Slovenia' s deli - Breg bei Toll Brdo to Smartno

05.10.2020
The next two days we go through "Slovenia' s deli" - "the delicacy of Slovenia" characterized by vines, olives, flowers, herbs and many fruits that grow and thrive due to the Mediterranean climate in the Brda region. In early summer it is the cherries, plums and peaches, in summer figs, pears, lavender and sunflowers, as well as in autumn kaki, apples, olives and grapes.Since yesterday we have been experiencing the right pleasure hiking for us. The trail leads us to a hill to St. Andrew's Church, a typical Mediterranean church with large ceiling frescoes, which we can only guess through a window, because this church, like almost everyone in the mountains, is closed. From up here we have a great almost 360 ° view over the Brda valleys. We are surprised that after a comparatively moderate increase, we are expecting such a view, despite the cloudy skies. After descending the 426 m high mountain we come to the valley of kozbanjscek, to the Krcnik Gorge with a fascinating natural stone bridge and the Kotline stone basin. Both special places that invite us to linger, take pictures, enjoy and rest. Since we have shared this longer stage, we can afford to do so. Through vineyards with beautiful views, with a few drops of "Angel - xixi" you go to our accommodation, the winery Sibav. We have a really nice room with modern bathroom and our hostess Lioba is especially cordial. Since no restaurant has opened nearby, she cooks pasta for us. A big pot just for us, with salad from our own garden and of course wine from our own cultivation. What more do we need? After the meal we sit together and chat very nicely with each other for a while. We still learn a lot about Slovenia. It is the same after breakfast, where we still have a cup of coffee together. We are very happy that we have chosen this accommodation and say goodbye with a big Hvala vam ( thank you ).

The next morning starts very cloudy with light drizzle. But when we're on our way, it's already going to stop. Through small villages and vineyards we walk along the cherry blossom trail to Dobrovo. In the light of the morning sun spinking behind the black clouds, we take beautiful pictures of the vines wetted with water drops. In front of the small town, the rain showers catch up with us again and we can briefly insinuate ourselves in the Renaissance Castle Drobovo and get a bite to eat in the neighboring supermarket. After that, the rain stops again. Strengthened, following the cherry blossom path, we walk up the mountain to the medieval town of Smartno. It is compared to an eagle's nest as it perched on the mountain, surrounded by a city wall. It is very small, but quaint. We reach our destination before the next rain shower and explore the old town, after we were allowed to move into our room at the Hotel San Martin earlier. Our accommodation is located in front of the city walls and is a modern eco-hotel with a nice room and even better bathroom, but quite audible. The kitchen is unfortunately closed on Wednesdays, but in the old town there are two restaurants with traditional cuisine that we enjoy. We hope that the clouds will disperse tomorrow morning so that we can still go to the Gonjace Tower. From this 23 m high viewpoint you should have a great view in the 360 ° panorama to the Alps, into the Kaarst, over the whole of Brda and as far as Croatia.