Radovljica, Brezje

Once again we had a very nice breakfast of eggs and bacon to order and cheeses, cold cuts, fruits, breads, croissants, and desserts. Surprisingly, the fruit and vegetables on the buffet were whole. There were tomatoes, peppers, pears, apples, and bananas.

We delayed our start to sightseeing to be able to check in for tomorrow's flights. Once we got our check in completed, we left to visit Radovljica, about 30 minutes away.

Radovlijica has many preserved houses from the 16th and 17th centuries. The old town centre, one of the most beautiful in Slovenia, contains numerous historical buildings, museums, galleries, and restaurants. Of note is the museum of Apiculture, (beekeeping), the Pharmacy and Alchemy Museum, a medieval defence trench (moat), and St. Peter’s Church and rectory.

St. Peter’s Church was open and had amazing altars, statues, and shrines. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the museums as they were mostly closed as it was Monday and a day after the big chocolate festival. Although one chocolate shop was open, so I did a quick look inside. The clerk told me that the stock was limited due to the festival the day before. The chocolates looked wonderful but very expensive. We didn't get much further as it started to rain and we missed the moat because of rain.

Despite the rain, we continued on and drove to the small village of Brezje, a short 15 min drive to see another church. It is known for its renowned basilica, The Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, built in 1223. The church is adorned with mosaic symbols, inscriptions, rosettes and other artistic features. The church was open and we were able to go inside and view the beautiful stained glass windows, shrines, statues, paintings, chapels and altars. The Chapel of Mary was exceptionally beautiful with granite, marble and a gilded frame, dotted with natural stones from all over Slovenia.

Ed has somehow gotten religious seeing all these churches. He even blessed himself with the holy water and reminisced about his youth as an altar boy and says he misses going to church. He thinks he’ll start attending church again. We’ll see.

Across the parking lot from the church there was a field with cows and baby calves. It really is a small village, but with an important historical church.Read more