PRH warm up show
The restaurant below our hotel was offering a breakfast menu which featured around 6 different options, all at €6.50 which seemed really reasonable. I ordered the ham and cheese omelette and moments later other things started to arrive at the table. There was a selection of warmed bread, spreads, yoghurt, fruit juice and excellent coffee. When the omelette arrived it was delicious with huge chunks of ham and the same creamy cheese I'd enjoyed on my pizza last night in Tolmin. An amazing breakfast and such good value for money!
Just beyond our hotel was Tolmin Gorges which we were keen to explore. We decided to save that for another day though as we wanted to find out where the festival site was and further explore the town.
The morning mist hovering across Tolmin was quite a sight!
Clutching a handful of leaflets and maps from tourist info we stopped off here to read them over a coffee.
There was a rather nice outside seating area out back.
Something we'd noticed in Slovenia was how whenever you order a coffee it comes with a glass of water, the water here is perfectly safe to drink so no need to stock up on bottled water.
Next we made our way to the festival site but somehow ended up at the VIP entrance. The staff there handed us a festival book and directed us to the general entrance.
We traded our tickets for wristbands and made a mental note to return again at 5pm when the first band came on stage.
We wandered around Tolmin to familiarise ourselves with the layout of the town. It was certainly a beautiful place but quite hilly in places making walking around hot work.
We cooled down with some sorbet, just €1.20 per scoop. This blackcurrant sorbet was really refreshing and contained whole blackcurrants.
Close to our hotel we passed a military cemetery, built in 1916 it was the last resting place for 3300 soldiers of many nationalities.
The walk back to the hotel involved climbing a very steep hill, at the top though there was a much flatter path through a field which was very easy on the eye.
We stopped for a beer back at the hotel to cool us down after walking in such heat. If you order a beer in Slovenia the chances are you'll get a Lasko, a very pleasant beer indeed!
We had a few hours until we needed to head back to the festival, anyone with any sense would relax saving their energy for later right? Not us though! Instead we walked up to the white building you can just about make out on the side of the mountain.
First we crossed a bridge high up above Tolmin Gorge.
And then we followed a trail up the mountainside, this donkey joined us for a while!
The white building turned out to be a restaurant where we ordered 3 drinks in succession as we were so dehydrated from the walk. Once suitably quenched we checked out the menu and opted for frika and polenta.
I'd had polenta fries before but here it was served in soft balls which became quite firm as they cooled down. Quite nice I thought but for me the star of the show was the Frika.
Frika is a very traditional dish that's usually made in the homes of locals, at this restaurant though it was their speciality. It consists of potato, egg and cheese and is served hot. I really enjoyed it but felt it improved vastly as it cooled down and the cheese started to set. We only managed to eat half of the frika so wrapped the other half up to enjoy as a late night snack later tonight.
Time was slipping by so we paid the bill, necked the complimentary Jagermeister and made our way back down the mountain to the hotel.
A quick dash to the Festival site and we arrived just in time for the first band, Ducking Punches from Norwich. We'd seen them numerous times over the years and we were really proud to see them open the festival on the main stage.
The Norwich crew wasted no time in supporting them by forming a pyramid!
Next we made a quick dash to check out the beach stage area. The beach stage featured bands from lunchtime each day until the main stage opened at 6pm, there's no band clashes at Punk Rock Holiday which is a real bonus. The beach stage didn't officially open until tomorrow but festival goers were already enjoying the Soca river and stunning scenery which surrounds it.
Just look at the colour of the water!
The melonball cocktail is a big part of Punk Rock Holiday so we wasted no time in trying one. A vodka based cocktail with melon liqueur and orange juice, delicious and seriously easy to drink. We started with a small one unsure of how much alcohol they contained.
With melonball in hand we caught the next band, Union 13 from California.
The melonballs weren't as strong as I first expected so we ordered a pint of it next.
If you fancy stage diving at Punk Rock Holiday it's absolutely fine to do so at your own risk. This makes for some additional entertainment whilst the bands play and the crowd nearly always ensure you will land safely again after they've carried you across the crowd.
Pete from Ducking Punches was having a great time stage diving!
It didn't take very long before my thoughts turned to food and from what I'd seen so far there were some great food outlets at the festival. The place I wanted to try the most was Slovenian low and slow BBQ specialists Slam BBQ. I just had to try their BBQ spare ribs and they were insane! The meat on these slow cooked ribs was covered in a delicious BBQ sauce and it literally fell off the bone. The ribs were served with a homemade coleslaw and hefty chunk of bread to mop up the sauces with, well worth the €10 price tag.
My wife grabbed a vegan kebab filled with seitan, salad and chilli sauce. There were loads of excellent vegan options available at Punk Rock Holiday so it catered well for everyone.
The skate ramp lured us in for a while before heading back to the main stage.
Next up were Happy Ol McWeasel from Slovenia. They really got the party going with their versions of Drunken Sailor and Wild Rover, top stuff!
Happy Ol McWeasel in action.
By the end of Happy McWeasel's set the crowd had joined them on the stage, my wife's up there somewhere.
The band I was most excited to see were The Living End from Australia. Being slightly obsessed with Psychobilly it was great to hear some double bass and I knew many of their songs, thoroughly enjoyed them!
A quick pit stop for some potato wedges.
Closing the night was The Vandals from California. The first time I'd seen them live and a great end to the first night.
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