Love Slovenia, they said. What a clever pun. Of course I love Slovenia. I love travelling. I love everybody.
Problems
Just a minute. Where is it? East of Italy, near Italy's border town of Trieste which is to the west. North of Greece, part of the old Yugoslavia, the Communist country which broke away from Russia.
Memories of Yugoslavia
We had an au pair girl from Yugoslavia. She used to recite a saying with numbers, "Yugoslavia is a country with seven languages and five great lakes,' - or was it the other way round, five languages and seven great lakes?
She bought clothes in England. But before she went home she cut out the labels.
I asked why. "Are the labels scratchy?"
She looked at me warily, disdainfully, surprised at my ignorance. "We are not allowed to take out money, more than a small amount, not enough to buy a lot of clothes. We are not allowed to buy and import items from other countries."
I was sorry when I first heard that the country had split up. I had been to Dubrovnik with my parents when I was a teenager, on a cruise. I remember my parents walking through the narrow cobbled streets, admiring the architecture, looking up. They paused to listen to somebody playing music overhead, beyond a balcony, through an open window. Now Dubrovnik, the well-known tourist stop, was cut off from the rest of the country.
Now in 2018 in the UK we have Brexit. Slovenia is independent, proud of it, glad of it. There are two sides to every story. Times change.
What is there to see and do?
In the middle of the country is the capital, Ljublijana - easier to say if you realise the j is pronounced like a y. Small capital city, pocket-size, or pint size they say.
See all the usual museums on history and art. The main landmark is the triple arch bridge. At night the bridge is attractively lit and makes reflections in the water of the winding river.
Your next choice is a trip to the lake or a trip to the caves?
This is me at the World Travel Market at Excel in London last year. I am standing next to a delightful picture of a lake with an island reflected in the water. The lake is Lake Bled, famous for the island with the church. Bled's other attraction is a cliffside castle.
Slovenia Cake
In my hand is a pastry. The famous gibanica cake has poppyseeds. I love poppyseeds. The cake also contains walnuts, apple, raisins cheese and a cream topping.
The food features potato dumplings. Called Kraški pršut.
You could finished a meal with a Turkish coffee or a lemon tea. You can also take wine tours.
Take trips to two sets of caves, the giant Postoyna and the Unesco heritage Kkocjan.
Postyna Cave Complex
Take the train through the Postoyna cave. The cave contains a concert hall.
Railed walkways take you past stalagmites and stalagtites. Which is the mite and which is the tite? Stalagtites hang down like tights.
The place is busy. It even has an underground post office.
Admire the beauty - and learn about the history. In WWII the Nazis stored petrol (Americans say gas for gasoline) in the caves. Partisans set fire to the stores.
It's not hot now. Underground can get cool, even chilly. Wear a jacket and a hat.
The train in the cave. Photo by Donald Judge in Wikipedia.
Go to the nearby 13th century Predjama castle which is built into a cave. This castle has everything you'd want of a castle. History. A dungeon. A secret passage.
After the castles and caves, Slovenia has a gorgeous gorge.
Where next? West to Trieste or East to Zagreb? Look at the map again.
Slovenia used to be part of Yugoslavia. Instead of visiting one country, the old Yugoslavia, you can now cover the same distance and legitimately claim to have visited two countries. You are only two hours from Croatia whose capital, Zagreb, is to the East. Happy travelling!
More information from:
http://www.slovenia.si/visit/
https://wikitravel.org/en/File:Slovenia_in_its_region.svg
https://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page
https://www.skyscanner.net/flights-to/si/airlines-that-fly-to-slovenia.html
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia
Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my next post about countries splitting up, covering the USA and the Romans.
Problems
Just a minute. Where is it? East of Italy, near Italy's border town of Trieste which is to the west. North of Greece, part of the old Yugoslavia, the Communist country which broke away from Russia.
Memories of Yugoslavia
We had an au pair girl from Yugoslavia. She used to recite a saying with numbers, "Yugoslavia is a country with seven languages and five great lakes,' - or was it the other way round, five languages and seven great lakes?
She bought clothes in England. But before she went home she cut out the labels.
I asked why. "Are the labels scratchy?"
She looked at me warily, disdainfully, surprised at my ignorance. "We are not allowed to take out money, more than a small amount, not enough to buy a lot of clothes. We are not allowed to buy and import items from other countries."
I was sorry when I first heard that the country had split up. I had been to Dubrovnik with my parents when I was a teenager, on a cruise. I remember my parents walking through the narrow cobbled streets, admiring the architecture, looking up. They paused to listen to somebody playing music overhead, beyond a balcony, through an open window. Now Dubrovnik, the well-known tourist stop, was cut off from the rest of the country.
Now in 2018 in the UK we have Brexit. Slovenia is independent, proud of it, glad of it. There are two sides to every story. Times change.
In the middle of the country is the capital, Ljublijana - easier to say if you realise the j is pronounced like a y. Small capital city, pocket-size, or pint size they say.
See all the usual museums on history and art. The main landmark is the triple arch bridge. At night the bridge is attractively lit and makes reflections in the water of the winding river.
Your next choice is a trip to the lake or a trip to the caves?
This is me at the World Travel Market at Excel in London last year. I am standing next to a delightful picture of a lake with an island reflected in the water. The lake is Lake Bled, famous for the island with the church. Bled's other attraction is a cliffside castle.
Poppyseed cake. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Slovenia Cake
In my hand is a pastry. The famous gibanica cake has poppyseeds. I love poppyseeds. The cake also contains walnuts, apple, raisins cheese and a cream topping.
The food features potato dumplings. Called Kraški pršut.
You could finished a meal with a Turkish coffee or a lemon tea. You can also take wine tours.
Take trips to two sets of caves, the giant Postoyna and the Unesco heritage Kkocjan.
Postyna Cave Complex
Take the train through the Postoyna cave. The cave contains a concert hall.
Railed walkways take you past stalagmites and stalagtites. Which is the mite and which is the tite? Stalagtites hang down like tights.
The place is busy. It even has an underground post office.
Admire the beauty - and learn about the history. In WWII the Nazis stored petrol (Americans say gas for gasoline) in the caves. Partisans set fire to the stores.
It's not hot now. Underground can get cool, even chilly. Wear a jacket and a hat.
The train in the cave. Photo by Donald Judge in Wikipedia.
Go to the nearby 13th century Predjama castle which is built into a cave. This castle has everything you'd want of a castle. History. A dungeon. A secret passage.
After the castles and caves, Slovenia has a gorgeous gorge.
Where next? West to Trieste or East to Zagreb? Look at the map again.
Slovenia used to be part of Yugoslavia. Instead of visiting one country, the old Yugoslavia, you can now cover the same distance and legitimately claim to have visited two countries. You are only two hours from Croatia whose capital, Zagreb, is to the East. Happy travelling!
More information from:
http://www.slovenia.si/visit/
https://wikitravel.org/en/File:Slovenia_in_its_region.svg
https://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page
https://www.skyscanner.net/flights-to/si/airlines-that-fly-to-slovenia.html
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia
Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my next post about countries splitting up, covering the USA and the Romans.
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