Charcutery, wine and chocolate!

From Graz, it was only half an hour drive to Hartmannsdorf.

Here we had arranged to meet Caro and Schimmi, friends of my human, to spend a few days together.

Hello gorgeous! May I say that to myself?

We had booked spots on a local farm and arrived shortly before the others. After a big round of hellos and hugs, we put some chairs outside to sit in the sun, made ourselves comfortable and the chit-chat began, not to be interrupted until we would part company again three days later. 

The main reasons we chose this location to catch up were the Zotter Chocolate factory, which I will get to later, and a Buschenschank. Schimmi had been to this particular one before and knew of the quality. 

A Buschenschank is a local tavern where people go to drink local wines by the glass or buy it by the bottle in a kind of factory outlet.

They usually serve food as well, anything from small snacks to more elaborate menus, but the produce used is usually locally sourced and tastes accordingly. And all that at very reasonable prices.

So this is where the girls spent the first evening. A long first evening!

During the night, the time changed back to winter time, meaning the clock was turned back an hour. Now it gets light earlier, but itˋs pretty much dark around 5pm. Not so handy when you live in a car.

The next day was a bit autumn-ly, overcast, windy, cool. After returning to the Buschenschank for a few take home cases of wine, the girls went off for a little hike around some surrounding hills anyway. With varying levels of enthusiasm, I have to admit.

The evening was spent chatting, playing board games and, of course, drinking wine.

On their last day they went to visit the Zotter chocolate factory. 

Zotter has been creating innovative chocolates for over 30 years now and has grown steadily to a production of around 1000 tonnes of chocolate and a revenue of 29 million annually.

All ingredients are organically sourced and fair trade.

And if all this sounds a bit like promotion, my human really was impressed by the whole enterprise. 

Although the name is well known and the chocolates are widely available, she had not known who and what stands behind the name.

Surrounding the factory is an "edible animal garden". Itˋs a spacious area with some curious art, a kids' playground, a rubber boot throwing circuit and, of course, animals. 

Why edible? Because all the meat you can consume in the attached restaurant comes from animals which have lived in the garden.

This is what an Endorphine looks like    Eierstöcke (ovaries, only makes sense in German)

Am Vieh Theater, also only makes sense in German

Rubber boot throwing

A grave yard for chocolate creations

And then there is the factory itself. After a 20-minute video explaining history, concept and philosophy of the company, you can taste over 300 chocolates, nougat, cocoa beans, truffle fillings, drinking chocolates... 

Not to over-eat at the beginning takes a lot of self-control! And it seems to never end! There is always more!

Tasting a gin truffle filling

Running chocolate instead of running sushi

Right at the exit, before you enter the obligatory gift shop, they kindly placed some dishes with cut up gherkins! Very thoughtful!

The whole concept of the garden and factory is very well-thought-out, created with lots of love by some highly imaginative people. 

The next morning it was time for Caro and Schimmi to make their way back home, and we only moved half an hour down the road where we spent a dark and rainy day reading, watching soccer and definitely not eating chocolate!

The city Maribor was our first stop in Slowenia.

It was first mentioned in the 5th Century BC and today serves as the economic, cultural, educational and administrative center of eastern Slovenia.

A stroll through the lush city park leads up to one of the two hills on the cities edge, the Pyramid Hill. Ruins of the first castle of Maribor from the 11th Century can be found at its top, as well as a sweeping view of the city and its surroundings.

In the city, one of the most visited places is the oldest grape vine in the world, as per Guinness Book of World Records. Apparently it has been around for over 400 years and still bears fruit.

As it was a rather sunny and warm day, all the seats of the restaurant guarding this ancient vine were taken. Which didnˋt stop my human getting a glass of wine anyway and enjoying it sitting by the river.

If you didnˋt know that Slovenia produces quite a bit of wine, donˋt be embarrassed, you are in good company.

The main reason is that the country only exports around 6 million liters of itˋs total yield of 80 to 90 million. 

75% of which is white.

An interesting feature of the city is the Judgment Tower. 

It used to be part of the city fortifications and got its name from the time when sentences were pronounced in it.

It also played a role in the witch trials in the 15th Century. An estimated 1000 "witches" lost their lives in Slovenia.

After a very cold and rainy day spent at a spa, we had a look at the capital, Ljubljana.

The city´s color is green, because around 70% of the country are exactly that. Itˋs animal is the dragon. If you want to know why, check out the story of Jason and the Argonauts.

Of itˋs less than 300.000 inhabitants, around 50.000 are students. No surprise since studying is completely free to all up to the age of 26. After that, itˋs still very affordable.

Seat of the University of Slowenia

The musical arm of the university plays here. The castle on the hill behind it.

Not just the population is very young, the majority of the city has been completely re-built after a devastating earthquake in 1895.

Triple Bridge

Doors of the Cathedral

Town Hall

The country as a whole is also still in its infancy. Indipendence was declared only in 1991, finally cutting ties with Yugoslavia.

Some brutalistic Sovjet architecture is still around, the Square of the Republic

My human went on a walking tour and maybe the most memorable thing the guide said was that Slowenians pay quite a lot of taxes, but that one can see where all the money goes.

Which is probably more than a lot of you can say about your respective countries.

Free shuttle service for everyone within the city center, just flag ˋem down!