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

Maribor is a lucky city with so many tourist farms

When I was uploading photos from Maribor on my Facebook profile I also found photos from our last visiton tourist farm Stern. What a shame that we can't visit this beautiful tourist farm every day and stuff - you know what I mean. Visiting Maribor just twice a year means squeezing way too many things into an already packed holiday schedule so we usually come back to England totally exhausted and half-satisfied as there's never enough time for all the attractions.

I think Maribor is a very, very lucky city. It is surrounded with beautiful nature and a mind-boggling number of tourist farms. Farm tourism is a national obsession in Slovenia. It is a pure joy having a Sunday lunch in one of these farms around Maribor. They all offer traditional food and excellent homemade wine. People are extremely nice and all the farms are very kids friendly.

Tourist Farm Stern - Pri Kovacniku in many aspects stands out as a tourist farm. Its location is Pohorje mountain but still not far away from Maribor. You need a car to get to the tourist farm but trust me, the views alone are worth the effort.

OK, there's mouthwatering food and homemade wine but the whole place gives you this homely feeling that we all yearn for. Beautiful garden, animals, plenty of space for children to play safely and then fantastic traditional food - food to die for. Homemade food of the highest quality and absolutely freshly made, and award-winning homemade wine are the main reason why guests need to book a table at this Tourist Farm weeks in advance.

And when you are finally lucky enough to get a table, the excitement really kicks in. :)

Did I say that tourist farms are much cheaper than regular hotels and restaurants? A regular meal for three people normally comes at $50 and that is far less than most of restaurants.

Here is the web site with all the information about visiting the Tourist farm Stern and contact numbers: http://www.kovacnik.com/kulinarika-en