PLANINA – FLOODED MOUNTAIN

I can’t believe it, it’s been so long since I last wrote a real blog. To be honest; more than half a year has passed. In fact, eight long months. And so much happened! But we will start in order.

I spent a lot of time living, working and studying in Ljubljana. After that long time, it was time to go home and continue our adventures with Žućko.


With work I didn’t have time for adventures, that was the hardest part. So, as I was returning home, I decided to turn that ‘necessary’ way home, if anything, into a small excursion.

Location: Grčarevec
Time: Late afternoon

I’ve drove this way many times before, but this was the first time I ‘had time’ to stop; get out and take a walk.


Place as a place, several houses, a small church and a lot of forest. To the average traveler this place is just like any other, but this is not true. This place is full of caves, holes, pits all below you. Some are more than a hundred meters long, others are as deep as a 30-story building; and in the third bones of a woolly rhino were found! Not one, but two, three … the whole pack.

Ne mogu vjerovati, prošlo je toliko puno od kad sam zadnji puta napisao pravi blog. Ako ćemo iskreno; prošlo je više od pola godine. Zapravo osam dugih mjeseci. A toliko se toga izdogađalo! Ali krenut ćemo redom.

Proveo sam dosta vremena živeći, radeći i studirajući u Ljubljani. Nakon tog dugog vremena bilo je vrijeme za vratiti se kući i nastaviti avanture sa Žućkom.

Uz posao nisam imao vremena za avanture, to je bio onaj najteži dio. Stoga sam, dok sam se vraćao kući, odlučio taj ‘nužni’ put kući pretvoriti, ako ništa, u mali izlet.

Mjesto: Grčarevec
Vrijeme: Kasno popodne

Prošao sam ovim putem već previše puta, ali ovo je bio prvi put da sam ‘imao vremena’ zaustaviti se; izaći i prošetati.

Mjesto kao mjesto, nekoliko kuća, malena crkvica i puno šume. Običnom putniku ovo mjesto je kao i svako drugo, ali to nije točno. Ovo mjesto je prepuno špilja, rupa, jama koje se nalaze svuda ispod tebe. Neke su dugačke više od stotinu metara, druge su duboke kao zgrada od 30 katova; a u trećoj su pronađene kosti vunastog nosoroga! I to ne jednog nego dva, tri…cijeli čopor.

I think by now you have understood too; every place, even the smallest, keeps a variety of secrets waiting to be revealed. And that’s what I like to do, explore!

Not far from the village is a large field, known as the Planina field. Everyone passing by on the road sees it, it is big and it is often flooded. The first time I saw it flooded I couldn’t believe it! There are no floods on my island. All the water runs out into the sea. The field I saw so many times suddenly became the sea. Too bad; I have no pictures to show you, but here’s a picture while it’s not flooded, while it’s ‘just a field’. You can imagine the water yourself (come on, turn on your imagination a little).

Mislim da si do sada i ti shvatio; svako mjesto, makar i ono najmanje, čuva razne tajne koje čekaju da se otkriju. A to je ono šta ja volim raditi, istraživati!

Nedaleko od sela nalazi se i veliko polje, znano kao Planinsko polje. Svatko prolazeći cestom ga ugleda, veliko je, a često je i poplavljeno. Prvi puta kada sam ga vidio poplavljenog nisam mogao vjerovati! Kod nas na otoku nema poplava. Sva voda istekne u more. Polje kojeg sam vidio toliko puta odjednom je postalo more. Šteta; nemam slike da ti pokažem, ali evo ti slike dok nije poplavljeno, dok je ‘samo polje’. Vodu možeš i sam zamisliti (ajde, uključi maštu malo).

Life is not easy here, but it can be quite idyllic. Grazing cows, mountains rise into the sky, and pine forests rustle and guard you in the arms of nature; only luck in your mind.

Život ovdje nije jednostavan, ali može biti poprilično idiličan. Krave na ispaši, planine dižu se u nebo, a borova šuma šušti i čuva te u naručju prirode; u mislima ti samo sreća.

A perfect opportunity for …? Yes, you guessed it, photoshoot!

The best thing about yellow van is that you can’t lose it in the woods; but you can get lost with it in the woods. That’s the true meaning of life.

I veered off topic. Forest. Žućko. Photos.

Savršena prilika za…? Da, pogodio si, fotoshoot!

Najbolja stvar kod žute boje na kombiju je ta što ga ne možeš izgubiti u šumi; ali se možeš izgubiti u šumi s njim. To je onaj pravi smisao života.

Skrenuo sam s teme. Šuma. Žućko. Fotke.

If only I had had more time, I would go for a walk, climbed the mountain, wander through the forest; the smell of pine trees would fill my lungs, and the humidity in the air would slowly put me to sleep until nightfall and the bed in Žućko would warmly welcome me.

Da sam barem imao više vremena, otišao bi hodati, penjati se po planini, lutati šumom; udisao bi miris borova, a vlaga u zraku bi me uspavljivala dok ne bi pala noć i krevet u Žućko bi me topao dočekao.

I sat in Žućko and drove further, we descended the narrow road that led directly into the Planina field. All around me the plains, just a few trees along the road make shade in the heat of sunny days. On the road, no one but Žućko (playing the model) and I (playing the photographer).

Sjeo sam u Žućka i odvezao se još dalje, spustio sam se uskom cesticom koja je vodila direktno u Planinsko polje. Svuda oko mene ravnica, samo poneko stablo uz cesticu stvara hlad u žegi sunčanih dana. Na cesti nikoga, samo Žućko (glumi modela) i ja (glumim fotografa).

The Unica river flows through the Planina field. Across Unica lies a bridge. We passed the bridge and parked right next to Unica. I love rivers. This is because there are none in my area. Sometimes I think I could watch the water flow and drain for hours, and cold spring water is best for quenching your thirst.

Kroz Planinsko polje protjeće rijeka Unica. Preko Unice leži mostić. Preko mostića smo prošli i mi i parkirali se tik uz Unicu. Volim rijeke. To je iz razloga što ih u mom kraju nema. Ponekad mislim da bi satima mogao gledati vodu kako teće i otječe, a hladna izvorska voda je najbolja za utažiti žeđ.

The bridge itself is beautiful, it is a bit narrow, so to get over it you have to go one at a time, but when you sit under it and watch the river flow through its gills, for centuries, it gives you that feeling of happiness. He has been standing there for centuries and he transfered people from one coast to another his whole life. Thank you bridge!

Most je sam po sebi predivan, pomalo je uzak pa se na njemu vozi pomalo, jedan po jedan, ali kada se sjedneš ispod njega i gledaš rijeku koja protjeće kroz njegove škrge već stoljećima obuzme te osjećaj sreće. On već stoljećima stoji i ljude mjesti s jedne obale na drugu. Hvala ti mostu!

On the other side of the bridge, on a small elevation above the river, with an open view of the plain, he sits; Haasberg Castle.

Long ago, long before, sometime in 1295, the original Unec castle was built. Over the centuries, it grew and grew, and its keys passed from hand to hand from the counts and the knights who lived, rested and ruled the area. He survived all those years, centuries, earthquakes and floods, storms and other tribulations, but on March 27, 1944, he did not survive – men. It was burned at the hands of partisans in World War II. All his treasures are lost forever.

S druge strane mosta, na maloj uzvisini nad rijekom, sa otvorenim pogledom na ravnicu sjedi on; dvorac Haasberg.

Davno, davno prije, negdje 1295. prije, nastao je prvotni dvorac Unec. Tokom stoljeća razvijao se i rastao, njegovi su ključevi prelazili iz ruke u ruku grofova i i vitezova koji su u njemu živjeli, odmarali i vladali ovim krajem. Preživio je sve te godine, stolječa, potrese i poplave, nevremena i ostale nedaće, ali 27. ožujka 1944. nije preživio – ljude. Spaljen je od ruke partizana u drugom svjetskom ratu. Sva njegova blaga zauvijek su izgubljena.

In the village of Planina there is another interesting part of the castle that I have seen many times from the Žućko’s window on my way to Ljubljana. The great tower, the Rhubar tower. It was built in 1444. and served the Ravbarjev family as a tower to defend against attacks because they saw their enemies from its walls far before they could approach the city.

That day I finally solved the mystery of the great tower.

U samom mjestu Planina nalazi se još jedan zanimljiv dio dvorca koji sam mnogo puta vidio iz Žućkovog prozora na putu za Ljubljanu. Velika kula, Ravbarjeva kula. Građena je bila 1444. godine i služila je obitelji Ravbarjev kao kula za obranu od napada jer su sa njenih zidina vidjeli neprijatelje daleko prije nego su se uspjeli približiti gradu.

Tog dana sam napokon rješio misteriju velike kule.

We continued to wander the Planina field in the hope of spending at least another minute with Unica. In our wanderings we also came across an old mill that once supplied this area.

Nastavili smo lutati Planinskim poljem u nadi da još barem koju minutu provedemo uz Unicu. U našem lutanju smo naišli i na stari mlin koji je nekad opskrbljivao ovaj kraj.

This is definitely one of those places we are coming back to. The river, the mountains and the peaceful fields always amaze us. And the pictures are great too, especially the yellow contrast in all this green.

We are coming back!

Ovo je definitivno jedno od onih mjesta kojem se vraćamo. Rijeka, planine i mirna polja uvijek nas iznova zadive. A i slike su odlične, pogotovo Žućkov kontrast u svom ovom zelenilu.

Vraćamo se!

P.S.

I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but we’re working on our next big project. Its name is Yougo Campers. Simple. You Go – Campers! The website is still under construction, but trust us, it’ll be crazy! And you know what’s the best thing? You will be able to take Žućko for an adventure or two, too! That’s right, Žućko will be yours for the adventure of a lifetime. I want to share my (our) happiness with you too.

Follow the news and you’ll know everything on time!

P.S.

Ne znam ako si vidio, ali radi se punom parom na našem velikom projektu. Ime mu je Yougo Campers. Jednsotavno. You Go – Campers! Stranica je još u izradi, ali vjeruj nam na riječ, biti će zakon! A znaš koja je najbolja stvar? I TI ćeš moći odvesti Žućka na avanturu ili dve! Tako je, Žućko će moći biti tvoj za avanturu života. Želim moju (našu) sreću podjeliti i s tobom.

Prati novosti i sve ćeš znati na vrijeme!

Until then,

explore more.

Žućko & Filip.

4.5.2020.

Do sljedećeg puta,

istražuj više.

Žućko & Filip.

4.5.2020.