Savinja poje svojo lepo šumečo pesem, zvoki vetra pa se odbijajo med zelenimi krošnjami dreves. Tu in tam zaslišiš kakšno mukanje krave iz zelenih travnikov, ki ustvarjajo čudovito kuliso pokrajine, sicer pa razen ptičjega petja ne slišiš nič kaj veliko več. Ja, res je lepa ta naša Savinjska dolina in – izven vrveža majhnih mestec – v zgornjem delu precej neokrnjena.
Ko pomislimo na Zgornjo Savinjsko dolino, nam navadno najprej v glavo šine Logarska dolina, ki je sicer res prečudovita, pa vendar se v tistem delu Slovenije skriva tudi veliko drugih lepih kotičkov in prav te sem danes raziskovala sama.
Golte ponujajo čarobne razglede
Golte niso le priljubljeno smučišče, tudi spomladi in poleti ponujajo marsikaj zanimivega in lepega. Nanje se lahko povzpnete z nihalko, odidete peš ali se do vrha kar pripeljete. S partnerjem sva izbrala zadnjo možnost, saj sama nisem ravno navdušena hribolazka oz. planinka.
Že pot do gor je ponujala kar nekaj lepih razgledov, opazila pa sem tudi precej turističnih kmetij, ki so ponujale domače sire ali tako prepoznaven in priljubljen savinjski želodec. Ko prideš gor, pa se ti odpre pravljica. Prečudoviti pogledi na dolino in do koder ti seže pogled zeleni travniki in drevesa, sivi gorski kamen in nekaj pogledov na mesta in mesteca v Savinjski dolini.
Ko sem danes na Golteh izstopila iz avtomobila, sem zagledala nekaj zaplat še vedno čisto belega snega, travniško cvetje pa je ravno naznanjalo pričetek pomladi v gorah. Veter je prepeval svojo skrivnostno pesem, drevesa pa so plesala z njim in ji s svojim šumenjem dodajala globino. Toplo sonce se je borilo z gorskim hladom, jaz pa sem vedela, da me čaka lepo popoldne.
Domiselni Alpski vrt
Pot naju je najprej vodila proti Alpskem vrtu, ki je speljan po gozdu. Kljub temu, da nisem ravno ljubiteljica hoje v klanec, sem se potrudila tistih nekaj sto metrov vsake toliko časa, Alpski vrt pa mi je v zahvalo podaril urico časa, ki me je napolnila s pozitivno energijo, me prisilila, da sem zadihala s polnimi pljuči in me razvajala z lepimi razgledi ter zabavnimi detajli.
Alpski vrt je pravzaprav zaščiteno območje narave. Najbrž prav zaradi tega snovalci niso preveč posegali v okolje, pa vendar so bili tako domiselni in kreativni, da so ustvarili prijeten kotiček poln zabavnih skrivnosti, ki pa je, to je treba priznati, danes že nekoliko potreben prenove.
Med sprehodom po gozdu lahko samostojno ali preko tabel spoznavaš drevesa in rastlinje, snovalci vrta pa so poskrbeli, da ob spoznavanju dreves izveš tudi kaj o sebi, saj so po celotnem vrtu, ki bi ga morda bilo bolje imenovati gozd, postavili table z drevesnim horoskopom. Pa še dokaj točen je. Sama sem bojda bukev. 😊
»Kot poskuša biti bukev močna, trdna in elegantna, tako skušajo tudi ljudje, rojeni v tem znamenju, biti pokončni in lepi. Odlikujeta jih pogum in neka notranja moč, so spontani in odkriti. Izžarevajo toplino in neizmerno ljubezen do soljudi v težavah.
Izogibati se morajo škodljivim razvadam.«
V vrtu najdeš tudi kotiček za meditacijo, zvočno meditacijo in srčno meditacijo, pa seveda razgledno »ploščad«. Sama sem za kakšno minuto preizkusila zvočno meditacijo in bila sem zelo presenečena. Če bi si vzela več časa, bi si zagotovo dodobra napolnila baterije, saj na mestu, ki je namenjen zvočni meditaciji, zelo dobro slišiš zavijanje vetra, ki pripoveduje svoje starodavne zgodbe, prijetno ptičje petje in glasove celotnega gozda. Ena najbolj zabavnih domislic v Alpskem vrtu pa je zagotovo naravni prestol ustvarjen iz smrek. Čudovito!
Ob sprehodu po okolici vrta sva odkrila lično kapelico, lahko pa sva otipala tudi hladni sneg, saj je bilo še kar nekaj zaplat le-tega razmetanih po travniku, posutem s kamni.
Kosilo v Hotelu Golte
Okolica na tem področju ponuja kar nekaj gostiln, koč in kmetij, kjer se posameznik lahko okrepča. S partnerjem sva izbrala a-la-cart restavracijo v Hotelu Golte in bila sva zelo pozitivno presenečena. Že sam hotel je lepo urejen in povsod tako zelo diši, da si kar zaželiš, da bi kakšno noč prespal tam. Poleg tega naj bi hotel ponujal tudi lepo urejen wellness, razgledi z njegovih oken so božanski, osebje prijazno, hrana v restavraciji pa zelo okusna.
Porcija je bila primerno velika, hrana dobro pripravljena. S partnerjem sva bila v restavraciji čisto sama, a zato niso za naju nič manj pozorno skrbeli. Vzela sva pripravljeno kosilo, za sladico pa sem si postregla kar z njihovo hišno sladico in bila je zelo dobra. Vaniljeva krema z gozdnimi sadeži in keksi, postrežena v ličnem kozarčku na pozorno odrezanem koščku štora.
Skok v Mozirski gaj
Ko sva se spustila v dolino, sva zavila še v Mozirski gaj, ki skoraj vse leto vabi v svoj objem. Že res, da je, ko sva bila danes tam (sredina maja) že precej tulipanov odcvetelo, vendar je bil Gaj še vedno cvetoč. Med sprehodom po parku sva lahko opazovala drugo razcveteno cvetje, različna drevesa in vse te čudovite vrtove in tematske predele, ki jih ponuja. Če Mozirskega gaja še niste obiskali, pa tudi, če ste ga že, pojdite še kdaj, ne bo vam žal.
Ne vem, če veste, a v Mozirskem gaju se že nekaj let trudijo ponuditi še več, kot nekoč. Poleg cvetja in številnih etnoloških objektov, ki pretvarjajo Gaj v pravi mali muzej na prostem, so park že pred dvema letoma obogatili z največjimi uglašenimi vetrnimi zvončki v Evropi. Lani pa se je v Mozirskem gaju začel razvijati Začarani vrt, ki je danes že Začarana vas, saj lahko ob sprehodu po njej občudujemo kar 10 lepih vilinskih hišic različnih, unikatnih oblik, čudovite vile in mnoge druge skrivnosti.
Zgornja Savinjska dolina me je danes na novo očarala, mnogo bolj, kot sem verjela, da me bo, pa čeprav sem že od nekdaj redna gostja Logarske doline in – še posebej v zadnjih letih – Mozirskega gaja. Zazdelo se mi je, kot da jo vidim prvič ali prvič po dolgem času. Predlagam vam, da ji tudi vi naklonine še kakšno misel, jo obiščete in raziščete tudi nekaj tistih manj znanih kotičkov. Prepričana sem, da bo tudi vas očarala.
Enchanting views of Upper Savinja valley
Savinja is singing her beautiful fizzing song and sounds of the wind are bouncing between the green treetops. Here and there you can hear cows mooing from the green pastures, that create a wonderful scene of the landscape, but you can’t hear much more than some birdsongs. Our Savinja valley truly is wonderful and – outside the hustle and bustle of the small towns – in her upper part truly is unblemished.
When we think of Upper Savinja valley, the first thing that usually pops into our mind is Logarska valley, which is remarkable, however there are plenty of other stunning corners in that part of Slovenia, and just those I was exploring for myself on this day.
Golte offer enchanting views
Golte aren’t just a popular ski resort, in spring and summer they also offer plenty of interesting and beautiful things. To the top you can take the pendulum, you can walk, or you can drive with your car. Me and my partner chose the latter option, because I am not an especially avid mountaineer.
The drive to the top already offered quite a few beautiful views, I also noticed lots of tourist farms that offer homemade cheeses and the very famous and popular savinjski želodec. But when you reach the top, you are greeted with a fairy tale. Wonderful views on the valey, with green meadows and trees, grey mountain stone and towns of all sizes as far as the eye can see.
When I stepped out of the car today on Golte I could still see patches of still pure white snow, and the grassland flowers were signalling the start of spring in the mountains. The wind was singing its mysterious song, the trees were dancing in its tune and with the rustling of their leaves added depth to the song. The warm sun was struggling with the cool mountainous air, and I knew that a great afternoon awaits.
Inventive Alpine garden
The trail first led us to the Alpine garden, which leads through the woods. Although I’m not a fan of walking uphill, I made an effort for those couple of hundred meters every now and again, and the Alpine garden rewarded me with an hour that filled me with positive energy, made me breathe from the top of my lungs and spoiled me with wonderful views and entertaining details.
The Alpine garden is a protected natural area. Probably because of this the planners didn’t interfere to much in the environment; however, they were very inventive and creative that they created a cosy corner full of entertaining mysteries, that is dough, truthfully in need of some restoration.
During the walk through the woods you can, on your own or with the help of the signposts, discover the trees and other flora, and the planners of the garden also made sure that when you find out things about the trees you also find out something about yourself, because all through the garden, which could probably be called a forest, they put up signposts with a tree horoscope, which is quite accurate. It says that I am a beech tree 😊.
»As the beech tree tries to be strong, tough and elegant, so do the people born in this sign try to be upstanding and beautiful. They are distinguished by their courage and inner strength; they are spontaneous and honest. They emanate with warmth and extraordinary love to people in trouble. They should avoid bad habits«
You can find places for meditation, sound meditation and heart meditation in the garden and of course a viewing platform. I tried the sound meditation for just a minute and was very surprised. If I took more time, I could well and truly fill up my batteries, because on the spot that is prepared for the sound meditation you can clearly hear the howling of the wind, which tells it’s ancient stories, lovely birdsongs and the voices of the whole forest. One of the more interesting ideas in the Alpine garden is the natural throne made from spruce trees. Wonderful!
On our walk through the gardens surroundings we discovered a cute chapel, we could also touch the cold snow, because there were still some patches of it here and there scattered around the meadow, which was littered with stones.
Lunch in the Golte hotel
The surrounding area offers quite a lot of restaurants, cabins and farms, where one can get refreshments. Me and my partner chose the a-la-carte restaurant in the Golte hotel and were very pleasantly surprised. The hotel itself is very tidy and everywhere it smells so nice, that you just want to spend a night there. Additionally, the hotel is supposed to have a well-kept wellness, the views from the windows are gorgeous, the staff is friendly and the food in the restaurant is very tasty.
The portion was adequately sized, and the food was well prepared. We were all alone in the restaurant, but the staff didn’t treat us with any less thoughtfulness. We took the pre-prepared lunch and for dessert I had their house desert and it was very yummy. Vanilla cream with forest fruits and biscuits, served in a cute little glass on a thoughtfully cut peace of stump.
Jump to Mozirski gaj
When we descended from to the valley, we then headed to Mozirski gaj, which welcomes you in its embrace almost all year round. Although when we were there (middle of May) most of the tulips were already past its bloom, Gaj was still flourishing with other flowers. During our walk through the park we could observer other blooming flowers, different kinds of trees and all those wonderful gardens and thematic parts that the park has to offer. If you haven’t visited Mozirski gaj yet, and also if you have, visit it. You won’t regret it.
Perhaps you are not familiar, however in Mozirski gaj they are hard at work the past few years, to offer you more than before. In addition to the flowers and numerous ethnological buildings, that transform Gaj into a proper little open air museum, two years ago, the park gained the biggest in-tune wind chimes in Europe, and last year The Enchanted garden started to grow, and it now grew into an Enchanted village, as we can admire 10 beautiful fairy houses of unique shapes, gorgeous fairies and many other mysteries.
The Upper Savinja valley has enchanted me all over again, much more than I thought it would, although I am very regularly in Logarska valley and – especially in the past few years – Mozirski gaj. It seemed like I was seeing it for the first time or the first time after a really long time. I suggest that you also give it a thought and visit it and discover some of those lesser known parts. I am sure that it will also captivate you.
