Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Radovljica Beekeeping Adventure: Follow a ‘Bee’ Through Radovljica!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Beekeeping, Beekeeping in Slovenia, Begunje, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Slovenian honey, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca, World Bee Day by

‘Honestly Sweet‘ was chosen as the slogan for the tourist destination of Radol’ca, which encompasses Radovljica itself (where I live!) and the other surrounding towns and villages in the municipality, due to the town’s long connection with all things ‘sweet’ i.e. beekeeping and chocolate.

And while this year’s Chocolate Festival has been and gone, Radovljica now features a brand new ‘sweet’ treat – the Radovljica Beekeeping Adventure.

The Radovljica tourist board came up with the idea for the Radovljica Beekeeping Adventure in order to consolidate the town’s position as the capital of Slovenian beekeeping as well as a desire to offer more activities for families. The idea for a bee-related adventure was an obvious choice and was inspired by the events last year to mark the first-ever World Bee Day.

The Beekeeping Adventure has been designed as a family adventure. It features four interactive points in the old town centre of Radovljica, the first of which is the apiary in the town park. 

The next is in front of St. Peter’s church…

 

…and at the viewpoint at the end of the old town centre.

Despite living here 12 years, I can never tire of the view from Radovljica towards the Julian Alps and the Jelovica plateau, and even on a partly cloudy late May day – in a month where there have only been 2 days without rain so far – the views still blow me away, every time!

The adventure concludes with a visit to the Museum of Apiculture in the Radovljica Manor, where you can watch bees hard at work and find out plenty more about the history of Slovenian beekeeping, see an exhibition of the oldest painted beehive frontal panels, and learn even more about just how amazing bees really are!

The fun, creative and educational tasks have been devised to allow children to hone their manual skills and to learn about beekeeping, whilst seeking out the path with the help of a map helps develop outdoor orientation and spatial recognition skills.

As a reward for completing all the tasks, a ‘sweet’ treat awaits at the end – but I won’t spoil the surprise!

The Beekeeping Adventure costs €8 per family, which includes:

  • One copy of the booklet including a map, tasks and information about the life of bees
  • A family entrance ticket to the Museum of Apiculture (2 adults, up to 3 children)
  • A ‘sweet’ surprise
  • Supplement for additional booklets with tasks: €1 per booklet (up to 3 additional booklets are permitted per family upon purchase of a family package)

The booklet can be purchased at the following locations:

The Beekeeping Adventure is available from 24th May to 31st October 2019. Since the Museum of Apiculture is closed on Mondays, it is recommended that you visit from Tuesday to Sunday. The path itself is very short and flat, but together with solving the tasks and a visit to the museum, you should allow approximately 1.5-2 hours.

The Museum of Apiculture is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary this year, and, to mark the occasion, there will be a new comprehensive exhibition while the main anniversary event will take place on 15th June.

To end, on an entirely different theme, though one that many would also consider to be ‘sweet’, next Saturday a brand new festival is coming to Radovjlica – the Radovjlica Craft Beer Festival. Weather permitting the festival will kick off at 12 noon on Saturday 1st June and will feature a number of Slovenian craft breweries, live music, and food from Taste Radol’ca restaurants. A shuttle bus will also run every half hour from Bled.

No photo description available.

So, now there are even more reasons to come and visit the lovely town that I call ‘home’!

© Adele in Slovenia

Visit Tržič: MINFOS and the St. Anne Mine

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Karavanke mountains, museums in Slovenia, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Tržič, Visit Žirovnica by

The Tržič area is known to be one of the most fascinating areas of Slovenia in geological terms.

MINFOS is an annual 2-day exhibition of minerals and fossils, which, together with the Dolina Exhibition and Education Centre* and some fascinating geological trails, showcases the area’s rich geological treasures. The exhibition is held in the Tržič Olympians Arena (the red-roofed building just out of sight to the left of building in the foreground below) in the heart of the picturesque old town.

The event unites visitors and exhibitors from far and wide, from those with a specific interest in minerals and fossils wanting to enrich their knowledge by viewing specialised exhibits, talking to experts, and/or attending creative and educational workshops, to those who just want to take a look and/or maybe treat themselves or their loved ones to some new jewellery or other gifts.

There is a fascinating array of exhibits of almost every shape, colour and size imaginable…

…and you wouldn’t believe how heavy some of them are, despite the relatively small size!

Although this year’s MINFOS took place last weekend – hence its too late to visit this year – you can instead visit the Dolina Exhibition and Education Centre in the hamlet of Dolina located along the valley of the Dovžan gorge** (Dovžanova soteska), just over 3 kilometres northeast of Tržič.

At the centre you can find out more about the picturesque valley that was carved out by the Tržič Bistrica river which laid bare the most complete sequence of rocks from the younger Paleozoic period, ranging in age from 300 to 260 million years.

As part of MINFOS, visitors are offered guided tours of the Dovžan gorge and the St. Anne mine (Šentanski rudnik) I chose to visit the latter. Guided tours can also be arranged at other times via the Tržič Tourist Information Centre.

Whilst in the past Idrija was the hub of Slovenia’s mercury mining industry, a number of miners from Idrija also came to work at the mine at Podljubelj. Regular production of cinnabar began at the mine in 1975 but ceased just a quarter of a century later in 1902 due to the low amount of mercury in the ore. A total of about 110,000 tonnes of ore and almost 300 tonnes of mercury were obtained from the mine.

Our incredibly knowledgeable guide, Luka, enlightened us about the history of the mine. At the end of the 19th century, 75 miners worked at the mine, of which 24 were women. But I won’t divulge all the details and spoil the surprise, instead why not take a tour and see it for yourself!

The tour begins by passing the entrance to the 450 metre-long Avgust mine, which served as a service route.

The Friderik mine was the main export tunnel for tailings.

The Anton mine, which was the most rich in ore and was thus also the most mined, is the only part that is open for visitors on the tour. Before entering we donned hard hats and were given torches, then we were off…into the unknown!

Luka told us many more fascinating facts, demonstrated the depth of the deepest shaft – approx. 35 metres, and pointed out the traces of cinnabar that can still be seen on the walls of the mine as well as beneath foot.

It is a bit nippy in there, so be sure to wrap up well – regardless of the weather outdoors – but it’s certainly worth it for a glimpse into part of Tržič’s history.

© Adele in Slovenia

* In fine weather the Dolina Exhibition and Education Centre is open from May until the end of October at weekends and on public holidays from 11am to 6pm, and at other times by prior arrangement.

** Due to extensive flooding in April this year, part of the path through the Dovžan gorge is closed, but rest assured, once it is open again I will be blogging about that too!