Day 3 - Quite a lot of nothing at all...

16:00
It takes dedication to do this little. I sleep the sleep of the boozed, and only wake up around 08:30. At 04:30, I padded out of my bedroom to use the bathroom, to find Kirsten sleeping on the daybed in the kitchen, and covered in dogs. I wondered if she might decide against more stairs action.

My head’s a little fuzzy from the wine last night. so I make a strong coffee, and see what the day’s about. We discover a dishwasher, which is excellent news. We have trouble accessing WiFi, which is less cool. I get very spotty cell service up here, so was relying on the WiFi to post these blogs and the like. Kirsten sends a message to Simone to ask if there’s anything we can do to boost the signal. She’s got work calls most days we’re here, so needs to have a half decent connection. Kirsten joins one of these calls at 10:00, and I decide to make myself useful. I tidy up the kitchen, load the dishwasher, and head down to Ormoz to reload on some critical supplies.

I’ve been surprised at the lack of lamb in the supermarkets. Beef, pork and chicken are widely available, but I’ve not seen any lamb yet, despite trying 4 different supermarkets. I’d assumed, incorrectly it would seem, that the Slovenian cuisine would have a lot in common with Greek and Macedonian food, and feature lamb prominently. Captain Google reckons that lamb is a much less frequent treat in this part of the world - likely only eaten a handful of times per year. As a result, my shopping basket fills with other options. I also grab a few Radlers, basically a lager shandy made with a variety of fruit flavoured sodas, but most commonly lemon or grapefruit. Grapefruit doesn’t agree with my anti-anxiety medication, so it’s lemon for me. They’re low in alcohol, massively refreshing in the heat, and for me are a favoured alternative to a straight up local lager.

Suitably shopped, I head back to the Puklavec wine cellar on the outskirts of town, and happily find it open this time. There are perhaps 30 different wines on offer - some made ultra locally, others from as far away as Macedonia; there are whites, reds, sparklers and stickies; there are a bunch at around the €5 mark, and others that get up above €30. There are grapes with which I’m very familiar - Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Merlot, and others of which I’ve never heard - Vranec, Shipon. I chat with the shop dude, who is insistent that I try some of his wines. Who am I to disagree. He gives me a white blend, which is staggeringly good. Wants to be at €25 a bottle, but I grab one anyway. He gives me a Traminec varietal which is closely related to Gewürztraminer, one of my favourite grapes. Sensational. I grab one. He pours me a couple of others, and, well - I’m lucky to get out with only half a case. Max is arriving in a few days, and Kirsten has tasked me with finding an inexpensive red wine that Max will enjoy. I bravely take up the challenge.

Deciding that there’s really not that much to Ormoz beyond grocery and wine stores, I take a little drive into the countryside. It is STUNNING. On one side of the roads are countless fields of sunflowers. As I drive through a small village, there are rocky escarpments, and views of lush, verdant valleys. I spot a bunch more wineries than I’ve even listed for us to visit - many of them so small that they don’t warrant an entry on Google Maps. In a show of ultimate bravery, I drive past a little bar attached to a farm. Back at the cottage, Kirsten is finishing up another call. I grab some bread, cheese, salami and a beer, and join her at the picnic table for a light lunch. It leaves me a feeling a touch tired, so I repair to my room to see if a nap is forthcoming.

23:45
Wow. What a sleep. I manage a full 2 hours, and wake up feeling refreshed. Kirsten’s got some work calls this evening, so I busy myself making dinner - some beef kofta kebabs, a bulgar wheat salad, and a cucumber/tomato yoghurt concoction. My cheffing is accompanied by one of the white wines I bought earlier - a blend of Traminec and Muscat, which is a knockout.

I light the BBQ around 19:00, and spend a blissful 45 minutes lazing in one of the lawn chairs, reading my book. I’m occasionally interrupted by one of the many dogs, but I’m at peace with it. The sun is warm, but not hot.

Dinner is delicious, and accompanied by a range of red wines, some cool music, and even cooler conversation. The dogs finally chill out around 22:00. We’ll take them for a day out tomorrow to burn off some of their excess energy. There’s apparently a swimmable lake around 20km North of us which sounds ideal…

We call it quits around 23:30. Kirsten has to be up for a call at 09:00, and I’m already considering how long I can sleep in for tomorrow morning.Read more