With the weather being so awful all week (rain, rain and more rain), I don’t have any exciting trips or walks to report. However, I found an indoor activity to do instead and went on a course at the Biotechnical Centre in Naklo to learn how to make Dražgoški kruhki; handmade, ornamental honey breads, a speciality of the village of Dražgoše.

The recipe is really simple as there are only three ingredients (as seen in the photo below together with the prepared dough); flour, honey and ammonia carbonate (jelenova sol), available from the chemists, but which could also be substituted for bicarbonate of soda. After mixing and kneading the dough, then comes the decorating, for which a bit of patience and flair is required (that latter not being something I have in abundance!).

The finished product should look like this:

And this was my finished product – not bad for a first attempt don’t you think?!

The small village of Dražgoše (pictured below), after which these honey breads are named, lies on the south slopes of Jelovica, the plateau which dominates the view to the south of Radovljica. As well as being known for its honey breads, Dražgoše is also known for being the site of a second world war battle between Slovene partisans and Nazi German armed-forces. After suffering heavy losses the Nazi forces set fire to the village, shot 41 hostages and deported the remaining residents. In 1976 the Dražgoše war memorial was built just outside the village to commemorate this battle and the destruction of the village. There is now a traditional commemorative night walk from Pasja ravan to Dražgoše (Po poti Cankarjevega bataljona), which is not for the faint hearted since it takes place annually in January and takes on average around 10 – 12 hours to complete.

At the beginning of this year, (2^nd January 2013), I wrote about how I had met and enjoyed the company of two of Slovenia’s national treasures – Ivanka Kraševec and Ivan (Žan) Prešern.

As well as both having very successful music careers, Ivanka and Žan also devote their attention to painting these days and have both hosted exhibitions. I was therefore surprised and more than delighted when they gave me a painting last week, a belated birthday present, which Žan had painted especially for me, and similar to one his paintings that I had been previously been admiring. The painting is of the beautiful view looking out over the back of Radovljica, across the valley and towards Triglav.

To see this view at its best, there is a new viewing platform which can be reached by walking through the old town in Radovljica and turning right shortly before the church. There is an information board which details all the sights and a couple of benches, perfect for simply sitting and soaking up the views.

Thankfully the forecast looks more promising for the week ahead so I hope to be able to get out and about a lot more. In the meantime, here are a few things going on in Radovljica and the surrounding areas in the coming week:

• 2^nd – 8^th June: Country Week in Loka – A variety of events taking place in Škofja Loka and the surrounding villages including guided walks, cookery workshops, farmers markets and more
• 6^th – 9^th June: Radovljica Swimming Pool – 37^th Open Swimming Championships
• Thursday 6^th June: Radovljica Manor House – Gala Concert with Manca Izmajalova and others

More information about events in Radovljica, and about the villages in the surrounding areas, can be found here – http://www.radolca.si/en/what-to-do/

On Wednesday last week, before the snow made a(nother) re-appearance, and for the first time this year, I walked one of my favourite paths in the Karavanke mountain range. Radovljica, where I live, is ideally situated for lovers of hiking since it is surrounded by the Karavanke to the north and the Julian Alps to the south – so we are spoilt for choice!

The Shepherd’s Trail (Pastirska pot) begins in the Draga Valley (689m), which is reached via the village of Begunje na Gorenjskem. The path then climbs steeply up, crossing a stream in several places and with one short section of climbing, to the Preval pasture and mountain hut Koča na planini Preval-a (1311m). From here there are a number of choices of route onwards – the Shepherd’s Trail follows the mountain road uphill until it meets another path (cez Roža) which traverses the slopes of Begunščica, passing the Roža brook, until finally reaching the Roblek Mountain hut – Koča na Robleku (1657m). The path is narrow and in places somewhat exposed in a few places when crosses gulleys, but otherwise presents no problems; but a good hiking boots and a pair of walking poles are needed. What I particularly like about this path is that a) its circular, b) the views when crossing Roža are fantastic and c) I seldom meet many other hikers (perhaps I should keep quiet about this path so it stays that way!).

At 2060m, Begunščica is the 2^nd highest mountain in the chain that forms part of the Karavanke. The Karavanke form a natural border between Slovenia and Austria and are 120km in length. Most hikers visiting Slovenia tend to head for the more Julian Alps, particularly the area around the 7 Triglav Lakes valley, and Triglav itself, Slovenia’s highest mountain. The Karavanke are in general less known and therefore less walked than the Julian Alps, which for me is an added bonus. There are numerous mountain huts and because they are often lower and more easily accessible, there is a wide choice of day walks or walks that can be combined to make a longer trip. Many parts of the Karavanke remain untouched and are free from commercialism – no huge ski resorts, no main roads and therefore no crowds.

Before I moved to Slovenia, when I was just visiting for holidays, I bought myself a copy of the Cicerone book ‘The Julian Alps of Slovenia’. Now I’m pleased to say they have just launched a new book ‘Walking in Slovenia – The Karavanke’. I’ve walked many of the routes in the book but there are a few that I haven’t and so they have been added to the ‘To Do’ list and no doubt I’ll be writing about them some time in the not too distant future, when the sun puts its hat back on! – http://www.cicerone.co.uk/search/?keyword=slovenia&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

The highest mountain in the Karavanke is Stol (2236m) and I’m fortunate enough to be able to see it every morning when I wake up and look out of my bedroom window. Stol is definitely up there too on my list of favourite walks, so as soon as the snow completely melts you can be sure I’ll be up there too. The route to Stol, both from the Slovene and Austrian side, is also described in the book.

The weather was fairly atrocious last weekend. It was even snowing in some of the higher lying places in the valley, above 800m. Fortunately Radovljica itself escaped the snow but it was back to winter clothes, including gloves and hat, for a chilly, wet weekend.

Unfortunately the weather meant the opening of the new ‘Path of Poljane Treats’ in Škofja Loka was cancelled and has been postponed until September. Still, that’s something to look forward to! However, the Radovljica Pottery Festival still went ahead as we are fortunate in Radovljica to have the beautiful Mansion House (pictured above) where events can be held if the weather is bad. The festival included exhibitions and demonstrations, a pottery craft fair, an international potter’s competition, culinary fare and children’s workshops.  A great feature was the offer to buy your own handmade bowl and then go into one of the restaurants or cafes in the old town and have it filled with a traditional stew or ice-cream. Under normal circumstances, I might have plumped for the ice-cream but it was so cold a hearty stew was the order of the day!

Upcoming events for this weekend include a flea market (boljšak), which takes place on the first Sunday of each month in the old town centre of Radovljica – outdoors if weather permits or in the Mansion House otherwise. More information about this, and other events in Radol’ca, can be found here – http://www.radolca.si/en/what-to-do/ Also on Friday this week it’s the final of the Na Zdravje programme on Slovenia’s TV1 and it will also be the final of the search to find the best song from each town and region in Slovenia. The heats took place some while ago and the Radovljica song is through to the final. So, if you’re in Slovenia make sure you vote for us and you can listen to the song here – http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/16938978/Radolca

It was a busy but highly enjoyable weekend. My parents and brother arrived on Friday and joined me and some friends for a meal at the Lake House Inn (Jezerska hiša) at Bled Golf Course – http://lake-house-bled.com/index.html. I chose this venue as it is a beautiful setting and the food is always great too. It was a lovely evening with great food, cocktails and company – so thanks to those that came to help me celebrate and hope you enjoyed it!

After torrential downpours all day on Friday, fortunately the sun shone all day on Saturday and we made the most of it. My family were staying at the Lectar Inn in the old town centre of Radovljica – http://www.lectar.com/_en/index.html. Since Saturday was an open day for all museums in Slovenia, they took the opportunity to visit Šivec House (Šivceva hiša), which is directly opposite the Inn. Šivec House is a mid-sixteenth century building with its front dominated by a fresco portraying a Good Samaritan, and comprises a gallery and museum with a permanent collection and regular exhibitions by Slovene and foreign fine artists – http://www.radolca.si/en/radovljica-sivec-house/

Following this we walked to the adjoining town of Lesce where a celebration of 130 years of the Radovljica Beekeeping Association was being held. There were stalls, a huge marquee, music and much merriment. The previous day a new honey beer (medeno pivo) had been launched, so in the interest of research we each had a little taster!

Next we drove to Škofja Loka for a stroll through the medieval old town centre and a walk up past the castle. We sat outside one of the many cafes enjoying the sun and people watching as there was a Slovene style stag night (fantovščina) taking place which made things lively, but pleasantly so. Next it was off to Kranj for a quick look in the museum and to the viewing platform at Pungart over the Kokra river and then for dinner.

On Sunday morning the sun was still just about shining so we went for a walk around Radovljica and by the Sava river. The heavens opened in the afternoon and then it was already time to drive my family back to the airport. So it was a short visit but lovely for us all to be together as my brother is so busy, it’s rare that we all get together so I appreciated him taking the time out of his hectic schedule to come and visit his little sis!

I have a feeling the next weekend could be equally busy too as there is lots happening. On Saturday its the Radovljica Pottery Festival, where there will be various ceramic exhibitions, a sales fair, pottery display, a concert and more – http://www.radolca.si/en/what-to-do/events-1/pottery-festival-radovljica/83/132/

Also on Saturday it’s the Moon Festival (Lunin Festival) in Visoko in Škofja Loka –http://www.skofja-loka.com/domov/luninfestivalnavisokem.aspx. The main theme of this children’s festival is the playing of traditional games, that some of us who are slightly older may remember from childhood. In addition to the festival, and what for me will be the main attraction, is the opening of the new Path of Poljane Treats. This is a food trail which leads through the Poljane Valley, with the emphasis on the valley’s farms where a wide variety of home-grown and home-produced products can be bought direct from the farms.

There was rather more than a dusting of snow on the mountain tops again this morning and sounds like there’s more to come later this week too. Let’s hope it doesn’t dent my plans for the weekend. So much for my statement a few weeks back about summer having arrived – think I had better leave the forecasting to the experts!

After a cold and wet weekend, there’s a light dusting of snow on the mountain tops this morning. However, the sky is blue and the sun is now shining once again, which is a promising start to the week.

Last weekend I went to visit some English friends who recently moved to Slovenia. I actually met this couple at the Roblek mountain hut (Roblekov dom), where I often walk, whilst they were here on holiday some years back and we have since then kept in touch. They had long dreamt about moving to Slovenia but it has taken some years for them to be able to realise that dream and finally make the move.

They have moved to a tiny village where there is little other than a handful of houses and a church. The nearest town is Mozirje, which is the largest town in the Upper Savinja valley and most known for the Mozirski gaj Flower Park, which is at its best at this time of year when the flowers are in full bloom. The park, which is open daily from the middle of April to October, is crammed full of interesting sights and exhibitions – not only flowers but also traditional Slovene beehives, a watermill, a blacksmith’s forge and the oldest house in Mozirje, which was moved to the park last year. Here’s a link to the website, although it’s currently only in Slovene but I’m on the case and hope to have that rectified very soon! I will then post the English link (and some more photos) as soon as its available – http://www.mozirskigaj.com/

Whilst in Mozirje, I took the opportunity to have a walk (of course) and followed a short part of the Benedikt Path (Benediktova pot) alongside the Savinja river. On returning home I discovered that this is a pilgrimage path which is 90km long in total. Pilgrims used to walk the path in three stages – starting in Austria (St. Paul – Lavam) on Fridays then walking to the Slovene town of Slovenj Gradec for mass. The second day they continued to Mozirje, where they visited the Mozirski gaj and attended another mass. On Sunday they continued their journey ending in Gornji Grad.

Anyway, back to my friends which I mentioned above. The problem is, he is fine but she is feeling very isolated there in the middle of nowhere and finding life difficult with no friends or outside interests. She doesn’t speak any Slovene either which of course doesn’t help. I’m writing about this because being with them reminded me how lucky I am to live here in Radovljica where there is always something happening, here or nearby, and where everything is to hand – cinema, swimming pool, doctors surgery, shops, museums, restaurants etc.

This weekend was the 41^st International Day of Minerals, Fossils and Environment (MINFOS) in nearby Trzič. This event, which is one of the main mineral exhibitions of its kind in Europe, features over 70 exhibitors from around the world. It attracts over 5,000 visitors who come to view the exhibits, join in discussions, exchange opinions and meet experts – http://www.minfos.si/index_eng.php

The next event to look forward to here in Radovljica is the new and much anticipated Pottery Festival taking place on the weekend of 25th May. Also, on Saturday 18th May in Lesce (at the Gorenjska Beekeeping Centre), there’s a Beekeepers celebration taking place with the introduction of a new ‘honey beer’ plus music and a host of other bee related things.

From now on, I’m going to endeavour to write not only about where I’ve been and recommendations for where to go, but also about forthcoming events so here are couple of other events taking place this weekend elsewhere:

• 18th May – Museum Open Day (free entrance to museums throughout Slovenia)
• 18/19th May – Zelefest in Zali Log – The Suša Run, Oopening of the new Suša Path, Live Music….
• 19th May – Magic Day in Bled – family event

Meanwhile, my parents and brother are arriving this Friday for the weekend so I’m looking forward to taking them out and about exploring – more about that next week!

Lovers of winter sports are in their element in Slovenia this year with plenty of snow at all the major ski resorts, numerous tracks for cross-country skiing and also several good mountain roads, which have been prepared into sledging tracks.

I, unfortunately, am not keen on any of these sports but I do enjoy winter hiking if the snow conditions are right and if it is a nice sunny day – as it was on Saturday. Well actually, here in Radovljica it was somewhat cloudy but that’s one advantage of living close to the mountains, if it’s cloudy down here in the valley, it’s more often than not sunny up above, so with a little effort you can soon be up enjoying the warmth of the sun, relishing the views and reaping the rewards of ones effort.

Having spent 20 minutes shovelling snow to clear a parking space (that’s winter in the Alps!), the walk towards Dovška Baba began. The peak of Dovška Baba (1891m) is part of the Karavanke Alps and is most directly reached from the village of Dovje. This is a walk I do a good few times a year and always usually go to the top, from where there are stunning views in all directions, towards Slovenia on one side, and Austria on the other. However, with the current amount of snow it took longer to get just half-way up than it would usually take to get to the top and back. But it was just so lovely to be outside and to feel the warmth of the sun and being there, up above the clouds it was almost like I had momentarily entered a different country, or at least a different season. Of course I wasn’t alone in seeking the sun and some snowy fun, there were quite a few people walking up with skis or snowboards on their backs, some snowshoeing and also quite a few others dragging their sledges up, in order to enjoy the rapid descent. This photo, taken on the way up, shows the views over the Julian Alps and to Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain (2864m).

Radovljica is sandwiched between the Karavanke and the Julian Alps, so there is a wide range of choice for all kinds of sporting activities, both summer and winter, for adrenalin seekers or for those wanting a more gentle experience or just to enjoy the views, and all within easy reach. Radovljica is in the region of Gorenjska, which is also home to Slovenia’s only national park, Triglav National Park.

Triglav National Park (TNP) is named after Triglav, the highest point in the park, whilst the lowest part is the Tolminka Gorge at 180m. TNP extends along the Italian border and close to the Austrian border in the north-west of Slovenia and covers 880 square kilometres, or more than 3% of Slovenia. Two-thirds of TNP is covered by forest, the predominant species on the south side being beech whilst on the north side spruce and larch trees dominate. In fact, wherever you go in Gorenjska you won’t be far from a forest since ¾ of the region is covered by it.

TNP is a paradise for hikers, although it must be noted that there are some strict rules in place to protect the flora and fauna within the park i.e. flowers may not be picked, fires may not be lit and camping is not permitted anywhere within the park. More information about TNP can be found here – http://www.tnp.si/national_park/

A fun, and different, experience for hikers wishing to stay overnight, is to stay in one of the mountain huts within the park. A stay is a good way to sample a bit of the real Slovenia – just don’t expect too many home comforts – but a bed and a home-cooked meal is often all you need after a long day of hiking. I’ve spent quite a few nights sleeping in various huts and its always an interesting experience!

I thought I would start this week’s blog by writing about some of the upcoming events happening in Radovljica and elsewhere in Slovenia in the coming months. Of course this is just a small selection of events and I will endeavour to keep blogging about more interesting events as and when I come across them and posting reports and photos of those which I attend. I’ll be noting them in my diary – I hope you will be too!

There was more sporting success for Slovenia last weekend when Tina Maze won the slalom at the Women’s Golden Fox (Zlata lisica) event and came second in the giant slalom – just missing out by 0.08 seconds. The Golden Fox event is held annually at the Maribor Pohorje ski resort and so her success was even sweeter in front of a very enthusiastic home crowd! Additionally, ski jumper Robert Kranjec won his first World Cup victory of the season in Norway.

Ski jumping has traditionally been considered a male sport but last year the first FIS Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup was held in Slovenia and it the event will be taking place again this month. The host town is Ljubno ob Savinji, a small town in the Upper Savinja Valley, which lies approximately halfway between the capital, Ljubljana, and the second city Maribor, and the town is synonymous with ski jumping.

Continuing on the ski jumping theme, another major skiing event which takes place here annually in March is the Planica FIS World Cup Ski Jumping Final which is a crazy weekend full of sport and partying with a great atmosphere (or so I’m told anyway!).

Although they didn’t win, the Slovene Handball team came in fourth place in the World Championships last week. It was disappointing to lose to Croatia but nevertheless it was the best ever result for the national team.

Slovenia will also host the European Basketball Championships this year from 4^th – 22^nd September with matches due to take place in Ljubljana, Jesenice, Koper and Celje.

Personally, being probably the world’s biggest chocoholic, I’m most looking forward to the Chocolate Festival to be held in April here in Radovljica. It was held for the first time last year and was so successful that this year it is going to be held over two days, rather than one – mmm, twice as much chocolate!

By the way, just in case it’s confusing Radol’ca is the name of the tourist region which includes the main town of Radovljica plus surrounding towns and villages including Begunje, Kropa and Lesce. More information about the area, events and other information can be found here – http://www.radolca.si/en/

There were a couple of days of beautiful winter sunshine this past week so I was, of course, out and about walking, with my crampons on of course as its rather icy in places now. At this time of year I often walk from home, either because I’m short of time or to save having to de-ice the car. An easy to reach destination, which offers great views for relatively little effort, is to Talež (725m). Talež is part of Jelovica, a vast plateau which dominates the view to the south side of Radovljica. The highest point of Jelovica is 1,411m and it is entirely covered by forest. There are numerous places to walk and it is also great for mountain biking BUT, a note of caution, it is huge and you could very easily get lost if you stray from the marked paths. The views from Talež across to Lake Bled and across the valley to the Karavanke Alps make it well worth the effort and there is a small hunter’s hut (pictured above) which offers drinks and home-made food (only open at weekends during the off-peak season). There are numerous routes up, none of which take longer than an hour, including those starting from the villages of Lancovo, Ribno, Selo, and Bodešče.

Brrr….. its been a cold week, but at least sunny too, and I’ve promised myself I won’t make the weather the topic of every blog – well you know how us Brits like to talk about the weather! Instead my aim is to try to help potential visitors to Slovenia with ideas and tips for trips around Slovenia, and in particular in and around Radovljica, together with giving a little bit of insider information on life here too.

I had a nice day out in Ljubljana on Friday. I go there to work once a month, which makes a nice change for me as I work from home so don’t have much social contact with people, and although I’m not a city person, and wouldn’t want to live and work there, Ljubljana certainly doesn’t have that intimidating big city feel. In fact, many people say it’s more like a lot of little villages together and I’d agree with that. I love going for a walk in Tivoli Park, you can totally forget where you are, a definite oasis of calm and green in the centre of the city. I also love walking up to Ljubljana Castle for a great view over the city and from here you can get a perspective of the relatively small size of the place as the mountains beyond the city seem almost within spitting distance.

Actually that’s one of the advantages of Slovenia in general – its smallness, which means that nowhere is more than a few hours drive away and you can take your pick from a wide choice of activities and sights without long distances in between. For visitors to Slovenia this means they can pack a lot into a holiday without losing too much precious holiday time driving from A to B.

For me, another advantage is that Slovenia is also bordered by 4 other countries; Austria, Italy, Croatia and Hungary, so combining holidays or going on day trips to other countries is easy. I’ll never forget my initial excitement at being able to drive to Austria and Italy to go walking, exploring and shopping, and since there are no borders nowadays, with the exception of Croatia, it’s even easier.

From Radovljica there are a number of possibilities for making day trips to bordering countries, whether by car, train or sometimes I even go by bike. Not that I go that often, just a few times per year, as there’s still so much for me to see and do here, but it’s a definite bonus. There are a number of options for reaching Austria by car, the quickest and nearest to me being through the Karavanke Tunnel (payable) or via the Old Ljubelj Pass (free but very steep and windy) to reach Klagenfurt in Austria. To reach Italy I can just drive to Kranjska Gora, which is about 45 mins from Radovljica, then just keep going, past Rateče and straight into Italy, which is incidentally also the way I go by bike.

Of course in the winter it’s not always possible to drive over the mountain passes and it is wise to check the road conditions first but the Karavanke Tunnel is not affected by adverse weather. Here’s a useful website for up-to-date traffic information in Slovenia- http://www.promet.si/portal/en/1traffic-conditions.aspx

A place I like to go for a hike is up to Tromeja (1508m), which means Three Borders, as it is literally the meeting point of Slovenia, Austria and Italy and it was here that a ceremony took place when Slovenia officially entered the EU. Silly I know but I can remember being so excited when I first walked up there and just couldn’t decide which of the three countries to sit and eat my sandwich in! In the end I plumped for Slovenia since I thought the view was better. Tromeja is popular with hikers, bikers and skiers too. There is a choice of two routes up from the Slovene side, both starting from the village of Rateče. Both routes start ascending on forest roads – the easier routes continues following the road whilst the steeper route goes up through the forest.

I could write so much more about other trips in this area too but I’ll leave that until another time and instead offer this wintery photo of me descending from Tromeja and which shows the kind of views you can expect!

© Adele in Slovenia

The past week has pretty much been dominated by the abundance of snow. Unfortunately there have yet to be any nice cold, crisp sunny days to be able to get out into the mountains walking in it, and of course at the moment the risk of avalanches is extremely high so common sense and caution are the order of the day.

Therefore, it was time for some low-level snowshoeing in the Vrata valley. If you’ve never tried snowshoeing, imagine having a tennis racket strapped to each foot and trying to walk in snow knee-deep. It can feel rather awkward and clumsy at first as one has to adopt a rather wider than usual stance but the snowshoes do at least allow you to walk in the snow without being completely waist deep in it. Well that’s the theory anyway but at the moment, with so much fresh snow, it still felt like wading through knee-deep mud wearing tennis rackets – I discovered muscles I didn’t know I had!

Vrata is one of three beautiful alpine valleys in the north-west of Slovenia. Of the three valleys, Vrata is the most impressive and is a popular start point for walks into the high mountains, particularly to Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain at 2864m.

The 12km long valley is also home to the Peričnik waterfalls which are a popular visitor attraction and are easily accessible from the village of Mojstrana. There are two waterfalls; the upper (16m) and the lower (52m) and a great feature is that it’s possible to walk under the lower fall making a great photo stop. In the summer you can walk or drive along the length of the entire valley. The 12km long Triglavska Bistrica path runs alongside the Bistrica stream. It crosses the river in places with short sections of road walking but makes a pleasant walk particularly in the summer being near the cool water and you get to see so much more than if visiting the valley by car. But it’s a long walk and there’s no public transport so bear that in mind.

At the foot of the Vrata valley the mountain hut Aljažev dom (1015m) is one of the most visited mountain huts in Slovenia. However, as you can see from the photo below, the valley isn’t accessible in the winter – this is the road which in places has a steep 25% incline. But those persistent enough (that’s me by the way!) can still visit with snowshoes or skis. Actually, this year the road was closed earlier than usual by landslides caused by flooding in the autumn but repairs were already underway before the snowfall so hopefully it will be all ok again by the tourist season.

When walking in the winter, whether in the mountains or even on low level walks, you really have to double, if not triple, the time it would usually take to get anywhere and of course you must certainly be well equipped and well prepared. I can’t stress that enough. Having previously lived with a member of the Slovene Mountain Rescue Team, I all too frequently heard reports about accidents in the mountains, both in winter and summer and these are often due to people being unprepared, ill-equipped and over-estimating their abilities.

Elsewhere in Slovenia, a public sector strike is scheduled for this Wednesday and the coalition is hanging by a thread with three parties threatening to leave if the PM doesn’t resign. Hmmm, no comment!

And here’s an interesting fact which I heard this morning on the radio and didn’t know. Ljubljana University is one of the biggest in Europe with over 64,000 students – three times as many as Oxford University. You live and learn!