Ra?ko: a secret and healing Slovenian town

After crossing a small mountain range and on the banks of the Savinha River, we finally found the small town of Lako in Lashko, which was very exciting.

This beautiful town near the river has only 4,500 residents and is an important tourism and economic center in Slovenia. It's famous for its brewed beer and magical thermal waters, but its natural beauty, cultural and historical landscapes are equally alluring.

Looking from the hotel balcony, there is a thin and shallow river meandering through the town. The mountains are gently covered by the sunlight that sneaks through, and the trees are green and yellow.

What do you expect from a perfect trip?

Flowers? beer? Sunlight? music? A laid-back town? Escape from the two-point and one-line life, re-explore the unknown and surprises, and find the balance of life?

This balance point is perfectly realized in the small town of Lashko! Here you will be surrounded by rivers, mountains, hot springs, home-brewed beer, flowers and sunshine.

First impression of walking in the town

The director of the Laco Museum warmly welcomed us and took us around to slowly appreciate this small town with mountains and water.

I noticed that he was wearing a casual, white-washed large T-shirt, which was different from the general image of a town cadre. In subsequent contacts, I came to appreciate his simple lifestyle even more. He was a warm-hearted and kind man who always laughed at his poor English. He said he liked the town so much that he wanted to explain everything about it as clearly as possible.

This town has a long history: archaeologists have discovered a prehistoric settlement in the Lashko area; a stone axis unearthed on the southeast slope below the castle dates back to the eighth century BC; the town’s oldest Large-scale industry originated in the 18th century; the brewing process began in 1817, when brewer Ivan Steinmetz also established a brewery in Rasko. The railway reached Lashko in 1849; the first leather factory was established in 1929; the first textile factory was built in 1934.

In 1840, a fire devastated Lashko, destroying half of the houses in the town. The curator took us onto the bridge and suddenly stopped and said. He was born here, lived here all his life, and has too many feelings for it.

What surprised me is that this small town with a small population has 2 middle schools and 2 kindergartens, but 33 churches. It can be seen how simple and pious the local people's lives are.

In the museum in Lashko, beer is one of the most important cultures, changing the way of life of the locals. In addition, the museum has an important collection, the oldest gramophone, which produced sound by identifying holes in a disc. It predates vinyl records. From a box of CDs, the curator picked out his favorite one and played it to us. The sound echoed in the venue, crisp and clean, a bit like the music box of childhood. It has a feeling that cannot be found in today's electronic equipment.

He talked about music and collaboration between museums and schools. He tried to encourage students to visit, saying that people nowadays are pursuing novelty and have never seen such equipment. Then he laughed at himself and said that he was old and liked these old things. He thought old things were beautiful and recorded many valuable old times.

I asked him why he chose to organize and preserve his collection and history at the museum. He said he found history interesting because he knew it had its boring parts. I have remembered this sentence for a long time.

The family lifestyle also had a great influence on him. He said that none of his family members are too ambitious and like to enjoy life. Today, my family still farm their fields, my parents still work, and the whole family loves soil and nature, and they love these things that are really not flashy.

He took out his mobile phone and looked at the time. The style of the mobile phone is very simple, with a small screen that can only be used for dialing. He stayed away from almost all modern technology and said that if he could change one thing, he would have all cars parked outside the town. It seemed to me that he also stopped doing things that were meaningless outside of his heart.

There is only one bank in Lashko, which doesn’t give much choice. Everyone is simple and direct.

In the end, the curator stayed. It is said that this was probably his expectation for this town.

Beer also has feelings.

Lá?ko itself is one of the oldest residential areas in Slovenia, with the compact old town nestled in an enviable and absolute center among rolling hills and picturesque valleys.

In fact, in Slovenia, the word Lako has almost become synonymous with beer. It’s not that this medieval town with only about 4,500 residents is too unknown, but that Lashko’s internationally renowned brewing tradition is so famous!

The curator took us to visit the local beer committee. The main responsibility of this committee is to inspect the pubs selling Lashco beer to see whether they pour the beer in the correct way and whether it is hygienic.

After a brief welcome, the head of the beer committee introduced us to the origin and history of Lashko beer, and then began to teach us how to pour the beer correctly.

Before this, I never knew that pouring beer, which seemed simple, actually contained so much knowledge! The bubbles should be 3-4cm thick, not too many or too few, and the bubbles should be 1cm higher than the mouth of the cup. After a few practice sessions and help, I gradually got the hang of it.

After the test, the beer committee issued us a bartender certificate and everyone started enjoying the beer. This world-famous beer has a sweet taste, a light wheat flavor, no astringency, and a bright golden color, which may have a lot to do with the good local water quality.

Besides that, I also learned a few things about cold beer. For example, they told me that people all over the world think beer has high calories, but in fact beer has low calories. In Slovenia, women also like to drink beer, which is a reflection of their equality between men and women. Everyone laughed after hearing this.

In the evening, we also tried local creative cuisine. Beer is added to all the food, such as the flatbread in beef soup as an appetizer, which is made with a beer mix. In fact, every dish cannot taste the taste of wine, but beer can make the food more delicious and tender.

The highlight of the year in Lashko is the Hop Festival! About 150,000 tourists flock here on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the third week of July every year. During the four days of the festival, the entire town is filled with excitement and a festive atmosphere. Music, flowers and beer abound. Is there a better combination than this?

The curator said that the most frequently asked question is where is the stage? In fact, there are stages and performances everywhere! He said that wherever there is a square meter of open space, there will be music and beer. During the four-day carnival, people will consume an average of 250,000 liters of beer.

Thermal Water

Before morning beer production became a big business, the town was famous for the healing powers of its hot springs, which made it the Austrian emperor's favorite One of my favorite vacation spots. Starting in the mid-19th century, the thermal spa center of Lá?ko developed into one of the most important health resorts and tourist centers in Slovenia, and its modern hotels attract tourists from all over the world all year round.

Throughout Lashko’s rich history, its hot springs are a well-known story of the restoration of health to many people. Its mysterious powers have long been known, and the ancient Romans built the first baths around the spring.

In October 1953, the first local spa was registered as a medical rehabilitation center. This was the result of cooperation between the spa and the local hospital.

The next afternoon, we experienced the hot springs at the hotel. This is a mixed bath with a glass dome, a swimming pool and several hot springs. The hot spring here is special because its average temperature is only 22 degrees Celsius, which is lower than other natural hot springs. Here is another special soaking method, the alternating hot and cold soaking method. According to locals, this is beneficial to blood circulation in the legs and enhances muscle energy.

In addition, Slovenia's high-temperature sauna evaporates sweat, discharges toxins, and makes the body lighter, complementing the healing hot springs. Coupled with beer, sunshine and natural scenery, this small town in the valley is so beautiful that it makes people secluded and healing.

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