The Land of Dreams...
Slovenia. Finally! My best mate Rok is from there and one conversation he was reminiscing about all the fantastic things of the country - so much so, that we dubbed it the land of dreams. I couldn't wait to go there, and it really is awesome - it's quite small, but has everything - nightlife, pretty city, and proximity to mountains, snow, beach, etc. What more do you want?!
So I went to go visit Rok at his place, but unfortunately he got his with this debilitating flu. So bad he couldn't really leave bed for long. Terrible timing - cos not only were we both on holidays, but it was also the week I chose to visit. But he went out of his way to hook me up with friends + family to make sure I had an awesome trip. So Rok's mum came to pick me up from the airport in Italy and drove me to their place in the capital, Ljubljana. Europe is so amazing, where you can fly into one country, and in no time at all you are in another, with a different language, culture, etc. Italy Trieste to Ljubljana is about an hour's drive, and is a great trip as you can see the change in the climate/vegetation from the Mediterranean to more Continental - from sun to fog, sea to mountains, all in a single trip! An hour in Perth and you can probably still be in (greater) Perth. His family are awesome, overly hospitable, so we spent the first night chilling - chatting & watching movies...
Family 'n Friends
The next day, Rok arranged for his good mate Simon to take me on a tour of Ljubljana. Man Simon knew his stuff, planned an entire route, giving a concise explanation of the history of each place along the way. Ljubljana is a pretty city, especially right in the centre where the city surrounds like a river/canal. It seems that almost every construction in the city (of note) was done by the architect - Plecnik. Apparently so popular is his work that the church actually wants to make him a saint or something!? Anyway, lots of cool sites (difficult to explain - see the gallery), though Simon seemed overly impressed/excited about the new H&M opening in the city centre. Actually lots of the big shops (like these massive massive shopping malls) are on the outskirts of town, much like you see in many European cities. Kinda good cos it keeps the old town/centre really nice. We were walking around and we passed this 'famous' store selling Slovene salt - yes they've been using the same procedure for 40 years! WoW! hahah actually they've been extracting salt for hundreds of years, but they changed the procedure 40 years ago. Simon thought I was pretty nuts when I went in and wasted so many Euros buying bizzarre salt related products. One of the highlights of the tourist trail is Ljubljana castle, which sits high up on the hill overlooking the city. Had an amazing view, and to get there you can either walk, or take a funicular. I'd call this a cable car, but Simon insisted the English word is funicular. Apparently it's in the dictionary, but I've only ever heard that word in Spanish. Anyway the view from up top is amazing. Though only slightly more amazing than the 3D film on the history of Ljubljana - where the Slovene version is blasted out so loud that you hear Slovene and English (Slovenglish?) at the same time :)
I was lucky enough to smash through some meat whilst there. Rok knew that I'd never tried deer, so he made sure I got to try it. His mum cooked it - super tasty. I also went with Simon to this traditional Slovene restaurant. Basically made for tourists, but very cool - even with it's own brand of (lousy) beer. Though I got to eat horse too. They have a fast food burger chain called Hot Horse (horseburgers), but I'll have to try that next time. Reason enough to come back, no? Apparently you can eat bear, though it's hard to get. Simon told of a story where the owner of the zoo was in trouble for eating bears there (he made Bear goulash), but everyone else we told the story doubted that happened. Hahah imagine - "honey, I don't have time to go to the shops, can you bring some meat home", "sure dear, I'll just raid the cage" :) Also ate some amazing dip/spread - made of raw, heavily spiced mince. Tasted great.
A little TOO happy to be eating horse. Tastes like beef
For Sat night, Rok hooked me up with another friend of his, Dragan. He came past and we picked up his friend/employee/slave to have some predrinks. They decided on going to a bowling alley - not to play, but just to drink. Different experience - not my usual choice of watering hole, but interesting nonetheless. They brought out beer in these massive cylinders with connected taps - 3L at a time. We smashed through one quickly, where another was ordered before I knew it. We spent the time time talking about Slovene life, business and technology whilst 'enjoying' the music. The music playing was TurboFolk. Kinda like electronic versions of ethnic songs - more Bosnian or Serbian or something rather than Slovene. Slovene traditional music is more Austrian-like apparently, where as some of the neighbouring countries sound more Eastern (makes sense given the history). Turbofolk is very new-school - it's best you see for yourself (MAKE SURE YOU DO) here and here.
Anyway. Digression. The other dude doesnt drink much and Dragan was driving which left me to finish more beer than I could handle. Messy. Anyway, re drink driving, Dragan assured me that once he hits this point, he doesn't become any more intoxicated and can drive perfectly. I still held on for life as we slid around corners. Our destination was a club - Global. Dragan has VIP entrance so we go through the back and go upstairs. Global is famous in Slovenia, it's kind of a pretty-person's/upper-class club. It located on top of a building, overlooking the city - quite stylish. Dragan says the drink of choice is the infamous Long Island IceTea - 6eu (which is apparently obscene in Slovenia) but super potent. Seriously. I was out of it in no time. Simon and Tinka (his gf) and one of her friends came as well, and had the pleasure of hanging out with us drunken lads... The decor/setup in Global was nice, but the music was pretty off. Lots of really old songs; though granted it was a 60s-70s themed night or something. But I mean, John Lennon's Imagine, whilst a great song, isn't exactly appropriate for a club:) After a while, we lose Dragon (as he said "every man for himself") and his mates, so Simon + crew decide to head to another club. I was completely mashed that it wasn't until we were outside that I realise I didn't have my phone. We go back in and _somehow_ Simon finds it on the ground. I totally owe him one. Then I can't find my ticket for the cloakroom. We go to another club, but I think the night was over. I then find my cloakroom ticket, so we go back (_again_) and get my jacket. Arrggghhh. Poor guys having to put up with me :S
Next day I went to the caves at Postojna. They were really touristy - a Disneyland-esc train takes you from the entrance to deep inside. But it was worth it, there were some amazing features and formations. They also have some salamanders in there, which usually live in the dark (as dislike light). Though some lucky critters had the pleasure of being trapped in a cave with bright lights on them, subjected to flash photography by eager tourists :) I enjoyed the tour despite a hangover. Rok's folks were kind enough to drive me to the caves, so whilst waiting for them to pick me up, I met some ppl from Barcelona who hired a caravan for their vacations, so I chilled with them for a bit until I saw Rok's parents standing out the front. Seriously, a caravan looks like the way to go for a European Adventure! On the way back, we went for a drive past a lake which apparently dries up in summertime, as well as through some marshlands and past (yet more) work of Plecnik. That night, we had a nice dinner with fam and chilled out. Later I met up with a friend from Cam, Mateja, who took me to a cool bar which resembled something out of some 70s club/porn den - think disco-balls, animal skin couches, etc. Hahah it had a cool scene.
Everyone I met in Slovenia was extremely nice and cool - made my trip awesome. Rok's family loaded me up with so many goodies, like pumpkin oil (amazing for salads), wine, honey, etc. So good. Hats off to Rok for arranging things (whilst sick) and his friends and family who went above and beyond to ensure that I had the best time possible in Slovenia. Land of dreams. Not far off! I will be back.
Check the pics here.
So I went to go visit Rok at his place, but unfortunately he got his with this debilitating flu. So bad he couldn't really leave bed for long. Terrible timing - cos not only were we both on holidays, but it was also the week I chose to visit. But he went out of his way to hook me up with friends + family to make sure I had an awesome trip. So Rok's mum came to pick me up from the airport in Italy and drove me to their place in the capital, Ljubljana. Europe is so amazing, where you can fly into one country, and in no time at all you are in another, with a different language, culture, etc. Italy Trieste to Ljubljana is about an hour's drive, and is a great trip as you can see the change in the climate/vegetation from the Mediterranean to more Continental - from sun to fog, sea to mountains, all in a single trip! An hour in Perth and you can probably still be in (greater) Perth. His family are awesome, overly hospitable, so we spent the first night chilling - chatting & watching movies...
Family 'n Friends
The next day, Rok arranged for his good mate Simon to take me on a tour of Ljubljana. Man Simon knew his stuff, planned an entire route, giving a concise explanation of the history of each place along the way. Ljubljana is a pretty city, especially right in the centre where the city surrounds like a river/canal. It seems that almost every construction in the city (of note) was done by the architect - Plecnik. Apparently so popular is his work that the church actually wants to make him a saint or something!? Anyway, lots of cool sites (difficult to explain - see the gallery), though Simon seemed overly impressed/excited about the new H&M opening in the city centre. Actually lots of the big shops (like these massive massive shopping malls) are on the outskirts of town, much like you see in many European cities. Kinda good cos it keeps the old town/centre really nice. We were walking around and we passed this 'famous' store selling Slovene salt - yes they've been using the same procedure for 40 years! WoW! hahah actually they've been extracting salt for hundreds of years, but they changed the procedure 40 years ago. Simon thought I was pretty nuts when I went in and wasted so many Euros buying bizzarre salt related products. One of the highlights of the tourist trail is Ljubljana castle, which sits high up on the hill overlooking the city. Had an amazing view, and to get there you can either walk, or take a funicular. I'd call this a cable car, but Simon insisted the English word is funicular. Apparently it's in the dictionary, but I've only ever heard that word in Spanish. Anyway the view from up top is amazing. Though only slightly more amazing than the 3D film on the history of Ljubljana - where the Slovene version is blasted out so loud that you hear Slovene and English (Slovenglish?) at the same time :)
 Downtown | -777523.JPG) OK Simon, you win the bet... |
I was lucky enough to smash through some meat whilst there. Rok knew that I'd never tried deer, so he made sure I got to try it. His mum cooked it - super tasty. I also went with Simon to this traditional Slovene restaurant. Basically made for tourists, but very cool - even with it's own brand of (lousy) beer. Though I got to eat horse too. They have a fast food burger chain called Hot Horse (horseburgers), but I'll have to try that next time. Reason enough to come back, no? Apparently you can eat bear, though it's hard to get. Simon told of a story where the owner of the zoo was in trouble for eating bears there (he made Bear goulash), but everyone else we told the story doubted that happened. Hahah imagine - "honey, I don't have time to go to the shops, can you bring some meat home", "sure dear, I'll just raid the cage" :) Also ate some amazing dip/spread - made of raw, heavily spiced mince. Tasted great.
A little TOO happy to be eating horse. Tastes like beef
For Sat night, Rok hooked me up with another friend of his, Dragan. He came past and we picked up his friend/employee/slave to have some predrinks. They decided on going to a bowling alley - not to play, but just to drink. Different experience - not my usual choice of watering hole, but interesting nonetheless. They brought out beer in these massive cylinders with connected taps - 3L at a time. We smashed through one quickly, where another was ordered before I knew it. We spent the time time talking about Slovene life, business and technology whilst 'enjoying' the music. The music playing was TurboFolk. Kinda like electronic versions of ethnic songs - more Bosnian or Serbian or something rather than Slovene. Slovene traditional music is more Austrian-like apparently, where as some of the neighbouring countries sound more Eastern (makes sense given the history). Turbofolk is very new-school - it's best you see for yourself (MAKE SURE YOU DO) here and here.
Anyway. Digression. The other dude doesnt drink much and Dragan was driving which left me to finish more beer than I could handle. Messy. Anyway, re drink driving, Dragan assured me that once he hits this point, he doesn't become any more intoxicated and can drive perfectly. I still held on for life as we slid around corners. Our destination was a club - Global. Dragan has VIP entrance so we go through the back and go upstairs. Global is famous in Slovenia, it's kind of a pretty-person's/upper-class club. It located on top of a building, overlooking the city - quite stylish. Dragan says the drink of choice is the infamous Long Island IceTea - 6eu (which is apparently obscene in Slovenia) but super potent. Seriously. I was out of it in no time. Simon and Tinka (his gf) and one of her friends came as well, and had the pleasure of hanging out with us drunken lads... The decor/setup in Global was nice, but the music was pretty off. Lots of really old songs; though granted it was a 60s-70s themed night or something. But I mean, John Lennon's Imagine, whilst a great song, isn't exactly appropriate for a club:) After a while, we lose Dragon (as he said "every man for himself") and his mates, so Simon + crew decide to head to another club. I was completely mashed that it wasn't until we were outside that I realise I didn't have my phone. We go back in and _somehow_ Simon finds it on the ground. I totally owe him one. Then I can't find my ticket for the cloakroom. We go to another club, but I think the night was over. I then find my cloakroom ticket, so we go back (_again_) and get my jacket. Arrggghhh. Poor guys having to put up with me :S
 Boozing and the bowling alley | -798198.JPG) Party people @ Global |
Everyone I met in Slovenia was extremely nice and cool - made my trip awesome. Rok's family loaded me up with so many goodies, like pumpkin oil (amazing for salads), wine, honey, etc. So good. Hats off to Rok for arranging things (whilst sick) and his friends and family who went above and beyond to ensure that I had the best time possible in Slovenia. Land of dreams. Not far off! I will be back.
Check the pics here.
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