Kurent, Ptuj, Slovenia

 Kurent has been popularly reinterpreted as an extravagant god of unrestrained pleasure and hedonism in early Slavic customs.

In today's festival, groups of kurents wear traditional sheepskin garments, boar fangs, leather tongues, holding wooden clubs with prickly hedgehog skins, 

Around the waist they are wearing huge cow bells, the noise of which is believed to "chase away winter".

In this way, the presence of kurenti announces the end of winter and beginning of spring.

Being a kurent was at first a privilege offered only to unmarried men, but today, married men, children and women are also invited to wear the outfit. 

Kurentovanje, Slovenia - rite of spring and fertility

Kurentovanje is Slovenia's most popular and ethnologically significant carnival event. 

This 11-day rite of spring and fertility highlight event is celebrated in Ptuj, the oldest documented city in the region, 

and draws around 100,000 participants in total each year. 

* Begins 11 days before Ash Wednesday (57 days before Easter)

* Ends Shrove Tuesday (47 days before Easter)

In 2016 proclaimed as the 7th greatest carnival in the world by Lonely Planet. 

As the host of the festival, the town of Ptuj was admitted into the European Federation of Carnival Cities in 1991.

Road Trip Slovenia 4 Mercury Mine

 The cool thing about mercury is that it’s heavier than lead! It’s cool watching a lead ball bounce around in a jar of liquid mercury like it’s a ping pong ball in a beer-filled solo cup.

After the dark and cold mine, it was time for lunch in the sun.

“What’s your local specialty?” I asked the waiter.

“Žlikrofi,” he replied instantly. That was settled — I had to try it. I was given a plate of tortellini-like pasta stuffed with mashed potatoes and “animal fat” (pork in this case) and topped with a truffle and cream sauce. SO good, but definitely not the healthiest thing!

Adventurous Kate  (to be continued) 

Road Trip Slovenia 3 Idrija

 After picking up our rental car at Ljubljana’s central bus station, we took a winding road through the mountains to the tiny city of Idrija.

Idrija isn’t a one of the more popular spots in Slovenia, but I wanted to visit the mercury mine, which was given World Heritage designation in 2012. Interestingly, this World Heritage Site is shared with Spain! The other half of the site is a mercury mine in the city of Almadén.

The mine, which was built in the 15th century, was fully functional as late as 1986.

You can still see oxidized mercury in the walls.

Road Trip Slovenia 2 Tailgating

 Slovenia for a Road Trip

Slovenia is a fantastic country for a road trip. The country is tiny, the roads are good, and most of the popular attractions are clustered in the western half of the country, making many destinations within a 90-minute drive.

Aside from the intense tailgating, which I found to be some of the worst I have ever seen (I even got tailgated while driving 90 mph!), I’m a huge fan of exploring Slovenia by car.

I did this road trip for four days, but it wasn’t nearly enough. To get the most out of your trip, I recommend doing this itinerary in addition to a few days in Ljubljana and a day or two visiting the coast or other destinations.

Adventurous Kate  (to be continued) Photo: Janin 

Road Trip Through Slovenia 1 friendship test

 After spending a few days in Ljubljana for the fantastic Ana Desetnica festival, it was time to hit the road! I knew I wanted to see more of the country, so I planned to spend four days road-tripping through Slovenia with my friend Peter, the blogger behind Travel Unmasked.

Now, if you’ve been on a road trip before, you know they can can test friendships. Peter and I had never traveled together beyond a few days in Scotland a year and a half ago, but traveling as two people has a different dynamic than a large group.

Thankfully, we got along fabulously! We turned up the Kanye West and rapped “Through the Wire” together as we drove down the Slovenian highways. 

Adventurous Kate  (to be continued) Photo: Janin