Muta

I was curious as to what Slovenia felt and looked like. While in Austria we rode along the most Eastern part, along the border with Hungary. The new map from the ADAC had us pass through the most South Eastern city of Bad Radkersburg in Austria but we were close to the large Slovenian town of Maribor (Marburg). We could have stopped for a day or two at Bad Radkersburg, an old walled city with wonderful quiet streets and a relaxed atmosphere. Yet we wanted to end up in Slovenia so Maribor was a consideration for our fist stop in the Balkans.
It is always an experience to enter a new country; immediately the language changes. All the street signs are in different colors. The curbs are even painted differently. All signage is new to the eye and it takes awhile to get used to the new. The roads seem new, different and unusual. This is not the case when one drives from PA to NY but there is a much bigger difference over here in Europe. We crossed the open border without showing our passports. The old installations for passport control are still in place but all gates are open and we rode past those old aggravations.
Our first town after crossing the border was the town of Šentilij. I noticed the hat-check over the letter S, a special character that changed the pronunciation. Now my German, English, Spanish and a little French do not help at all. I do not know any of the Slavic languages spoken in the Balkans. Lucky for me, a lot of people speak English so that is what we will use from now on.
Riding thru Maribor made it clear this is not the town to spend the night. Maribor is way too big, way too busy. An hour west is the town of Dravograd and a pleasant ride along the Drava River brought us to the Information Bureau, still open, even on a Sunday. The best hotel they could find for us was Euro 96 per night, which included breakfast. I asked for a different, less expensive place and they guided us back to Muta or about 9 Km back on the same road we just travelled. Ok, off we went again. We had a price from the Travel info place of Euro 29 per person but when we got there is was the price for groups, not individuals. The proprietor was nice however; we compromised on 32 Euro per night, incl. breakfast. Wow! What a place it turned out to be. Wonderful! (www.gostilna-prilipi.si) our room was large and very comfortable with a view of the mountains surrounding us. The food served to us was outstanding in that it was all natural. It was Slovenian food; picked fresh that day and used in the kitchen to make delicious meals. The next morning, our breakfast was as astounding as the dinner we had the night before.
Next door to the gostilna (family run place) was a small church from 1052 which was dedicated by Pope Leo the 9th. One needed an appointment to get inside this jewel of a church but we were lucky, a painter who was working on the church let us in, free of charge. Should you ever come past this place, give it a try. Located right next to the road it is hard to miss. Muta itself is not much of a town but then, neither was Dravograd, the town we did not say in.
One more note about Maribor or Marburg. Before World War 1, this area was under the influence of the Austrian Empire, the Habsburgs, as they were called. German was the main language used at the time. A lot of towns had German names that were later changed to Slovenian names. Slovenia has a long history but I will explain what I know later.

Slowly thru Austria

The month of May is an early season in the Alpine area we are travelling through. Yes, all is green and it looks fantastic but the temperature is still cold. The small towns we visit on our bikes are just waking up from a sleepy winter. Tractors are plowing the fields; hay is being cut and laid out to dry. Cows graze and look at us with their bovine features. Life is good in Austria.
The ADAC map takes us to the really local places. The roads are not outstandingly stunning. This ADAC map is not only a layout of the high passes. We did the Grossglockner Pass last year and some of the Italian curves and dangerous sections I wrote about in 2009. This year with the new map, we are rolling along gently. Not that the roads are easy, but these are not the extreme sections one can find in Austria. If you like to meet the locals, this is the tour for you.
We rode that day until we had enough and found a bed for the night in a local Austrian Gasthaus in Fischbach (www.strudlwirt.at). The owner was cutting the lawn but stopped to show us our room. Dinner was cooked for us downstairs in the tavern, the bikes had to be pushed into the back yard under an overhang and we were good for the night.
I had asked around town for a private Zimmer, a place in a private home but while the signs are on the wall, the owners were not yet set up to receive guests. It is too early in the season, I guess. Life progresses in a certain rhythm. Between 1 and 3 PM all stores are still closed. Sunday is a day for church. Neighbors say hello and chat a little when they meet someone they know. Prices are not that low, however. A room for one night with breakfast is $ 60 or 70 Euro. Gasoline is 1.44 Euro per liter for regular; at least that is what we paid. I did notice that the octane rating starts at 91 Octane. Not the low stuff one gets in the U.S. I have seen gasoline of 99 Octane at pumps. Lots of people drive diesel cars and one needs to watch out when filling up the bike, since the diesel hose hangs right next to the gasoline hose. Don’t be asleep and put diesel into your bike. I did this in reverse, years ago, I put gasoline into a diesel car and I can tell you, it was an expensive experience. I had to pay for the repair of the rental car and it took days to get the car fixed.
There are differences in language, in Austria. In a restaurant, I had to ask what a Jause was. We do not have this word in German. The server in the hotel could not explain it, so I ordered it anyhow. Well, it is a cold meat platter. The plate I received had blood sausage, smoked ham, salami, and one or 2 slices of cheese thrown in, a pickle, a radish and some farmers bread. It made a good evening meal. We typically do not try to eat that much while on the road. Most rooms over here come with breakfast and we eat a good breakfast. Typically we have one or 2 hard rolls with cold cuts and cheese. An orange juice, one cup of good coffee and we are set for the day. Lunch we try to skip but since it is so cold at the moment we stop for soup mid-day if we can find it. Sometimes the soup is part of the menu daily special and then Carol gets the soup and I have the rest, which could be anything, from fish to sausage. In a small tourist town named Mariazell, we arrived at about 3 pm, way after the lunch hour and too early for dinner. We asked a guy in the street if he knew of a place that was open and he just looked at us and said, come. We followed him and we stepped into his restaurant and he cooked something for us, just so we would not be hungry. His place was not officially open. In fact, the cleaning stuff was still all over the place, chairs still on the tables, vacuum still plugged into the wall. We really interrupted the staff’s routine. The fish this man cooked for us was very good and, yes, we received a soup, too. I noticed people go out of their way if asked in the right way.
Our trip through the true, old time, authentic Austrian Country side was a pleasure. Nothing earth shattering yet it was extremely pleasant to find good hospitality, wonderful roads and pleasant people. We crossed Austria this way in two days and finally entered the Balkan, starting with Slovenia.