Getting to know successful projects around Slovenia is the association’s annual program. This year we didn’t have to go far to get to know really excellent examples of good rural development practices in the Lower Savinja Valley. We were impressed, we recommend visiting.
On Saturday, May 30, it was already a promising warm morning, when the participants of the Laz association excursion were going on a journey that was not long this time, but still full of new experiences. After the program, the first stop was at the Podpečan farm in Galicia. There were no advance expectations for the participants of the excursion, as this was the first visit to the farm for everyone. But after everything heard and seen, certainly not the last.
on the farm Podpeč In Galicia With a 250-year tradition, we were taken over by a young farm taker, who transferred her theoretical knowledge to the farm less than a decade ago and is now marketing it well in practice. The main activity of the farm is the production of milk, which of course is processed into delicious dairy products. Surprised by the openness of the hostess and the way of presenting many activities on the farm, we enthusiastically sat down at a beautifully arranged table in the tasting room and tasted homemade dairy products. At the end of our choice, we bought the goodies in a local store. We were also able to see their apartments and home wellness.
We continued to visit the park and the learning garden schools for horticulture and visual art in Celje. The principal of the school, Štefanija Kos Zidar, introduced us to the types of ornamental and cultural plants and takes care of the healthy growth of plants.
Blooming cacti at the School of Holticulture and Visual Arts in Celje
The strong sun led us to the park and between the mighty buildings of the old part of Celje, where we treated ourselves to refreshments and a view of the Celje Castle.
Lovers of medicinal herbs and spices also came to their account. As many as 250 of them are grown at the Hmeljarski Institute in Žalec. We walked through their aromatic garden and finally visited the Eco Museum of Hops and Brewing. In the former multi-storey building of the hop dryer, which was already falling into disrepair years ago, the Municipality of Žalec, in cooperation with the municipalities of Spodnja Savinjska dolina, built an educational hop-growing museum with the help of European funds years ago, which is worth a visit.
In the Lower Savinja Valley, you can see a lot of interesting things. Our group decided on a Roman necropolis in Šempetro. A Roman road ran through Šempeter during the time of the Romans, along which the Romans built cities. Outside these cities, the dead were buried by the side of the road. The Šempeter necropolis tells us how important and rich people lived in these places in the past.
We went to the excursion farm ‘Pri Mlinar’ for dinner. The more than 250-year-old farmhouse is decorated with the Izabela vine, which is only eighty years younger than the building and is a descendant of the oldest vine in Slovenia. The owner of the farm, with a lot of mischievousness in himself, made sure that the atmosphere at the end of the day was as pleasant as possible. To conclude, while tasting the house wines in their wine cellar, we also sang well.
The excursion ended with a tasting of house wine in the wine cellar of the farm ‘Pri Mlinar’
The participants of the excursion were satisfied with the program, as they saw a lot of new and educational things. The desire of the members of the association is to organize such educational excursions in the future as well.