Beer Fountain Žalec

Four years ago, in that first Covid summer, I spent two weeks in Slovenia. The plan had been to travel the entire Western Balkans – an epic case of biting off more than you can chew.

Call it luck that all countries southeast of Slovenia were considered "hot spots", meaning I'd have had to go into quarantine for 14 days after returning. Not interested in house arrest, I decided to concentrate on the small country at the eastern end of the Alps, and it was the perfect decision.

I'm certain I could spend months in Slovenia and not take in all the wonders of this beautiful piece of planet Earth. That's something for another year, but as the country is on the way to Albania, there was one stop I wanted to make, one thing I missed out four years ago because I didn't make it this far east.

Slovenia has a very vibrant craft beer scene and the area around Žalec is known for its hops-growing. Reason enough to build a monument to the green gold, the beer fountain. Since 2016, the architectural attraction in a small park draws visitors, who buy a a small beer glass with an NFC chip at its base. The chip activates each of six beer taps, dispensing 0.1 liters of different local beers (one time only, but you can pay for a new NFC chip).

High-tech art to give you a nice buzz in the afternoon before strolling through the small town – what could be better?Read more