Hi all,
Since most of you don’t know me yet – this Dutchie is still quite new here – I thought, let me just introduce myself and my surroundings a little bit more to you.
So today, I would like to tell you a little something about this central European country where my boyfriend comes from, Slovenia!
(This is us on a weekend trip in Paris)
It lies southeast of Italy and Austria, and northwest from Hungary and Croatia. It's quite tiny, but oh my – does it have much to offer!
To be honest with you, before I met my boyfriend, I had heard some good things from friends that had travelled there, but it never really went further than that. So everything about Slovenia was completely new to me, including its language and of course the great people (wink wink). And through getting to know the locals, even before I visited the country for the first time, I probably got a different view on things than most travellers would get coming here. So my plan for today is to tell you some interesting things about it because I think Slovenia is still highly underrated for what it actually has to offer.
What you should first know about the Slovenes, is that they are pretty proud of their country. And I kind of get where this comes from. First of all, there are not many countries like it, having a Mediterranean coastline, mountains, hills, lakes, rivers and beautiful forests all reachable within just a few hours drive. The country has a few small cities like Maribor, and the capital Ljubljana. There are also Celje and Kranj, but I have not had the chance to visit those yet. Also, the highest mountain Triglav (2.863m) stands proudly on the national flag. Why? Well, only after you have climbed this mountain you are considered a real Slovene.
In between the mountains and hills, there are also lots of towns and little villages. Here, it seems that time – maybe it's just from the outside, but I suspect it might appear that way also from the inside – is going its own pace, or is almost standing still. In between these inhabited areas, Slovenia mostly covers lush green hills, mountains, rivers plains and lakes, and it is a pure joy to drive, walk or bike through.
This is me blending in the natural surroundings. This is also the place where the Chronicles of Narnia was shot
The first time I visited Slovenia was June last year. I flew to Venice, where I would be picked up at the airport and my bf and I would drive for a couple of hours to the Adriatic Coast, in Croatia. His family owns a cute little apartment close to the sea. Before we went back up north into Slovenia, to the village outside Novo Mesto where my boyfriends' parents live, we spend a couple of days there. Anyway, more about Croatia soon!
Roadtrip!!
Having an extra house or apartment either in the mountains or at the coast in Croatia is very Slovenian by itself. It gets quite warm and humid in Slovenia in Summer, so wind and coolness must be found either high in the mountains, under the trees in forests, or at the sea.
Novo Mesto
What I remember from my first impressions in Slovenia is that I saw how neat, clean, authentic, and colourful every house in every village seemed to look as we passed by in the car. Novo Mesto lies in the eastern part of Slovenia and is close to the Croatian border. Here, you will find mostly hills, cute little cottages, farms and villages that usually consist out of one coiling road with houses spread around it like they were never built to be connected by a motorway.
What the Slovenes really treasure – and what is clear to see – are their gardens. Almost every house has a nice little vegetable garden and at least some climbing roses in front or around their lawns or growing up against the facades. In that sense, the geranium-flowers in front of the windows reminded me a bit of Austria, and that was one of the first things from what I began to understand that Slovenia has a very long history. I borrowed this picture from the mighty interwebs to give you an idea:
To be able to place Slovenia in their own category, and so to understand about Slovenians national identity, it is important to know that this is a very young country. It has only been declared independent in 1991. The culture has been influenced by many empires: the Hapsburg empire, the Venetians, the Romans, the Ottomans. However, the particular Slavic nature of the Slovenes always stood out to their oppressors, and they have always been a little different than the Hungarians in the East and their Croatian southern neighbours. When Slovenia was still part of Yugoslavia, the area was more considered as a province, where they spoke their own version/dialect of the Slavic language.
Apart from being more Slavic than their Italian neighbours, Slovenia has a lot in common with Italy. The first thing that showed me that, is their intense love for artisan ice cream (Sladoled). Seriously, I thought I ate a lot of icecream! But everywhere you look here, be it in the cities or at the beach, there are icecream-vendors everywhere. Icecream is not the only thing that reminds me of Italy, though. It is also the importance of family life, like eating together as a family, or the predominant Catholic faith (about half the population is baptized, you can Wikipedia that).
Another common denominator with Italy is one of increasing importance for Slovenia as a country, namely: their wines! Sharing the same sun, similar earth, and hills, Italy and Slovenia have an evenly long tradition of wine-making that stems back from the Roman empire. The Slovenian wines, however – due to the Cold war – have long been overlooked. Now, something interesting seems to be going on. Where Italians have sold their wines for exports and made tons of profits over the last centuries, they also depleted the ground on which their grapes were built, using toxic fertilizers and insecticides. The pressure of producing and meeting the demands have not really put a lot of pressure on the quality of the wine, but mostly on the quantity. Meanwhile, in the neighbouring hills, the Slovenians steadily went about their business without being disturbed by many outsiders and without a need for using fertilizers or insecticides. The Slovenians have without deliberately doing it, kept an ecological approach to their wine-making. Which is now increasingly in demand as well!
Besides that, the Slovenes like to hang at their vineyards on the weekends. They have built small houses (some are bigger and more luxurious than others) next to it, so they can chill with the fam for a couple of days before going back to the cities. These little houses are now called 'vikends'. What does that sound like? Weekend? You bet, and yes – they just call their little country-houses 'weekends'. Aren't they badass? Anyway, since there was never much demand for Slovenian wines, a lot of the wine is just made for their own consumption! I borrowed this picture from a website, to show you how much Slovene's are actually like hobbits (sorry, not sorry).
Want to read more about Slovenian wines?
Check these articles for example:
This article in Wine Tourist Magazine
A post in the New York Times from 2013
Well, that was it for now! I hope you enjoyed this introduction about Slovenia and learned some new things about this little country along the way. Of course, I have much more to tell about it, but hey – first things first.
For now, have a really nice day!! And of course let me know if you have enjoyed this post, or just want to hear more about something. All feedback is appreciated!
Ciao!