Varazdin, a charming city in Croatia (and a perfect one day trip)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be perfectly honest, we would probably never visit this town, if our dentist (see the post) wouldn't live in Varazdin (Croatia). That would definitely be a terrible mistake! A small Baroque town with an imposing old fortification, the central part of the town, numerous museums and galleries as well as a renowned Varazdin cemetery took us by surprise.

Varazdin is located on the right bank of river Drava in the northwestern Croatia. From Maribor, it takes about 1 hour to get there and probably the same from Croatia's capital city Zagreb. Though, you need a car if you start in Maribor. Bus and train connections between Maribor on one hand and Varazdin and other Croatian cities are either non-existent or apalling. What a shame!

Varazdin has a long and rich town history. The first written documents about Varazdin are from 1181 (If you want to read more about history of this beautiful town go to Wikitravel.)

We were totally impressed with the town centre which has been beautifully restored. Because we visited Varazdin on the hottest day of that summer, cafes and restaurants at every corner of the town helped us to enjoy the town even more. Trust me, it can get really hot in this part of the world and refreshments around every corner come in very handy.

Unfortunately, the "Stari grad" (or the Old city) was closed when we were there, but it is definitely 'a must see' for our next visit.

My favourite building in the whole town is a rococo-style Sermage Palace (built in 1759) It actually hosts a Gallery of Old and Contemporary Masters which holds more then 3000 art pieces from the 15th and all the way to the end of the 19th century.

Like always when I travel somewhere, it is food that seals the opinion. We were lucky and discovered a lovely traditional Italian trattoria called Angelus right in the Varazdin town centre.Verdict? Fabulous food, fabulous service and something we ought to repeat!

Oh yes, one more thing. You will need your passport. As I write this, Croatia is not a member of the EU so regular customs and border controls apply. Croatian currency is called "Kuna" and I recommend buying Kunas with Euros in Maribor.

Piramida hill in Maribor

The views from Piramida, an unassuming hill to the north of Maribor, equate to having a 300m high TV tower and represent one of my favourite summer moments. I've been doing this since I was a child and it is still as mesmerising as ever. My kids, visitors, my friends - I get them all up the hill and seeing the Austrian Alps to the west, Maribor sitting in front of you and Pannonian plains to the back is unforgettable.

Piramida is a 386 metre high hill and the location of an ancient Maribor castle (between 12th and 18th century). The history says that the castle was demolished in 1784 and the stone pyramid was built at the same place as the reminder (hence the name Piramida). But as if this wasn't enough, in 1821 and after a terrible lightning storm, the stone pyramid was destroyed. The chapel dedicated to Virgin Mary was constructed on the same spot instead and it has been there ever since.

What really fascinates me every time when we are in Maribor is that you can see grapes in meticulous vineyards on Piramida literally from almost any cafe in the city centre. I don't know about you but such a close proximity to nature and vineyards is something you don't see very often.

Today, Piramida hill is a very popular walking destination and a trekking spot. You can reach the top of the hill by using the well maintained path from the city park. The path is even lit during the night (no need to mentioned night views then!).

Every summer we take our kids to Piramida at least once. My daughter can be quite lazy when it comes to walking but never for Piramida though. The path leads through the vineyards full of unexpected animals like snakes, lizards, songbirds, snails, butterflies and even foxes and deer. In the summer you can pick flowers, blackberries and forest strawberries. So, plenty of fun for a little girl.

Doughnuts Slovenian way!

It's a lovely day, you're driving down the A1 motorway between Ljubljana and Maribor and you know it'd be good to have some rest. Now, there are some really marvellous services along the way but you MUST make a short stop at Trojane. It is tucked away just off the A1 between Ljubljana and Celje.

Trojane represent the very centre of doughnut universe, period. I mean you've got see this doughnut shop and you've got to try the doughnuts. If only I could post the wonderful smell of freshly baked doughnuts...

You can't miss the exit on the motorway because there are big signs that lead you to the doughnut shop and restaurant.

Every time, but I mean it, whenever near Trojane we stop there. We have doughnuts in the UK but I rarely venture into a purchase because they look soooo darn oily and sugary. I've tried them all over Europe, but Trojane doughnuts are in a different league - a pure joy. They are "huge", spongy, soft, not too oily and if that isn't enough, they are filled with delicious apricot marmalade.

Be prepared though! You won't be the only one in the queue for the Trojane doughnuts. There is a huge car park on several levels but it is normally absolutely packed with cars from all over the continent. The shop assistants are very efficient but sometimes the pressure of incoming guests is so huge it takes your breath away. By the way, they sell more than 4000 doughnuts per day or 12 doughnuts every 5 minutes!!!

The benefit of the lingering smell is that, like in a trans, you just keep waiting patiently - weird how patience works sometimes. After a long wait you will be given a big box of doughnuts and probably eat half of them straight away in the car :) Pure heaven!

Dinosaurs for kids!

 

 

If you are wondering where you can see these fabulously realistic dinosaurs in Maribor I have to 'disappoint' you straight away. This is not a new tourist attraction in Maribor (sigh - I wish, I wish).

It's thanks to Maribor's fantastic geographic position right in the middle of Europe that we can visit this beautiful Styrassic park in Austria. First, there is a 10 minute drive to the Austrian border and then less then 60km to Bad Gleichenberg and you are there, at the heart of a very authentic 'forgotten world'.

Summers are great for visiting Styrassic park. We can hide from the heat in a beautiful woodland and spend the whole afternoon in the cool shade of majestic trees (summers in Maribor can be very, very hot and every opportunity to cool down is more than welcome).

82 life-size and up to 10 m high dinosaurs are dotted all around the park (from the Plateosaurus to Tyrannosaurus Rex). They look all too realistic so I kind of get this 'strange' feeling that something's going to grab my neck :). Of course, children don't experience this kind of fear-ridden problems. They are little explorers, excitedly jumping around every dinosaur no matter how it looks and cry their souls out when we have to leave. I keep repeating that we'll be back again but to no avail (ah, kids, you know what I mean).

The trip to this magical world of dinosaurs is just one of many one day trips that we experience when on holidays in Maribor.

The are plenty of other one-day trips to Croatia, Hungary and Italy but more about this in my next blog posts :)

Ptuj castle

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ptuj and its medieval castle offers an ideal destination if you are staying in Maribor for more than 2 days. It is really easy to get there. Basically, you don't even need a car, because of an excellent bus connection between Maribor and Ptuj (every 20 or 30 minutes) and the journey takes only  20-25 minutes.

I used to work in one of the primary schools in Ptuj and I took my pupils to the castle whenever possible. I was teaching art and the castle's art collection is an incredible source of inspiration. Kids absolutely loved it and we always had such a great time.

Ptuj is Slovenia’s oldest city. Besides the beautiful castle, it hosts the oldest wine cellar in Slovenia (wine tasting of some of the best white wines from Ptuj region is a must) and is surrounded by numerous tourist farms. The"tiny" city centre of Ptuj is absolutely charming dotted with cafes and eateries of all kind. 

The Ptuj castle is situated on a hill to the north of river Drava and it dominates the town. The castle has a long and rich history. Archaeological excavations show that the first settlers took the Castle Hill at the end of the Stone Age or the beginning of Copper Age. The hill was a strategically crucial Roman post and the city kept its strategic importance throughout the medieval period. The first castle was built in the 9th or 10th century but sadly only one tower survived to this day. In the 12th century Archbishop Kondrad of Salzburg (then Ptuj's feudal lord) ordered the construction of a new castle. Again, only one part of this construction remains today - darn, they were fighting all the time! Of course, the castle was subject to major reconstructions in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. 

Ptuj castle is a beautiful museum with rooms preserved to their original glory. On the ground floor it hosts a great collection of musical instruments used by wealthy Ptuj citizens. The first floor is a home to the most beautiful castle chambers with several magnificent collections of furniture, tapestries, paintings from the second half of 16th century and up until the 19th century.

The Festival Hall has a beautiful collection of Turqueries (these are paintings with Turkish motifs and date back to the 17th century).

The castle art gallery presents some of the most beautiful examples of Gothic and Baroque art in Slovenia.

Oh yes, there is another beautiful collection which will make your children happy! The collection of traditional carnival costumes and masquerade figures from Ptujsko polje, Dravsko polje, Haloze, and Slovenske Gorice is just perfect for kids' vivid imagination.

The castle opening times:

• from 15th October until 1st May every day from 9am to 5pm
• from 1st May until 15th October every day from 9am to 6pm
• Saturdays and Sundays in July and August from 9am to 8pm
• closed on  1st January, 1st November and 25th December