I really liked Maribor - such a calm cozy city with a pretty architecture and very beautiful nature around.
The reasons to go here a few. First, there is a very good ecology, an excellent climate, a large number of sunny days a year.
Secondly, a large number of different events. I would generally called Slovenia the country festivals. In one maribor, they are held a great set. Wine Festival "Old Vine" (by the way, the local grape vine is considered the oldest in the world than maribors are very proud of). Summer Music Festival "Maribor" is one of the oldest in the country where classics, jazz, ethnic music and much more are playing. Festival "Tapes", named after the local embankment and considered the largest festival in the country and one of the significant European festivals. There are all: and musical concerts, and theatrical productions, and children's events, and a festival of food.
Thirdly, here is really a beautiful architecture: I know a lot of red roofs, framing rivers and the sea in Europe, but for some reason I want to look at Maribor roofs, and I want to wander through the narrow streets - still this city has its charm.
Fourth, local food. The food is very good here, which is not surprising: she absorbed the best of Slovenian, Austrian and German traditions. Therefore, in addition to standard Breakers and Plescavitz, here you can taste the sauer cabbage, sweet omelet and apple or cherry strudel.
Fifth, wine-growing culture. Eh, love maribor to drink. Wine here as a factory and its own, homemade. Festivals, excursions, parties - everything is connected with wine. We settled into the local guesthouse, and the owners began to sweep away homemade wine, very sweet and fragrant. Excuses that we do not drink at all, have not been accepted: for arrival and for acquaintance you have to drink.
From this it follows another item: very mariborers are hospitable, welcoming and friendly. I have not seen such a relationship anywhere else in Slovenia: neither on the pale, nor in Ljubljana, nor in sea resorts. True, the language will be difficult here: Maribors from foreign languages prefer German. English, as it seemed to me, here is not so popular, as well as Russian, who hardly understands the older generation.
And the last item is probably the most important: five kilometers from Maribor is the center of skiing - the Mountain of Mountains, which makes the city with one of the most important ski resorts of the country. It was in Maribor's polarity that the infrastructure is best developed and the most diverse routes. And it is here that it is worth going with children: there are children's ski schools, simple tracks for beginners, kindergarten, kids until the sixth year old have been using lifts for free. There are for them here and the indoor amusement park "Bumbar Park", which contains a variety of rides.