Foz & Annies Big Walk

A nice day on the trail today. No steep slopes, good track surface, plenty of shade and fine weather. The first hour got us up to the top of the karst plateau where there were nice views to Muggia and Trieste where we will be in a few days. The karst plateau covers a large area of the Italy/Slovenia border regions. The soil and substrate here is derived almost entirely from limestone which is highly porous, consequently, there are lots of caves, sinkholes and underground  water but virtually no surface water at all. Lots of loose rock has provided plenty of material for stone walls and fences over the centuries. This afternoon we crossed back over from Italy into Slovenia at a point that, not so long ago, used to be a section of the iron curtain dividing communist Yugoslavia with Italy. Back then, people were not permited to cross this border and there are still signs warning people that they approaching a prohibited area. Finished the day at Lipica Stud farm where we stayed ...

Started the day with a dip, before breakfast. We then walked along the Rilke Path which folows the cliff edge to the next town, Sistiana. Lovely views along the coast. From here we decided to leave the Trail and caught a ferry to Barcola, about 45min further down the coast. It saved us a few kilometers of rocky paths and it was a beautiful day to be on the water. We then had a steep walk up to Opicina to our hotel.

A relaxing day visiting the Duino Castle, drinking coffee and eating ice  cream and pizza. Also watched Croatia beat England in the soccer. The castle, perched on a cliff high above the Adriatic Sea, was restored from 1920 to 1930 after the Italian artillery severely damaged it while trying to evict the Austrians during WW1. During WW2 it was captured by  the Germans and Italians who only held it for a couple of years before a New Zealand regiment retook it in 1943. The swastika flag they pulled down from the tower is now in a display cabinet in a bunker below the castle.   

Ever since crossing the border from Austria to Slovenia we have come across memorials to soldiers killed during WW1 and WW2 in town and village squares, similiar to those you see in Australia. This has highlighted something we had noticed when in Austria - that while there were a few memorials to soldiers killed during WW1, there were very few (I only actually remember one, in Gmund, first photo) to soldiers killed during WW2. Austrians, it seems, would rather forget about WW2. In the castle above Salzburg, there is a quite large interpretive display about Austrian military history from 1700 to 1918.      And that's it. No mention of WW2 at all. No mention of the thousands of troops that died, no mention of the 65,000 Austrian jews who were killed during the holocaust. Lest we forget.

Today was a long, hot stage but we were rewarded by finally reaching the Adriatic Sea, 33 days and 601km after starting at Grossglockner. Most of the trail followed a road built during WW1 to allow Italian troops and equipment access to the Isonzo Front. Consequently we came across several old trenches, artillery sites and memorials. There was also one memorial dedicated to the Partisans killed from 1943-1945 when fighting against the Italian and German armies (remember we are actually still in Italy). The history of this region, particularly during the first half of the 20th century is pretty  complicated. Borders and allegiances changed like the weather. Up until WW1, it was part of Austria. After the war it became part of Yugoslavia until the Italians and Germans took over for a few years before losing it again in 1943. After WW2 it was occupied by the British until 1947 when it was handed back to the Italians. Got it?

A comfortable days walk with few hills and steep slopes, mainly through vineyards and several small villages. It was quite hot though, up to 31, and we were very pleased to see our hotel had a lovely pool. Gradisca is another walled town with a nice square where we will have a beer, sample the local wines and eat in one of the many restaurants there tonight. I'm going to try to buy an english language version of a cookbook from this region. As you may have gathered I'm a little taken by the local cuisine.