Hut opening times can be checked on the Slovene Alpine Club’s website: www.pzs.si – this is in Slovene only, but from the homepage click the tab Planinske koče and then Karavanke; this leads to a full and up-to-date list of all the huts and their phone numbers. The Delovni čas column shows whether or not the hut is open at the moment; thus, the high-level huts are shown as being closed in the winter-time. Odprt/Odprta/Odprto is open, zaprt/zaprta/zaprto is closed, OS means it is permanently open, and OSNP means it is open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Razen means ‘except’. Take care to look for the full name of the hut, for example Koča na Golici, not Golica koča.
Huts serve basic, reasonably priced meals even if you are not staying the night there. There is no problem with eating food you have brought with you in the huts (for example, sandwiches), but there are no facilities for self-catering. The food in the huts is filling and nutritious, but somewhat repetitive. Vegetarians will manage (with even more repetition), but vegans will struggle.
Cattle graze the high Karavanke pastures
Water, in this primarily limestone environment, can be a major problem. The higher level huts do not have running water, which means not only no showers, but no washing at all, and every drop of drinking water must be bought and not cheaply, as the huts are often supplied by helicopter. Make use of any springs for drinking that you find en route – some of them are mentioned in the text and marked on the local maps.
In villages accommodation can be found in ‘private rooms’ (sobe) – the equivalent of bed and breakfast, or in a penzion or gostilna/gostišče, eating places which also offer accommodation, like a small guest house or inn. Tourist farms (turistična kmetija) offer comfortable rooms and excellent home-cooked and home-produced food.
Food and drink
Food
Large towns and villages will have a variety of eating places, called gostilna, which provide excellent home-cooked food. Prices are reasonable and portions large – there seems to be an almost pathological fear that you might go home hungry! Many hotels and pensions also have restaurants which are open to non-residents.
Mountain hut food is filling and cheap, so sausages (klobasa) and thick soups and stews with hunks of bread prevail. Typical dishes include:
jota – stew with sauerkraut, served with or without meat (meso)
ričet – barley stew, again served with or without meat
golaž – goulash, not normally spicy in Slovenia
vampi – tripe
žganci – hard boiled corn mush (much tastier than it sounds!)
špageti, njoki – pasta (spaghetti and gnocchi)
Some huts, especially lower ones frequented by locals, will serve local specialities.
Sweets include palačinke (pancakes), štruklji (dumplings, often with cream cheese), and zavitek (strudel).
Drinks
Slovenia produces several beers (pivo), of which the most popular are Union and Laško. Laško’s Zlatorog is a lager-type beer, which holds up its head, as it were, with the best beers in Europe. Slovenia’s climate also provides the raw materials for some excellent wines – the white wines are particularly good. Radler, a shandy of lager and lemon or grapefruit is very thirst-quenching.
All bars, and mountain huts, serve not only alcoholic drinks but also tea, coffee and hot chocolate. If you ask for čaj (tea) you will get a fruit tea without milk – for tea UK-style ask for angleški or črni (black) tea with milk (z mlekom), but not all places stock it, and mountain huts usually do not – there, you can ask for hot water (vroča voda) and bring your own teabags. Coffee (kava) is usually served black unless you ask for milk (z mlekom) – bela kava is coffee made with milk. Hot chocolate is kakav.
Money and shopping
The currency in Slovenia is the euro. All large towns and many tourist centres have banks and ATMs are common; depending on your card, you may be able to draw money directly from your bank account. Banks are usually open 8am–12 noon and 2–5pm on weekdays only.
Be aware that mountain huts take cash only, so take plenty of cash with you. Allow around €50 per person per day for accommodation, food and drink in the huts (more if you like a few beers). Membership of the Slovene Alpine Club, and national Alpine Clubs with reciprocal rights, gives a substantial discount for accommodation but not food. It is cheaper to sleep in the dormitory (skupna ležišča) than in a room (soba) – price details can be found on the the Slovene Alpine Club’s website (www.pzs.si); click the tab Koče in poti and then Cene in popusti v kočah to find tables for accommodation and meals – član means member.
A typical planina farmstead that offers delicious home-cooked food (Walk 18)
Opening hours
Shop opening hours are long in Slovenia, from early in the morning until 6 or 7pm, with no break for lunch. At weekends, most shops are open on Saturday mornings only, although they may be open for longer during the main tourist seasons. Some supermarkets are open on Sunday mornings. Post offices usually keep shop hours during the week and Saturday mornings.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Most shops and banks will be closed on the following days:
Jan 1 and 2 (New Year)
Feb 8 (France Prešeren Day – national poet of Slovenia)
Easter Monday
April 27 (Insurrection Day)
May 1 and 2 (Labour Days)
June 25 (National Day)
August 15 (Assumption Day)
October 31 (Reformation Day)
November 1 (All Saints’ Day)
December 25 (Christmas Day)
December 26 (Independence Day)
Communications
Slovenia has one of the highest rates of mobile phone ownership in Europe, and various networks serve both the local population and visitors. Coverage is high even in mountain areas, but you may lose the signal in dense forest or in certain locations – this is more common in the Karavanke which are not so frequented as the Julian Alps. The international prefix for Slovenia is +386. The emergency services number is 112 and the police number is 113.
Internet access is increasingly available in hotels and cafés.
Slovenia is in the CET zone (Central European Time), which is one hour ahead of GMT.
Health and hazards
Slovenia is generally a healthy place to be, but as with any foreign travel situation, it pays to plan ahead. No specific vaccinations are required for the short-term visitor, but it is as well to make sure that routine vaccinations such as polio and tetanus are up to date. Tap water is safe to drink throughout the country.
EU citizens should carry a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) at all times, then medical care should be free at source