Monthly Archives: May 2018

A Celebration of Birthdays and Bees in Begunje!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Beekeeping, Beekeeping in Slovenia, Begunje, Food, Food Tours in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Slovenian honey, Taste Radol'ca, Taste Radol'ca Tours, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

Sunday 20th May, in addition to being the first World Bee Day, also happened to be my birthday. So plenty of reason for celebration this year, even if it wasn’t a ‘special’ birthday (thank god!).

When deciding where to hold a small gathering for friends that would comprise great food, a beautiful setting, something active, and some beekeeping-related, the choice was obvious, it just had to be the Draga Valley in Begunje na Gorenjskem!

So, I set about making plans and my plans all came together rather well, even if I say so myself!

We began with an introduction to archery on the parkour archery course. Regular readers may recall, however, that I’m not a complete archery novice, as I went to check out the course last year when I spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon under the professional guidance of Robert Levstek.

It’s great fun making your way around the course with its 30 life-size animal targets dotted throughout the forest. Those with a competitive nature, and even those without, will enjoy a fun day out surrounded by the wonderful nature of the Draga Valley. Find out more here – https://adeleinslovenia.com/2017/04/10/archery-adventures-and-delicious-draga-delights/

Next came the beekeeping-related part of our afternoon, and for this I contacted the local beekeeper Erik Luznar, who has one of his many hives in the valley.

Since the average age of Slovenia’s 10,000 beekeepers is 57, Erik is certainly bucking the trend in this respect, and his youth, spirit and enthusiasm made listening to him waxing lyrical about his beloved bees both pleasurable and fascinating.

And also in contrast to the majority of Slovenia’s beekeepers, beekeeping is not just Erik’s passion and hobby, it is his livelihood. He offers various types of honey (floral, acacia, forest, linden, chestnut, pine, fir), as well as royal jelly, pollen, propolis and beeswax. He also breeds queen bees, which are then sent throughout the world. So, whilst in the Radovljica area, if you would like to have a tour of his hives – independently or as part of a Taste Radol’ca tour – find out more about Slovenian beekeeping, or buy some of his award-winning honey or other bee products, he’s your man! Contact: cebelarstvo.luznar@gmail.com

Of course, no good celebration is complete without great food, and in the Draga Valley that comes in spades at Gostišče Draga, one of the participating Taste Radol’ca restaurants. If you want to enjoy a drink or three without worrying about getting home, there are rooms available above the restaurant too!

Since the Draga Valley is also an excellent starting point for hikes in the Karavanke mountains, the restaurant is a very popular choice for some post-hiking sustainance, but is equally as popular as somewhere to enjoy great Slovenian cuisine – in summer in the cool of the garden next to the stream, in winter next to the roaring wood burner.

Continuing with the honey theme, we dined well on dishes such as rumpsteak in pepper and honey sauce, štruklji with honey, and other savoury delights, and not forgetting a cake, too!

For an added twist, throughout the evening there was a chance to taste many varieties of honey, with the aim of guessing which was which.

Then, to see how much we had all taken in from Erik’s educational session, I had prepared a quiz about Slovenian beekeeping, too! Of course, this meant a bit of work on my part too. I felt like a school teacher marking tests!

For the perfect end to the evening, I was given some lovely birthday gifts, including vouchers for massages (can’t wait Simona Slegel!) and this hand-embroidered apron that reads ‘Ta prava Radol’canka‘. Radol’canka is the word used for a female from Radovljica, so it reads ‘A real Radol’canka‘!

So, as you can see, the Draga Valley is a one-stop destination for active and tasty outings, and with a bit of added ingenuity and forward planning, a great place for group celebrations and events. Thanks to everyone who contributed to a lovely evening!

® Adele in Slovenia

 

 

Žirovnica – The Place to Be(e) to Celebrate World Bee Day!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Bee Our Guest, Beekeeping, Beekeeping in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Slovenian honey, Visit Žirovnica, Žirovnica by

So, at last, the long-awaited first ever World Bee Day took place on Sunday 20th May and Žirovnica was the place to be(e)!

The celebrations were centred around Breznica, the birth place of Anton Janša and home to his memorial apiary, which, following recent renovation, has been further improved by the placing of a new memorial plaque to mark World Bee Day.

There were celebrations throughout the land to mark this momentous day, even more momentous since Slovenia, and in particular the President of the Slovenian Beekeeping Association, Bostjan Noč, was the initiator of the campaign to have 20th May, the birth date of Anton Janša, Slovenia’s greatest beekeeper, proclaimed World Bee Day. After all, as we all know, or should all know, every third spoonful of food we eat is dependent on pollination by bees, thus ‘No Bees, No Life‘!

I don’t have the official numbers, however, it seemed as if the majority of Slovenia’s 10,000 beekeepers came dressed in their finest to celebrate. For a population of just 2 million, well, do the maths…!

A meeting of Slovenian beekeepers took place under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, whilst throughout the day there were bee-themed events and entertainment.

Visitors were able to watch a film presentation to find out more about the plans for the ‘Bee Park’ – a competition was held recently to come up a name for the new park. The winner has been chosen, however, as yet the name is still under wraps!

A honey market lined the streets and there were concerts, street entertainers and more!

To mark the day, a new stamp was issued by the Slovenian postal service, and Slovenia also launched a special 2 euro coin. Look out for the 2 euro coins in circulation throughout the euro area –  I’ve already got mine!

A great day was had by all and the future for Slovenia’s bees and beekeepers looks very bright. The nation sure did its bees proud!

Photo: Simon Senica

This summer you can take a ride on the Bee Our Guest Hop-On Hop-Off tourist bus, which will take you on a journey through the surroundings of Bled, Radovljica and Žirovnica every Wednesday in July and August. Along the way you can visit some of Gorenjska’s beekeepers, Janša’s memorial apiary, Bee Paradise, the Beekeeping Education Centre of Gorenjska, and more!

For more information about apitourism in Slovenia see the Bee Our Guest website, and to find out more about the ‘Cradle of Slovenian Beekeeping‘ see the Visit Zirovnica website.

© Adele in Slovenia

 

 

Magušar’s House – An Aladdin’s Cave of Clay!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Food, Gostilna Kunstelj, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Taste Radol'ca, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

The fruits of the first year of a three year project titled ‘Catalogue of Slovenian Clay‘ are being unveiled today in an exhibition at Radovljica’s Magušar’s House. The official opening of the exhibition begins today at 7pm, so you’ve still got time to get along, but if you don’t make it, don’t worry, the exhibition will be on view until the end of the summer (entrance is free, however, prior notice is required).

Photo: Miran Kambič

For the owner of the house and initiator of the project, Urban Magušar, clay isn’t merely a raw material from which he has been creating for decades – it is his life. “Those that work with clay all the time, are in touch with the origin of the universe”, said Urban in a recent blog post (the English version of the brand new website is coming soon!) for Tourism Radol’ca.

The current finds of Slovenian clay are shown on the map below. Incidentally, is often said that Slovenia, when viewed as a whole on a map, is shaped like a chicken. Do you agree?

After coming up with the idea, Urban set about contacting ceramists throughout Slovenia and over 100 samples were brought to the workshop in Magušar’s House where they were tested for basic physical properties: contraction, porosity, colour and granulation and heated to temperatures of 800-1,300˚C to determine the temperature range of sintering and melting.

Below you can see Urban in his ‘Aladdin’s cave of clay’!

Being a total clay ‘virgin’ it was fascinating to see all the different kinds of clay and how they react and change when heated and treated.

The artist and ceramist Živa Slavec explained to me about the different characteristics of the clays, for example, those from the Gorenjska are lighter in colour as there is more limestone, whereas those from the flat lands in Slovenia’s north-east are darker in colour and also more easy to locate and access.

Magušar House in itself is also worth a look, with its arcaded gothic courtyard, dating from c.1500, and pottery workshop where you can buy Magušar bowls and other pottery items. Occasional exhibitions, workshops and other events are also held there.

You can also find Magušar bowls being used in some of the Taste Radol’ca restaurants, where the focus on local food is further enhanced by serving it in local bowls made just minutes away – certainly no food miles involved here!

Taste Radol’ca at Gostilna Kunstelj

The Visit Radol’ca website has more information about Magusar’s House and the other historic houses in Radovljica’s old town, Taste Radol’ca restaurants, as well as plenty more information on what else to see and do in the town and its surroundings.

Do go and take a look, it sets you thinking and you will probably never look at a clay bowl the same way again!

© Adele in Slovenia