Day tripA culinary walk in Carinthia

Welcome to Carinthia!

We find ourselves in the cultural capital of Koroška, in Slovenj Gradec. It is known as the city of peace and we will walk through the lovely streets full of history.

We see the church of st. Elisabeth, the castle and drink a nice coffee.

The path leads us out of the city and through the old village of Šmartno, named after the saint st. Martin turned grapes into wine.

Then we walk a little up the hill to visit the lovely church  St. George.

St. George’s Church had previously been known as a church with a Romanesque design dating back to the 2nd half of the 13th century.

 Based on the grave goods found, the 26 Old-Slavic graves discovered at the southern and eastern walls of this church belonged to the Köttlach cultural group, i.e. culture of Alpine Slavs.

The heated glass walking surface covering the air-conditioned area of the archaeological finds enables a superb view for the visitors and was masterfully designed by architect Milan Kovač in 1994. This architectural solution offers the visitor an authentic link with the past.

From there is just a short walk through the beautiful nature to a farm stay where we will eat lunch. The food served is homegrown and cooked. You will taste and eat what the locals eat and you will fall in love with the freshness and the juiciness that come with every course.

Our next stop on our walking tour is a gingerbread gallery. Here we marvel at the 250-year heritage of the crafts of honey confectionery, honey bread making, and chandlery and, for a moment, join in the unique family story not simply about honey bread hearts but the lives of all of our grandmothers and grandfathers.

During this guided tour, you’ll go on a journey through the rich history of the Perger family, learn about how the organic honey candies are made, as well as the delicious honey-dough biscuits, the famous honey bread hearts, and the energy candles that are unique in the world by following the original, family-owned procedures dating back to 1757.

From here there is just a couple of minutes back to the city. Then it is time for something stronger. We visit a gin distillery. Here Anže and Lucija are making their own blend.

The whole story started quite spontaneously or, better said, with a gin obsession. They always liked to test new gins, wondering how and what they are made of. Anžet's greatest wish was to create his own gin. And so it all began. They both rolled up our sleeves and started making gin without any experience. Lucija is a theorist, Anže a practitioner and that is what led us to the goal.

The legend of the AP diesThis is how AP gin was created. Juniper berries are still here and still remain the main ingredient, and six more carefully selected spices from around the world have been added. True, the recipe and taste are different from the original, but the legend still holds. So drink one gin a day to take the doctor away. Cheers!

We are back in the city of Slovenj Gradec and enjoy this peaceful evening turns into night.