The Velišček family will welcome you and offer a glimpse of their everyday life, filled with fresh air, green meadows and the scent of flowers. Members of the Velišček family, a hospitable and inquisitive family, who claim to speak "Slovenglish", some kind of blend of Slovene and English, are true lovers of nature, gardening and mountain hiking. They love to try new recipes and dishes and are pleased to invite guests to their table. The idea for Herbal House came from Vesna Velišček, a herbalist and traveller who runs the company Slocally, inviting tourists to experience a different side to Slovenia, something that can only be done in the company of locals. The rest of the friendly, likable team are her life partner Robert, an excellent photographer, her father Ivan, an enthusiastic woodworker who loves to pick forest fruit and mushrooms, and her mother Karmen, a lover of flowers and herbs and a keen gardener, who is in charge of the home-made cuisine.

Relax in a herbal room
When Vesna lived with her parents in Plave, she loved to host travellers from all over the world, inviting them to stay at their house through the website Couchsurfing. "And so the world came to our tiny village of Plave. I explored the Soča Valley and its surroundings with my travelling guests, while my parents, who had never even travelled by plane, learned about new cultures." Vesna, who loves to backpack, has always wanted to run a hostel. When she and her brother moved away, the upper floor of the house remained vacant. So the idea was born to have herbal rooms and rent them out to guests.
They started arranging two herbal rooms, one single and one double room, in December 2013. They have designed useful and multifunctional furniture and made custom pillows and filled them with herbs to help tired travellers calm their minds and fall into a deep sleep. The bed, which is filled with fern, has a soothing effect on the body too. "Mum also found brightly coloured towels and hand embroidered bedding with Idrija lace, which had been part of her dowry," Vesna confides to us. They put glasses with a potpourri of dried aromatic herbs in the rooms, and herbal soap in the bathrooms. "We have been gathering herbs since we were young, and we also give them to friends and acquaintances as a present, so this is why herbs or medicinal plants are an essential part of the story behind the herbal rooms. The garden, where vegetables grow all year round, is also available to our guests for use," she says. Vesna's mum, whom Vesna describes as a little bit obsessed with crocheting, has even made crochet lavender sachet key rings. The innovative family have also provided a selection of books for their guests to read – books by foreign or Slovenian authors who have written about their experience of Slovenia or have placed their story in the Slovenian environment.
Vesna, who now lives in Ljubljana, comes to her parents' house every week to remain in close contact with the countryside and, of course, to welcome their guests. "The countryside relaxes me and calms me down. I love coming back here to see my parents, who pass on their precious knowledge of gardening, herbs and interpersonal relations to me," she says.
Our home is your home
In Herbal House, they swear by slow tourism, a type of tourism that enables the host and guest to take time to travel, discover the local countryside, meet local people and try local food. In a way, the host becomes the guest's friend, shows the guest around the local area, takes him around to meet locals, serves him local food etc. "This is why our house is a homestay (staying in the home of a local family) in the true sense of the word," says Vesna. When guests enter the front door of the house, they enter their home. They can accommodate up to 4 guests at a time, as they swear by boutique tourism.
Guests can join the Velišček family for breakfast and dinner, try some home-made delicacies or chat with them over a cup of herbal tea. They are welcome to help gather medicinal herbs and learn about them. They can learn how to make herbal soap, herbal ointment, a lavender sachet, a herbal pillow, a herbal omelette (frtalja) or herbal potica cake (gobanca). They can also enjoy other activities that the Soča valley and its surroundings have to offer. In Herbal House, guests can get a wealth of information on various activities taking place in the immediate vicinity or surrounding area.
From April 2014 to March 2015, they had 45 overnight stays, most of them by foreign tourists. "Guests leave our house happy because we involve them in our day-to-day chores," says Vesna. The family are also thinking of providing a 30-minute relaxation on herb-filled pillows for all interested travellers when the herbal rooms are not taken by guests. "This would help them slow down their pace of travel for a moment and would be a new experience for them – coming into the home of a local family and enjoying the slow beat of the countryside," Vesna explains. The hospitable Velišček family open their doors to anyone whose travels take them to these parts.
Danila Golob, SINFO