Ljubno ob Savinji – part II

The ones with enough knowledge of Upper Savinjska dolina have just made an "AHA!" sound, and turned your focus into known the culinary goodness and tradition of making the butara at Vvetna nedelja. The ones who kept quiet, however, be prepared to learn new things.

 

In Ljubno the people started making smaller butaras in the 19th century already, which were smaller than the heavy things usually in use, and with many motives depicting everyday life. The name stuck from history, when the people were hanging pastry or bread on newly green branches – on Cvetna nedelja (Flower Sunday) and took it to church to get a blessing. Still today you can enjoy the master pieces that people make and present the crafts of butaras shaped as guitars, computers, lanterns, baskets … all shapes. They are a true treat for the eyes, but not the stomack I guess.

It could be yours or the savinjski. People are the kind of beings who want to use all senses to explore, so we guarantee you that your taste buds will not be left out while visiting Ljubno. The Savinjska dolina is the home of the meat product that shows its Excellency with a geographical culinary speciality mark. This famous food left a mark to the whole valley and helps people get even more attached to their home. It's especially pleasant after a whole day of mountaineering, or maybe just a quick trip down the cellar of the local estate. The latter is unexpected, but very welcome and fun experience, that makes you feel accepted and appreciated. Even more so if you're invited to the cellar to taste the local speciality – the savinjski želodec. 

As said, it's a great culinary treat and the prize after bigger or smaller tasks you've completed (don't forget what parents, great parents and doctors said – don't get physical after a hefty meal), but you can set the culinary treats themselves as the challenge and prize of your endeavour. From Ljubno you can experience many such things. One of them is the magical view that you'll receive if you get on top of the hill Smrekovec. It is the only Slovenian volcanic ridge, which used to be an underwater volcano and from where you can today see the pine woods and learn about the legends of dinosaurs that used to roam here. The whole area of Smrekovec is part of Natura 2000 and will not disappoint you regardless which segment will attract you most. And if you make it to the cabin, there's only a half an hour's sweating walk towards the top, if you're planning to make any new year resolutions about getting in shape. The end of the trip is fantastic. At 1577m you can see the whole of the Šaleška dolina, Posavsko hribovje, Karavanke, Veloko planino and much more! Especially in nice weather. And even if the visibility isn't great, you will not be disappointed as the fog with sharp wind have a special charm, telling you there's something wonderful in the tears below, something that is poetic. And again you can taste poetry by having a meal at the cottage on Smrekovec, where you can get the traditional Smrekovški pot – a stew made from many ingredients, among other barley, buck weed and young beef. Or you can enjoy some other more known hot meal mate in a stew pot. It's worth the effort to get to the top – or at least some gas to drive there.

If you like hill climbing or not, love to taste culinary treats or just live from your backpack, looking for famous or hidden specialities worth to be seen, you'll be meeting great people who live there. You cannot make it through half a day without thinking – how nice everybody is! And if you want to make a day trip into a two or tri day experience I'd suggest you the previously mentioned Gostišče Pevc and Hostel Ljubno ob Savinji. The homey feel of the hostel itself, offering 19 beds in private of joint rooms (yes, there's wi-fi) gives you the feeling you've come home to visit relatives. You can feel over fifty years of tradition and the hostel is part of the Hostelling International network, guaranteeing for quality and good price, available even to students. From there you can go and explore the beauty of the only preserved saw in Ljubno – the Budnova Venecian saw from the 20s of the previous century, go to top of Raduha or Golte, not get lost in the snow cave, explore the legendary Logarska dolina, enjoy the adrenalin filled (or less filled) sports, depending on season, visit the wood float collection or the prehistoric site of Potočka zijalka, smell the flowers of Mozirski gaj, debate about the terrors of the past while looking at the hangman's noose, or just enjoy walking around the valley. And don't feel bad if you've made a list of things to see, but when you reached Ljubno and Smrekovec you just couldn't leave and explore more. That's the energy of places that suck you in and always remain a part of you. So let's not just read about it, go there, feel it!