"DOBRODOSLI TO MY SLOVENIA PAGE...... :-)" Slovenia by eden_teuling

Arriving at the right time, that is of importence....
and we did........the country was covered in meadows, strewn with proud standing flowers , each one a jewel in the bright sunshine!

Soon after that first week the farmers started mowing the grass and afterwards it was hung on these racks to dry.

Seeing a real old one you will wonder about the little roof: the "tiles" are slices of wood, which you still can see on very old farm houses.

The already hot sun was eager to give the farmers and their families a hand: days of 30 Celsius and higher were welcome but must have slowed down the pace, I think..... it really was extremely hot.

But I enjoyed every moment of my stay, with friends, with nature, driving around, camping and renting an appartment at Marko's place in DOVJE.

Of course a special page on DOVJE is ready, you're welcome!

I can recommend a stay at Marko's place: he is the sweetest, most balanced, patient, helpful host you can imagine. .......seeing your needs before you yourself have discovered you have one (or more!) and soundlessly going around on his felt slippers......

No, no, not to walk in the mountains, they are just for in and around the house.......

SLOVENIA is a relatively small country, half the size of The Netherlands, imagine that!!.

It is tucked away safely into a mountainous corner between Austria, Italy, Hungary and the ADRIATIC SEA.

Most surprising is that everything in Slovenia is in abundance such as: THE MAJESTIC JULIAN ALPS , with their glacial valleys, and rivers and lakes, plenty of most wonderful woods and forests, mysterious KARST CAVES, flowers in more colours than the rainbow has and of course the ADRIATIC, where we stayed at Albina's place in between PIRAN and PORTOROZ.....

From the steep slopes of the Alps you can reach the green world of olives and vineyards and that in less than 3 hours.....one of the advantages of being a small country!

Conclusion: SLOVENIA'S natural features and CULTURAL and HISTORICAL sites offer more than plenty for more than one holiday......

I thought I had lost my heart in HEIDELBERG (as the old song goes!), but now I realise I hadn't lost it there so I could lose it here in my beloved SLOVENIA.

TREE IN PIRAN, SLOVENIA

This is the ADRIATIC SEA ........she made me speechless, time and again, morning, noon and night.....

I still use my dear old Olympus (not digital!) and a camera that does this for me I can't change for a digital one....it works still perfectly and I was at the right time in the right place and was mesmerized.....
but didn't forget to press the button...

A tour by car (trips by train are quick and cheap!!) is great!
You can explore the underground world of grottoes, walk in the clear and clean mountain air of TRIGLAV NATIONAL PARK , climb the peaks of the Julian Alps, admire MEDIEVAL treasures of old cities and towns or enjoy museums....

There are plenty of national EVENTS, FAIRS and there are SPECTACULAIR GOLF COURSES.

Hmmmm, I didn't try my luck in one of the CASINOS but I did enjoy the culinary ARTS and WINES of SLOVENIA.....

Byebye, Albina: your photos are on their way to SLOVENIA.......here's to you !! how wonderful a time we had.....

MOUNTAINS IN SLOVENIA

Luckily Slovenia was not involved in the war in Yugoslavia.
It is completely safe to go there and everything is as it should be, not destroyed by soldiers.
As the photos show it is a wonderful country to spend your holiday, and probably more than one.

Go, and enjoy it. Extremely nice scenery, oh, so hospitable, friendly people, nothing is far away and it is not too expensive.

Their own CURRENCY is the TOLAR, WHICH IS 100 SIT BUT..... AND THAT WAS EASY: WE COULD ALSO PAY WITH EUROS and then sometimes got tolars as change or the other way around......almost every shop/restaurant owner is already accustomed to the EURO and soon they will join the big bunch of EUROPEAN COUNTRIES in the EUROPEAN COMMUNITY and we shall WELCOME them.....

The contrast of Slovenia's landscape surprise first-time visitors: everything you can wish for within the 20.273 square kilometers.
Some 50 km. from the Capital Ljubljana, are the Ulian Alps where fairy tale LAKE BLED glistens.

The POSTONJA CAVES, the largest in EUROPE, are a 35 minutes' drive from the Capital on a modern expressway.
And PORTOROZ in the west, a sunny seaside resort is just over 100 km. from the Capital.

But.....a 100 kms. there is quite different from 100 kms here in my flat THE NETHERLANDS!

We drove some 4550 km. so my mountain-driving-ability is again OK!

This photograph too shows how more than wonderful a this sweet little country is!

You can go there by plane, train or car.

• Pros:BEAUTIFUL, SAFE PLACE TO TRAVEL BY CAR AND TO WALK AND CLIMB...
• Cons:NONE AS FAR AS I KNOW.....
• In a nutshell:I CAN RECOMMEND YOU TO VISIT THIS SURPRISING COUNTRY!