My admiration for this country continues to grow, and I seriously wonder if I could move here. Populated by an industrious and charming people, they also seem to have the right idea of pace of life and what is really important. And two of the most important subjects are food and drink, both of which they excel at. Indeed the only fault I can find overall is that they seem to have little concept of a light lunch! It is easy to eat so much that dinner becomes unnecessary, and that would be a crime.

Slovenian food and drink

Their ingredients are sublime: beef and venison that seems to require the lightest of cooking but exudes flavour and succulence, fish that melts on the tongue, mushrooms that can only have been created by forest elves, and soft fruits and berries that explode on the tongue with juices of scarcely describable taste. Parents, if British children won’t eat fruit and veg (and I have to raise my hand as a long time carnivore) then they aren’t being pernickety, they are merely showing good taste – the fruit you get in the UK, often imported out of season from forced cloches in Spain and similar countries, is tasteless and tough compared to the fresh, vibrant selection available in Slovenia. I have never much liked cherries – they are hard poor things in Scotland, here I have them for breakfast and then go out to a fruit stall for more. Sensational is an inadequate word. I seldom liked strawberries which often display a rough texture except in the very best time of year for native Scottish ones; here they melt in the mouth and leave juice stains in the dish.

All this of course still requires a good chef and a good waiter to interpret his creations and blend suggestions of wine and courses. Many Slovene restaurants adept at this, even the smallest simplest establishments produce excellent food, but I feel confident in saying I have been lucky enough to find the best in the Topli Val restaurant in the Hvala Hotel in Kobarid. It has won a number of awards and in my opinion if anywhere ever deserved a Michelin Star then this is it. I can only assume they haven’t visited it. In the space of two weeks – one last year and one this – I have learned more about the blending of tastes, both courses and wines and different ingredients and their effects on each other, than in a lifetime of visiting other restaurants, many of them which I thought very good. All the staff in the hotel are as friendly and attentive as could be wished for with a real personal touch that makes you feel at home; we were remembered despite it being only our second visit and greeted as old friends, but I simply cannot rate the chef and head waiter highly enough – they have delighted and educated us in equal measure. To give only one example for now, Scotland produces excellent scallops and I’ve tasted quite a few fine instances; the scallops I had here were in a different class, cooked in highest quality olive oil and presented with baby tomatoes and black olives in a delicate combination that even included the (usually purely decorative) sprig of rosemary which absorbed just enough heat to exude a perfectly combined additional scent. Heavenly.

Slovenian Wine and Beer

Slovene beer is second only to Czech in my opinion, clear and clean tasting and wonderfully refreshing on a hot day. However it is Slovenian wine which is the real secret and one which I cannot understand is not more widely known and appreciated. Having this year visited one of the best wine growing regions it is easy to see they have ideal conditions, and they certainly make the best of them. Forget the cheap Laski Reisling which was the only one ever really exported in any quantity to the UK; whether the grape is Chardonnay, Pinot, Sauvignon or one of their local varieties, Slovenian wines display a depth of character and smooth variety of flavours that had us both purring in satisfaction. Their cheaper wines are very good, their select wines are simply outstanding. Sadly the only way to get them in Britain was to import them directly, with the consequent postage costs; however there are moves afoot to establish a distributor and if this occurs then perhaps they might at last achieve the recognition they deserve. Either way I’ll be drinking them whenever I have the chance.

On the rare occasions that he gets respite care he usually goes to Normandy with some veteran friends but it’s not really a holiday due to the various obligations to visit people from the French Resistance and attend commemorative ceremonies. However despite this he insisted that we went somewhere that I wanted to go rather than anywhere he could think of. We went to my beloved Slovenia, and it was also much too long since I’d been there.

I was rather afraid that it might have changed, gone too commercial, or become over developed since they joined the EU and recently adopted the Euro, and I really wanted dad to see the country as I knew it and enjoy the sights so familiar to me because I knew that, being so much alike in many ways, he would love them as much as I do. I needn’t have worried; though their economy is forging ahead the Slovenes are mostly very aware of the value of their wild country areas and the peace and serenity they provide. Only in the international skiing centre of Kranjska Gora did there appear to be some regrettable developments of hotels being turned into casinos. In my favourite area of Lake Bohinj everything was much the same as my last visit 8 years ago.

Having arrived late at night after a tiring journey it was with delight and relief that I took dad down to the bridge on the lake just 2 minutes walk from the hotel and watched him take in the surrounding mountains, the marvellous colours, and most of all the deep sense of peace and harmony that the area enshrines. A man who is not given to superlatives, he was enthusing about the place for the rest of the week and I was wishing we had booked in there for the whole fortnight. Although the weather could have been kinder, the changing appearance of the crystal clear lake as the mists rose and fell, the colours varying from pale pastel, to deep blues and greens gave hints of how wonderful a place it can be throughout the year.

Despite his advanced years he coped with everything I suggested in walking to the many waterfalls and gorges that provide such a varied set of attractions. The wild flowers were at their peak of profusion and we revelled in the colours and scents that washed over our senses. In the evenings we indulged our other sense of taste with the superb foods and wines that I remembered so well. And as we relaxed we talked in a way that we had never had a chance to do at home – of past generations of family members and their stories, and of wartime exploits which had been kept secret in the way that old soldiers often need to do to avoid burdening their loved ones.

We were both sad to leave Bohinj as we got the car-train through the tunnel that cuts out a long trip over the mountains and connects the Bohinjska valley to the roads towards the west. We were heading down to Kobarid in the Socha valley near to the Italian border. I was unsure of what lay in store for us as I had travelled through but not stayed in the area, but we had been promised that our hotel had one of the best restaurants in Slovenia and we weren’t disappointed. Wonderfully fresh produce superbly combined and cooked and matched with marvellous wines had us both purring with appreciation every night. Rich soups of wild mushrooms or the finest tomatoes with local herbs. Melt-in-the-mouth Sea Bass. Steaks which simply parted for the knife and oozed flavour, and soft fruits that exploded in the mouth with luscious tastes.

During the days we explored the area. Kobarid is a small town but has perhaps the finest war museum in the world, commemorating the alpine battle between the Italians and the Austro-Hungarians during World War I. The carnage of this episode was appalling and must have devastated this peaceful agricultural area. There is a massive memorial to the soldiers on a hill overlooking the town and the river with a view right down the the valley. The area is rich in Roman remains with a fort on top of a nearby hill and terraces visible on the road up to the memorial.
However the really impressive trip is to drive up towards the narrow Trenta valley which leads to the Vrsic Pass. Surrounded by mountains which become ever more vertical and with the bright blue-white river ever present at your side you climb at first steadily and then dramatically until you find yourself in an alpine world of breathtaking beauty and inspiring views. Dad called it invigorating and told me he never imagined he would be walking in such mountains at 83.

It was a trip we both badly needed but more importantly it was one that brought us together in a way that exceeded all my hopes. I dearly hope we can do it again while his health remains good enough.