Zdravo! Welcome to Slovenia. Arrive in Kamnik and settle into your traditional family-run pension hotel. Meet your guide and fellow travelers and get your first taste of Slovenian cuisine with a delicious homemade meal. Kamnik is a picturesque town of just 10,000 people, 20 km north of Ljubljana. It is home to three castles and six microbreweries, and is famous for its exceptionally pristine drinking water, which makes a great base for developing new beers.   

After breakfast, take a gondola ride up to Velika Planina, an alpine plateau often likened to Middle Earth or Narnia. Wander around stunning emerald-green pastures, before meeting up with Dr. Katja Rebolj, leading forager for Slovenia’s top chefs (and guest star of a Netflix series), who will help you hunt for wild treasures to use later for dinner. Next, learn how to make Trnič, a hard local cheese crafted in the shape of breasts! Enjoy lunch on the terrace of a mountain-side hut overlooking the Alps and taste local specialties such as barley stew, and schnapps made with high-altitude spruce tips. Your final stop of the day is a homestead where you’ll meet Olga, who, together with Katja, will teach you how to prepare an authentic Slovenian feast, using the ingredients you foraged earlier.

Head to the forest outside Jezersko, with an experienced mushroom hunter to forage for the ever-elusive porcini mushroom (fall departures), or the prized morel (spring departures) and perhaps some dandelion greens, ramps, and wild garlic as well. Then stop at an Inn whose proprietor, Tanja Rebolj, is known as the Mountain Mixologist of the Slovenian Alps. Tanja makes tongue-tingling schnapps, and each flavor has a specific health benefit. Enjoy a delicious lunch, accompanied by coffee, strudel, and a schnapps tasting. Kamnik has been called the ‘microbrewery capital of the world,’ because it used to boast the most microbreweries per capita in the world. Enjoy dinner at one of our favorite microbreweries, taste local beer and try Slovenia’s famous kranjska klobasa, a sausage so delicious that it has EU geographical protection.

Explore the jewel in Slovenia’s crown today, glittering Lake Bled. Board a local pletna boat (think large gondola) out to Bled Island, where you’ll visit the church, ring the famous Wishing Bell, and partake in a potica-making workshop at a cafe dedicated to the beloved national dessert. Then visit an organic farm, and enjoy a tour with the farmer, before picking your own fruit and vegetables for a homemade vegetarian lunch. Take some time to explore Bled solo (with a chance to taste the famous Bled Cream Cake), before heading to Zasip, a village known for its dried snow pears where you’ll sample several dishes made with this innovative ingredient. Dinner this evening will be in an 18th century farmhouse with a cellar full of schnapps that you’ll inevitably end up tasting. Cheers! 

Begin your day with another foraging expedition in the lush forests behind Jable Castle. Hunt for herbs, roots, berries, and flowers for your final feast tonight. Then make your way to Ljubljana, Slovenia’s picturesque capital, to meet the Godfather of Slovenian Fine Dining, Janez Bratovž (or JB), the first chef in the region to prepare nouvelle cuisine. JB will lead you through a culinary masterclass for lunch, using the wild ingredients you picked this morning. This is an exclusive experience, made possible thanks to JB’s friendship with your guide. Explore Ljubljana this afternoon, weaving through the central market and visiting the hilltop castle, plus an optional coffee tasting to learn about Slovenia’s coffee traditions. Later meet with JB again for a final, multi-course, Michelin-star-quality feast that embodies forest-to-table dining at its finest.

After a remarkable five days together, you’ll catch your flight home today or head onward to your next adventure. If you’re planning to stay in Slovenia for longer, check out the Atlas Obscura Guide to Slovenia for itinerary inspiration. Until our next adventure!