Day 410 Ljubljana - Idrija

The ride to Idrija felt more dangerous than the gunfire in Maribor. I organised a Prevoz (Slovenia-specific car sharing) to Idrija. A surly man picked me up at the main bus station and we headed out of the city and west towards Idrija. As soon as we were on the main highway he ramped up the speed to well over the legal limit to approximately 160km/h ( ≈ 100mph). When you approach Idrija the terrain turns into winding valleys and gorges. Whipping around each turn at speed, the driver overtook trucks on blind bends whilst blasting his horn as if the other drivers had inconvenienced him. I prefer coffee to wake me up in the morning. I seriously considered asking him to stop so I could get out and find other means to continue.

Peter was my host in the town of approximately 6000 people. Idrija is a small but notable place. It is situated above what was the second largest mercury mine in the world. Mercury is a fascinating metal which is liquid at room temperature and has many applications. Previously it has been used across the world to extract gold from ore by dissolving the precious metal in mercury forming a mercury-gold amalgam and is then heated to vaporise the mercury, leaving gold of a high purity.

There is a museum in the town which gives the history of its mining industry, how the first and second World Wars affected the area and also showcases the famous Idrija lace. Idrija Lace dates back to the 16th century and developed into a well respected art which was held in esteem with the likes of Venetian lacemakers.

Peter studies physics in Ljubljana and we were due to meet in the evening after his classes. He prepared a map of the area for me complete with coordinates to nearby bunkers. Peter wrote it using LaTex which is used by the scientific community to produce research papers and generally looks rather beautiful; it meant a lot to me that he took the trouble to make it.