Ending March (22- 3. - 24. 3. 2018) Rajzefiber agency with supporters arranged Festivals of Walks in Maribor to promote some of the attractions in town. My heart raced hard from the day of announcing the festival and I applied for all the events that were timely possible. Let me tell you a bit about the ones connected to food and wine, i.e. culinary of Styria region..
Taste Maribor!
Medieval Carinthian road (Koroška cesta) was leading farmers to the market on Main square (Glavni trg)
Taste Maribor! was called the walk through some places strongly connected to food. Slovenia is a small country so its neighbours are close and influential. From Maribor there is just fifteen minutes drive to Austria, half an hour to Croatia, an hour to Hungary and two hours to Italy. Each of them had influence on nutrition and eating habits.
It was Gostilnica "Pri Damah" (restaurant) that we visited first, social entrepreneurship on the right river bank. The manager introduced the kitchen, they mostly prepare porridge dishes (spoon food). We tried two of them, "ričet" and "bograč" and two beverages, "melisin sok" and "bezgov sok", everything made from ecological stuff in house and not expensive. It brought me back to times of my grandmother who knew cooking such dishes. I enjoyed food and memories..
On our way through town centre on the left bank of Drava river we have almost overseen the “Zadruga Dobrina” (cooperative) greengrocery shop. It is located in a narrow passage but making great impression with selling locally grown food and vegetables. Visiting small shop one can subscribe to weekly delivered “green box” - agricultural products from wider area. We tasted some varieties of cheese and got warm with walnut liqueur.
Introduction through words and plates (Beef salad is called "essig fleisch" here).
“Gostilna Maribor” (restaurant and hotel) was our next stop. This one was impossible to oversee since it is located on the Main square. Three hundred years old house was recently professionally renovated. Old walls still speak of rich history but allow one to enjoy modern amenities. We first enjoyed the welcome speech and introduction of hotel manager and then got into the culinary part of the offer. What was to taste? There were dishes like fried chicken, red chicory with warm potatoes and greaves and beef salad. I couldn’t help myself but tried all of it. Delicious. And surprised since I have never tasted such a combination of chicory salad before. A glass of dry wine, produced just outskirts of town, fit nicely, too.
Maribor was once part of Habsburg's imperium so here one can catch real coffee house feeling. Former Casino was converted to charming eclectic bar, concert room, gallery and shop.
Last post of this tour was former coffee house and casino, today “Salon uporabnih umetnosti” (Salon of Applied Arts). Over one hundred years old house was architectural pearl when built. Nowadays it is hosting artists when selling or performing. Old glory might even come back, it is also used for concerts and dancing again. Well, time was not right so we just let us serve some coffee and herbal tea (herbs harvested on Pohorje hill on southern border of town). This was very nice finish of festival walk, to rest our feet and exchange impressions.
Beer Tasting Walk
This was the name of another festival event in Maribor that I succeeded to take part. Once a drink of blue collar workers beer became much more appreciated in last twenty or thirty years. In fact, with introduction of small breweries and craft beer selection it is already searching after its own clientele. Beer tour was guided by the owner of special beer shop in Maribor, so we heard and learned a lot. |
Gambrinus bar is Mekka for afficionados of football and best czech beer.
Everything begins with first step. Ours was into Gambrinus bar, small place of deep and strong feelings. Locals frequent it as football fans and dark interior is full of football relics. There is more behind, though. Gambrinus as personality from Middle Ages was a patron of beer brewing and the house where bar is located was once a brewery, too. The owner is inclined to czech varieties of beer that resemble the taste of beer once brewed here. It was Poutnik lager beer in fact that we drank. Light in taste.
Cool bar Isabella in the middle of Post way (Poštna ulica), alive day and night, has dedicated pipes for best slovenian craft beers.
Few streets away totally different interior waited for us. Isabella is a modern bar - shiny surfaces, new tastes. We got Human Fish beer to taste, brewed in Slovenia. Human Fish is also the name of first slovenian craft brewery. Our sample was Combat Wombat, beer combination of five types of hops, of light amber color and dirty white foam head. It was just strong enough that language brakes of our international group loosened.
Third and final stop was at Pivarna, the only beer shop in Maribor. Three samples of beer were arranged, Tetkina radost, Champion and Hop Hazard, Pale Ale, all from Lobik Brewery, Maribor. This one holds title of the best newcomer craft beer brewery in Slovenia 2017.
How should I comment? I liked all those samples, full smell and taste they have all even when different, but to bring home I bought Champion!
How should I comment? I liked all those samples, full smell and taste they have all even when different, but to bring home I bought Champion!
Maribor Wine Tour
When speaking about terroir I always think of Piramid Hill just above the old town.
This one was the last on my schedule. This festival walk should have been best organised because Tourism information office in Maribor already sells this tour. Introduction was short since in Maribor one learns about wines on every corner. History goes back to Romans who brought vine here. But it was Austrian Archduke Janez (Johann Baptist Josef Fabian Sebastian) that found viticulture in Styria left behind and transfered wine varieties of the Rhine vineyards to his Meranovo estate near Maribor. Great success made this the center of modern viticulture in Slovenian and Austrian Styria.
We had three stops scheduled. International group was first led to Dveri pax, wine shop and bar in Slavija office building. We tried two dry wines, Šipon from 2016 and Rhein Riesling from 2015. None of them made lasting impression, I would prefere them with food. But I know, it is dry that is trendy!
A bit of sunshine is simply not enough for nature to wake up. Anyway, Water Tower (Vodni stolp) welcomes visitors all year long, Slovenes and tourist alike like it outside.
Just few minutes away flows Drava river. There is a remarkable medieval building on the bank, called Vinoteka Vodni stolp (Water Tover Wine Shop), where first slovenian wine shop is situated. Small surprise awaited us, we got three samples: Šipon again, but from Puklavec wineyards, Sauvignon from Malečnik and house wine called Vodni stolp. While all wines that we tasted were straight, the last one was blended (Šipon, Sauvignon, Rhein Riesling). It didn't win.
Last stop at Lent, again on the river bank was the most anticipated! There was the Old Vine house, a wine muzeum and also/maybe the best stocked wine shop in Slovenia. In front of house grows the Old Vine, by Guiness Book of Records acknowledged as the oldest noble Vine in the world, with proof of being more than 400 yers old. Žametna črnina (black velvet variety of grapevine) still brings grapes, which accounts for about 20 litres of wine yearly, put in artistically designed small bottles. No, we didn't taste it, it only serves protocol (like presidential visits).
What did we taste at the Old Vine house? First sample was young wine (ranina, 2017) from Steyer, followed by Sauvignon blanc from 2017, produced by Kobal, dry and straight, smell and taste fuller than varieties we tasted before. But it was Muscat (rumeni muškat) from Senekovič later, half sweet wine of 2016 with great bouquet that really brought smiles to our faces. Nobody thought about what is en vogue (fresh and dry) or about the "long road" that we walked along until coming here, the museum guide had hard time answering our questions. This clearly was the winner, yes!
Chili and Chocolate Festival
Did I mention there was Chili & Chocolate Festival in Maribor last Saturday, too? Hard to believe these two ingredients go together well. But one can buy and taste some interesting, funny things like chocolate wafel with chili. I did. And didn't feel the expected hot taste. "Complaining" about it the lady said my expectations could not be met because the wafels were made for children ;-)
I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that!"
Anyway, street food as a niche product (be it on food trucks or stalls) is slowly catching ground. Few festivals throughout the year are held to promote this kind of food. For now people think of it more like attraction than something to be taken seriously.
All photos made during days of festival: ©2018 Rasto Kirn & ©2018 Olesya Kirn