When you start descending from the Vahta mountain pass (615 meters above sea level) in Gorjanci towards the Kolpa River, you have arrived to Svobodno belokranjsko ozemlje, Unija vinorodnih dežel (Free Bela krajina Territory, the Union of Winegrowing Regions). Already in Jugorje, you will be stopped by customs officers before Gostilna Peter Badovinac (Peter Badovinac’s Inn) and will be asked about passports and „vinojeta“, mandatory documents required to enter the little land of white birches, Metliška črnina, and piglets and lambs on spits. Passengers are also checked, in order not to sneak to Bela krajina anything forbidden, such as: bad mood, a wine not produced in sunny areas of Bela krajina hills, depression, or even political quarrels and discords. They will offer you „karampapuli“, a liquid visa, organise necessary documents, you will be able to exchange euros into bronze, silver or gold „goldinar“, and after a good lunch, you will continue your way to Svobodno belokranjsko ozemlje. „Vinojeta“ will enable you to claim a fifty percent discount at all free-of-charge parking places of Bela krajina, and the passport provides you with numerous benefits in restaurants, campsites, and purchases of wine from Bela krajina winemakers, etc. The list of subjects offering discounts is included in the passport, and the places where you claim benefits are marked by a special sticker of Svobodno belokranjsko ozemlje, Unija vinorodnih dežel. A holder of the passport full of stamps gets a luxurious prize at designated places.
Contact: http://www.badovinac.si/
A true driving licence has now been added to the passport of the Free Bela Krajina Territory. You can design one at the Veselič guesthouse in Podzemlje. There, at every visit you make, your “offences” – the euros spent on food and drinks – will be recorded, the amounts will be added up and a discount approved for you for their hospitality services.
Contact: Gostišče Veselič, Podzemelj 17, tel: +386 7 363 72 33 in +386 31 391 517
The FBKT was unilaterally declared by the well-known Bela Krajina resident Toni Gašperič, who democratically declared himself the first president of the FBKT and even conceived his own consulate with consular passports at Jure Pečerič’s inn in Ljubljana, 47 Pod jezom. If you wish, the president of FBKT can welcome you at the time of your visit and tell you a humorous story at the Jugorje customs office.
Contact: http://www.pecaric-sp.si/
The FBKT also established a Ministry of Foaming in Semič, where you can foam against anything and anyone to your heart’s content. Without a guilty conscience or any sort of punishment. The Ministry of Foaming is headquartered in the cellar of sparkling wine producer Ivan Simonič.
Contact: www.semiskapenina.si
At house number 18a in Veliki Nerajec, Ms Vera Vardjan, a woman who survived a lightning strike, runs the House of Conception, a modernised his, a wood house such as those in which, in the past, newlyweds used to spend the nights until an offspring was conceived. The his will be available for rent for as many nights as it takes for the goal to be achieved.
Contact: 07/305 74 28, 031/705 519
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BRIGHT HEAD
Primary school BRIGHT HEAD in Radovica near Metlika is a tourist attraction worth visiting. Its founding father was Toni Gašperič, a comic of Bela krajina region. It was created with the desire to show visitors Bela Krajina in a different and funny way. Elementary school BRIGHT HEAD is inviting to its benches in the classroom, equipped with old furniture, all those who would like to experience what the teaching was like five decades ago. The lesson lasts 45 minutes. A comrade teacher leads us back into the middle of the 20th century and presents the cultural and natural heritage of Bela krajina in a funny way. Elementary school BRIGHT HEAD is meant for everyone: for adults, who would remember their childhood and young people of all ages, who would see how learnt their ancestors. The lessons are adapted to the age of the student group. At the end of the lesson the ‘students’ get their certificates.
The classroom takes up to 50 students. Andrej Bajuk invites pupils of all ages. “We want to spread the word about this project and really make it alive.” Tourists are invited all days of the week, even at the weekends. It is good to call ‘the headmaster’ Andrej Bajuk in advance.
Contact: www.andrejbajuk.com
FUNNY SCHOOL
In Radovica; the village is only six kilometres from Metlika, operates the funniest school in Slovenia. In the classroom, which is furnished in the 1960s vein, you will be introduced to Bela krajina in a humorous and entertaining way. In forty-five minutes, which is duration of the lesson, during which sometimes also a stick can be used, you will experience again the times when you were in school years ago, and young people will learn what it was like to attend „učilna zidana“ (school of bricks) in old times. The doors of the elementary school in Radovica are open every day of the year, the lesson should be announced in advance, and the place is accessible even by large coaches. Numerous pensioners, schoolchildren, secondary and university students, participants of farewell anniversaries and graduations, in short: visitors to Bela krajina include in their sightseeing tours through the little land between the Gorjanci Mountain and the Kolpa River one hour of instructions in the elementary school of Radovica. And they do not regret.
No more than a few steps away from Bistra buča, in a special room, you can see the 27,000-year-old bones of a cave bear and pieces of furniture like the ones farmhouses once had.
Contact: bistrabuca.si
HOME-MADE DELICACIES MOJCA
In a unique space known as The House of Great Bread you can observe your charismatic hostess Mojca bake the traditional local yeasted flat bread “belokranjska pogača”. Larger parties and groups visiting by bus can make reservations for tastings and feasts straight from the bread oven. Visitors are welcome to buy delicacies from the home bakery and confectionery.
Contact: Facebook
ADRENALINE PARK PODZEMELJ
Unique and adventurous way to explore river Kolpa and your courage!
Equiped with Speedrun system, Park Podzemelj allowes completly safe and fun experience among the treetops!
Park is appropriate for all kids above 4 years, and at the same time also gives a challenge to their parents!
It’s located in the central part of campsite, next to children and other sports grounds.
Test your courage and ride a bmx bike between the trees, jump with a tarzan, try canoing in the air, zip-line, and many other adrenaline tracks!
Contact: www.camping-belakrajina.si