For lovers of good food, and supporters of local food, Tourism Radovljica have prepared a new, special project entitled ‘Taste Radol’ca‘ (Okusi Radol’ca). The project includes eight restaurants in the Radol’ca area which will be offering a special menu, where the emphasis is on food sourced from the local area. The set price for each menu is 13 euros per person and the project will last the month of November. More about the participating restaurants and the menus can be found using the link below. However, this information, plus the restaurant menus, are currently only in Slovene so if you are planning to visit the area and are interested in this event, just get in touch and I’ll be happy to provide a translation for you – http://radolca.si/okusi-radolce/?utm_source=Turizem+Radovjlica+newsletter&utm_campaign=cab59b0d31-Newsletter_Radolca&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4ed8fe76d2-cab59b0d31-24187013

Last week was school holidays so I had a bit more free time than usual and used one day for a trip to Villach in Austria. I don’t go often but like to go occasionally for a change of scenery, a bit of shopping, and, well just because I can! So this week, before the snow arrives making the drive often impossible without passing through the Karavanke Tunnel, where a toll is payable, I set off. I stopped first in Kranjska Gora for a walk to Podkoren then drove over the Korenjsko sedlo pass and into Villach. There are several ways of reaching Austria from Slovenia, depending on which part of the country you are in. From me, taking the Korenjsko sedlo into Villach or the Ljubelj pass into Klagenfurt are the nearest, each taking approximately an hour and with no tolls to pay. Even after over six years living here I still get a kick out of being able to just drive so easily to another country – strange but true! During the winter, both of these passes may be closed, or driveable only with snow chains.

Also this week a friend and I walked to Lubnik in the Škofja Loka hills. There are well-marked paths up from all directions but the nearest, and for me the most beautiful, is to start from Škofja Loka Castle and walk up via the ruins of the Old Loka Castle (Stari grad) to the mountain hut on Lubnik (Koča na Lubniku) at 1025m. It takes approximately 1.5 hours to reach the top and we made the return trip via a different route which eventually rejoined the other route and returned to the castle. On a clear day, which sadly it wasn’t on this occasion, the views from Lubnik are far-reaching in all directions; the Julian Alps, the Škofja Loka and Polhograd hills and the Selca and Poljane valleys. Although the weather was fine at the start of our trip, it soon clouded over and was very windy at the top. Fortunately we were able to seek shelter and a warming cup of mountain tea in the hut where I can also confirm that they have excellent home baked tarragon loaf. Due to the clouds, I wasn’t able to take any photos from the top this time but here are a couple of pictures taken on the return trip, once we had emerged from the clouds, with views towards Old Loka and the red roofs of the old town centre.

On Friday 8^th November, a concert will be held in the Baroque Hall in Radovljica Mansion (Graščina). The concert, is a meeting of three choirs – Vox Carniola from Jesenice, Grudnov Šmikle from Železniki and MePZ from the coastal town of Koper. The concert begins at 8pm and entry is free.

Friday 8^th November is also an important day for another reason – my parents are arriving for the weekend – looking forward to that!