Our Local Guide in Slovenia; Part 2/5 – A Steep Climb followed by Refreshing Wine!

Today we were feeling brave and decided to take a climb up the Maribor Pohorje, part of the Pohorje Massif mountain range, and a ski resort in winter, made apparent by the many chairlifts and the cable car, which today was being used by hikers and cyclists for a mountain bike race.

Winding up the wide, yet relatively steep woodland track at the base of the mountain, we could hear the trickle of a stream of fresh water, and stopped to have a taste. We wondered if we should take a more adventurous track through dense trees, and stopped to ask a hiker, who pointed to the main path and shrugged it off, and I knew before Anja could translate that to him it would be a walk in the park. We stuck with main path, but even that had us huffing and puffing; we certainly weren’t locals!

JP found a furry friend when we stopped at a touristy café for some refreshments, and despite his cat allergies, couldn’t resist petting it for the duration of our stop. There was a really great view of the town below, which got even better as we assaulted the steep hill that emerged from the café plateau. The bike race crossed our path and we had to dive across before cyclists could speed past.

The rest of the climb had me sweating buckets. There was a second stop, which we used to refill our water bottles and have a final rest before a last push to the top, where the bike track went right past us, treating us with intermittent whoosh of speeding cyclists. Finally, at the top, we had a passer-by take a group photo then bought our cable car ticket for five euros. It seemed odd that we’d struggled so hard and for so long to reach the top, yet were down in a matter of minutes.

After a quick change, we were back in the car and bound for Maribor, Slovenia’s second largest city. Once again, we parked on the outskirts in a shopping centre to make the most of the free parking, and walked across the Tito bridge into the main part of town. The first thing that struck me was the contrast of new and old, with old buildings squashed between tall towers. It was very beautiful.

We picked up some leaflets from the tourist information office about a self-guided wine walk, took a few pictures of the towering, red-bricked Franciscan church next to it, then headed into a lovely little square of shops to find some lunch. The restaurant, Stajerc, which had a great terrace right on the square, brew a selection of beers, including a green lager! It had a high novelty factor, but did taste like any other lager, so I made sure I had a temno pivo before I left. I ate a Balkan meat patty in tasty bread, which I think was called pljeskavica. It was yum, and replaced the energy I’d lost on the hike.

For desert, we went for ice-cream, and I tried berry flavour this time. On one street, I spied a load of shoes slung on a telegraph cable. We passed the cathedral and then lay down on the green outside of the university building. One man was paddling away in the fountain to cool down from the heat. It was nice to have a snooze, but then I made use of the free city Wi-Fi (what a great idea!) to research the Vintgar Gorge for later.

The church is in the background

Central Square

The Cathedral

University Building

Chilling in the park

After some further walking, passing the Dveri Pax wine cellar (which apparently reaches out widely beneath the city), the odd looking WWII monument, some random umbrellas, and loosing JP when we slipped into a shop for postcards, we went for tea, and met one of Anja’s friends. This café, located off the main square near the church, had just about every tea imaginable on the menu. I had gun-powder green tea (which was served with a sand-timer to tell you when it was brewed) and a slice of house-cake, which was quite like the hazelnut cake in Ptuj, but made to a secret recipe.

Our next stop took us down to the water front for views of Maribor’s bridges shimmering in the sun. Not too far along, we found Old Vine House, home of Old Vine Wines. The vine, which still grows today on the front of the building, has a really interesting history. Its grapes produce only a few bottles of wine each year, which are given to important people, as shown in this blurry photo of a letter of thanks from Bill Clinton. The vine almost died, as shown in the museum in a photo of a muddy, dilapidated shack with the vine still clinging on, but was restored, and now its harvest is a huge festival where locals get involved.

We bought our wine tasting coupons for €3.50, a real bargain considering you’re meant to get a snack and two good size samples of wine. I say meant, as when we arrived at the water tower, we were told the kitchen was shut, so unfortunately we’d have to have three samples of wine instead… what a pity! The water tower is a fantastic place, a 16th century defence post come trendy wine cellar. The barman was great too, and came out to tell us a bit about the wines as he poured for us. I’ve never really been a fan of white wine or rosé, but these wines were enough to change my mind!

 Finally, after another long yet fantastic day, we stopped at Interspa to grab a few snacks for our next day’s adventure, and then Anja drove us a scenic route home to give us some nice views. On arrival at home, I was already feeling quite full, but Anja’s sister had prepared us a three course meal! We had well and truly been spoiled, and I was sad that our time with her parents was over, but the other part of me was desperately excited about our upcoming trip to the seaside in Piran.

This was part 2/5 of my road trip in Slovenia. Read part one here. Next time, we hit the beach!