up all around us, as we are in the Triglav National Park with the highest mountain in Slovenia, the 2,864 m high Triglav.

ALWAYS ALONG THE RIVER

We continue to Bovec, where the Koritnica flows into the Soča/Isonzo nearby. The emerald green river is one of the most beautiful in Europe and is characterized by waterfalls, troughs, rapids and rocky gorges. If you want, you can simply stop and refresh yourself in the crystal-clear but ice-cold water. The Soča is a real natural gem and an Eldorado for fly fishermen on the hunt for the famous Marmorata trout. Lovers of "wilder" activities such as canyoning or rafting will find a true paradise here. Unfortunately, the river has a dark past, as it was the scene of the twelve bloody Isonzo battles fought between Italy and Austria-Hungary between 1915 and 1917. Real tragedies took place here and over a million soldiers lost their lives or were wounded. The young Ernest Hemingway was a volunteer medic on the Italian side, was seriously injured and wrote about his terrible experiences in the novel "In Another Country". The book can also be found in the "Museum of the First World War" in Kobarid, our next destination heading south, which is well worth a visit. This small town is marked in red on the culinary map of the world because it is home to Ana Roš, the best chef in the world. She spoils guests in her "Hiša Franko" with extraordinary creations. The onward journey is quite pleasant and takes us past Tolmin, where the crystal-clear Soča and Tolminka rivers flow together. In summer, metal fans meet here at the famous "MetalDays" music festival. The route continues to the charming village of Kanal ob Soči, right on the border with Italy. The old stone bridge is a real postcard motif and in August, cliff jumpers from all over the world meet here to plunge 17 meters into the depths in a competition. At Plave, we turn off towards Šmartno and arrive at the actual destination of our trip, the Goriška Brda, as the hilly wine region around Gorizia is known.

THE HILLS OF DELIGHTS

To get an impression of the wonderful landscape, we stop at the observation tower in Gonjače and in a few minutes we are on the platform at a height of 23 meters. In front of us are vineyards, picturesque villages on green hills, and on good days you can even see the sea. We ride on to Šmartno and leave our bikes at the gates of the medieval fortified village, which is surrounded by a wall with five towers. At Hiša Marica, a quaint restaurant in an old stone house, we treat ourselves to a delicious meal of homemade njoki with herbs, pršut and beef tartare - accompanied by a glass of the house wine "Belica". That's the way to live! Then we set off for Dobrovo, the main town on the Brda. During our visit to the Klet Brda community cellar, we learn lots of interesting facts about the wine-growing region. For example, that the majority of the 72 square kilometer municipal area is covered with vines and almost every one of the approximately 5,700 inhabitants has something to do with wine, that there are 140 independent winegrowers and a further 400 families supply their grapes to Klet Brda. The flagship wine is Rebula, made from an ancient autochthonous grape variety that was already popular at the Habsburg court in Vienna. A few years ago, they joined forces with their colleagues on the Italian side, the Collio, to form a joint, borderless wine region in order to market the fruity, fresh white wine, which now plays in the top league. For this reason, we drive on to Cormons in Italy to taste the Ribolla Gialla wines from the local winegrowers in the Enoteca. Just a few sips, of course, as we still have the journey home ahead of us.

LEISURELY CRUISING

However, it is quite relaxed and takes us north through the Friulian lowlands. We take quiet country roads through sleepy villages to Cividale, the Longobard town on the Natisone river, where you should take a look at the "Devil's Bridge" over the turquoise-blue river. From here, we cruise on to Tarcento, a small town with a pleasant climate, where rich aristocrats had sumptuous villas built, such as Villa Moretti. Now it's a brisk ride back towards Carinthia, with the high peaks of the Julian Alps already showing us the way. Via Gemona del Friuli, which is located on the wide riverbed of the Tagliamento, we continue to Venzone. Both towns were severely destroyed by the terrible earthquake in 1976, killing thousands of people. In the meantime, houses, historic buildings and the old fortress wall of Venzone have been rebuilt according to old photos, only some columns in the cathedral are still leaning and remind us of the destructive force of nature. On the trail of an old trade route, we follow the Fella River through the Canal del Ferro/Ice Valley and on through the Val Canale/Canal Valley. We pass the old fortress of Chiusaforte, which the Patriarch of Aquileia had built in the 12th century to collect tolls from passing merchants. This is followed by Pontebba-Pontafel, where the border between Italy and Austria used to run, as it is written on the old Myriameter stone. At Malborghetto, you can see the ruins of Fort Hensel on a hill on the left, where the Lion Monument commemorates the heroic death of Captain Hensel. With a small garrison of just 390 men, he was able to hold off the French corps of 15,000 soldiers for four days in May 1809, resulting in Napoleon's first defeat against Austria in the Battle of Aspern. We are approaching Tarvisio/Tarvisvisvis and those who are already hungry again should stop off at the Bar Dawit in Camporosso and review the eventful journey over a delicious Italian snack before heading back to Carinthia.