A day with the choir - Slovenian Littoral

Almost everyone in my family is in some way connected to music. Well, I am an exception. I have never played an instrument or sang in a choir (I am not counting one semester in the first grade).

That doesn't mean I am tone deaf or I don't like music. Not at all - I love music and can hear pretty well when someone hits a wrong note. I usually know how something should have sounded but when I try to sing it, it just doesn't come out right. So I have just stopped trying.

My girlfriend also sings in a choir. Occasionally I get to accompany her when they go to perform.

It's not a very serious choir - most of the members have joined to have a good time and because they simply enjoy singing. However - that doesn't stop them from organizing many concerts.

On a sunny winter Sunday they went on a trip which included a short hike near a small village of Ocizla. It lies in the western part of Slovenia, in the vicinity of Italian border and has 106 inhabitants. Like a couple of times before I have decided to tag along.

It was a beautiful sunny day. Despite of the time of year it was warm enough to walk around in a T-shirt. The day started with a late morning hike which was from time to time interrupted with a singing intermezzo.

On our three hour round hike we have seen two salamanders and several patches of overturned grass. According to a local guy’s explanation, wild boars living in the surrounding forest have done that.

The majority of the choir members like to drink an occasional glass of wine or home-brewed schnapps. That was often the reason for a short stop. One of such stops was at a local self-taught artist. Amongst other things he has painted a wall surrounding his house with various biblical motives.

It was around 2pm when we completed our hike. The locals prepared a simple yet delicious meal for us. It was a kind of a local cabbage stew. Of course the lunch was followed by some more singing. After that we went on a singing tour through the little village. As you might have guessed by now, it ended in one of the wine cellars...

It was tastefully decorated. There were old radios, irons, saws and similar things displayed on the shelves. Even a painting of the late president Tito was hanging on a wall.

We were indulged with local wine and best dried ham I have ever tasted. It has simply melted in my mouth. Truly delicious!

After many songs were sung, many plates were cleared and many bottles were emptied, the landlord kindly showed us to the drying room. The smell was gorgeous and it was obvious it was coming from some fifty (!) hams hanging from the ceiling.

When we were setting off, one of the singers made a good joke. He said it might be interesting to check out the next morning edition of the local newspapers as there might be a front page article with the following text:"Last night the Police have confiscated drivers licenses from 18 drunken choir members on a local road to Ocizla."

Luckily no such thing could be read in the morning newspapers and we all got home safely. In the end it was a beautiful day long to be remembered.

If you ever have a chance I strongly recommend you to take a slow walk through one of many small villages in this part of Slovenia . If you ask a random local about a nice wine cellar nearby, the chances of him proudly showing you his own are pretty good.

This is a guest post from the author of Travel Photo Blogging – The place to discover your next vacation destination.