Station

In 1914 Tarvisio was an important place. Perhaps there were more hotels then than there are now. It was certainly served by the railway coming from Vienna, linking the city with Venice and Trieste, so it was important, as well as the junction to Ljubljana. Later, during the First World War, it was a very important railway hub, for all supplies destined for the Tarvisio area, but not only that, also for the Upper Isonzo; for the Caporetto offensive, thousands of men arrived at Tarvisio station. It became important for bringing vehicles and men right up to the front. Here in Tarvisio there was also an armoured train that moved from Tarvisio as far as roughly Ugovizza, where the Malborghetto fort stands. It could go no further, because the bridges had been blown up, but it accompanied the soldiers, the carriages carrying soldiers, almost directly beneath the Italian lines.

We have arrived in front of the railway station. Until the end of the last century, this was very important for us, because it transported skiers. On Sundays there was the White Train: it transported the skiers who filled the slopes of Tarvisio. Then the train stopped running and it was decided to create a cycle path.
During summer I often cycle along this cycle path all the way to the sea. Starting from the mountains and reaching the sea is a beautiful thing. We normally do it in three stages. It is truly beautiful. I prefer the return journey, if I do it by bicycle, because going up from the sea towards the mountains the landscape changes, the perspective is different. E-bikes are helping us greatly in this work, because we are bringing many more people to do this activity. Electric assistance allows almost everyone, even those who are not trained, to reach places that are quite demanding and therefore gives great support to those who work in tourism, whether as guides or as bicycle-rental operators.
What is particularly interesting while cycling along the route are the sounds that accompany us. I particularly like, besides the sounds, to notice the scents. As I go down by bicycle, I can distinguish the different scents one encounters, and passing from the mountains to the sea one really encounters a great variety of distinctive scents. And this is fascinating. I also guide in winter by bicycle. In winter the bicycle is a rather particular means of transport. The sounds of winter cycling are truly unique.
Because, apart from our breath, we hear no other sounds. The snow muffles everything, hides everything, and the only thing one can see and encounter is some animal that has not heard us, and so we also experience these pleasant, unexpected encounters with woodland animals accompanying us along the route.
The cycle path also allows us to get to know the surrounding areas. From Tarvisio we go towards Austria, we go towards the sea, we go towards Slovenia. For us, this is an extraordinary area, because in the same day we can travel across the three borders, borders that were once only on paper. The memory I have from childhood is that of having many friends both in Austria and in Slovenia, even with a border in between. But in Tarvisio I never felt it so strongly, because in any case we have always lived in this situation, so it never really felt like a problem, except for having to show an identity card or passport in order to cross the border. Being able to travel from here to Slovenia is certainly fascinating, because it allows us to visit the beautiful Fusine Lakes and, for the more skilled, to reach Bled. Having told you a little about the cycle path, I want to invite you to do a small experiment, which is to walk and try to identify three scents that you detect along this short walk.