border crossing Remšnik - Tolsti vrh (on Kozjak) (Slovenian way)

Access to starting point:
A) From Dravograd we drive towards Maribor, but only to the village Vas, where we continue left towards Remšnik. Next follows an ascent to the mentioned settlement, where a little before the parish church of St. Jurij we continue sharply left. Further, we drive past homesteads Kajzar and Helbel, at the latter we continue on the right road, and then we go also past homesteads Prelank where we go left, and Korenk which we bypass on the left side. Next follows some more of crossing, where at the crossroads we continue straight. When we get to the national border, we park on an appropriate place by the road. Border crossing Remšnik is located few 100 meters ahead.
B) From Maribor, we drive towards Dravograd, but only to the settlement Brezno, where we turn right in the direction of the settlement Brezni Vrh and Remšnik. Higher, we leave the road towards Remšnik and we continue straight towards Brezni Vrh. Only few meters ahead we continue slightly right, and then we drive past homesteads Hager, Podržavnik, Kompar, Breznik, where we go left towards Austria, and then follows some more of crossing and we get to the border crossing with Austria. Here we go left and we drive for approximately 500 meters to the next crossroad, where we park at the appropriate place.

Path description:
From the starting point, we continue eastward towards Kapla and Brezno, then after a few dozen meters, we turn slightly left onto a footpath that gently ascends through a strip of forest. We soon leave the forest and bypass a nearby holiday cottage on the upper side, then descend back to the road, which we reach near the eastern part of OMP Remšnik. We continue right on the Slovenian side (slightly left the Austrian path), where we walk on a scenic macadam road, and a little further we pass by a farm, after which we reach a marked crossroad, from which we turn sharply left.
Next follows a diagonal ascent to the left, where we walk for a few minutes with beautiful views, and then the road turns slightly to the right and leads us to a saddle southwest of the peak Kogel (781 meters).
The path ahead leads us past a holiday cottage, then we cross slopes for some time with a few short descents and ascents, and at the crossroads, we follow the blazes. A little further, we get very close to the Austrian path, but we continue on the road, bypassing the nearby house on the upper left side. Next follows a short descent, and by the grazing fence, we briefly join the Austrian path.
Only a few dozen strides ahead, we continue right on the Slovenian side, where we walk on a wider cart track until a right turn, and in the middle of the turn, we go straight onto a footpath that ascends through a narrow strip of bushes, then crosses a scenic clearing, from which, looking back, a beautiful view opens up on Großer Speikkogel. Above the scenic part, we reach a macadam road, which we follow to the left, and at the nearby crossroad, we turn left again. At the next crossroad, where we join the previously mentioned right road, we turn left once again. A little further, we leave the forest, and the road leads us past a farm, after which we gently descend into the forest, where we go slightly left onto a marked footpath, which soon returns to the road. We follow the road for a few steps, then go slightly right, back onto a footpath that emerges from the forest onto the edge of a pasture, where we noticeably descend to the next macadam road, where we rejoin the Austrian path.
Here we continue straight, and we also go straight from the crossroad at the farm Močilnik, where a chapel is located. A little further, the paths separate again, and we go right onto a cart track that bypasses the homestead Grubelnik on the right side. Above the homestead, the path briefly enters the forest, and above the forest, we go left and ascend to the summit, where a concrete power line column stands. We continue to follow the blazes, which lead us along a cart track that descends gently to moderately. A few minutes later, we leave the forest and join the Austrian path for the last time.
Here we go slightly right and continue along a cart track that leads us along the national border. We continue with beautiful views that extend far and wide, then reach OMP Kapla.
Here, we turn left (to the right, the church of St. Katarina on Zgornja Kapla), then immediately right, starting to ascend towards Tolsti vrh along a scenic grassy slope. Before we step into the forest, when we look back, a beautiful view opens up, reaching far towards the west, and through the forest, in a minute of further walking, we arrive at Tolsti vrh, which we recognize by the border stone XI 218.
Description and pictures refer to conditions in March 2023 and February 2024.