We were in Slovenia for four weeks to the day – what a fantastic country, albeit a little – ok maybe an understatement – wet in places, but that is why like the UK, Slovenia is so beautiful.

We had a little taster of the coast, the national parks, the lakes, the caves and the gastronomic delights of Styria – both in Slovenia and also now Austria… we consider ourselves to be very lucky to have had the chance to visit so many new and interesting places this trip.

So, following my last blog, we moved from Kamnik to a small town called Zalec in the middle of ‘hop’ country, where we had been told that there was a beer fountain which sounded like something different to do on a Sunday afternoon. Zalec is a sleeply little town on a river with lots of cycle paths and a little lake, which is where we parked up at a lovely little Aire (10 euro p/n).

It didn’t take too long to explore the town, so we soon ended up at the fountain which has been set up so that you can try 6 of the different regional beers… from light to dark, to green…..yes, I did say green, and it was actually quite nice despite the colour being a little off putting. Reminded us of the Christmas beer at the Green Tree Pub in Bath which was also very, very green… certainly makes you smile – or grimace. You buy a glass which is charged with ‘n’ servings of beer and help yourself…. great concept. I am sure that the kebab stall next door makes a killing!

Whilst in Zalec tasting the beer and exploring the area, we decided to pop over to Celje for a couple of hours with our picnic lunch – a nice cycle along the river but not a huge amount more… a good little stop over if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to make the detour.

Moving ever so slightly further North, we arrived in Maribor where we found a great little campsite 6km out of the center for 3 nights (Autokamp Kekec 28 euro p/n). We arrived to beautiful sunshine, although no sooner had we got our solar panels out and sat down to have a bit of lunch, the skies went dark, the wind got up and in came the torrential rain which continued on and off for about 12 hours but leaving us with beautiful sunshine and blue skies the following morning to head into Maribor to explore.

Maribor is Slovenia’s second largest city with a population of just over 100,000, many of which I would say are students as it has a large university. The city is not going to be to everyones tastes as it is a mix of new and old, but it does have some beautiful architecture and we felt that it had a nice feel to it.

Maribor is at the heart of Styria and this region , as well as Maribor itself, are known for their wine and culinary delights. There were far too many restaurants for us to try but Keith did find one which we decided was well worth checking out – Seben. Seben is a cookery school that is in the Michelin Guide and the photos do not do it justice, it was a real treat at a very reasonable price……and definately motivation to come back again.

Not only was the food excellent, but the service and setting was exceptional too, enabling their catering and hospitality students to work under supervision to deliver a level of precision that would be fitting for Michelin Star restaurants.

The restaurant only serves Slovenian wine – although they do offer some Champagne – and the focus is on local, seasonal products which the students cook up and serve up to diners in the form of a la carte or 5, 6 or 7 course tasting menus – although you wouldn’t believe it from the above photos, we opted for the 6 course menu…. it was perfectly balanced but I was still quite thankful that we had chosen to walk back to the campsite as it helped the food go down!

With the torrential rain hammering down again, we set off towards Ptuj – Slovenia’s oldest recorded city dating back to the stoneage. We decided to stay at the Aire by the Thermal Spa (36 euro p/n) which was effectively a large carpark so not particularly pretty, but it served a purpose. The other options were a grass pitch which currently we would definately be sinking into and not getting out of very easily due to water levels, or a lovely Aire half way down the lake that had horrendous reviews at weekends due to the noise and parties… obviously just getting old!

After lunch, we set off along the river for a quick leg stretch between the rain showers to explore and it is fair to say that Ptuj is a very pretty town with alot of character…. and that is without mentioning the strange looking sheeps’ costumes and masks which are apparently part of the Korent carnival / fertility festival!

Despite the weather forecast having predicted a very wet weekend we were actually lucky in the most as although the rain was hard and heavy, it pretty much rained all night, and all three nights, leaving the days reasonably dry for us to get out and explore on the bikes.

Ptuj is on the Drava cycle route which is roughly 700km long and crosses Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and Austria, so we decided to take one afternoon and cycle towards Maribor, and then the next day, to Gorisnica. A lovely area to explore with gently rolling hills – all in all, another lovely stop off.

Leaving Ptuj behind us we headed to a Vineyard (Vineyard Valentin, Vodole 36, 2229 Malečnik, Slovenia 25 euros p/n)) situated in the hills above Maribor… and our last stop in Slovenia.

The Vineyard was in an absolutely stunning location – thankfully Maribor itself was hidden from our views – so before settling in to a tasting session we set off on a lovely little walk to explore further.

Although we were pretty much at the top of the hill, as is always the way when we go out for a walk, we went up further, down again into the valley… and then back up… just to get the blood moving… and of course to take in the beauty around us before we settled into trying out the local delicacies!

The Vineyard has been in the family for a long time but is now run by the son and his wife who are in the late 30’s. The vineyard has roughly 10 acres of vine and in addition they grow seasonal produce including pumpins for pumpkin seed oil, apple cider vinegar and cherries. They also have chickens for eggs, and pigs for cured Sausage….. a pure feast.

We opted to do a tasting where Simon, the husband walked us through some of the different wines they produce. We tried 6 whites (a mix of Sauvignon blanc, Reisling, Muscat and Chardonnay), 1 red and 2 orange – which is effectively ‘fermented’ wine. Keith also tried some of the cured sausage, which he said was exceptional….. we left slightly lighter in the wallet but happy none the less, having bought 5 bottles of wine, 1kg cherries, cured sausage, eggs and some of their apple cider vinegar…that’ll keep us going a day or two!

Needless to say that the morning run the following day was quite hard work – down hill on the way out and up on the way back…. absolutely nothing to do with the amount of wine consumed, honest!

Once we were suitably showered and breakfasted we thanked our hosts and headed off to Austria, to Graz to be specific, stopping briefly en route to pick up a ‘Go’ Toll box just before the border.

We had been told about a Stellplatz which is roughly 7.5km outside Graz on a cycle path and next to a huge swimming pool which sounded lovely and suitable for a three night stop. (Reismobile stellplatz graz €25 per night plus 2€ pp tax inc swimming pool).

Despite the sun blazing down from above the ground on the campsite was still pretty saturated and with the forecast still looking a little tempramental we opted for what looked like one of the best drained pitches…with some hard core underneath – not making that mistake again!

We set off to explore the area, getting some shopping done and enjoying some of the small lanes which went up into the forest behind the campsite – very tranquil. The heavens opened again late afternoon and an incredible amount of rain, and hail fell….looking on the bright side though we were inside and it helped freshen the air a little as it has been so hot and humid.

The following morning, after another beautiful morning run, we hopped on the bikes and went into Graz to explore. Like most of the rest of Europe, Austria is well ahead of the UK with their cycle routes which in turn means there are a lot of cyclists and also, generally alot more respect from motorists

Having parked up the bikes we meandered towards the center but got distracted by the fort on the top of the hill, ending up climbing up the 260+ steps to the clock tower and then walking up to the fort to take in the views… I just love those rooftops. A great place to stop and have our lunch…the Satay Sweet Potato Bowl mentioned below – rather tasty, if I don’t say so myself!

Refueled and refreshed, we headed back down into Graz to explore the beautiful old town before crossing over to the West bank of the river which houses the ‘Martian’ building (Kunsthaus Graz)… yes, it has weird looking antennas so is definately alien-like.

The West bank is the ‘alternative’ side to Graz with lots of lovely coffee houses and boutique type shops, not as traditionally beautiful as the old town – but still a great place to meander and stop for a coffee to watch the world go by.

The following day we had booked to try out a small Austrian eatery in the old town, so jumped on the bikes again and after a quick diversion back to the West Bank as we had found a Vivo Barefoot shop with a sale on, we settled in to a lovely, rather generous lunch with delicious seasonal, local produce… we will definately be back in Graz if we are passing this way

and those new recipes…. although no photos, sorry
– Satay Sweet Potato Bosh Bowl – can only be described as ‘umptious’
– South West Bosh Bowl – a bizarre combination and method for the sauce, but it does work… very tasty

We have done alot over the last couple of weeks and I just haven’t had a chance to update the blog before now – apologies. So before it gets even more out of hand, here is a map of where we have been.