We were told that the BBC series ‘Race Across the World’ was in Beijing the same time as us so we had to watch it. What we didn’t realise was that we should have watched series 5 but inadvertently started with series 1. Thankfully they did go through China, in episode 4, so time not wasted. Series 2 to 4 didn’t go anywhere we were worried about so we went straight onto series 5 and Beijing, Zhuhai and Sanya (plus India, down to Singapore). It made us realise how little of China we’ve seen. Hurry up, G&Y, move south so we can explore that part! In Slovenia, we had no robots, but we did have this cheery chappy on the touring train in Ljubljana.
We had a couple of weeks recovery from the China trip (spent mostly on catching up with life admin) then off to our next adventure. From a country where a city of two million people is deemed small, to a country where the total population is around two million.
We’d had a weekend in Ljubljana in 2014 (above) but know nothing about the country. Legend has it that Ljubljana, the capital, was established by the Greek hero Jason, who sailed his ship Argo with his Argonauts and the stolen Golden Fleece across the Black Sea and up the rivers Danube, Sava and Ljubljanica, all the way to its source. Here lived a monster, which Jason naturally defeated and killed. In time, the monster became the Ljubljana dragon, which you’ll find on Ljubljana’s coat-of-arms and on the Dragon Bridge. I’m not sure how many people outside of Slovenia know this origin myth, I’d never come across it before.
https://www.theoi.com/articles/what-is-the-story-of-jason-and-the-golden-fleece/
The rest of Slovenia was new to us. It had been part of the old Yugoslavia until 1991, when the country declared independence. (Yugoslavia consisted of six republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. The final dissolution was not until 2006, when Montenegro and Serbia became independent). Slovenia is bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. It has a coastline tucked in between Italy and Croatia of around 47 kilometres. There are Alps in the hinterland and forests. For those of you who are able to balance on long thin bits of metal (carbon fibre or wood), I believe the skiing is popular here. As all the mountains seem to be sheer and covered in trees, I’m not sure how. It is reported to have more churches (per head?) than any other country. We saw one that at first glance seemed to have been re-purposed. If you want to know any more about Slovenia, follow this link.
So, enough background information. Off we go to Slovenia.
We were delayed somewhat by my GP phoning at 1830 on the Friday evening before we flew to tell me I needed a ‘routine’ blood test: if it was only routine, what was he doing contacting me that late on a Friday? Not worried at all, we thought we’d best sort it out before flying. However, you try to get the NHS working on a Saturday morning, even ignoring the fact it was a holiday weekend. No private clinics near us in Somerset, no time to go into central London, nothing we could find in Heathrow. I decided we’ll just have to leave it till we get back and hope I don’t kick the bucket in the meantime.
No flat tyres on our way to the airport this time. Things were looking up. We arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 for our BA flight to Ljubljana with just enough time to spare and looked at the departure board to see where to check in. Odd, no flight showing. JD had checked in the night before so we knew there was a flight. At this stage two possibilities presented themselves to me: we’d misread the time and it wasn’t 4 pm but 1400 hours, i.e. we’d missed the flight, or we’d got the wrong day. Neither seemed feasible. Eventually JD found the booking and we realised we were in the wrong terminal: I didn’t know BA still used Terminal 3. A quick train journey and we were there, luggage dropped off with even less time to spare. As the flight was slightly delayed we then had time for a quick bite to eat and a drink.
Arriving at Ljubljana we had (well, the eternal pessimistic me had) a panic when all the luggage arrived except my Rollator. We had last seen it by the gate as we were boarding at Heathrow. It wasn’t still there was it? The lass looking after us was so helpful, took us to lost luggage after everyone else on our flight had picked up their bags and left. Lost luggage said if it was still in the UK it would be on the next flight out and they’d deliver it to our hotel, but the luggage hadn’t all come down yet so keep looking. We stood around again and suddenly JD sprinted off: he’d seen it tucked into a corner!
Thankfully the driver had waited for us and delivered us close to our hotel where we had a lovely greeting from the staff. The hotel, Zlata Ladjica (The Golden Ship) is in a pedestrianised area. Two of the staff came along to where the car stopped to help with our luggage, then a third arrived in a buggy and drove us all back. The hotel is on the riverbank and in times gone by was used by the tradesmen, with all the rooms reflecting this. We were in ‘Goldschmidt’, with a golden curtain rail. Another was ‘Butcher’, with a cage reflecting what happened to any caught cheating their customers: put into a cage and lowered into the (very dirty) river.
It was getting on for nine pm by this stage and we weren’t sure if we’d get any food, but the kitchen was open until nine thirty and the maître d’ told us we had to eat there as the chef was really good. We did and he was right. We also had a bottle of ‘orange’ wine from Slovenian grapes so felt like we’d already bedded in.
The next morning, after an excellent breakfast and a few hours reading up on the things to do, we caught one of those electric ‘trains’ on a circuit of the city. Up to the castle and back plus over the river and back. Then off to a riverside bar, a beer and following the Monaco F1 on the BBC website. Interesting rules to make it less predictable: two stops and three types of tyre. The good news was that Lando Norris was first. (He’s since won two others and is now in second position, only eight points his teammate Oscar Piastri).
Back to my new medical issue. We asked the hotel what to do: they put us in a taxi to a drop-in clinic, no appointment needed. We took a ticket, as you would in a deli, and waited a few minutes until called. The receptionist took my information then led us through to the nurse who took a blood sample. Three hours later I had an email with the result: all normal. It cost €5 and 50 cents. (When we returned home, I emailed the UK health secretary and my MP, suggesting they look at the Slovenian system to see how to help the failing NHS. Ok, the population is only two million, and they pay into an insurance scheme, but we pay via our taxes, which should be equivalent?).
After that we had a quiet day. JD headed off to the botanical gardens and I did some routine stuff until the evening, when we met the rest of our crew then off to dinner in a restaurant with paintings on the wall that I think you’ll either love or hate. As long as they weren’t an indication of my state after the meal.
Oh, it’s just dawned on me that I’ve not told you what this jaunt is all about. JD is considering replacing his old diesel Porsche with an electric one. Fortuitously, he had an email some months ago inviting him to try a week driving an electric Macan around Slovenia. A convoy of five cars with no more than ten people, with a number of activities every day. Needless to say, he signed us up.
Our team mates were two other British couples, an American couple and a Canadian couple. We had three Porsche ‘minders’. The first night we had a briefing then dinner. The briefing was: no smoking or drinking (alcohol) during the day; stay in your place in the convoy; NO overtaking the lead car; do not sit on the walkie-talkie you’re given or the leader won’t be able to contact the team (and your conversations will be heard by everyone); inform us if you need to stop for any reason (including at traffic lights); and don’t use your own phones except in an emergency. Sounds simple enough.
What we hadn’t considered is that Porsche is a German brand so this was a VERY organised tour. We were up at 0600 for breakfast on the first driving day. I regret to say we were not quite bright-eyed or bushy tailed. Off we set, number three in the convoy. What we hadn’t known was that most of the other couples (the chaps anyway) were amateur track enthusiasts: the car in front left us for dust while the car behind was on our tail. I’m glad I’d opted not to drive. Racing around, we were unfortunate enough to clip the kerb, thankfully no flat tyres.
Our first stop was down on the coast, the Fonda fish farm. A small ecological fish farm close to Piran, farming sea bass and mussels. We had a boat trip out to see the fish (who were not interested in us as it was not feeding time) then back for a tasting and talk about the refuge created around the breeding cages.
https://www.fonda.si/en/fonda/the-fonda-fish-farm
We set off for our next stop, a (late) picnic lunch at the famous Lipizzaner stud farm. Unfortunately, we managed to lose the two back cars on our way to Lipica. As they were following us, I felt a bit of guilt, my lookout skills had clearly been inadequate. You can see my view below so judge for yourselves if you’d have done better. The walkie-talkies came in useful and we discovered that they had continued onto the motorway. This was a shorter (but less scenic) route so they arrived at the destination first.
Before our picnic, we had a carriage ride around the estate then visited the stables where the stallions lived in individual stalls and saw mares with foals coming in to their stables for the evening. In case you didn’t know, Lipizzaner foals are born dark brown or black, and each year when they moult, their coats come through whiter until they look like the famous Spanish Riding School horses they might become.
https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/attractions/lipica
The first tour night was at the Villa Fabiani, not normally open to visitors as it’s run as a wedding venue. The owners took it over from the government as a wreck and spent the last few years totally renovating it, as well as growing their own wines. We had our first drink of the day on the terrace then a short time to recover, followed by a stroll around the garden and dinner in an old wine cellar. It was very romantic as the electrical power was out, possibly due to having to charge seven electric Macans. The owner of the Villa is a Porsche enthusiast: one of the outbuildings had three old Porsche tractors and a 912 from 1965. He also has countless others we didn’t see, at his office.
https://www.villafabiani.com/en/
I think, looking at this decoration in our room, we possibly had the bridal suite, overlooking the grounds. There were two very large mirrors as well, I cannot think anyone other than a bride would need them.
The next morning, up early again. I’m not sure if my spotting skills were at fault but we were moved down to number four in the convoy. Only one to look out for. We drove to a hydroelectric power plant on the River Sava and had a tour inside. The river is a very iconic green due to the limestone that lines the river bed. For JD, as in China and the oilfields, this was his highlight. If you ever invite us to stay, make sure you have something similar to amuse him! We then continued, past the dam that served the plant, on winding roads to our lunch spot on the artificial lake formed by the dam.
After lunch, more winding roads and hairpin bends up the Julian Alps to the Bohinje hotel (the j is silent, I discovered) for the next two nights. We had an interesting aperitif in their wine cellar: a sparkling rose wine that had not been disgorged, so it had to be opened upside down under water to remove the sediment. He’s just getting it ready to plunge into the bucket next to him here.
Yet another early start, off at 0830 after breakfast. This time we were split into two groups as we were planning to drive over a mountain pass which would be difficult with a large group. We turned out to be North Americans vs Team GB. As we had managed to lose Team America on the first day, this could have been deliberate? We arrived at the road to the pass only to find out it was closed. We stopped to admire a Russian chapel in the woods then went back down to an alternative route via Italy.
Our lunch destination was the only Slovenian Michelin 3-star restaurant, which opened for lunch just for us. This was an amazing 15 course meal of exquisite bite-sized dishes. The staff took it all really seriously, to the extent of telling one of us to sit down as the next course was about to be served. The poor chap had to cross his legs!
One of our party was talented enough to get all dishes on one photo. We agreed that the flavours were much more appreciated when you’re not swamping your taste buds with alcohol! Each course was only one or two mouthfuls but such different flavours in each. Example: venison with cashew sauce, tiny slice of parsnip and alpine strawberry. Sounds odd but it worked, you can see it on the right of the middle row. Carrot ice cream with a curl of carrot and a piece of cooked carrot as the first (of four) desserts is directly below the venison.
The drive back to the hotel was on yet more narrow winding roads. We arrived in time for a quick recovery then onto the next activity, tasting two local gins, followed by a cookery demonstration. As it was fairly cool outside this ended up being indoors, in another cellar. We had to walk through a tunnel to get there: JD decided to try and emulate the famous Yangtze leap. (You can see the original in Post 176 of 9th June 2025, on the Great Wall).
The gin distiller talked us through his gins: he makes them in a 100 litre still in his garage and sells mostly to local restaurants and bars, although we managed to buy a couple of bottles. He uses 25 botanicals (not all of which he mentioned), added to the base alcohol for three days before distilling, to allow the flavours to blend. He double distils the alcohol to get a smoother final product and recommends Fevertree Mediterranean tonic for the London gin, and rose lemonade for the cherry gin. I’m going to try it as the base for my next batch of Pimm’s (two parts gin, two parts red vermouth and one part triple sec, diluted with the cheapest lemonade you can find, although I might use the rose lemonade with this one). In case you’re confused about us buying London gin in Slovenia, it’s not related to the place it’s made but the way it’s made. Read more here.
https://www.craftginclub.co.uk/ginnedmagazine/everything-you-need-to-know-about-london-dry-gin
On our final day, we were moved yet again, to the head of the convoy, right behind our leader Thomas. He really didn’t want to lose us! Of the five cars, two were identical and of course we were in one of them. The other was at the tail end of the convoy, driven by one of the North Americans. We were stopped at some traffic lights, waiting to turn right, when suddenly Tail End Charlie appeared and shimmied to the front. Once the lights had changed and we had all turned, Thomas very worriedly asked where car number Five was as he couldn’t see it. After a bit, the confession came that he’d broken the rules and overtaken as he was afraid of getting left behind. Two identical ones together must have been confusing.
After a very short drive we stopped at Hotel Adora next to Lake Bled, the place you see with the little church on an island whenever you see shots of Slovenia. It’s very difficult to park around the lake but the owner of the hotel is another Porsche enthusiast so she allowed us in. The car park only just took all our cars. Despite having had breakfast less than an hour beforehand, coffee and traditional Bled cake were served.
An hour later we stopped for a second coffee break, thankfully with no cake this time. We entered Austria for a short while to go over the mountains then back into Slovenia. We had lunch in an eco-friendly small hotel, the Eko-Hisa, which makes its own cheese and salami etc, in the Logar Valley owned by the family for a few generations. It doesn’t encourage cars in the Valley but somehow, once again, Porsche prevailed.
https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/attractions/logar-valley
Our final destination, a welcome drink back at the Zlata Ladjica hotel in Ljubljana, outside in the glorious sunshine. A quick turnaround then dinner up in the castle, which we were told was not actually a castle but a fortress. The restaurant is called Strelec, which means Archer. A mere Michelin one-star so we didn’t have 15 courses (plus appetiser) but as it was evening we were allowed wine. A lovely end to an exciting week. A final early start on Saturday for our flight back to London.
You might have picked up that the meals were a feature of this week. Porsche had managed to get us into places that we’d not have found as casual tourists (or even been able to get into) and each venue was determined to showcase their best. It felt as though we did not stop eating. We also felt spoilt having a guide driving at our front, warning us of incoming traffic or obstructions on our side. So many cyclists and bikers and hikers. If you’re into activity holidays, I’d certainly recommend it. The exercise will help you to stay slim. (I really hope I don’t look like that painting above but I’m not going to ask).
One mystery we were unable to solve was roofed pole structures everywhere in the fields. We were trying to work out why so many, what are they for? We saw one with some hay for the cattle, but then one storing logs. Maybe they were multi-purpose.
George and John's boating trip no longer 