Slovenia (08/13/2016 - 08/19/2016)

The last time I was in this part of the world it was still called Yugoslavia, and so the only thing I was really expecting to find was a good pljeskavica, a spiced patty which I so fondly remember eating as a child. Indeed 28 years later, I found it, as well as much much more.

Slovenia was not a place I had intended to visit, but fate and fortune had brought me here for work and I took the opportunity to discover all that this hidden gem had to offer.  As sadly much of my travels as of late, I did the typical tourist itinerary of Lake Bled (famous for an island in the middle with a church, and a castle overlooking the cliffs), the port town of Piran (which used to be part of Italy, as Trieste was once part of Slovenia), and the numerous caves and castles (including Predjama Castle, which was built into a cliff face, and thanks to a hidden tunnel, remarkably resilient to prolonged sieges).  A nice off-the-beaten path surprise was visiting Triglavski Narodni Park, and the summit of Mangart, the third highest mountain in Slovenia at ~2,700 m - really, some of the nicest driving and mountain scenery I've ever seen.

There is a lot going for Slovenia - high level of education and research, clean environment, small population, beautiful landscapes, rich history, and the lowest GINI coefficient in the OECD (arguably, the world).  Oh yes, and the food and wine.  Slovenia has been making wine since before the time of the Romans, and amongst a few traditions they've preserved is the aging of wine in large ceramic pots buried in the earth and the making of 'orange wine', which an amber coloured wine resulting from leaving the skins of green grapes attached, as in the same case with red wine. The food was amazing - very fresh, locally sourced, creative, and flavourful.

Overall, a wonderful surprise and look forward to returning again soon.


Ljubljana

Lake Bled

Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle

Piran

Triglavski Narodni Park