Maribor, Slovenia: Mountains of/and Sausage

Sloane Bâby
May 27, 2016
6 min read

Oh, Slovenia!

This bus ride was beautiful, but I must stop saying that because, if reincarnation exists, I’d become a piece of Europe’s mountains and hills. I’m not sure if that’s weird, or possible. But, if anyone is listening…

I knew it would be “my kind of place” as soon as we crossed the Slovenian border. The mountains, small town, green (so green!), people out biking and walking… gorgeous, with a local, fresh, and crisp feeling. I'm describing the place and their apple juice here, which was also delicious. Our hotel was at the base of a mountain, with the volleyball gym attached to it. Convenient!

Anyway, we ate a meal I wasn’t especially thrilled about, but they did have a delicious salad, filled with beets and other vibrant colorful vegetables. And, along with the main meal, they set out pans of cheese pizza, which I gladly ate a couple slices in place of the saucy beef meal. We could always count on this trip to automatically serve us dessert, even when there’s no room for it. This night was apple strudel- oh my! This was the first night we broke out some wine.

Now, let it be known that I don’t typically like wine. It’s dry, rich and sophisticated- three things I am not. I like beer- it’s refreshing and interesting to me. And liquor, but that’s not the story of today.

So we drank wine. I liked it, but not enough to have a second glass. We played dice but I was tired this night from all the past few days’ activity, so I went to sleep with the door to outside open to let the apple juice-like air in (see reference above).

The thing about European hotels is, well, a few things. Showers: in both Prague and Maribor, we had a tub and a shower head which was at your knees. Do I sit, as if I were taking a bath? Do I stand and shower myself? I chose the latter in Prague because of the tight quarters and shower curtain. However, Maribor had a spa tub and no shower curtain, so I took my time, Pretty Woman style, singing Prince and turning to a prune.

Secondly, the beds are hard, and when I woke up my first night in Maribor, I felt so tight like my nerves were wrapped in rubber bands up and down my backside. They lay down a fitted sheet, then two separate mini-comforters, full length, but about half the width of the bed. I guess they solved the problem of hogging the sheets.

Thirdly: bidets.

All of our hotels had windows which opened to get fresh air, and/or balconies. They also saved energy by only using power when your room key was inserted in a slot (meaning you were actually in your room). They’re ahead of the game, I tell you.

I slept so soundly that first night and slept in, missing breakfast. While the team practiced, I got my sweat on in the fitness area next to the courts. It is something I believe in to exercise a little bit while on vacation. While I know we are walking a lot, I do feel better mentally and physically, about indulging in alcohol or sweets (and sweets, I mean, let’s be real, we’re doing a lot of both).

After everyone’s training session, we walked up to take the ski lift to the top of the mountain. There, he said, “No pictures. After. Now, we eat.” I did snap a few, of course, like I would be robbed of the opportunity later.

The lunch here is typical of the next four meals we would eat in Slovenia, and I had zero complaints: beef sausage (which had spices like a breakfast pork sausage), a red pepper spread, salad (yay!), and French fries. I began to prepare for a salad famine at this point after the Land of Bread, and had seconds of anything green, any time I found it.

The day was sunny and warm- did I mention how green everything was? The contrast of orange clay roofs (or walls) and green (either natural or paint) from Slovenia through Italy thrilled me, and I wanted to live in those colors. Again, I’m not sure if that’s weird or possible. But, take note.

Photos ensued. Then the real fun began. To get down the mountain, you could either take the ski lift, or ride the Alpine slide down. Now, in the U.S., I imagine if we had this, we would have to sign a safety waiver, wear a helmet, and go really slow, with safety personnel ready to catch you every turn of the ride. Not in Slovenia.

There was a steel track weaving down the mountain, and you sat in a little cart on top of the track, wearing a seatbelt. It was like a little sled with a brake/acceleration lever. I can’t say I used the brake lever more than to stop at the end, even though it tops at about 35 miles per hour (even on turns). This means I was out of my seat 60% of the time. Trav went ahead of me, likely so he could track me down (get it?) when I’d fly off into to the woods to be a bear’s dinner. Most of us went down twice. What a rush!

After that, the team had to get ready for their match, so three of us rented bikes and rode to the downtown area of Maribor. This took us roughly 45 minutes each way. This place was such a change of pace for us, after the big cities we just left. It was more quaint and had more of a community feel. We meandered through the streets and along the river on a dirt path. The amazing thing about biking in Europe was that cars actually acknowledged and stopped for bikers, even slamming on their brakes to let you cross sometimes. Finally we had to go uphill for a little stretch, with a water break at the top. On our way back, we headed toward the mountain we slid down earlier and had more inclines. I guess if you pedal minimally one way, that’s not good news for your trip back.

We made it back and watched the volleyball match. Afterward, we went to the mountain next to “ours.” You could tell this was a busy mountain town in the winter, but in May, there were a lot of hikers and on this other mountain, there were mountain bikers riding the ski lift up, riding over and downhill like maniacs. Over and over. I wanted to do it, but then again I’m not what you might call “graceful,” or “careful.”

They prepared another traditional meal sausage, kebab, and the like… I think there were things like cow neck and parts of the animal I didn’t want to know about. I like to think of animals like lizard tails- the farmer takes what they want and the parts grow back. Don’t tell me otherwise.

We played more dice, and I got out first, not unusually. So I got to (had to) drink and goof on the seriousness of the other players.

The next day was deemed Wine Day. We went into downtown Maribor (again, uhh, how unfortunate) to walk around. We loved the charm of the city. It was the last day of school for the kids there, and we rode on the city bus with groups of kids and there were a few festivals with music and street vendors around town. We went to some shops and markets to get a souvenir or two.

The town hall was in the center, but besides a few churches, there were “regular” buildings (but way full of character). The guy who was commissioned to build the Town Hall building was actually given less money than what was agreed upon, so, as most European stories end, he said F-You forever, and built the structure off-center (photo, right).

Then, what we didn’t know the day before, was that Maribor was home to the world’s oldest grape vine, which still produces about 2L of wine each year (not for $$$$$ale). I did, however, enjoy a tasting in the little museum building. I learned what wine should actually taste like and bought a bottle (don’t ask to try any… it may be lost, or maybe “someone” drank it by now…)

The team had another match and I used their pre-game to get a little wine-induced exercise in. Afterward, we re-hydrated at a winery. The team couldn’t drink, but since I wasn’t liable for anyone (I must re-think my desire to have kids), I indulged in the tasting after eating more sausage, chicken drumsticks and kebab.

The views at the winery were astounding- some of the best we had seen, in my opinion, likely because there weren’t many buildings in the way of the view. Dusk is my favorite time of night, and we enjoyed our lovely evening at this family’s vineyard.