Home sweet home ♥

Slovenia

Planet Earth is a breathtaking place. Every little bit of it is so very unique and special, every corner is to be cherished and loved. Life is short and we strongly believe that we should do our best to visit as many different countries and landscapes as possible. It’s only a matter of priorities, hard work and determination. But sometimes it really is impossible to just pack our bags and leave. Life comes in the way – our jobs, relatives, children, money issues etc. That is the time when we should value the tiny part of the world that we call home.

‘Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have.’ – Rabbi Hyman Schachtel

Every part of the world is precious in its own way, so is yours – no matter where you come from. You just have to take a look around and see the simple beauty in it. It’s actually quite simple – beauty can be found anywhere – in a stone, a tree, a leaf, the sky, the clouds, the rain or the sun. You just have to open your eyes and hearts.

We are proud to present you the country where we grew up, the place we call home – Slovenia.

Zelenci

Facts about Slovenia: 

• Slovenia is a small (20,273 km2 or 7,827 sq mi) country in southern Central Europe.

• It has a population of only two million people.

• The land has been inhabited since prehistoric times, therefore it has a rich history.

• It borders Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. It has adopted parts of their cultures and cuisines and merged them into a very special and unique blend.

mangart

Piran Slovenia

Slovenia coast

• Geographically speaking, Slovenia is one of the most diverse countries in the world. It is the country where the Alps ‘kiss’ the Mediterranean. The Alps cover the Northern part of the country, while the small (approximately 46 km/28 mi) but beautiful Mediterranean coastline is located in the South-West. It also has a part of the large Pannonian plain and an amazing vast Karst region with a significant amount of caves and underground rivers. Our underground ecosystem is so extraordinary, that the term ‘Karst’ actually originated from the Slovene word ‘Kras’. Its underground waters are the home of a unique amphibian species, called the Olm or Proteus, which can only be found in the small area between Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• The country has a high biological diversity – it’s home to more than 1% of all living creatures and it’s also the country of origin of Lipizzaner (Lipicanec), which is a popular, elegant and strong horse breed.

Lipizzaner Lipica

• Slovenia is one of the greenest countries in the world – more than half of its territory is covered by forest.

• Slovenia was recently declared world’s first green country by the Netherlands-based organization Green Destinations. It was voted the world’s most sustainable country due to its promotion of environmental preservation, intact nature, biodiversity and high quality of life.

• Slovenia is also one of the most water-rich countries in Europe.

• Tourists tend to love our country mostly due to our pure drinkable water, which is nowadays a really rare and valuable asset.

Lake Jasna

• The eastern part of the country is rich with relaxing thermal spas, wellness centers, and water parks.

• You may be wondering if there are some world famous Slovenes. The answer is heck yes! 🙂 There are many remarkable athletes: Goran Dragić – a successful NBA player, Anže Kopitar – a professional ice hockey player and captain of the LA Kings, Tina Maze – the most successful female alpine ski racer of all times, Peter Prevc – the record holder in ski jumping, the skillful football goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who plays for the Spanish club Atlético Madrid, Luka Dončič – a young basketball prodigy, Tim Gajser – a professional motocross racer, Davo Karničar – the first man to ski down Mount Everest and Martin Strel – the long-distance swimmer, who holds the Guinness World Record for swimming the Danube, Mississippi, Yangtze and Amazon river (he does so for world peace and love and to raise awareness about pollution). There is also the eccentric philosopher Slavoj Žižek, Yuri Bradac (Jurij Bradač) – one of the few actors/models from Slovenia, who succeeded in Hollywood, the actress Katarina Cas, the famous avant-garde music group Laibach, oddly enough even the new first lady of the United States of America – Melania Trump and many more. 🙂

Vineyard Slovenia

• Slovenia is a wine-growing country. Countless vineyards and lots, really lots of wine make it a pretty jolly place to visit. 🙂 Maribor, which is the second largest town, is surrounded by vineyards and is the home of the world’s oldest grapevine. The grapevine is about 440 years old. Pretty cool, huh? 😉

Maribor

• According to The Legatum Institute, a London-based research institute, Slovenia is number 20 of the richest, healthiest, happiest, and most advanced countries in the world!

• With a very low crime rate, Slovenia is one of the most peaceful countries in the world.

• Our capital – Ljubljana is one of the world’s greenest and most livable capitals. Due to the car traffic restriction in the city center, a new bike-sharing system, and other environmental achievements Ljubljana won the European Green Capital Award for 2016. It has lots of big, wonderful parks, botanical gardens, and other green spots. With many watercourses, remarkable architecture, cool festivals and the dragon as the city symbol Ljubljana seems magical.

Ljubljana

• Speaking of magic – Slovenia is well known for its beautiful lakes, emerald rivers, breathtaking caves, endless vineyards, old European architecture, more than 170 castles, amazing mountain peaks, and romantic medieval coastal towns. And the fact that because of the country’s small territory you can experience all of this in one day really makes it a fairytale land.

Soča river

Predjama castle

Triglavska jezera

Piran view

• Slovenia is actually all about romance (and therefore it’s the perfect honeymoon destination): romantic sights, Slovene language, which is one of the very rare languages to use dual grammatical forms (ooh la la 🙂 ), the fact that the capital’s name ‘Ljubljana’ roughly translates to ‘the loved one’ and that Slovenia is the only country in the world with the word “love” in its name! How awesome is that?! 🙂

Lake bled

Check out how much beauty and diversity you can see in Slovenia in only one day in the video below. But to really be able to enjoy all of this (and much more), you should stay in our lovely country for at least a week.

Locations in the video:

5:20 am – Špičnik
6:25 am – Maribor
8:20 am – Unec River
9:00 am – Postojna Cave
9:50 am – Predjama Castle
11:10 am – Ljubljana
1:20 pm – Bled
2:40 pm – Jasna
3:40 pm – Down the road “Strmec na Predelu” in the Alps
4:20 pm – Virje Waterfall
5:00 pm – Soča River near Bovec
6:10 pm – Tolmin Gorges
7:40 pm – Lipica
8:30 pm – Piran
11:20 pm – Thermal Water Park Paradiso, Dobova

Well, what can we say … The grass apparently isn’t always greener on the other side. Not at all! So let’s all open our eyes and fall in love with the simple beauty of our own surroundings.
You are more than welcome to share the charms of your home country with us. 😉

And before you go – check out Slovenia’s top attractions. 😉