About Slovenia

I have just spent a week in Slovenia. Slovenia is a country I grow fonder of with each visit.

It is one of the most recent countries in Europe: it finally gained independence in 1991 having previously been part of Yugoslavia and before that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy and so on back through history.
Slovenia was the most prosperous of the Eastern European countries to join the European Union in 2004. It was the first of them to adopt the euro as its currency and to hold the presidency of the EU.
It’s also one of Europe’s smallest countries, some have called it “Europe in miniature” and indeed you can find at short distances from each other, Venetian towns on the coast like Piran, central European cities like Ljubljana and beautiful Alpine valleys like Bohinj. It’s a varied and beautiful country.

As an Alpine country Slovenia naturally attracts me. It even has a mountain on its flag, albeit in stylized form: Triglav, its highest peak (2864m), the “three-headed” mountain. Alex and I climbed Triglav this summer so we now qualify as honorary Slovenes. They all aspire to climb it one day and many have, even many times. This was the case of a Slovene we encountered with his twelve year old son on the summit. He initiated us. There is a little cylindrical metal tower on the summit with a door. On arriving for the first time you are to put your head inside while someone who has been up before you taps you on the bum with a climbing rope. It’s rather typical of the playful and outgoing nature of the people. Among our new Eastern European colleagues at work I find the Slovenes the most fun.

Slovenia starts just a few km from Monfalcone so I have often ventured into it on short trips from there. In 2006 I worked for a few days in Ljubljana, the capital. It’s a pleasant unhurried city where people like to stroll and sit out on terraces, especially along the pedestrianized willow bordered river embankments lined by old houses (picture). I have also to admit that it has one or two architectural monstrosities left over from the socialist period.
In 2007 I took my parents and brother on a four day highlights of Western Slovenia trip visiting Lipica, home of the famous Lipizaner horses that dance in Vienna; Mediterranean seaside Piran; the spectacular caves and underground canyon of Skocjian; the castle in a cave mouth at Predjama; delightful Ljubljana; pretty Lake Bled in the mountains; wilder fjord-like Lake Bohinj closer to Triglav; and the wine growing region of Gorska Brda which is like Italy’s neighbouring Collio.
This year I have spent three days in the Triglav National Park and last week five days in Ljubljana and two touring the East for the first time. I took a look at Maribor, the second city; the historic town and castle of Ptuj; the hilly wine-growing area around Jeruzalem, gorgeous with autumn leaves on the vines; the pilgrimage church with fine 15thC wood-carving at Ptujska Gora; the old spa town of Rogaska Slatina; the remote Alpine valley of Logarska Dolina (picture) where I went for an early morning hike up to the Rinka waterfall sighting two deer; and the pretty small town of Kamnik. On all these trips the ever-changing scenery in between these places and the quiet well kept roads make for enjoyable driving. You see Alpine foothills, meadows with cows, woods, rushing rivers, terraced vineyards, old farms, baroque churches, castles, central European small towns, Venetian small towns, with Italian influence in the South West and Austrian elsewhere.

You get that Austrian / Italian mix in the food too, especially in Ljubljana. You can go for pasta dishes, risottos and grilled fish; or alternatively meat in sauce, especially game, with dumplings, wild mushrooms and cabbage. After you can finish up with some serious strudel or cake, such as the amazing “gibinca” a layered pastry for those who can’t make up their mind between apple strudel, cheese-cake and poppy-seed cake as it seems to comprise all three. Follow that with a decent espresso.. The wine is good and so too the beer.

Slovene or Slovenian is a Slav language with the usual accompanying difficulties: six cases, three genders, singular, dual and plural - and that’s just the nouns; two infinitives for each verb and so on. The core vocabulary is very similar to other Slav languages (I have schoolboy Russian) so I can recognize words, even if I can’t put together a sentence. Slovene is big on consonant clusters and even has words without vowels: such as “vrh”, a hill, “vrt” a garden and Trst for Trieste. My favourite is "prsut", which is just a borrowing from the Italian “prosciutto”. I heard plenty of Slovene last week as I was working at the interpreting school, helping to train students.

They and their teachers were a nice group to work with, relaxed and friendly. I also spent an evening with students in Ptuj who invited me to a wine-tasting they were holding in the cellar of my hotel. I can’t remember ever having had a bad experience with the locals in Slovenia. They strike me as a generally happy people at ease in ther peaceful, prosperous and beautiful country.

It’s worth getting to know.Slovenia and the Slovenes.