TWO MONTHS IN SLOVENIA - WRITING THE BOOK
SLOVENIA A LA CARTE - All You Ever Wanted to
Know About Slovenia
AND DISCOVERING THE COUNTRY!
The book
is available on Amazon
and Kindle
EBook.
ABOUT
US
TESSA
I am British/Canadian and am an author,
journalist and teacher. I have a Canadian university degree in journalism and
European history, a Bachelor of Education teaching English as a Second Language
and a Cambridge University certificate teaching English as a Foreign Language.
I taught English in Prague, Czech Republic in 1990 after that country’s Velvet
Revolution. I started 50 Plus Travel Club for seniors and organized group tours
to unusual destinations.
In “Slovenia a la Carte – All You Ever Wanted to Know About
Slovenia” which I co-authored with Joze Borstnar, I wrote a chapter on several
communist countries I have visited comparing the different brands of
communism-socialism in those countries to the former Yugoslavia.
JOZE
I am Slovene and live in
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. I lived through Slovenia’s turbulent post
World War 2 history. I studied economics at the University of Ljubljana and was
a tour manager on coach tours for American tourists visiting Balkan
countries: Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. After 27
years of professional experience in the tourist industry, I created "Visit
Slovenia à la carte" which offers interesting half-day and full-day trips
from Ljubljana as well as other tourist services. My many clients urged me
to write a book about the interesting stories I told them so our book “Slovenia
a la Carte – All You Ever Wanted to Know about Slovenia” was born!
DAY TRIPS FROM LJUBLJANA WITH JOZE
www.visit-slovenia.eu
FACEBOOK:
joze borstnar - Slovenia a la Carte - Photos – Albums - See All (3 Albums / 210 photos)
joze borstnar - Slovenia a la Carte - Photos – Albums - See All (3 Albums / 210 photos)
DISCOVER SLOVENIA – EUROPE’S SECRET GEM!
MY FIRST VISIT
In 1977, I first visited Slovenia when it was part of the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia ruled by Marshal Josip Broz Tito’s communist regime. Joze Borstnar was my tour guide and in a short time I saw so much of this beautiful country. I eventually organized group tours to the region for Canadian seniors who were interested in discovering unknown destinations, especially a communist country few had ever heard of!
In 1977, I first visited Slovenia when it was part of the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia ruled by Marshal Josip Broz Tito’s communist regime. Joze Borstnar was my tour guide and in a short time I saw so much of this beautiful country. I eventually organized group tours to the region for Canadian seniors who were interested in discovering unknown destinations, especially a communist country few had ever heard of!
WRITING OUR BOOK
Joze and I reconnected in 2015 when he told me
he needed help writing a memoir in English of his famous father. We started
writing the book at the end of 2015 in Costa Rica and finished writing it in
Slovenia. “Slovenia a la Carte – All You Ever Wanted to Know About Slovenia”
was published in June 2016 in Ljubljana, and besides the story of his National
Hero father and family, it also includes the political and social history,
tourist destinations, hotels, everyday life and much more.
TESSA’S ARRIVAL IN LJUBLJANA
From Toronto's Pearson
International Airport I took an Air Canada day flight to London Heathrow and
stayed overnight at the airport. Next day I took a bus from the airport for a
two hour very comfortable ride to Stansted where I stayed overnight.
After a 2 hour flight with EasyJet from
Stansted Airport, I arrived in Ljubljana on April 25 and my first
impression was how beautiful and impeccably clean the city is. There is an
abundance of trees, flowers and parks with mountains and the Julian Alps in the
distance. I stayed in a newly renovated apartment in the Old Town owned by a
lady who has converted her family house into apartments.
AROUND AND ABOUT LJUBLJANA
3 Ljubljana Castle looks down on Congress Square
4 The
view from our apartment
5 Cafes
along the Ljubljanica River
6 Cruising
down the river
2016 GREEN CAPITAL AWARD
Slovenia’s great advantage is that it is small
and varied. From its capital Ljubljana, situated in the middle of the country,
you can easily travel in one hour up to the Alps, or to the Adriatic coast, or
over to castles, spas and vineyards. More than 50% of Slovenia is covered by
forest making it the second greenest country in Europe after Finland. Ljubljana
won Europe’s Green Capital Award in 2016.
WHERE IS SLOVENIA?
It is situated between Italy and Hungary and immediately
south of Austria so is ideally located for visiting other European
destinations. From Ljubljana it is just a short drive west to Venice (280kms)
or northwest to Salzburg (270 kms), while Vienna is fewer than 400 kms
northeast. Slovenia is often believed to be a Balkan country because it lies at
the edge of the West Balkan region. It is actually considered to be a Central
European country because of its history, architecture and disciplined work
ethic learned as one of Austria’s dominions.ENGLISH IS WIDELY SPOKEN
It is only 249kms long and 162kms wide and has
a population of 2 million. Slovenian is the main language but English is widely
spoken as well as German and Italian. The Euro is the currency. United States
First Lady Melania Trump was born and raised in Slovenia. After the United
States, Canada has the second largest Slovene community who mostly settled in
Toronto.
Around Ljubljana Old Town
7 Preseren
Square, where tours start
9 The Old Town free of motor traffic
11 Band
playing in the Old Town. Note the netting providing shade.
12 Open
Market meeting place
13
Famous Ljubljana Open Market
14 Free
Kavalir transportation after shopping
15 Fish
Market at Open Market - such a great variety!
16 Beer
from around the world for all you beer lovers!
GROCERY SHOPPING
Grocery shopping was literally awesome! I have
never seen such an abundance of choice in food, wines and beer not even in
Canada’s top supermarkets! As a result of the European Union, goods come from
all over Europe. I did not see much from the United Kingdom or North
America. An enormous variety of beers
for all you beer lovers and incredible varieties of fish brought daily from the Adriatic to the fish market!
PEDESTRIAN ZONE
PEDESTRIAN ZONE
Ljubljana is
an incredibly well organized city and The Old Town is totally free of cars and
is a pedestrian zone to help reduce CO2 so the air quality is crystal clear. If
you need a lift, the city provides free golf-type carts called “Kavalirs” with
a driver to take you where you want to go within the Old Town.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Public transportation is by bus. At every bus stop a screen shows when the next bus is coming which can be as quick as every 5 minutes! Along with the screen is a written schedule. No cash is used so you buy a pass available at kiosks throughout the city. If you do not have a pass, you are allowed on, nobody is turned away. Recycling bins are everywhere in keeping with their environmental efforts.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Public transportation is by bus. At every bus stop a screen shows when the next bus is coming which can be as quick as every 5 minutes! Along with the screen is a written schedule. No cash is used so you buy a pass available at kiosks throughout the city. If you do not have a pass, you are allowed on, nobody is turned away. Recycling bins are everywhere in keeping with their environmental efforts.
17 Sunday
Flea Market where anything and everything is sold!
18 Child friendly city with so many activities for children
20 Paddle
boarding on the river
NATIONAL HOLIDAY
I was there on April 27, a national holiday when Slovenes celebrate the day in 1941 when the Liberation Front was founded in Ljubljana two weeks after Hitler bombed Belgrade on April 6. It was a coalition of different parties organized by the Communist
Party of Slovenia to establish the Slovene Partisan Army to fight against the
almighty Nazi and Fascist armies. It was a brave decision because they had very
few weapons.
Slovenian
television had programs talking about those times and interviewing people now
in their 90’s about the roles they played in the Partisan victory.
"DOBER DAN" -
GOOD DAY!
Slovene is a
really difficult language for someone with no background in Slavic languages. I
did learn to say “Dober Dan” a greeting meaning Good Day similar to Bonjour and
it is an important courtesy when entering a shop, business or any other
establishment. Good-bye is Na Svidenje or Adio among friends. Surprisingly,
road signs are only in Slovene, no other language!
THE OPEN KITCHEN
After working
all day on the computer I had a yen for fish and chips. The “England Pub” near
us was closed but had no fish and chips and the Irish Pub had them but they
were not cooked yet. They suggested we go to the “Open Kitchen” by the river
which has lots of stalls selling ethnic meals from local restaurants. It is
open every Friday, weather permitting, and there are tons of people, dogs,
babies etc. There are so many young people especially teenagers and millenials.
It was a bit too crowded for me so we went to a fish restaurant by the river
nearby.
Lubljana Tivoli
Park
21 Fun
slide in Lumpi Park for kids
22 Navigating
a boat
23 Picnics on lush lawns surrounded by forests
24 Bike paths separate from pedestrian walkways
25 Swimming
pool with saunas
26 Beautiful
shady walkways
27 Exhibition
of national parks worldwide
28 Photos of National
parks in North America
29 Sports Centre – tennis anyone?!
SO MUCH TO DO!
In Ljubljana,
you do not have to go far to find something interesting to see or do. Only 5
minutes from the City Centre is Tivoli Park with activities galore for all ages, especially for children. Hiking trails will take you up 394 metres (1,293 ft.)
to the highest peak. The “Lumpi Park” has all sorts of fun and games for
children. For adults there is a tennis centre, mini golf, bowling alleys,
swimming pool,saunas, well marked bike paths, restaurants and bars. People can
enjoy picnics on the lush green lawns surrounded by forests.
VIEW OUR OTHER BLOGS!
sloveniaalacarte.blogspot.com
Two Months in Slovenia – Writing the Book
sloveniaalacarte.blogspot.com
Two Months in Slovenia – Writing the Book
AUSTRIAN BORDER CROSSING – POSTOJNA CAVE AND LIPICA
STUD FARMK – COAST
VINERYARDS OF DOLENJSKA REGION – ALPS – GORISKA
BRDA / SLOVENE TUSCANY
Text: Tessa Borner All Photos: Joze Borstnar
FOR MUCH MORE INFORMATION READ OUR BOOK!
“Slovenia a la Carte – All You Ever Wanted to Know about Slovenia”
Available on Amazon and Kindle E-Book
Author: Joze Borstnar
CoAuthor: Tessa Borner
INFORMATION:
Canada contact – tessaborner@gmail.com
Piran - Venetian town Island - Lake Bled
OTHER BOOKS BY TESSA BORNER:
“Potholes to Paradise – Living in Costa Rica”
“English Girl, German Boy – World War 2 from Both Sides
Available on Amazon, Author
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