A Road Trip in Slovenia

Imagine winding mountain roads, lush green forests, and sparkling blue lakes… is this the fictional world of Lord of the Rings? No, its the hidden gem of Europe that is the nation of Slovenia.

Why Slovenia? Hiša Franko

Our interest in Slovenia first began with an episode of Chef’s Table about Ana Ros and her husband Valter Kramar’s restaurant Hisa Franko. Their story is an incredible tale of love, determination, talent, and motivation. Ros and Kramar met at Valter’s parents restaurant and began dating. They fell in love and traveled the world together. Later, they had the opportunity to run Valter’s parents restaurant and Ana switched gears from planning to be a diplomat to a chef. She’s entirely self-taught and her determination and intelligence has made her a world-renowned chef. Valter is a sommelier who specializes in Slovenian wine and ages Slovenian cheese.

A couple in love with each other who make the culinary arts their life’s passion? YES. We had to experience this for ourselves so we based our entire honeymoon around our reservation at Hisa Franko.

The meal was one of the most decadent experiences I’ve had so far. It had Billy and I talking about creativity in taste, presentation, and experience. The whole evening was quite inspiring and entirely special.

Road Trip in the Julian Alps

After our night at Hisa Franko, we hopped in our little rental car and traveled the winding roads in the Soca Valley as well as up and down the Julian Alps. The Julian Alps stretch from Italy to Slovenia. The highest peak, Mount Triglav is in Slovenia and featured in their national coat of arms.

There were hairpin turns and we went from lush green grass to snow at the highest part of our journey.

If you are in the area, I would highly suggest stopping in the town of Tolmin and hiking the Tolmin Gorge. Several festivals occur in the Tolmin Valley throughout the year. 

Slovenia is gorgeous and the nature feels rugged and reminded me of home in Canada. Perhaps, that’s part of the reason I love it so much – the environment and the people of Slovenia felt strangely familiar.