Country Road Scenery
Slovenia
There is a magical place in the small country of Slovenia. Slovenia is located just above and to the right of Italy. This posting will attempt to show you just how special it is.
4 Hours From Our Home Is Kog
We went to a tiny village called Kog, located in the upper right hand corner near the boarders of Croatia, Hungary and just a bit farther one can find Austria. Therefore, you can expect that the houses in Slovenia to look quite a bit like ones you will find in those countries. Many are covered with flowers near windows and in front to greet everyone with a smile and a good feeling.
Rows and Rows of Vines
Kog is famous for a wine maker named Milan Hlebec, and this area is called Jeruzalem Road. The hills are crammed with grape vines of many types, and if the hillsides are touched by the sun, there will be vines. You will find other crops growing, but mostly for family use. Most of the villages are located at the top of the rolling hills, which allows for more ground to be available for vines.
Castles to Explore
13 years ago I hardly knew where Slovenia was located, I knew that Yugoslavia had broken up into other smaller countries, but I really had no clue about its history, people and customs. I was asked to attend an artist colony in Kog, a major journey from Denver, Colorado. Artists would meet, paint and enjoy the food and wines at the large Hlebec winery/bed and breakfast. All the artists would leave a painting for the Hlebec collection on the last day. This was a real honor to be selected and I did not hesitate to confirm I would attend.
This week turned out to be one of my most memorable weeks of my life. This is why we went back last week, to renew friendships and enjoy the beautiful scenery, food and wine.
On my first visit, my Slovenian painter friend, Bohan, suddenly stopped the car and pointed to the sky. I looked up and saw a huge stork nest. Having never seen a stork before I was amazed to see the huge size. Then I saw a stork...HUGE. Here is one flying, which reminded me of seeing a flying dinosaur it was so big.
In the town of Ormoz, there is a large nest on top of a house, featured in the video. We saw three other storks while in the area. We also saw 3 deer, very small ones, which seemed unafraid until our car got within 10 feet of them.
Anytime we can escape what I call pasta land we enjoy the different foods. Slovenian cooks know how to make a stomach happy. Milan Hlebec's wife is the ultimate expert. She told us that she is out of bed at 3:00 preparing food and trekking out to find herbs and mushrooms. We were surprised to see a pile of mushrooms as back in Italy this is not the season. I had never seen a blue mushroom before, and she had a pile of different types.
The next day some of them were mixed with egg for our breakfast.
While sitting under a roof of vines our glass was never empty as Milan proudly kept pouring his wine. No one was refusing. Spending a few hours, relaxing and talking to Milan (translations by his son) made a nice afternoon, and, a nice nap, after.
On our last night, my painter friend, Bohan, brought his family and we dined under the vines while listening to a young lady perform on the accordion. She played for over two hours, all Slovenian songs. The lady with the stripes on the left is Milan's wife a gifted chef with secret recipes.
Her fingers flew around a button style accordion, which is interesting to me, as mine is a keyboard. Her bass buttons had a low wheezing sound that is sometimes typical of European squeeze boxes. Her sound was like going to an antique shop to find lots of old and interesting objects. Listening to historical music is just like going to a museum to me. When she finished she packed up her accordion and headed down the hill on her bicycle. It had been a good night to be alive.
Here are some shots of the food we tried. I left the fried frog legs out because it looks like the bottom half of a fried bambina. If you ever get a chance to have this dish, don't pass it up. Yes, like chicken.
The Sauces!
Hop Farm in Celje, Slovenia
There are a lot of farms that grow hops which is used to make beer. The bitter taste in beer comes from hops. Slovenia has some major beer makers and this hops farm was just across from our bed and breakfast. I can testify that their beer is very good, we brought some home for later this Fall.
Even The Bees Enjoy Color
That Is One Sweet Truck
Slovenia is a beautiful country, mountains, hills, lakes, friendly people, and great cuisine. People considering a trip to Europe think about Paris, Rome, Firenze, Pisa, Berlin, and London. Big cities are destinations to visit, but small countries like Slovenia can take you back to old Europe, kind of how it used to be while having all the modern conveniences. I am happy to live so close that we can go several times a year. I hope you have enjoyed my fotos and you might consider going some day. Many of them will be a future watercolor painting.
Ciao! Stay Safe.
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