Turn back time and celebrate in the Gorenjska style

Sound of holidays

Experience the holiday season and Slovenian tradition at an authentic Gorenjska homestead as it was at the time of the poet France Prešeren.

Lovely Gorenjska

The festive season has always been joyful in the Gorenjska region and part of this holiday atmosphere can be experienced on this unique venture. The charming Bled countryside will enchant you as you travel towards the homestead in a carriage with the traditional fijaker coachman. The owner of the Sodar Homestead dressed in traditional costume dating from the 19th century will await you at the Church of St Lenart in Bodešče near Bled. The Gothic church, renowned for its paintings, has changed little since its construction in the first half of the 15th century. After seeing the church, you will walk with lanterns towards the authentic Gorenjska homestead, which is more than 500 years old.

The village of Bodešče is a friendly picturesque village only three kilometres away from the Slovenian Alpine gem, Bled. At the homestead, you will be warmly greeted by the mistress, also dressed in a typical costume from the 1800s. You will toast the occasion with homemade brandy brought by the owner from the tabernacle and taste freshly made bread from the wood-fired oven along with minced lard or cottage cheese with local herbs.

In this pleasant, homely environment, the family members will conjure up the holiday season and for a few hours you will become part of the family and its celebrations. Together you will listen to, and sing, preferably in three-part harmony, folk songs, such as Jamniška (Jamnik song), Živela je ena deklica (There Lived A Girl), Hribčki ponižajte se (Hills Lower Down), Blejska deklica (Bled Girl), Perice (Washerwomen) and other festive songs. Three-part harmony singing (the main harmony, bass and accompanying upper voice) was frequent in the majority of Slovenian regions, including Gorenjska. When a good singer wanted to show off, they sang iber or tretka which is the highest accompanying voice. You will also dance traditional dances and feel the magic of holidays in Gorenjska.

Aroma of homemade delicacies

The sound of holidays is always accompanied by traditional homemade dishes and beverages and interesting tales from the local environment. Festive cuisine in Gorenjska differed from everyday dishes, which were simple and modest. In the days of the poet France Prešeren, the daily dishes included buckwheat mush topped with butter or bacon. There were also sour turnip or cabbage, beans, barley, potatoes and polenta. All the ingredients used for the preparation of dishes were produced by farmers themselves.

Festive dishes differed from the everyday ones in the ingredients used and the method of preparation. Meat, roast pork, sausages and potica (walnut roll) were mandatory. Wheat flour was used for various desserts that were baked or fried. At the homestead, the guests will be served dishes prepared after grandmothers’ recipes, using ingredients obtained from the neighbouring farm.

You will be served barley and homemade smoked sausage with Refošk or Rebula wine. There will also be homemade apple juice or tea from herbs collected on mountain pastures or water in which dried apple or pear slices were cooked. The compote, made from dried Tepka pears or apple slices, was frequently cooked in the past. Homemade potica roll freshly baked in the wood-fired oven and stuffed with walnuts or cottage cheese and tarragon will be also laid on the table.

The feast will be topped with ta zmedeni flancati (angel wings pastry) made of yeast dough. At Christmas, honey biscuits or walnut crescent cookies are also served. The guests will end their experience with a shot of green-coloured homemade Bolznar brandy made from Tepka pears or mixed fruit in which sweet woodruff has been soaked for two months and which is believed to have medicinal properties.