Scrutinizing Slovenia: Part 1

Hello fellow cadets! It has come to my attention that I should write about my current ” host country,” Slovenia. I’ve been here for over six months now. Although I expected to move on to another place, Europe’s various lockdowns and restrictions, and a couple of other external factors have decided for me that I’m keeping put here. While the last months have been limiting for internal domestic travel, I did get to see a great deal of this nation in the summer and fall of 2020.

Slovenia was never a place that held a high priority on my list as other Southeastern European places. I had been to all of the other former Yugoslavia countries 3-6 times before spending the night in Slovenia. Until the summer of 2019, my only experience with Slovenia was a couple of hours in Maribor. I thought that it was too predictable and too much like the Czech Republic. It was en route to places I was going, so I did not have much time there. Although, it has come to my attention that Slovenia is a destination worth putting on your wish list.

The expression “good things come in small packages” rings true for Slovenia. The capital Ljubljana is situated only one hour to the Alps, one hour to the sea, one and a half hours to rolling hills and endless vineyards, and one and a half hours to a beautiful large canyon with turquoise rivers. The alpine lakes make it look like a fairy tale. As much of a cliche as it is, it is still true. I guess I can see why millions of European tourists want to come to Lake Bled.

There is also this beautiful lake 30 minutes from here- Lake Bohinj

You can also visit this gorgeous place in the same day if you want to. Piran, Slovenia

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These are just a handful of beautiful sights that you can see in Slovenia. The capital is not a dump either.

If you want to see something more Alternative in Ljubljana, there are places like AC Metelkova. It serves as a reminder that Slovenians are not always as boring and conservative as they might sometimes appear on the surface. There are also a couple of interesting places like this around the city, but unfortunately, one of them was vacated yesterday. One problem with Slovenia is their leadership is trying to compete with Hungary for governments in Europe to undermine democracy and free thought. The prime minister prematurely congratulated Trump during the 2020 election. He also went on to retweet various conspiracy theories on his social media platform. Ironically, Slovenia made strides to defy and separate itself from authoritarianism in Yugoslavia ( their words, not mine); it embraces wannabee authoritarian leaders today.

Anyway, politics aside, Slovenia is a nice place to visit despite your political affiliation. The people are probably the most talented in Europe when it comes to foreign languages. The average Slovene can comfortably converse in several languages. The English for those under 45 is ALMOST on par with those in Scandinavia and the Benelux countries, which says a lot as English education was introduced much later than in these countries. They also give other countries a run for their money when it comes to desserts. I was never a dessert person until I moved here.

It is nice to visit almost year-round. Every season has its beauty in this country. The only time I would discourage you from visiting in November. Please come any other month of the year. You will deal with fog and occasional rain for the entire month. January has even been a breath of fresh air compared to November here.

Stay tuned next time to read about other places in Slovenia that you should visit that ARE NOT Ljubljana and Bled in my second post about scrutinizing Slovenia.