A tour of Jeruzalem and Ljutomer in Slovenia

Some people think there’s not much to do in the north-eastern area of Slovenia, and that there’s not really much to offer except beautiful sceneries and uncontaminated nature. But they definitely need an update! To show how much this area has to offer, I’m going to share with you a lovely tour I took around this region.

I’m definitely going to suggest you stay in a 4 apple house hotel (here the category is highlighted with apples instead of stars that are commonly used for hotels), but I can assure you that you won’t be missing out on any stars, because at night you’ll be able to admire much more than four in these dark skies. I stayed at Turizem Tompa .

Here they have a breath-taking view on the surrounding hills and on Jeruzalem and you can taste the wonderful homemade products. A hectare of land to produce excellent wine; this is Tompa’s secret, that with its Sipon (local white wine) and Rizling will make your days more joyful.

As I get ready to start my mini tour to discover the area, I’d like to start the day with energetic spoonful of honey, so I decide to stop and visit the beekeeper that won the gold medal for best acacia honey in 2015. So here I am at Cebelarstvo Tigeli in Verzej, where 84 bee families live and where you can try many different honey types. They even have an old bee house from 1899, made in Germany and completely restructured. The hive, that is 25 Kms from here, was bought and then set up as a museum after being restored. So why not enjoy their lovely garden and visit the bee museum?

Now it’s definitely time to take a tour around the nearby Jeruzalem; but don’t worry, there’s no Wailing Wall, even if the name comes from the original Jerusalem! In fact, between the 12° and the 13°century, the German crusaders also stopped in the “Slovenian Jerusalem”, as they searched for the real Jerusalem. In this pilgrimage place, in the 17th century they built the baroque church of Nostra Signora dei Dolori, and from the top of the peak you can see the border with Hungary, Austria and Croatia.

A spiritual stop is always good for you, to settle your mind and spirit, even if there’s already a lot of spirit in the air.

That’s because not far from here (just a couple of hills away), there’s the well-known local wine producer that might also be the “oldest”: it’s been here for 300 years! It’s P&F Wineries . 650 hectares of land and 500 hectares loaned from others to produce vast quantities of labels, exported to over 20 countries all over the world. The most incredible thing was to step down into the wine cellar to taste a Laski Rizling from my same year: 1978!

But in this area the hills that grow vines are alternated by plains where, among other things, they also grow pumpkins!

For 110 years the Oljarna Sredisce ob Dravi is specialized in the production of cold squeezed oil from pumpkin seeds. 50% of the seeds come from their own lands and the remaining 50% comes from other farms of the area, all Slovenian! This farm is known for being the best in all of Slovenia for its pumpkin oil, excellent dressing and rich in vitamins and antioxidants.

The day is almost over, but I still have lots to tell you, so just wait a few days and I’ll tell you all about the next stops in my tour of the best Slovenian places!