Slovenia (Slovenija) is a country in Central Europe that lies in the eastern Alps at the northeastern end of the Adriatic Sea. Despite its small size, with Austria to the north, Italy to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast and Croatia to the south, Slovenia has a surprising variety of terrain, ranging from the beaches of the Mediterranean to the peaks of the Julian Alps.
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UnderstandSlovenia is promoted by the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Slovenian Government. HistorySlavic ancestors of Slovenians came from eastern parts of Europe and inhabitated territory a bit northern from present Slovenian territory in 6. century AD. They established a state called Caranthania (Karantanija in Slovene), which was an early example of parliamentary democracy in Europe. The ruler (knez in Slovene) was elected by popular vote. The Caranthanians were later defeated by Bavarians and Franks who subordinated them. They were christianized, but they preserved many rituals of their pagan religion, and above all they preserved their native language. The Slovene lands were part of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria under Habsburg dinasty until 1918 when the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new south-Slavic state ruled by Serbian Karadjordjević dynasty called Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians ("Kraljevina Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev" in Slovene), renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. In WWII Slovenia was occupied by Germans, Italians and Hungarians. Parallel civil war between pro-communist liberation formation (Partizani) and catholic anticommunist formations (Belogardisti, Domobranci)which collaborated with occupation forces was taking place. The victory of allies and consequentlly the Partizans resulted in massive exodus and massacre of members of anticommunist formations. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though Communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power of the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 with minimal bloodshed. In 2004, Slovenia joined the European Union and NATO.
Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy make Slovenia a leading country among the new members of the EU and NATO. Culture
For a pint-sized country Slovenes are fiercely proud of their culture. Two names you will run into over and over again are national poet France Prešeren (1800-1849), who penned (among other things) the Slovenian national anthem, and the architect Jože Plečnik (1857-1957), credited with Ljubljana's iconic Tromostovje bridges and, seemingly, half the modern buildings in the country. In modern times, industrial band Laibach (see box) has served to put Slovenia on the map. ClimateMediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east. TerrainA short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an Alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountain and valleys with numerous rivers to the east. Central Ljubljana valley with Ljubljana marshes in the southern part. In the southwest there is the Karst (Kras in Slovene) (where the name for karst topography actually comes from).
Get inAs Slovenia is a member country of the European Union, citizens from other member states can enter Slovenia with a valid passport or a valid identity card. By busThe Ljubljana Bus Station (Avtobusna Postaja Ljubljana) provides composite information about international and airport bus services. Phone: 090 93 42 30 (Slovenian only) English Website: http://ap-ljubljana.si/eng/ By planeSlovenia's primary international airport is Ljubljana Brnik [3] which is around 25 km north of Ljubljana, the capital. The airport is the hub of national carrier Adria Airways, which flies to most major European cities and various Balkan destinations. The cheapest ways in, though, are via easyJet's daily flight from London Stansted or Wizz Air's services to London Luton and Brussels. Another convenient gateway especially to western Slovenia is via Italy's Trieste airport which is but an hour's drive from Ljubljana via super highway. Klagenfurt, in Austria, is also an option. By trainSlovenia is well connected to all its neighbors by train. The most popular routes connect from Wien in Austria (in good weather, this journey across the Julian Alps is spectacular), from Venice and Trieste in Italy, from Budapest in Hungary and from Zagreb in Croatia. All lines converge on the capital Ljubljana. By carSlovenia has an excellent highway network connected to neighboring countries. From Austria
From Italy
By boatGet aroundSlovenia is a small country — there are no domestic flights — and getting around is generally quick and painless. However, the explosive growth in car ownership has meant tougher times for public transport, and bus schedules in particular have been slashed, so some planning ahead is required. Services are sparse on Saturdays and very limited indeed on Sundays. By train
Slovenia's train network, operated by Slovenske železnice (SZ) [4] will get you to most destinations in the country, although there are some annoying gaps in the network and routes can be circuitous, so going from anywhere to anywhere usually requires a transfer in Ljubljana. Trains are, however, some 30% cheaper than buses and return discounts are available on weekends. Buy tickets before you board, as there's a surcharge for any tickets bought from the conductor. A €1.20 surcharge also applies to any InterCity trains. Quite a bit of money and effort has been put into modernizing the system and the newest trains are as nice as anything you'll find in Western Europe, but the stations themselves are often not quite up to scratch. In particular, the name of the station is typically only visible on a single sign on the station building itself, so figuring out where you are means craning your neck a lot. Trains are punctual though, so check the expected arrival time and some previous station names to be sure where to get off. For figuring out your next train from a station, electronic signboards are a rarity (outside Ljubljana), but printed schedules are always available: odhod (yellow) means departures, while prihod (white) is arrivals. By busBuses fill in the gaps, and may be a better option for some towns not directly served from Ljubljana by train (eg. Bled, Piran). Some bigger stations have handy electronic search engines for schedules and fares. By carSlovenia's roads are for the most part well maintained and well signposted, and you won't have a problem if you drive or hire a car. Having a car certainly does add a level of mobility and self direction that you won't get by train or bus. By taxi
TalkSlovenian, the national language, is spoken as mother tongue by 91% of the population, but there are also significant Italian (concentrated on the Primorska coast) and Hungarian (in Prekmurje to the northeast) minorities. Most people you come into contact with as a tourist, especially younger ones, will speak English, and if not they'll almost certainly speak either Italian or German or both. BuyThe local currency is the Slovenian tolar (SIT), which trades at around 240 to the euro. Prices are high compared to eastern neighbors (except Croatia), but cheap compared to Italy or Austria. Slovenia will adopt the Euro on January 1st, 2007, so all prices are already (by law) also displayed in euros, and many (but not all) establishments will also accept payment in them. A value-added tax of 8.5% is charged on most things you buy, but this is always included in the displayed price. TippingThe flip side to the near-disappearance of Communist-style "service with a snarl" is that tips are now expected at sit-down restaurants, with 10% considered standard. EatNot too many people come to Slovenia for the food, but with Italian, Hungarian and Balkan influences most people will find something to their liking — unless they're strict vegetarians. CuisineGenerally speaking, Slovenian food is heavy, meaty and plain. A typical three-course meal starts with a soup (juha), often just beef or chicken broth with egg noodles, and then a meat dish served with potatoes (krompir) and a vinegary fresh salad (solata). Fresh bread (kruh) is often served on the side and is uniformly delicious. Common mains include cutlets (zrezek), sausage (klobasa) and goulash (golaž), all usually prepared from pork, but there is a large choice of fish (ribe) and seafood even further away from the coast. Popular Italian imports include all sorts of pasta (testenine), pizza (pica), ravioli (žlikrofi) and risotto (rižota). A major event in the countryside still today is the slaughtering of a pig from which many various products are made: blood sausage, roasts, stuffed tripe, smoked sausage, salami (salama), ham (šunka) and bacon. Recipes for the preparation of poultry, especially turkey (puran), goose (gos), duck, and capon, have been preserved for many centuries. Chicken (piščanec) is surprisingly uncommon. Uniquely Slovenian dishes are available, but you won't find them on every menu, so here are some to look out for:
Some Slovenian desserts can also be found:
Places to eat At the top of the food chain is the restavracija, a fancy restaurant with waiters and tablecloths. More common in the countryside are the gostilna and gostišče, rustic inns serving hearty Slovene fare. Lunch sets (dnevno kosilo) cost around €7 for three courses (soup, salad and main) and are usually good value. Fast food, invariably cheap, greasy and (more often than not) terrible — it's best to steer clear of the local mutation of the hamburger — is served up in grills and snack bars known as bife or okrepčevalnica, where trying to pronounced the name alone can cause indigestion. Greasy Balkan grills like pljeskavica (a spiced-up hamburger patty) and čevapčiči (spicy meatballs) are ubiquitous, but one of the more tasty if not healthy options is the Bosnian speciality burek, a large, flaky pastry stuffed with meat (mesni), cheese (sirni) or apple (jabolčni), often sold for as little as €2. Dietary restrictionsSlovenia is not the easiest of places for a vegetarian, although even the smokiest inn can usually whip up a decent fresh salad (solata) on request. Some dumplings and other dishes with cheese (sir) are vegetarian, and in the cities the Mediterranean chick-pea staple falafel and its cousin the dreaded vegiburger have made some inroads on fast-food menus. DrinkIn proper Slovene style, all bases are covered for drinks and you can get very good Slovenian beers, wines and spirits. Tap water is generally drinkable. Coffee and teaIn Slovenia, coffee (kava) usually means a tiny cup of strong espresso, and cafes (kavarna) are a common sight with a basic cuppa costing around €1. Tea (čaj) is nowhere near as popular and, if they do drink it, Slovenes prefer all sorts of fruit-flavored and herbal teas over a basic black cuppa. BeerBeer (pivo) is the most popular tipple and the main brands are Laško and Union. An inside tip would be Adam Ravbar beer, which is usually hard to find anywhere except in their small brewery. A bottle or jug will cost you on the order of €1.5 in a pub (pivnica). Ask for veliko (large) for 0.5L and malo (small) for 0.3L. WineDespite what you might think if you've ever sampled an exported sickly sweet Riesling, Slovenian wine (vino) can be quite good — they keep the best stuff for themselves. A specialty worth sampling is Cviček, a red so dry and light it's almost a rosé. Wine is usually priced and ordered by the decilitre (deci, pronounced "de-tsee"), with a deci around one euro and a normal glass containing about two deci. SpiritsA Slovene brandy known as žganje, not unlike the Hungarian palinka, can be distilled from almost any fruit. Medeno žganje also known as medica has been sweetened with honey. SleepHostelsThere are many hostels in and around Ljubljana, the average price for a basic bed in a dorm was around 20-30euros but places seemed to accept Hostelling International Cards (YHA cards are accepted). Information on where to find youth hostels is very easily available from the Tourist Information offices. Amongst the best hostels around Slovenia can be found in the Triglav National Park where there are many 'Mountain Huts' which are very warm, welcoming and friendly. Again, information about these huts can be found at tourist information offices who will also help you plan your walks around the area and phone the hostels to book them for you. The only way to get to the huts is by foot, and expect a fair bit of walking up hills, as the lowest huts are around 700m up. There are clear signs/information around stating how long it will take to travel to/between all the huts indicated in hours. CampingCamping is not permitted in the national parks of Slovenia, but there are various camping grounds around which charge on average around 3000 tollars per night. It's advisable to take a camping mat of some sort as nice comfortable grass is a luxury at camp sites, your much more likely to find pitches consisting of small stones. LearnSlovenia has three universities (Ljubljana, Maribor, Koper) and several independent colleges (BSA Kranj, IEDC Bled, Politehnika Nova Gorica...). The University of Ljubljana also contains 3 art academies: Theater and Film, Music, Fine Arts. WorkIt's possible for English-speaking graduates to get work in a Slovene school teaching English for around a year in a scheme similar to Japan's JET programme. Stay safePhone Nr.: Emergency 112 Phone Nr.: Police 113 NOTE: Slovenia is most likely one of the safest countries to visit, but to be aware of your surroundings. TIVOLI PARK (Ljubljana): The park is generally very safe, and a great place to take an afternoon stroll, but rapes have been reported in Tivoli park after dark, and flashers are know to hang around the Eastern side of the Park across from the student dormitories. Horse mounted police patrol the park. DISCOTEQUES: People may get a bit aggressive in crowded bars, and it's not uncommon to be grabbed or groped. Stay healthyThere are no unusual health concerns in Slovenia. Hygience standards are generally high and tap water is potable. RespectSlovenians are a bit more reserved than neighboring nations but after first contact they get quite open and helping. Don't hesitate to address people. People younger than 50 at least understand English if not speak and they will be eager to help you. You will impress them when using some basic Slovene words. Slovene is rarely spoken by foreigners, so your effort will be appreciated and rewarded. Slovenians are proud of the fact that they preserved their national identity (especially the language) in spite of the pressures from neighbouring non-Slavic nations in past centuries. Due to their economic successs and historical as well as contemporary cultural bonds to the west they don't like their country to be described as part of "Eastern Europe". Another common misconception is that Slovenia was part of the Soviet Bloc (in fact it was part of Yugoslavia that notoriously split with the Soviets back in 1948). People have no problems talking about the communist period and get often nostalgic over it. They are also proud that they were the first of the federal republics to declare independence from Yugoslavia. There are some open territorial issues with Croatia. Be careful if entering a discussion on this subject. Nationalists take it quite emotionally! Another delicate issue is Slovenian civil war during WWII. This national tragedy is still painful for many Slovenians. Try to stay neutral if discussing it. Practical advice: - If you are invited to dinner to someone's home bring a bottle of good wine. You will often be asked if you want to change to slippers when you arrive. You should accept it. It's a gesture of hospitality. It's expected to give a compliment to a cook. Do it before you are asked if you liked the meal! - It's normal that you shake your hand when introduced to someone. Don't try to make a kiss when introduced. It might be considered intrusive. - Always use formal forms ("vikanje" in Slovene) in any language you use when addressing elderly people. Otherwise some might not want to talk to you. - Slovenian Alps (especially the highest peak Triglav) are in the heart of every Slovenian. Don't litter unless you want to listen to unpleasant comments. It's common to greet people you meet in the mountains in Slovene (Dober dan) and when you part you say Good luck (Srečno). You can expect people you meet to be very friendly and helpful to you. There is a strong spirit of camaraderie in the mountains. Contact
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