Monthly Archives: April 2018

Visit Žirovnica – Visit Tito’s Village (Titova vas)

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Hiking, hiking trails, ifeelsLOVEnia, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Visit Žirovnica, Žirovnica by

Tito’s Village (Titova vas) was a secret World War II partisan camp that was hidden deep in the forest in a remote, hidden and relatively inaccessible location beneath the peak of Smokuški vrh, in the municipality of Žirovnica. The camp had its own newspaper, a choir, butchery and everything needed for everyday life at that time.

For a longer walk, you can start from the reservoir in Žirovnica where there is an information board about the trail to Titova vas and from where it is a pleasant cca. 45 min walk along the valley road which rises gently to the trailhead. If you would prefer a medium-length walk then you can start a little further along the valley at the recreation area by the Zavrh bar, or for a short walk begin at the trailhead itself further along the valley.

Do keep your eyes out for errant kangaroos, though!

From the trailhead it is just approx. 20 mins on foot to reach Tito’s Village.

The camp provided partisans with shelter from the German occupators. Considering its location, in close proximity to German strongholds in nearby Žirovnica, Bled, Koroška Bela, Javornik, Jesenice, Lesce, Radovljica, Brezje, Poljče and Begunje, the existence of the camp from 21 November 1944 – 31 January 1945 – though only 2 months – was considered long for those times.

The well-marked path leads uphill through the forest crossing small bridges and wooden footbridges over a small stream.

One get’s a real sense of how well-hidden the camp was and though today, thanks to the well-arranged trail, it’s a pleasant walk and fun to explore the area. One can only imagine what it must have been like to survive a winter here, although at least a fresh supply of water presumably wasn’t an issue.

On reaching the small camp there is a visitors’ book, information boards (in Slovene only) and a memorial stone.

The walk to Tito’s Village is  interesting, educational and enjoyable, and, combined with the other sights of interest in the Završnica valley, is well worth a visit.

See the Visit Žirovnica website to find out more and this and other hiking trails in the Žirovnica area.

© Adele in Slovenia

The 7th Radovljica Chocolate Festival: the Most ‘Chocolate’ Weekend of the Year – ON NOW!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Festivals in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Restaurants, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Taste Radol'ca, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

The 7th Radovljica Chocolate Festival has just begun, and, being the chocoholic that I am, I’m not known for having a modicum of restraint when it comes to chocolate. Since I’m lucky enough to live on the doorstep, I headed straight down to the opening to check it out for you (ahem!).

This year there are almost 50 chocolatiers showcasing their chocolates and other chocolate-based creations.

 

The festival takes place in Radovljica’s historic old town centre, as well as in the town park, and in Vurnik Square (Vurnikov trg).

As in previous years, there is a jam-packed entertainment programme, which has something for all the family.

Entrance to the festival, as well as (the majority of) the entertainment programme, is FREE. Tasting of chocolates takes place through the purchase of tasting coupons, which cost 0.50 cents, and come in strips of four.

I also like to check out any new and original flavours of chocolates – there are SO many, it’s mind boggling. However, one can always rely on Čokohram to come up trumps. Last year, among the unusual flavour combinations it offered chocolate with mohant cheese (a particularly smelly cheese, available this year too!), new for this year it’s chocolate with nettle. Throughout the festival, at the 50+ stalls, you can try literally hundreds of different flavour combinations.

Below are just some of the highlights of the weekend ahead.

Events taking place throughout the 3-day festival include:

  • House of Experiments – make your own bar of chocolate; From Bean to Bar (Saturday from 10am-6pm and Sunday from 10am-5pm)
  • Cookery workshops with Radovljica College of Catering and Tourism
  • Pumptrack course for bikes and scooters
  • Archery, handball and minigolf corner
  • Chocolate journey with adventures through Radovljica
  • Chocolate face painting
  • Chocolate roulette

Throughout the festival there are also numerous FREE concerts, workshops, cookery shows and other events, including:

SATURDAY

  • Creative dance day with the Waldorf School and Nursery (9am-5pm)
  • Uroš Štefelin, Igor Jagodic and Marko Pavčnik, Three Chefs’ Cookery Show (10am)
  • Beer Belly, Irish band (10am-1pm)
  • A meeting of two clowns and circus workshops with clown Eva Škofič Maurer
  • Veseli Begunjčani ensemble, concert (1pm)
  • Abba Mia, concert (4pm)
  • Small Tokk, concert (6pm)

The Three Chefs’ Cookery Show – Photo: Visit Radol’ca

SUNDAY

  • Napoli Tango, music (10am-1pm)
  • Dixie Flash Mob with the Lesce Wind Orchestra and dancers (12noon)
  • Maček Muri and Muca Maca with Neca Falk, concert (2pm)
  • Uroš Perič, concert (4pm)

And don’t miss the arrival of the vintage steam train on Sunday, which is always a sight to behold. The train leaves Ljubljana at 10.40am, arriving in Radovljica at 12noon. Click here for more information.

And if you are craving something other than chocolate (why would you?!), then visit the food marquee where some of Taste Radol’ca’s restaurants  – Gostišče Draga, Gostilna Tavčar and Joštov hram – are cooking up some treats, too!

Gostišče Draga – something for those who prefer savoury treats!

Try ‘šmorn’, a kind of shredded pancake served with jam, at Gostišče Draga

And there’s even craft beer too, which will no doubt go down a storm in this heat, yes, heat, in April, when just a few weeks ago I was (still!) moaning about the snow!

But that’s far from all. There’s plenty more! Click here for more information and the full programme (in Slovene) and here for the English version.

So, don’t miss out, come on down. A ‘hot’ chocolate weekend awaits indeed, as the weather is, and promises to be, fab, too!

© Adele in Slovenia

Gostilna Knafel: Dine with the stars…in Žirovnica!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Beekeeping in Slovenia, Food, France Prešeren, ifeelsLOVEnia, Karavanke, Prešernova hiša, Restaurants, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Slovenian culture, Slovenian honey, Visit Žirovnica, Zabreznica, Žirovnica by

Through the years, the Žirovnica area has been home to numerous of Slovenia’s most well known talents. Of this, the most well known are the ‘famous five’ – Anton Janša, France Prešeren, Fran Saleški Finžgar, Janez Jalen and Matija Čop.

You can ‘meet’ these five by visiting their birth houses and also see bust statues of them outside the Žirovnica primary school at the Alley of Famous Men, which is part of the Žirovnica Path of Cultural Heritage.

The Karavanke mountains form a backdrop to the villages and hamlets that form the Municipality of Žirovnica, and, on one of the first truly warm and sunny spring days this year, yesterday it was at last, after the long, bleak winter, time to get out exploring again- hooray!

 

Then it was time to ‘dine with the stars‘ at the Gostilna Knafel restaurant, which is in close proximity to the Alley of Famous Men, where you can enjoy a hearty meal in the company of Žirovnica’s famous men! Depending where you choose to sit in the restaurant, you can ‘dine’ with one of them, or rather in the knowledge they are watching over you as you eat!

France Prešeren (1800-1849), Slovenia’s most famous poet.

And read some of their words of wisdom…

Anton Janša – Slovenia’s greatest beekeeper and the pioneer of modern apiculture.

Not far from Gostilna Knafel you can also visit Anton Jansa’s apiary, which was reconstructed in 2017.

There’s a kid’s corner, where Fran Saležki Finžgar keeps a watchful eye!

The team at Gostilna Knafel strive to offer traditional Slovenian dishes such as buckwheat krapi (similar to ravioli) filled with curd cheese topped with pork crackling,

Take a peek into the kitchen and you can even see krapi being freshly made! The before…

And the after…

One of my favourite Slovenian foods is štruklji, so I was spoilt for choice with homemade savoury štruklji (a light dough filled and rolled like a swiss roll) with a porcini mushroom sauce.

As well as sweet buckwheat štruklji with curd cheese, honey and walnuts.

There is also a full a-la-carte menu, daily malice (light lunches from Mon-Fri), and pizzas – something for every taste!

The Visit Žirovnica website has more information about Gostilna Knafel and the other food and beverage outlets in the Žirovnica area, which I am looking forward to getting more acquainted with – and tasting too, of course!

© Adele in Slovenia