Active and delicious autumn getaway for two: fall in love … with Brežice

Would you like to reward your loved one with a weekend trip? A weekend with a bit of everything – a bit of exercise on a bike, relaxation in thermal waters and saunas, and pampering yourself with top-notch homemade food and a proven excellent local wine from the Posavje wine-growing region? We have collected some tips from which you can put together an (extended?) weekend, after which you will fall in love (again?) with your partner and probably also with Brežice and the surrounding area. Let’s go!

At Slovenia Green, we are incredibly lucky to cooperate with so many different destinations across our lovely country and have the privilege of getting to know places and people that we might have otherwise missed. And we really don’t want to keep this to ourselves; our mission is to share it with you. In collaboration with the Brežice Institute for Entrepreneurship, Tourism and Youth, we have prepared some suggestions on how a couple can conjure up a wonderful weekend trip for two. We’ve included a little bit of everything: activities that will get your heart rate up, a few restaurants that will satisfy your appetite, and relaxation that will lull you into a well-deserved rest.

Bizeljsko by bike

Bizeljsko’s Ribbon is a 31.4-kilometer-long cycling trip that begins (and more importantly, ends) at the sparkling wine producer Penine Istenič, where they have been conjuring bubbles into local sparkling wines for half a century, as well as producing balsamic vinegar and spirits – a mastery proven by numerous awards. Istenič was the first private producer of bottled sparkling wine in Slovenia. The year 1968 was marked by the creation of their first sparkling wine and the birth of their daughter, both named Barbara, quite fittingly.

The Bizeljsko Loop winds through hills lined with vineyards. (Photo: Simon Srečković)

The Bizeljsko’s Ribbon also leads past another special sight that you won’t find in this form anywhere else in Slovenia: ‘repnice’ are caves dug by hand into compacted quartz sand. They were once used to store turnips (repa) and other winter crops, as the underground temperature is a pleasantly refreshing 12 degrees Celsius, which also makes wine feel good. At the Najger Winery they offer a tour of the ‘repnice’ (booking recommended), wine tasting and homemade cold cuts, and if you have some space in your bike bags, you can enrich your home wine cellar with Bizeljsko, Yellow Muscat or Blue Frankinja.

Repnice were once used to store winter produce, but today many of these hand-dug caves are used to store wine. (Photo: Simon Srečković)

Other attractions and opportunities for stopping along the way: Bizeljsko Castle, Kocjan Inn, Pepito and Friends Alpaca Ranch, Mihelin Winery, Sagmeister House of Songs and Wine (KBZ), Balon Farm (KBZ) – selling homemade pumpkin seed oil, garlic, flour, and the indigenous wine variety Rumeni Plavec. The last two are members of the collective brand Brežice Izbrano.

If you don’t have your own bicycles with you, you can rent them, classic or e-bikes, at the TIC Čatež ob Savi, located within the Terme Čatež complex. Inside TIC, you’ll also find a Brežice Izbrano product shop, offering a variety of locally made goods – from wines and teas to handcrafted items by local artisans. While you’re there, step into the Digital Castle Room of the Magnificent Seven Castles of Posavje (free entry), where you can explore the region’s castles through VR headsets and holograms.

Several cycling routes run through Brežice – some are physically marked, others available in digital form, such as the Slovenia Green Wellness Route or the Slovenia Green Gourmet Route.

Active adventures in Brežice

The starting point of your next activity can just as easily be the perfect ending to the previous one (or vice versa): make a stop at Gostilna Pension Les or the Reset Brewery – both proud members of the collective brand Brežice Izbrano. At Gostilna Pension Les, you’ll be treated to local specialties like breaded veal liver and šurlice (traditional handmade pasta). And if you prefer hops over grapes, you’re in the right place – in collaboration with the local Reset Brewery, they’ve created their own house beer.

The guesthouse is also a certified Slovenia Green accommodation and cyclist-friendly, so travelers on two wheels are especially welcome. To top it off, you can also join a guided tour and tasting at Reset Brewery for an extra splash of local flavor.

The Brežice Mountain Trail will take you to the viewing platform at the church of St. Vitus, from where you can enjoy the most beautiful view of Brežice with its surroundings and the reservoir on the Sava River. Ring the wishing bell and make a wish, and hop back into the valley. If your stomach is rumbling, it’s worth stopping at the Tourist Farm at Martinovih, with accommodation, a swimming pool, the possibility of wine tasting, a range of KBZ Brežice products and, we are particularly proud of this, they are also holders of the Slovenia Green and Brežice Izbrano certificate.

Is hiking not ‘your thing’? Would you rather, say, play golf? Then it’s worth booking a room at the prestigious hotel in Mokrice Castle with a 300-year-old park and a beautiful 18-hole golf course, considered one of the most demanding in Europe. Perhaps during dinner at the 1444 restaurant (the castle was first mentioned in 1444) you might be tempted to put on your rings in the embrace of the defensive towers? Mokrice Castle is a wonderful venue for a wedding.

A walk through history: museum, tower and the Path of Love

If you or at least one of you are interested in cultural heritage, spend a few hours visiting the Posavje Museum of Brežice with its uniquely painted Knight’s Hall (here’s another idea for a wedding) and the Water Tower, which at 46 meters high offers the most beautiful view of the city. It was built in 1914, and today, renovated, it shows the history and purpose of the tower in different periods on six floors.

The sights in the old town can be seen with a guide Along the Path of Love; a one-hour walk available with a minimum of two participants upon prior booking. Just around the corner, you’ll find the Vodovodni Stolp Café, where you can treat yourself to a tower-shaped dessert or another sweet delight from the Brežice Izbrano collection, crafted by Sladka zgodba Janez. The destination also hosts numerous cultural and social events throughout the year – from the autumn St. Martin’s Day celebration to a lively programme of events in October, marking the municipal holiday as part of Brežiški oktober.

Check out the full event calendar here: Events in Brežice.

And finally, time to relax and recharge

Exactly a hundred years ago, the first Toplice hotel opened in Čatež. Today, the Terme Hotel in Terme Čatež is a modern, family-friendly facility in the middle of the largest water park in Central Europe. We predict that you will choose the latter between the summer, winter and Wellness Riviera. It spreads over almost 1,000 square meters and offers a salt steam, Turkish steam, extreme, large Finnish and infrared saunas, three pools (massage, cooling and warm relaxation), the possibility of aromatic Ayurvedic massages and, oh my, romantic wellness pampering for two.

As kids, you looked forward to the water slides — today, you can enjoy a different kind of relaxation in the very same complex. (Photo: WR-RAJKETING)

If you prefer something smaller, more intimate, consider visiting Terme Paradiso right next to the Dobova train station. Their wellness center has eight saunas, an indoor and outdoor FKK pool and an intimate igloo with comfortable loungers.

A few more tips for the hungry:

• Ošterija Debeluh is a multi-award-winning restaurant, where local chef Jure Tomić serves his ideas on plates. The menu adapts to the season, and you can choose from a la carte dishes or 4-, 6- or 8-course menus. Debeluh has the Slovenia Green certificate and is an ambassador for the Brežice Izbrano brand.
• Gostilna Cetin, a homely family restaurant offering Sunday lunches, snacks, pizzas… The daily menu is published on the Facebook page; at the time of writing this article, the menu offered roasted chicken, ‘mlinci’ and salad; beef stroganoff, pasta and salad; hemendeks and salad.
• Stara gostilna Krulc, an excellent classic restaurant and pizzeria, the oldest in Posavje – it has been around since 1529! (The Cetin and Krulc Inns are located in Mostec, where the only still operating ferry on the Sava River can take you from Terme Čatež.)
• Restaurant Štefanič is located right by the bus station Brežice.
• Restaurant Amor and Gostilna Erban are located approximately 8 kilometers from Brežice; various cycling routes pass by.
• MC Club Brežice is located right on the edge of the castle park, with a view of Brežice Castle, and proudly carries the Slovenia Green label.
• Riba in pol dining and Pizzeria Huda, both part of the Brežice Izbrano collective brand, can be found in Sromlje. At Riba in pol, they cultivate the first organic trout in Slovenia in the sources of fresh water. The pizzeria is located in the old town and offers excellent Neapolitan-style pizzas.
• The Vimpolšek Farmstay is also a member of Brežice Izbrano and is situated near the town center – here, the journey from vineyard to fork is truly a short one.
• Reset Brewery boasts its own craft beer production, paired perfectly with delicious burgers and pizzas. With prior notice, you can also enjoy a beer tasting and guided tour of the brewery, which is part of the Brežice Izbrano brand.

Leave your car at home

Brežice is located right next to the Ljubljana-Zagreb highway, but nature and your local hosts will be happy if you use the train for the trip. There are two train stations in the destination, Brežice and Dobova. At the time of writing, the Slovenian Railways website offers 23 (!) departures from Ljubljana to Brežice, with one or no transfers and with a duration of less than two hours. All transport except one allows the transport of bicycles! More about the options for getting to Brežice here: How to get there, and about the options for local transport here: Mobility by destination.

The last operating river ferry on the Sava still crosses between Terme Čatež and Mostec. (Photo: Simon Srečković)