Jeruzalem, Slovenia

The great thing about living in south eastern Austria is the fact that our three nearest neighbouring countries, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary, are only short hops away. It is perfectly feasible to take four-country trip in one day, with, say, breakfast in Austria, lunch in Slovenia, afternoon tea (or more likely, coffee and cake) in Croatia and dinner in Hungary. His Lordship keeps boasting about the times he’s cycled to Hungary. Of course, he omits to mention the fact he only just crossed the border (into Szentgotthárd), that it’s a fairly leisurely 85km ride, that it’s mostly downhill, and that he took the train back home each time. But then again I suppose it’s still quite an achievement – for an Oldie.

So, anyway, on a couple of bright, sunny, spring days recently it was no surprise that the Oldies took the opportunity to do some cross-border exploring, this time in Slovenia and this time crossing the border on foot, having stopped off in Bad Radkersburg. This beautiful spa town in Austria, with its medieval town centre within the walls of a huge ancient fortress, lies on the River Mur which forms the border with Slovenia. The river is called Mura in Slovene, and yes, for the Irish speakers among you, the name does come from the Celtic/Irish word, mór, meaning big. And yes, it is a big river. On crossing the bridge over to Gornja Radgona on the Slovenian side, I was able to stand astride the border line with one wing in Slovenia, one in Austria. Talk about spreading your wings!

The Oldies remarked on the fact that Gornja Radgona is looking a lot more prosperous these days than it did on their first visit back in 2010. Slovenia, in general, gives a clean, tidy and quite well-to-do impression. It is particularly noticeable how many newly-built houses there are here. And how gaudily they are painted! It’s like the west of Ireland all over again, colour-wise if not style-wise.

Travelling on by car from Gorna Radgona, we followed as many roads leading to vrh as we could: Kapelski Vrh, Murski Vrh, Janžev Vrh, etc. Vrh appears to mean ‘summit’ and what this Slovene word lacks in vowels, it sure makes up for in views! Every vrh we reached offered the most gorgeous vistas of the local vineyards with stunning backdrops of Styrian and Slovenian mountains.

 

At one point among the vineyards, we came across a bikers’ bar, no less, so  we stopped off for a beer. Not exactly in keeping with their macho image, the leather-suited bikers themselves were sipping glasses of white wine spritzers. That’s a sight you most definitely would never see in Ireland! Then again, if white wine spritzers cost only 50 cents in Ireland too, perhaps you would.

My favourite village in the region has got to be Jeruzalem. Set along a high ridge, it is blessed with incredible views reminiscent of Tuscany, a beautiful church, pretty houses, and, apart from the vines, lush vegetation including wisteria, forsythia, peach, apple, pear, plum and walnut trees. The only thing I didn’t like about it were the klapotec in the vineyards – wooden wind clappers designed to scare away birds. They work, believe me. I still can’t get that horrible sound out of my head!

The Oldies, of course, were oblivious to the terrifying noise of the klapotec and dawdled in Jeruzalem for what seemed like hours, snapping away with their cameras and making a right show of themselves. The things I have to put up with!

Anyway, whilst they doing their touristy bit, the Oldies were spotted by a local who was pottering among his vines. He stopped his work to shout out a friendly ‘Hallo!’ The Oldies replied ‘Hallo!’ and, motioning towards the scenery, added ‘Beautiful, sehr schön!’, unsure whether he understood English or German. His answer came back in Slovene: ‘Paradiž!‘

Understood.