Tag Archives: Easter in Slovenia

The 12th Radovljica Chocolate Festival + Easter in Slovenia

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Festivals in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Slovenian railways, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

It’s amazing how time flies. It only seems like it was a few years ago that the first Radovljica Chocolate Festival took place, yet next weekend – 12th and 13th April 2025 – it’ll be the 12th festival already.

Although, of course, the main theme of the festival is chocolate, the packed entertainment programme means there’s something for all the family, even those (strange people :-)) who don’t like chocolate!

I went to the festival press conference last week to find out all about what’s new at this year’s festival, including:

  • A total of 22 chocolatiers, of which two are from Austria, one from Hungary and one from Croatia and the remainder from Slovenia.
  • Visitors are encouraged to travel to the festival by public transport, and an agreement has been reached with Slovenian Railways that over the 2-day festival, international trains will also stop at Radovljica.
  • This year, for the first time, the Slovenian Beekeeping Association has become a partner, through the ‘It’s from Europe‘ programme and will set up a special ‘theme park’ in Linhart Square in front of St. Peter’s church.

  • This year, for the first time, the Slovenian Beekeeping Association has become a partner of the Radovjlica Chocolate Festival, through the ‘It’s from Europe‘ programme. The partnership has resulted in a new culinary souvenir named ‘Eat the chocolate and plant the wrapper‘. The chocolate bar is filled with certified Slovenian honey, while the wrapper is made from biodegradable paper that contains the seeds of honey plants; after eating the chocolate, the wrapper can be planted. The chocolate bar will be available to purchase at the Tourism Radol’ca stand at the festival. Other honey products will be available at the Slovenian Beekeeping Association stand.

Other highlights, of which there are far too many to list them all, include a chocolate roulette…

…workshops with the Dunking Devils…

…and a chocolate-themed fashion show; this year’s theme is dark chocolate.

Every year, prior to the festival, a competition takes place to find the Best Chocolate Praline.

This year’s winning chocolates are:

First place: Berry blaze (Molinet chocolatier)

Second place: Pistachio and lemon (Lucifer chocolatier)

Third place: Gold tequila and orange (Dobnik chocolatier)

Visitors to the festival also have the chance to taste the three winning chocolates and vote for their favourite.

This year, in addition to the festival goings-on in Radovljica Park, Linhart Square and Radovljica Manor, interesting medieval-themed events will take place in the square in front of St. Peter’s Church.

Click here to open the festival website and see the full programme for both days.

The Radovljica Tourist Information Centre is housed in the building you can see below and is the place to go during the festival if you require any additional information.

Take a look at (some of) the highlights of last year’s festival below.

The weekend following the Chocolate Festival is Easter, which is particularly late this year. If you are thinking about, or planning to, visit Slovenia for Easter, then you can read my previous blog about Easter Traditions in Slovenia.

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

© Adele in Slovenia

What Not to Miss in 2025 in Radol’ca and the Surroundings

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Begunje na Gorenjskem, Christmas in Slovenia, coeliac disease, EXPO, gluten free food in Slovenia, Gluten-Free Expo Slovenia, hiking in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Slovenia blog, Slovenian food, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

For my first blog of the year 2025, I decided to start with an overview of all the year holds in store here in Radovljica and the surroundings, so that you can put important dates in your diaries (does anyone still use paper diaries these days? Perhaps I should say into your online diary!) and plan your visit.

I’m a bit late for January, so to make it up to you, here’s a photo I took this morning from St. Peter’s Church, above the village of Begunje na Gorenjskem.

Photo: Adele in Slovenia

Even though we should be in the midst of winter, the weather at the moment is very much spring-like. Whilst winter in the capital, Ljubljana, often means days on end of heavy fog, here in Radovljica we are fortunate that we mostly avoid the fog, and even if it does appear, we don’t have to go far to get up above it.

Photo: Adele in Slovenia

So, here’s a snapshot of whats on in 2025 in Radol’ca.

February

Of course, the month of love and romance!

If you prefer not to waste money on overpriced flowers and soppy cards, then how about treating your loved one to a Valentine’s Day Meal and/or Getaway at one of the Taste Radol’ca restaurants, such as Hiša Linhart in Radovljica or Gostišče Draga in the Draga Valley, both of which have special Valentine’s menus.

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Gostišče Draga: https://www.gostisce-draga.si/

Hiša Linhart in Radovljica

February in Slovenia also means carnival time and carnival time means doughnuts!

Among the most popular doughnuts in Slovenia are those at Trojane, about an hour’s drive from Radovljica, which is famous for its super-sized jam- and custard-filled doughnuts.

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https://gp-trojane.si/sl

The date of pust, as carnival time is called in Slovene, varies from year to year and can be in either February or March, but is always on a Tuesday 47 days before Easter (Shrove Tuesday). One day later, on Ash Wednesday, some begin a 40-day fast. And because pust precedes a period of fasting, carnival time involves copious amounts of fried food, mainly doughnuts, krostule and fritule.

March

Every year during carnival time, a Shrovide carnival procession takes place through the streets of Radovljica, as well as numerous other towns and villages throughout the country. This year’s procession will take place on 1st March. You can read more about carnival celebrations elsewhere in Slovenia here.

April

April in Radovljica is all about chocolate!

The annual 2-day Radovljica Chocolate Festival is the highlight of the year for many chocoholics. This year’s festival will take place on 12-13th April 2025.

April also means Easter, which is particularly late this year; Easter Sunday is on 20th April. You can read more about coloured Easter eggs and other Easter traditions in a blog titled Easter in Slovenia, which I wrote last year.

May

Spring is a great time to start spending more time outdoors, and in the Radovljica area and surroundings, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to hiking trails and cycling routes.

Among my favourite hikes in spring, well actually in winter too, are the trails to Suharna, Roblek, and Talež.

June

The Radovljica Craft Beer Festival takes place in Radovljica’s park, close to the historic old town. The festival is a coming together of craft beer, street-food, music and socialising.

The international Shake the Change Swing Festival is another very popular event in Radovljica. This year’s 2-day festival will be on 20th and 21st June.

July and August

Summer in Radovljica means Thursdays in the Square, featuring live music and Taste Radol’ca street food, as well as free open-air cinema screenings at various locations throughout the municipality.

September

Gluten-Free Expo Slovenia in Radovljica is the place to be for those with coeliac disease, gluten intolerance or who avoid gluten for any other reasons.

 

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https://sourdoughmania.com/

Last year’s Expo attracted visitors from far and wide, and this year’s event will feature, among others, cookery workshops run by a gluten-free provider from Algeria.

This year’s Expo in Radovljica will take place on 27th and 28th September. Visit the Expo website here, and you can also read more about last year’s event here, on a brand new website by a lady from Poland, who, together with her family, attended the 2024 Expo and loved it so much they plan to come back again this year. Thanks Dora!

October 

Culinary Autumn in Radovljica includes culinary events and guided experiences at local farms, restaurants, dairy farms and more.

November

The Taste Radol’ca Month of Local Menus includes two unique Taste Radol’ca culinary experiences and local menus featuring traceable ingredients at 7 restaurants for a set price.

Gostišče Tulipan in Lesce

December

The festive season begins with the switching-on of the lights, which is always a really popular event in Radovljica, as well as elsewhere in the country. The entertainment programme over the festive season in Radovljica includes a small Christmas market, various street shows, live music and more.

For more information about all the events scheduled for this year, click here.

© Adele in Slovenia

 

 

Easter Traditions in Slovenia

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian culture, Slovenian food, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

With Easter just a few days away, I thought I’d write a blog on Easter traditions in Slovenia, covering everything from religious and secular celebrations to, of course, food and other traditions.

Easter is celebrated here in a number of ways. It begins on Palm Sunday when people can be seen flocking to churches around the country carrying bundles of branches and leaves, called butare, which are then blessed as part of a custom thought to date back as far as the 9th century.

Easter ‘butare’ bundles in front of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Brezje. Photo: Visit Radol’ca

Žegnane – the blessing of food on Easter Saturday – takes places around the country in front of or in churches or, as seen below in Lancovo, near Radovljica, at shrines in smaller settlements. People take baskets of food, covered with embroidered cloths, to be blessed. However, this food cannot be eaten until Easter Sunday. Then, after a period of abstinence (by some), with a fast beginning on Ash Wednesday, food becomes a big deal as tables in homes around the country can be found bursting under the weight of potica, which is the star of the show, as well as baked ham, horseradish, eggs and more.

Potica is a traditional Slovenian sweet baked at Christmas and Easter holidays, and is arguably the most famous Slovenian dish. It could be said that no Slovenian holiday is truly complete without a slice of traditional potica. Apparently, there are over 80 different types of potica in Slovenia, yet in most shops and bakeries there are only the usual staple varieties, such as; walnut – by far the most commonly found – as well as poppy seed, tarragon, coconut, and potratna –  a layered ‘luxury’ potica, made with curd cheese, walnuts and layers of light and dark sponge.

Gluten-free potica is also now widely available, such as seen below, so no need for us coeliacs to miss out.

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Gluten-free walnut potica and coconut potica – Sladki butik Ines

Pirhi, another staple on tables at Easter, are coloured eggs, traditionally dyed using onion skins. Spring flowers or leaves are attached to the eggs during the dying process to produce the characteristic pattern.

The game of ‘fucanje‘ traditionally takes place at Easter. Players compete in a coin throwing contest, each aiming for their coin to land closest to the target. The winners then ‘takes all’!

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On Easter Sunday in the municipality of Radovljica ‘fucanje‘ takes place outside the cultural centre in the villages of Mošnje and also in Begunje na Gorenjskem behind the Pr’ Tavčar restaurant.

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Rolling eggs, or Easter egg hunts, are other traditional Easter games.

Lov na pirhe na Blejskem gradu - THE Slovenia

On Easter Sunday, a typical Easter feast in Slovenia usually looks something like this…

I can’t finish this blog without mentioning the retirement of Slovenia’s best ever ski jumper, Peter Prevec, who officially made his last competitive jumps at Planica last weekend.

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Peter’s records speak for themself, among them:

  • 203 FIS WC appearances
  • 51 FIS WC appearances
  • FIS WC victories
  • 15 wins in one season
  • Winner of the Crystal Globe 2015/2016
  • Winner of the Ski Flying Crystal Globe in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16
  • Silver and Bronze medal winner at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014
  • Silver and bronze medalist at the Nordic World Ski Championships

Originally from the Poljane Valley, Peter now lives with his wife and two children in Radovljica. To show our gratitude and appreciation to him, the town is putting on a celebrate his exceptional sports career this Tuesday (i.e. tomorrow) at 5pm, to which everyone is invited, featuring live music with Saša Avsenik and the Lesce Wind Orchestra.

And finally, it’s less than a month until the Radovljica Chocolate Festival. This year’s festival will take place on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st April and, as ever, will feature a chocolate-packed and entertainment-packed programme, so plan your visit now! Should you need any help planning your visit, contact the Radovljica Tourist Information Centre.

© Adele in Slovenia

Fucanje: a traditional Easter game of money, money, money!

Posted in Begunje, Mosnje, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Uncategorized by

The game of ‘fucanje‘ traditionally takes place at Easter in Slovenia. It involves players, all male, competing in a coin throwing contest, each aiming for their coin to land closest to the target. The winners then ‘takes all’!

On Easter Sunday in the municipality of Radovljica ‘fucanje‘ took place outside the cultural centre in the villages of Mošnje and also in Begunje na Gorenjskem behind the Tavčar restaurant.

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It’s nice to see these kinds of traditions being upheld, and the events always draw quite a crowd.

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At the cultural centre in Mošnje there was also an Easter exhibition of coloured eggs, known as ‘pirhi‘, created by children from the local school, as well as an exhibition of lacework produced by the Železniki Pensioners Association.

There were coloured eggs of all shapes and sizes. These ones were produced using a silk technique.

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These were dyed using teran wine. Apparently it doesn’t affect the taste – shame about that!

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This one’s an ostrich egg!

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And these cute little coloured eggs, which must have involved a painstaking amount of work, are quail’s eggs.

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These ones are just plain old eggs, but I couldn’t resist them!

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Though it’s a fairly small village, the Mošnje Tourist Association is quite active and arranges quite a number of annual events. The next such will be the mid-summer’s eve bonfire on 17th June, whilst on 23rd and 24th September the village’s main event ‘Mošnje Days’ takes places. There is also a small museum in the village as well as an interesting archeological trail. You can read more about the village in a previous post here – https://adeleinslovenia.com/2015/07/20/all-about-mosnje/ and about the archeological trail and the museum here – http://www.radolca.si/en/mosnje-archaeological-trail/ and here – http://www.radolca.si/en/mosnje-museum/

Happy Easter!

© AdeleinSlovenia 2016