Fresh off the train at around 10:10am, we had 22 hours in this new city/country. Small, unassuming but relaxingly beautiful and beautifully relaxing. Maribor was a ripple of something different. I did not see so much as a tourist shop the whole time and, yet, the city gleamed in the sun as if it was posing for a photo.
Let me walk you through some of the highlights of Maribor. Granted, there wasn’t lots to do, and so we took it easy. Why not? We were on holiday. All in all, our biggest surprise and delight was the beautiful, high-quality food, beers and wine that we sampled. These ‘paired’ perfectly with the kindness of the locals and the warmth of the sun. See what I did there?
By all means, feel free to let me know in the comments something amazing we missed or should see next time!
Accommodation Evaluation
Ashamedly, I took no photos of our room, but here’s the closest example from the Expedia webpage through which we booked it (not affiliated). We booked this cheap hotel due to its comparatively cheap price. Here’s what we got:
UNI Youth Hostel – Twin Room – one night at £40.76
The reception was large, and there was plenty of space for guests to use. We were allowed to put our bags in a large walk-in cupboard at the back and, if I recall correctly, our Croatian leftovers into a communal kitchen fridge near our room-to-be until we could later check in.
We had a private room with an en-suite bathroom. There was, similarly to everywhere, a tourist tax to pay which I included in the above price. It had everything we needed for the one night, I can’t think of anything that was wrong with it. Nothing fancy by any stretch, a small space to rest our heads.
The hotel entrance is situated in a lovely little square with cafés I sadly did not get to visit, but you must walk down a short alleyway to reach the main doors. It’s not far. A stone’s throw from this hotel is the Maribor Castle.
Voyage and Discover
Overall, we found Maribor to be a quiet, relaxed kind of place. Somewhere to have a little bit of culture, a sit down and to people watch. It wasn’t big, although we certainly didn’t see everything. We valued the chilled-out, town-like vibe and decided not to rush around like mad loons.
Maribor Castle – Regional Museum
This is something I’d pretty strongly recommend. It’s called a castle, but this is a little bit of an exaggeration. It’s a large town house that was very conveniently just across the square from our hostel. The regional museum was housed inside and it took about an hour and a half to go around.
There was a bit of everything in this museum and we got a semi-personal guide to direct us around the exhibits. Not sure why: perhaps as we were the only ones there, or perhaps as a security thing?
From ancient caveman history, the displays covered the spread of races and people, how they lived and constructed dwellings over time, and then to more modern times with painting, furniture and religious statues that were just… well… creepy. No other word for it. We saw a few rooms full of small, tin figures arranged in various historical scenes, as well as against white walls to admire the figures themselves.
Considering our impressions from the outside, it was rather extensive on the inside. Also, some of the rooms were very beautiful. The last room we saw, as we were exiting the museum, was a large, pink staircase that did scream ‘castle’. The only thing really. It was worth going inside just for this grand room.
From here, we were guided to a door and after passing through this door, it was closed behind us and we were deposited in the middle of the street. Pretty odd. We made our way back to the beginning to check out the gift shop and we straightaway noticed some gifts and signs referring to an exhibit about coins. Having not seen any on our way around, we enquired further and the woman seemingly in charge took us personally to see it. As it turned out, the guide thought we’d seen it and so it was missed. They were fairly lovely and kind to us and we thought it was well worth a visit.
Vodni stolp – Water Tower
Located on the riverbank, this building dates from 1555 from when it was a medieval defensive tower. Now, it’s a chic, vintage-styled café where you can chill with a coffee or wind down with a wine. We peeked our heads in for all of five seconds and saw it was decorated with some old equipment and décor, but seemed a bit fancy and also quite busy. Beautiful from the outside though, with the swans in the glistening waters outside.
Hiša Stare Trte – The Old Vine House
I had a wonderful time here. Just outside the house, in plain view, is the oldest producing grape wine in the world.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is over 400 years old and has survived fires, bombing and attacks, by both humans and lice. Every year, one hundred 250ml bottles of wine are produced from the harvest. Slovenia’s President gifts these to important political allies or other VIPS. For more information about the vine and wine, click here.
Inside, is a small museum dedicated to the vine and its wine, with options for tastings and purchases from the shop. Unfortunately, not being important enough to get a gift from the President, I couldn’t sample the oldest vine’s wine. I did, however, pay 8.50€ for a Slovenian wine tasting of three white wines and had a small look at some of the pictures and information in the ‘museum’ exhibition.
We sat outside in the sun as I enjoyed the three small samples. Find more info in the Bites and Beverages section!
Glavni Trg – Main Square
We spent a rather enjoyable couple of hours here, soaking in the atmosphere, the sun and the outstanding food and drink. It was a gorgeous, European square outlined with parasol-primed cafés and eateries.
The Town Hall stood against one side of the square. It’s clock tower built in the style of the country and looking very simple but rather impactful. I loved the red roof and white walls; somehow it made everything look very clean.
I remember feeling very content: good surroundings, good food, good beer and my amazing boyfriend. What more can a gal want?
The Plague Column stands in the centre of the square. The original column was erected in 1681 to show gratitude for the end of the plague epidemic that had claimed many lives in 1680. Today’s structure dates from the 17th century. Find out more about this monument here.
We had lunch in this square, and enjoyed some cold beverages outside a couple of establishments. Just chilling.
Maribor Cathedral (Church of Saint John the Baptist)
The door was unlocked. So, of course, we went inside. A small church, for a cathedral, the walls were quite plain. The stained-glass windows were pretty and the roof was pretty geometrical. Not much to say about it, to be honest, but it’s pretty and if you’re into churches, why not?
Bites and Beverages
I’m sure you’ve been on tenterhooks to know more since I mentioned the exquisite beverages and cracking cuisine back in the introduction. I can honestly say that Slovenian wine shot straight to the top of my wine favourites list. As for the beer, you can read more about that in Volume Beer, but it was a proper pleasant shock.
Let’s have a look then, shall we?
Poper
The place we had our lunch, at one end of the main square. Quite boutique-y inside, it was table service outside. They served (correct as of March 2022) four Slovenian beers on draught and a fair few others by the bottle (possibly not all Slovenian).
Tantalising Titbit: The word for ‘Draught’ in Slovenian is “Točeno” which is the same as in Montenegrin! This is most likely due to the fact they were, up until 1991, part of the same country: Yugoslavia and therefore share many linguistical similarities.
The eatery’s namesake pizza was pretty great and the beer exceptional, we really enjoyed it at Poper’s and would go back, and certainly recommend others to go! Find the company website here.
The Living Room – An English Pub
We didn’t order anything from here, merely popped our heads in as we heard it was an English-themed place. Sure enough, there were many pictures adorning the walls of British and English places and things. Quaint and unexpected in this area. I thought it was worth a mention, it being a themed place. Can’t say anything else as we didn’t stop.
Nana Bistro & Kavarna
One drink is all we had here. Not for any negative reason, but we can’t sit around drinking all day, you know! I did notice that there were more young people here and it seemed to be a hotspot for young lads or young people. Had we happened upon a ‘place to be’ or ‘party place’? We didn’t stay to find out, but if that’s what you’re looking for, try here.
Slovenian Wine
Unfortunately, I can find no trace of any notes I made about the Slovenian wine I tasted, just these photos from the Old Vine House which I’ve lovingly crafted into a collage. All I know is they were beautiful, relaxing and I’d love to have them again.
Steakhouse Rozmarin
Honestly, this was a miraculous find. We hadn’t booked anywhere, or even really researched anywhere but this was perhaps a mistake on our part. We did struggle to find a suitable restaurant; there didn’t seem to be many restaurants for evening meals in the area we were looking. Finally, we opted to jump in the steakhouse we saw, despite not thinking it traditional Slovenian cuisine, and boy, were we glad we did.
Our waiter deserved all the high praise. Once seated, he asked us for our drinks order. Having sampled some wine earlier and thoroughly enjoyed it, I enquired as to some Slovenian wine similar to those sampled. He offered to show us the wine cellars. Yes, plural.
Slightly confused, and very curious, we agreed to follow him down the stairs and behind a large red curtain. I know how this sounds, but trust me, it was great. Firstly, he had us squeeze into this small, thin room which was piled high with bottles on every side. He pointed out this specialty and that. We did insist we had minimal knowledge of fine wine, and I merely ‘dabbled’, but he was so proud of their collection and assured me there was no pressure to know or buy anything: it was purely just to look.
Secondly, he showed us inside the ‘Bordeaux’ wine cellar. He informed us the contents of which were worth millions. MILLIONS. And that inside the cellar could be found 10% of all of Bordeaux’s annual exports. After that, he led us back up the stairs and back to our table. He brought me a white wine we’d discussed and I also ordered a so-far-untried Slovenian beer (Laško). Rather strictly, he told me I could not have my beer before my wine, only after. So as not to ruin my palette for the wine. Fair enough! I did as I was told 😉
Later, our fantastic waiter brought me a glass of another discussed Slovenian wine. He had informed me they do not sell it by the glass, although he had found a bottle already opened behind the bar. It was surely my lucky day. He was really kind, educational and enthusiastic; we felt really welcome and had a wonderful time. It really made our fabulous day, even better. Such a marvellous added bonus. We left what we thought was a good tip and anxiously hovered by the door, should there be a repeat of Sofia… However, he looked delighted and wished us a lovely evening.
To write this article, I studied the current menu but was unable to find the burger I ordered. It had bacon, egg and cheese on it and was great. Costing about 14-15€, I chose this dish above a steak purely to save some money. I really enjoyed it nevertheless. Dessert was great too, although I don’t recall exactly what it was, but here’s a photo and here’s the website.
I loved my first taste of Slovenia and can honestly say that I am eager to return and discover more. I shan’t forget that Slovenian wine in a hurry.
So far on our European Tour, we’ve been to Madrid, Sofia, Zagreb and we’re just about to leave Maribor. Our next destination is Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. We took three trains and a bus to get there (click here for more info), starting at 7:40am and arriving at 14:05pm. Follow us there!
One response to “Engrossing Europe: Volume Five – One Day in Maribor, Slovenia”
Well written & from the heart