Day 5 – June 3, 2025
I was in no hurry to get up early that morning - I decided to visit a beach in the vicinity of Trieste - it meant a bit of biking, about 15 kilometers there, the same distance back.
My first agenda point after packing my stuff was to pay a visit to the station, I had trouble buying the ticket to the Trieste - Ljubljana section. At the ticket office I was told - in perfect English, mind you - that there was a general issue with the ticketing towards Slovenia and that the ticket was to be bought on the train - but that was far away.
rode some 15 kilometers along the coast, passing the Castle Miramare and rode down to a nice public beach. I did not really have breakfast, so around half past 11, I was feeling hungry and there was a wonderful-looking trattoria right on this beach - with a few folks already enjoying their lunch. I thought I still had many hours where I could enjoy the sun and the water - so why not have an early lunch. It was not the most delicious food that I ever have had - a slightly overcooked, somewhat boring pasta - but I was somewhat compensated by the delicious bread, with some olive oil.
It was a breezy day and the waves were a lot stronger that on my earlier visit. There was sand to lay on, but there were lots of rocks when going into the water - so there was quite a danger to be smashed onto these rocks. There was no-one swimming and even I thought to play it safe - at least for a while. When I was feeling to hot (or too restless), I got up and found a small natural openings between the rocks and carefully tested the waters. I noticed that at that point, I could launch myself as a raft, without being hit by the waves and with some careful maneuvers, I was now in the water.
What goes in must also come out - that seemed rather tricky. I recalled someone sitting in the restaurant sitting close to me, his back bleeding (a bit), probably scratched by a stone. First, I did not really bother about the process of the de-embarkation, I enjoyed the wonderful water and the view of the cliffs, where high above me the coastal road ran. Then all I saw was rocks, rocks, rocks, with the waves smashing on them. I then had an idea - I recalled that a kilometer or so away was a small port, with a sea wall - which would protect me. So I swam towards it and it turned out to be a good idea - the water in it was relatively calm and there was also a platform - so after an hour or so, I was out of the water. The next challenge was getting back to the starting point, barefoot, with lots of rocks ahead. I was glad when I finally made it and fell asleep for a while.
Time to begin my return journey. I packed my stuff, went back for the bike and rode the 15 kilometers back to town. I bought some supplies and found the train heading for Ljubljana. I was one of the very few passengers on this close to empty train, where we started heading out of Trieste, the tracks leading next to the sea, where I had ridden that day. I bought the ticket at the conductor and was looking forward to a pleasant journey to the Slovenian capital.
Ah, not so fast. Soon, it turned out that this train would only take me to the Italian - Slovenian border, where I would have to catch another train. The friendly conductor issues wrong information - she told me the onward journey would be on the opposite track. So I shoved the bike over the railtracks (illegally, should have taken an underpass), where I was informed the train would depart from the track I had come from - and I have to use the underpass. It was quite an act to get the bike all the way down the steep stairs, then back up - but I had ample time, as the train would arrive only 20 minutes later.
When it came, a rather unfriendly conductor made me take off all five luggages and hang up my bike - even though the train was not even half full. We arrived in Ljubljana around 10 pm, I was a bit frustrated, not the best trips I have ever had.
At the station, I struck up a conversation with a young German student doing her Erasmus studies n Slovenia, we traded some stories. Then, similar to Trieste, I knew a good ice-cream shop in the center as well, and similar to Trieste, I reached there just before closing. My train en route to Budapest would depart at 6 am, when I made a fateful decision: I decided not to look for a hotel, just somehow get through the night.
I cycled around the center until like 2 am, when things got really quiet. I still had four hours till departure and was feeling quite tired. My next quest was to find a place for a quick nap - and started riding out of town. Next to a small forest, still within the city, I ended up finding a good spot to pitched my tent, I believe it was not visible to the very few cars riding around that night. I actually dozed off - let us see how the final push back to Budapest went.