Town
Created by GMidora
Maribor 2009
Maribor is a hidden gem but you need to do your research … More
Maribor is a hidden gem but you need to do your research before being able to exploit all of its wonders. The city has got it all. You can visit more than 150 tourist farms, take your bike to the world cup mountain biking track, visit one of Europe's largest wine cellars, have a panoramic flight over the city through one of Europe's oldest aero clubs, visit cultural heritage, relax in a splendid 19th century parks, visit aquarium, enjoy culinary wonders and drink coffee in some of the best cafes in Europe. There is also the best ice cream in Europe, skiing on the World cup skiing slopes, trekking through wild Pohorje forests, horse riding and more. Oh yes, and it is 30 minutes from Graz (Austria), an hour from Ljubljana (capital of Slovenia), hour and a half from Zagreb (capital of Croatia), two hours to Vienna (Austria) and two and a half hours to Budapest (Hungary). You can find all of the above here: http://www.maribor-slovenia-travel-guide…
Mon 27/07/09 (day 1)
Maribor vacations
We come to Maribor more or less twice a year and this may increase to three times a year from now on. Our daughter is now old enough to enjoy the snow and all that winter in Maribor has to offer. We either fly from London Stansted to Graz in Austria which is like 30minutes drive away from Maribor or, and that is definitely the most interesting time, drive all the way from England to Slovenia. I'll leave this for now and present the whole journey as a separate entry.
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Our first day was more or less about visiting Maribor's bustling city center and going for some yummy local food. That of course was followed by a delicious cup of coffee in Illich cafe. They are renowned for their secret recipe ice creams and cakes and we are their regular visitors.
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Our first day was more or less about visiting Maribor's bustling city center and going for some yummy local food. That of course was followed by a delicious cup of coffee in Illich cafe. They are renowned for their secret recipe ice creams and cakes and we are their regular visitors.
Tue 28/07/09 (day 2)
Old charms
Our second day was about relaxing and enjoying Maribor's old charms. It seems the city is all about a cafe culture (gossip included of course), architecture and slow motion that you rarely see in other cities around the world. Life is moving too fast and the people of Maribor (and Slovenia to that matter) have decided to be rebellious and live the "slow food way". Absolutely charming and definitely a relief after excruciating dynamism of every day life in Britain.
Wed 29/07/09 (day 3)
A trip to mountains (Logarska valley)
Mountains are great to escape from the scorching heat and enjoy the tranquility of unspoiled nature and there are a number of spots you can visit in a day from Maribor. We haven't been to Logarska valley in a very long time so it was pretty much a unanimous decision. Well, photos can speak for themselves but there is no replacement for the experience of actually being there, it was absolutely magical.
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It is interesting, I could never eat stew during summer but somehow mountain air, walking and lower temperatures make a turn in your head and there is nothing better than a pot of stew in mountains and Slovenian mountain cottages are well known for their variations. It almost seems as if there is a hidden competition.
It is interesting, I could never eat stew during summer but somehow mountain air, walking and lower temperatures make a turn in your head and there is nothing better than a pot of stew in mountains and Slovenian mountain cottages are well known for their variations. It almost seems as if there is a hidden competition.
Thu 30/07/09 (day 4)
A day in the park!
OK, you would go to Budapest, Vienna, Berlin or London for this kind of stuff but you can visit some interesting places in Maribor that you wouldn't really expect. First of all we went to Maribor's magnificent city park (one of many actually) and visited the city aquarium.
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That by itself took almost half a day. I mean imagine having a small kid with you. We spent an hour or so at the park's kids play area which is now completely refurbished and a true heaven in the woods. On the way back we visited Maribor castle which is still under refurbnishment and will be fully open by 2012. It looks fabulous and I can hardly wait to see how wonderful it will look once completed.
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That by itself took almost half a day. I mean imagine having a small kid with you. We spent an hour or so at the park's kids play area which is now completely refurbished and a true heaven in the woods. On the way back we visited Maribor castle which is still under refurbnishment and will be fully open by 2012. It looks fabulous and I can hardly wait to see how wonderful it will look once completed.
Fri 31/07/09 (day 5)
A bit of adrenalin
Though there is still plenty to be tested and experienced the day we spent in the "Pustolovski park" was excellent. It is situated in the Betnava forest 20 minute walk (5 minutes by bus) from the Maribor city center. There are several benefits. One, kids and adults alike have plenty of fun climbing various color coded routes of varying difficulty levels. Some of them are really demanding and there is always someone that needs to be rescued from the tree tops. There is also plenty of shade with temperatures a few degrees below those in the city center so grand parents can have a rest or even a picnic. They provide instructions and equipment, and you can also refresh yourself or just hop across the street into a bar nearby.
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You can imagine that it was just about enough energy after a day of climbing to have a couple of pints of beer and a large pizza in the La Cantina, one of Maribor's best pizzeria's and I am talking about some serious sizes here! Even salads were absolutely enormous...
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You can imagine that it was just about enough energy after a day of climbing to have a couple of pints of beer and a large pizza in the La Cantina, one of Maribor's best pizzeria's and I am talking about some serious sizes here! Even salads were absolutely enormous...
Sat 01/08/09 (day 6)
Maribor real estate day
One of them days we will find our perfect house and there is no doubt Maribor is high on the list of possible locations for retirement. There are some really exquisite areas in the city with architectural marvels on a par with much bigger European cities. However, Maribor is cute, close to everything and enjoys tranquility that is rare nowadays. It's almost like a sleeping beauty but in this case we would want it to stay that way (for obvious reasons).
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Although we don't want to be picky and you can basically have a house everywhere in Maribor because it is a really safe place to live, there are three major areas where one would wish to have a property in Maribor and they are also the priciest: Center and north (Tomsicev drevored area in particular), Northwest (between Gosposvetska and Vrbanska roads) and Razvanje (just off the Pohorje world cup skiing slope).
Houses used to be cheap but don't be surprised to pay around $2m though you can still find a decent property for far less.
Although we don't want to be picky and you can basically have a house everywhere in Maribor because it is a really safe place to live, there are three major areas where one would wish to have a property in Maribor and they are also the priciest: Center and north (Tomsicev drevored area in particular), Northwest (between Gosposvetska and Vrbanska roads) and Razvanje (just off the Pohorje world cup skiing slope).
Houses used to be cheap but don't be surprised to pay around $2m though you can still find a decent property for far less.
Planned Activities
Unscheduled - Maribor
I would love to see pictures and have more information about your skiing trip in December - please post it :o) I hope you have fun!