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
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)
DISCOVER SLOVENIA – EUROPE’S SECRET GEM!
DIVERSE
REGIONS
Even though
the regions are less than 150 kilometres apart, the landscape could not be more
different as well as the mentality of the local people. Austrian influence in
the Julian Alps and the rest of northern Slovenia and Italian influence on the
coast are very obvious. The language spoken is Slovene but every region has its
own specific dialect.
VINEYARDS
One of 5 Main Regions:
DOLENJSKA
REGION:
ROLLING HILLS, SMALL VINEYARDS AND VINEYARD COTTAGES
ROLLING HILLS, SMALL VINEYARDS AND VINEYARD COTTAGES
TRIP 1
Dolenjske Toplice, Trska Gora Hiking, Otocec Castle Hotel, Malkovec
The first region we visited was the Dolenjska Region, Joze’s father’s birthplace. Neither Austria nor Italy influenced this region so they developed their own identity. The countryside has rolling hills, natural spas, large valleys, hot springs with natural healing waters and hundreds of small vineyards with Zidanica ( vineyard cottages).
Dolenjske Toplice is a spa with natural hot water to cure rheumatism. Hotel Kristal and Hotel Vital with two indoor swimming pools were built by the Austrians in 1890. The hotels were modernized offering complete spa treatments.
The first region we visited was the Dolenjska Region, Joze’s father’s birthplace. Neither Austria nor Italy influenced this region so they developed their own identity. The countryside has rolling hills, natural spas, large valleys, hot springs with natural healing waters and hundreds of small vineyards with Zidanica ( vineyard cottages).
SPA TREATMENTS
31 Dolenjske
Toplice - Hotel Kristal
32 Original
chandelier and ceiling
A special feature is Trska Gora hiking. “Wine Therapy,” is a five hour hiking tour which includes stops at six vineyard cottages. Once a year the tour attracts about 700 hikers. A small green pouch is placed around their necks with a wine glass in it. At each cottage you may sample as many glasses of wine as you like! The tour only costs 15 Euros! Visitors can do the same tour throughout the year.
VINEYARDS OF TRSKA GORA AND WINE THERAPY!
33 Trska
Gora - popular hiking trails among the vineyards
34 Happy
hiker at wine station
NEIGHBOURING OTOCEC CASTLE ON ISLAND IN KRKA RIVER
35 Otocec
Castle Hotel
36 Hotel
restaurant in courtyard
VINEYARDS OF MALKOVEC AND VINEYARD COTTAGES
37 Pointing
the way to villages with vineyard cottages - unique to Dolenjska region
38 A 150
year old vineyard cottage
39 Tourists
visiting vineyard cottage
40 Malkovec
-Typical small vineyards
ALPS
GORENJSKA REGION
ALPS, LAKES AND FORESTS
TRIP 2
Radovljica, Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj and an old
alpine village of Studor
42 Ginger bread hearts
43 Magical
Lake Bled with castle
44 Island in Lake Bled
Thirty minutes north-west of Ljubljana you are in the Alps with alpine valleys and lakes similar to Austria.
GINGERBREAD WORKSHOP
We first visited the charming old alpine town of Radovljica which dates back to the 15th century. It is famous for its Gingerbread Workshop with its colourful gingerbread hearts. If a young man was too shy to ask a girl to have a serious relationship, he gave her a gingerbread heart with a message of love. If he gave her a heart with a mirror, it meant he wanted to propose marriage!
MAGICAL LAKE BLED
Ten minutes
drive from Radovljica takes you to Slovenia’s most popular tourist
destination. Lake Bled is truly magical and is
the starting point for exploring the majestic Slovenian Alps which frame the
glacial lake. Activities include fishing,an 18 hole and 9 hole golf course,
boat trips to the island in the lake and horse drawn carriage rides around the
lake. Winter attractions include downhill and cross country skiing.
LAKE BOHINJ - SPORTS CENTRE
Lake Bohinj is 40 kilometres west of Lake Bled and is in the Triglav National Park dominated by the panoramic Triglav mountain range. The region has a rugged beauty and offers a treasure trove of outdoor activities. Whitewater rafting, canyoning, kayaking, mountain biking, sliding down waterfalls and rock climbing are popular activities for all ages. At the Vogel Ski Centre a cable car will take you up
45 Lake
Bohinj has only a few hotels
46 Lake
Bohinj is a protected site
47 Cable
car to Vogel Ski area
48 Beginners
practice rock climbing
15th CENTURY STUDOR VILLAGE
15th CENTURY STUDOR VILLAGE
49 Studor - Oldest village
house
Oldest village house without a chimney so the kitchen turned black because the smoke had nowhere to go! Larger accommodation for farm animals on the right!
Oldest village house without a chimney so the kitchen turned black because the smoke had nowhere to go! Larger accommodation for farm animals on the right!
50 Renovated old house - Studor village. Only the lower part is renovated.
Studor village where 11 houses are designated “protected.” which means only the ground floor can be renovated as in this photo. The upper wooden floors must retain the original style.
TRIP 3
Kranjska Gora, Planica, Tarvisio
(Italy), Predil Pass, Bovec, Kobarid, (summer and winter resorts), Goriska Brda (Slovene Tuscany).
KRANSKA GORA Another trip to the Gorenska region took us to Kranska Gora (85 kms from Ljubljana), a trendy ski town where well-off Slovenians spend weekends at their apartments or holiday homes enjoying outdoor activities. It is equally popular in summer. Expert skiers prefer to cross the border to more challenging skiing just two hours away in Austria
KRANSKA GORA Another trip to the Gorenska region took us to Kranska Gora (85 kms from Ljubljana), a trendy ski town where well-off Slovenians spend weekends at their apartments or holiday homes enjoying outdoor activities. It is equally popular in summer. Expert skiers prefer to cross the border to more challenging skiing just two hours away in Austria
50a - Kranjska Gora
PLANICA SKI JUMPING CENTRE
Our next stop was Planica a most impressive ski jumping centre only 3 kms from the Italian border and 90 kms from Ljubljana. Planica is the pride of Slovenia and boasts
51 Planica - Longest ski jump in the world
52 Training runs used all year round
53 Administration building
54 Typical
inn in nearby village
ITALIAN BORDER CROSSING
Joze took me to the former border crossing to Italy which is now abandoned because controls between countries no longer exist according to the European Union’s Schengen Agreement. We continued on to the Italian town of Tarvisio.
55 Abandoned
Italian border crossing
ITALIAN BORDER CROSSING
Joze took me to the former border crossing to Italy which is now abandoned because controls between countries no longer exist according to the European Union’s Schengen Agreement. We continued on to the Italian town of Tarvisio.
55 Abandoned
Italian border crossing
56 Predil mountain pass
To return to Slovenia, we took a spectacular winding switchback road over the Predil mountain pass which brought us to the town of Bovec, another winter and summer sports centre. Now we are in the North Coastal Region. The town is on the Soca River called the Emerald River because of its vivid green colour. It is ideal for rafting, kayaking and canoeing.
Slovenia is a very sports minded country. On our drive we saw
many mountain bikers who have their own designated bike paths, motor cyclists,
hikers and rafting enthusiasts. It is ideal for horseback riding, bird watching
and a paradise for photographers!
SOCA VALLEY
We
then continued driving through the Soca valley to the town of Kobarid where we
visited the World War 1 museum. Horrendous battles between the Italian and
Austrian armies took place there and so many died in the treacherous mountains.
GORISKA BRDA - SLOVENE TUSCANY
GORISKA BRDA - SLOVENE TUSCANY
57 Goriska
Brda - Slovene Tuscany
58 Village
of Dobrovo 
59 Belica
restaurant and wine tasting
60 Great
food and wine!
61 View
of Italy less than a mile away
62 View
from Belica.
Leaving the town of Kobarid, in no time we left the Alps
behind and were in Goriska Brda (Slovene Tuscany), vineyard country with
glorious 360 views of miles and miles of vineyards and ancient towns. The
region from the Predil Pass down to Goriska Brda and then Trieste was only
inhabited by Slovenes but was given to Italy after World War 1 and remained
Italian until 1945. It took four agreements between Marshal Tito’s Yugoslavia
and Italy for Slovenes to regain this territory in 1954. Tito was extremely
popular with Slovenes because his victorious Partisan army played an important
role in negotiating the border problem.
WINE TASTING
We ended our journey at Belica, a wine tasting restaurant in the village of Medana, less than a kilometer from Italian territory. Meals or appetizers are served along with wine tasting. You can taste 3 or 5 different white or red wines or a mix of both. It was a 360 km trip which took nine and a half hours of which we drove 5 hours and saw such a variety of landscapes!
We ended our journey at Belica, a wine tasting restaurant in the village of Medana, less than a kilometer from Italian territory. Meals or appetizers are served along with wine tasting. You can taste 3 or 5 different white or red wines or a mix of both. It was a 360 km trip which took nine and a half hours of which we drove 5 hours and saw such a variety of landscapes!
VIEW OUR OTHER BLOGS!
Two Months in Slovenia – Writing the Book
AROUND AND ABOUT LJUBLJANA – SLOVENIA
AUSTRIAN BORDER CROSSING – POSTOJNA CAVE AND LIPICA
STUD FARMK – COAST
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
No comments:
Post a Comment