Slow Travel in Slovenia

A Land of Honey, Wine, and Dragons

It is hard to imagine why this one little country has gone unnoticed but maybe it’s because the Europeans want to keep it that way. I don’t blame them. If you are looking for an ultimate slow travel destination, this is it. Or very close to it. Slovenia is the very best of Europe in a compact space.

First off, you probably don’t know where Slovenia is.

At the top end of the Adriatic sea Slovenia has a short coast. They border Croatia to the south and Italy to the west. To the east lies Hungary and Slovenia shares its longest border with Austria along a region of lush mountainous vistas and lakes. The country has a varied but benign climate where almost anything grows and small farms produce the most delicious foods. Culinary traditions reflect a blending of the ethnic influences of the region.

But even where you can find all of the iconic Mediterranean tastes with small estate wines, the cave ripened cheeses and cured meats, ciders and beers, olives and peppers, one food is the undisputed queen: honey.

Healthy Bees, Healthy People, Healthy Planet

World Bee Day – May 20

There are more bee keepers per capita in Slovenia than any other country. They lead the world in the practice of maintaining a healthy environment for bees which is reflected in a number of ways but recognized by the inauguration of World Bee Day, May 20, 2018 by the UN member countries. The date coincides with the birthday of Slovenian bee keeping pioneer and scientist, Anton Jansa who formalised the practises of modern bee keeping in the late 1700’s. Here are few other bee related things in Slovenia.

In a central park in Ljubljana you can find Slovenian bee hives.

These don’t look at all like the stacked boxes we use in Canada for bee hives. This drawer system is more user friendly and works very well for urban and backyard beekeepers that don’t want to stack the heavy frame boxes more suited to commercial production.

Celebrating Honey and Good Food

On the third Tuesday in November all children and students are provided with a Traditional Slovenian Breakfast comprising locally produced honey, rustic grain black bread and butter, milk and local apples. In addition to breakfast, many schools and kindergartens also have accompanying activities, such as a visit to a beekeeper, workshops and talks about the importance of Slovenian food, and get children to make drawings of their Traditional Slovenian Breakfast. Some businesses are adopting this annual breakfast for employees and the practice of promoting honey for breakfast is also spreading to other European countries.

Some hotels I’ve stayed at in Slovenia serve honey right from the honey comb in breakfast buffets. I did not know how to take the gooey substance but watching locals they just scoop up a chunk, comb and all, and plop it on their plates to smear on warm bread. (Breakfasts are a big meal in Slovenia.)

Api-therapy

Bees and honey based products are used in api-therapy. (The word apis comes from an ancient Latin word for bees.) Slovenia is a leader in the world of use of honey, pollen, propolis and bee sounds for improving well being.

Sleep with the bees? There are special bee houses designed with built in bee hives where people are treated to the hypnotic natural droning sounds of bees. They also find the aroma of the bees wax in the bee proof cells very pleasing and restorative. There is a lot of science to bees and honey relating to health benefits. You can find some starting information here.

Slovenia, Slow Travel

Self Propelled

There’s much to see and experience in Slovenia besides bees. Slovenia is a country made for slow travel with several choice of travel modes freely available. There are walking and cycling trails through the best parts of the country, which give you the chance to explore on a linear or centre based trip. For example you can stay in beautiful ecolodge style cottages that cater to cyclists with daily excursions, bike rentals and a mechanics shop to keep them all running. They have E-bikes too.

Or, take a meandering trip along decommissioned railway lines and narrow country roads exploring tiny red tile roof villages inhabited since the middle ages while staying in farms and other guest house style accommodations. You will eat incredible food made by true locals. But you can also travel easily by bus and rail if self propelled travel is not your style.

See a cycling tour here Cycle Slovenia

See a self guided hiking tour here Circular Trail of the Fruiulian Dolomites

See a private guided walking tour here Pathways to the Villages and Vineyards of Slovenia

Tours and Trains; Buses and Car Rental

There are different types of tours depending on your preferred style. There are the bigger bus groups all the way to small groups and private touring with a driver if that appeals. We have many good options with local companies and bigger international operators. Most of these itineraries only stay a few days in Slovenia so if you want more time here, we can help you with a pre or post tour stay and you can tour on your own.

We are trained and registered to sell European rail tickets and passes so can get you ticketed and everything set up so you won’t have to fret about getting lost. In the morning you can be eating hand-crafted chocolates daubed with bee pollen in the alpine region and sampling grape wines in the afternoon in the Vipava valley near Italy. Connect the two by rail and you travel through some of the wildest mountain valleys and scenic vistas in Europe. We can also get you to Slovenia by train from Italy and Austria if you want a multi-country trip.

Buses run between many centres in Slovenia. You can also rent reliable cars or hire a car and driver for transfers or longer trips.

Slow Food, local gastronomy and dragons

Unknown to many, there are truffles in Slovenia and you can go with a guide and truffle sniffing dog to dig the amazing fungi from the earth in spring.

Later you can taste the truffles in a fantastic pasta dish with Slovenian wine whose grapes are pollinated by the Carniolan bees. They definitely have distinctive tastes. Maybe that’s helped by the bees, maybe the magical earth beneath the surface. Here there be dragons. Literally, kind of.

Dragon myths in this area go back to ancient Greek times. The story of Jason slaying the dragon monster in the Greek legend took place where today the capitol city of Ljubljana sits. Dragons feature quite prominently in the mythical mindset of historical cultures and so you can even see dragons guarding the foot bridges that cross the Lubljanica river as it meanders through the city. If you are really curious about dragons you must venture underground into the huge caverns open to the public where they say baby dragons come from. Seriously. The karst region of Slovenia is riddled with caves carved by underground rivers and streams and in this darkness there are small white amphibians that do in fact look like baby dragons.

Present Day Slovenia

Slovenians are a welcoming people, almost everyone speaks a little English and you never have problems finding someone who speaks fairly good or fluent English if you need one. The government is a parliamentary system with an elected president who is largely ceremonial and a prime minister who leads parliament. In general the country has voted in largely centre-left governments within a free market economy.

The position of Slovenia has made it highly strategic. They are part of the European Union and in the SCHENGEN area and are making use of their position as “Europe’s Green Heart” to continue into the future as an independent people.

If you enjoy the idea of exploring this picture perfect country we have lots of options from independent touring to group tours, to health spas, hiking, cycling and gastronomy experiences. Contact us to get us started. Join our newsletter to stay in touch with us.