My Visual diary

After 7 years of my man owning “Saro Imports,” the main importer of Slovenian wine to Israel, our family finally joined him and took a trip to this beautiful country.

Mount Vogel

In 2016, after years in the wine and food industry, my man (aka Ido) started importing wine from Slovenia and the Balkans. At first, I didn’t quite understand why Slovenia and what is unique about the wines there, but after tasting them, I discovered a rich tradition of great white and orange wines that are perfect for the Mediterranean climate.
While Ido has been to Slovenia a couple of times, COVID and life prevented our family from being there before. This July, our family joined him for a couple of weeks. As we visited the wineries he is working with, our trip was a bit out of the regular tourist tour, however, it made us see different parts of this truly amazing country.

Day 1-2 – Brda

We landed in Trieste, Italy, where we met Jure Štekar from the Štekar winery, our home for the next couple of days. Štekar is located in Kojsko, which is located 30 minutes’ drive from the border between Italy and Slovenia. We stayed at their beautiful house in the middle of the Brda hills.

Brda is a beautiful wine region located in the western part of Slovenia. The region is known for its unique microclimate, which is ideal for growing a variety of grapes that produce exceptional wines. Its evergreen hills are home to more than 150 family-owned wineries.

Stunning sunset from Hiša Štekar

Štekar’s Vineyards and Cellar

After a fun day in the pool and a great tour around the villages of the area, we went to another great winery. Ščurek is a family-owned winery and cellar with great wines. Its location right off the border allows you to enjoy perfect wines with a beautiful view of both Italy and Slovenia.

View of Italy and Slovenia from Ščurek Winery

Food and Drinks

During our stay in Brda, we ate at two great restaurants and passed by a wine bar with a beautiful view that we didn’t have time to stop and drink in, but definitely plan to come back.
Briška Hiša – Pizzas, meat and local wines in Kozsko.
Vino@Modana – Great food and rick local wine menu.
Vinoteka Brda – local wines with beautiful view of the Brda hills.

Days 3-7 – Karst & the Mediterranean

From Kojsko, we drove through Koper and on to our home for the next few days, Casa Oasa in Marezige. During our 5 days in Marezige, along with visiting more wineries, we also explored two of Slovenia’s most well-known caves, enjoyed a delightful lunch and views in Vipava, made a short but enjoyable visit to Istria, Croatia, and ended our journey in the beautiful town of Piran.

View of Koper and the Mediterranean area from Marezige.

Our Home
Marezige is a small village located 10 km from Koper, up the hills. It offers a magnificent view of the Slovenian coast and is just a 45-minute drive from both Postojna and Škocjan Caves. Additionally, it is only a 30-minute drive away from popular beach towns like Piran and Portorož.
At the end of the village, atop the hill, you can find the wine fountain, where you can enjoy a glass of local Malvasia or Refošk while watching the breathtaking sunset.

Vinska fontana Marezige

We stayed at Casa Oasa, a family-owned hotel with a swimming pool and wonderful owners. Barbara and Borut were incredibly friendly and helpful, and we spent a couple of enjoyable nights drinking and talking with them.

Casa Oasa, great location, pool and hosts in Marezige

Food & Wine in Marezige Area
Food
Fuoriseria Šared – a great place for pizza and beer in Izola.
Štok – The restaurant is in Marezige, right next to Casa Oasa, and is open only during weekends. The owner is also a winemaker, and they also offer rooms. Don’t miss their truffle ravioli!
Oljka – A big restaurant in Vanganel with a large variety of food.

Lobster for beginners at Štok

Wine
Korenika & Moškon – A family-owned winery in Korte run by a young couple based on the tradition of the family.
Santomas – A beautiful winery with a great selection of wines in Šmarje.

Skočjan Cave, Postojna Cave, and Predjama Castle

Postojna Cave

A lot has been written about these beautiful places created by nature. The only thing I have to add is that both caves are magical, each one in its own way, and they are completely incomparable! The visit to the fairytale castle, Predjama, was also amazing. It was great to see how the human-built castle is embraced by the rock.

Predjama Castle and Skočjan cave

Food
Between Predjama Castle and Postojna Cave, we found Okrepčevalnica Prepih, a great place for burgers and beers.

Vipava Valley
The beautiful Vipava Valley is known for its biodynamic agriculture and natural wines. We visited the valley before attending a few meetings with wineries and enjoyed an outstanding lunch accompanied by some local wines. We only had a few hours there, but Vipava Valley is definitely a must stay for biodynamic wine lovers.

Vipava Valley, view from Guerila winery

Food & Wine in Vipava Valley
Food
Faladur – traditional dishes with a twist, accompanied by a great selection of local wines.

Sunset in Dolanci

Wine
Guerila – A beautiful winery with a view of the entire valley, an example of excellence and a great selection of biodynamic wines from authentic varieties.
Fedora – A family-owned winery, run by Mojca and Valter, offering biodynamic wines, located in a small village called Dolanci.

Martin from Guerila and Mojca from Fedora, doing what they do best

Piran
On our last day in the area, we spent half a day in the beautiful old city of Piran. Situated right by the beach, Piran is one of the three oldest towns in Slovenia. Its narrow streets, galleries, and the charming old town square made it a great finale for this part of our trip.

Panoramic view from the top of the bell tower of the St. George’s Church, Piran

Views, narrow streets and colors @Piran

Days 8-12 – Bled area and Triglav

Probably the most touristy part of Slovenia, or at least the one I have heard of the most, this area of Slovenia definitely lives up to its reputation. We spent a magical five days here, with unpredictable weather that forced us to be flexible and spontaneous, and sometimes soaking wet!

Living in a postcard, Zgornje Gorje

Our Home
We chose to stay outside of Bled itself and found our beautiful home for the next few days in Zgornje Gorje, just a 10-minute drive from Bled. We stayed at Apartments Perla, a house with three fully equipped apartments and a terrace with views of the area. This area is less hectic than Bled center, and that’s exactly how we like it. Domen, our host, was super nice and helpful, providing us with some excellent recommendations for food and suggestions regarding the weather.

Can I start every day for the rest of my life with this view?

Bled Area
During our time in Bled, we explored the city, took a walk around the lake, visited the beautiful Bled Castle, and hiked through Vintgar Gorge. We spent half a day in the charming medieval town of Radovlica and hiked to the stunning Zajamniki in Pokljuka. The weather was a bit unpredictable during our stay, so we adjusted our schedule accordingly. This sometimes resulted in getting wet to the bone, but it also led us to discover magical places we otherwise wouldn’t have visited.

Lake Bled

Vintgar Gorge and Pokljuka

Bohinj & Kranjska Gora
Lake Bohinj and Kranjska Gora are part of Triglav Park and offer beautiful views of the Alps as well as freezing water lakes and some extreme attractions for kids and adults. We had two very enjoyable day trips to them, and we were a bit sorry that we couldn’t stay longer. On the first day, we took the cable car to Mount Vogel and its spectacular views, we hiked to the powerful Savica waterfalls, and enjoyed a freezing dip in Lake Bohinj.

Lake Bohinj

View from the way up to Mount Vogel

On our half-day at Kranjska Gora, a town nestled in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, we went on the thrilling 1.5 km mountain coaster that took us on a wild ride through the majestic alpine scenery. After a couple of rounds, we took some rest at the peaceful shore of Lake Jasna.

Kranjska Gora and Lake Jasna

Food, Drinks, and Things to Do

Bled Area
Old Cellar Bled: By far the best restaurant we have visited during our stay in Slovenia. Great food and excellent service, accompanied by a diverse wine menu.
Špica: Fantastic food, pizzas, and an impressive wine list.
Pizzeria Rustika: Extensive pizza menu in a great location.
Gostilna Zatrnik: A hunter’s restaurant located in the mountains, perfect for meat lovers, just 15 minutes from Bled.

Radovljica
Vinoteka Sodček – A small wine bar and shop with a nice selection of wines and some cheese.
Pharmacy and Alchemy Museum – We went in because it was pouring rain outside, and it turned out to be a great decision. It’s a fantastic activity for both kids and adults, and we spent a fun 1-2 hours inside.

Bohinj
Restaurant Triglav Bohinj – A hotel restaurant and wine bar with a rich wine menu located close to Lake Bohinj. We had lunch and really enjoyed it. The garlic soup was the best we’ve ever had.

Days 13-14 – Ptuj

Located in eastern Slovenia and close to the Austrian border, Ptuj is one of the three oldest cities in Slovenia. Similar to Piran, its old alleys and castle are a lot of fun to explore, and we enjoyed spending a couple of peaceful days there. Ptuj is the main city in the Styria wine region, and there are great winemakers in the area, producing white wines from authentic grapes.

Street art in Ptuj

During our time in Ptuj, after walking all over the old city, its small galleries and coffee shops, we visited our favorite wineries, enjoyed great food in the Open Kitchen market, and had a fun half-day in the Terme Ptuj water park.

Old Ptuj

Our home
We stayed at the very cool Muzikafe that offers comfortable rooms, a delightful breakfast, and a charming outdoor garden for evening drinks.

Muzikafe, Ptuj

Five-meter jump at Terme Ptuj and an alley in old Ptuj.

Food & Wine in Ptuj Area
Food
Jack & Joe Steak and Burger Club – Great hamburgers in Maribor, where we stopped on our way to Ptuj.
Open Kitchen – Not a restaurant, but a must if you happen to be in the city during the twice-a-year event. Enjoy a whole day of great food, drinks, and an excellent atmosphere provided by Slovenia’s finest restaurants.

Open Kitchen Ptuj

Wine
Kobal Wines – Haloze, steeped in Styrian Slovenia, is where Bojan Kobal makes his super tasty and professional wines. A true pro with a great passion for winemaking, his wines are also sold in the winery’s vinoteka in old Ptuj.
Gönc Winery – also known as the “Grape abduction company” – is where Peter Gönc, in his house in Ptuj, produces his colorful and tasty wines. A great combination of a very talented winemaker who is also a huge music lover results in beautiful wine labels for outstanding wines.
Zavec Wines – Just off of Ptuj, Alexander and Patrick Zavec (aka the Zavec brothers) run their small family-owned winery where they produce exceptional wines.

Bojan Kobal in his pre harvest vacation in Croatia, Peter Gönc and one of his beautiful wines, the Zavec brothers, which look exactly as their wine labels.

Days 15-16 – Ljubljana

Our visit to Slovenia ended after spending a couple of days in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s charming capital. During those days, we wandered around the city, walked in the beautiful Tivoli Park, climbed to Ljubljana Castle, and visited the House of Illusions. In between, we enjoyed some great meals at the restaurants along the Ljubljanica River.

Ljubljana, sunset view from Ljubljana Castle

Streets, street art and Ljubljanica River

Our home
We stayed at Neu Residences, in a fully equipped apartment right in the center of the city, within walking distance from everywhere. The place offers apartments in different sizes, a coffee shop in the Lobby and a rooftop bar with a small pool and a great view of the city.

Ljubljana Castle, view from Neu Residences rooftop

Food & Wine in Ljubljana

Namaste – An Indian restaurant that we found on our way to the Šuklje Wine Bar. We didn’t make it to the bar this time (although we heard great recommendations about it), but we ended up eating great Indian food accompanied by local Slovenian wine.
Altrōké – We first heard about this restaurant at the Open Kitchen Market in Ptuj, where we had a great dish that prompted us to look for the restaurant when we were in Ljubljana. The rest of the menu was as wonderful as the first dish we tried in Ptuj.
Pop’s Place – Burgers, cocktails, and local craft beers right by the river.

Those two weeks in Slovenia were magical for us. We enjoyed everything in this country: the nature, the hospitality, the food, and the wine. These are all great reasons to come back, which is exactly what we plan to do!
Until next time, na zdravja!