Michael Manske of Radio Slovenia International presents a nice radio show on how to become Slovene. Easy answer: Speak Slovene. Yes, but how. Listen to this (app. 4 minutes):

http://tvslo.si/predvajaj/kako-postanes-slovenec-how-to-become-slovene-1-del/ava2.155437318/

Danke an Dietmar, der auf eine Sendung auf SWR 1 über Maribor als Kulturhauptstadt verweist.

Hier zum Download.

Mehr über Maribor natürlich auch hier im Blog.

I don't get to Slovenia as much as I want anymore. So I was pleased that I not only went again last weekend, but also to a place I hadn't been before: Bovec.

It's in the mountains near the Italian border and decent spot for whitewater rafting, hiking, climbing, canyoning and all this mountain stuff.

I went rafting in the morning:





and downhill on a roller in the afternoon.

At this parking spot you take the lift to station B.



That's the red spot.


You then get on one of these things and roll downhill.



In between you take a break and enjoy the view.


Click to see panorama pic: bovec_xl (jpg, 90 KB)

P r e t t y cool.

I hadn't been to Ljubljana for ages, but on our way back from the coast we decided to stop for dinner.

The Prešeren Place was really busy. The Olympic Village was crowded and on stage Slovenian skier Tina Maze was giving an interview.

"Dober dan!"
"Dober dan - kontrola vinjet!", we got stopped at the Slovene Austrian border. Pay toll control. Everything ok.
"Nema problema!", I waved goodbye in Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin.

"Imaš nešto za mene?", our cleaning lady in the office asked me in Bosnian if I had dishes for her to take away.
"Samo malo Müll", I answered - just some garbage.
"What's that?", my colleague wanted to know, "pidgeon Latin?".

Kind of; it's getting confusing with all these languages.

For years I had wanted to see the caves in Škocjan, the Škocjanske jame. I heard they were spectacular, way more impressive than Postojna. To make it short: They are. In fact, they are breath-taking. Absolutely stunning.



Walk to the park first. Entry is free of charge. Go to the viewpoint and have a look into the hole where you are going to leave the caves again. The river is called Reka and flows through the caves.



You are not allowed to take pictures, and my camera doesn't even make it worth trying.
The caves are huge. 100 meters high in some parts, with the most beautiful stalagtites and stalagmites.



You will then take the tour through the caves with a guide. The entire tour takes about 1,5 hours. 14 Euros aren't cheap, but worth it.



Check out these miracles in the park.





Link
The Skocjan Caves [Slo, Eng, De, Ita, Fra]

In Piran - where we saw the sun and breathed the Adriatic sea, had the fish plate for two and the pršut starter, where I remembered that I hadn't been to Slovenija for too long and where the Slovene dialect isn't as bad as in Ljubljana.
























Click to see panorama pic piran_xl (jpg, 49 KB)

Thursday night in Vienna.
"Let's go somewhere this weekend."
"Sure."
"What about Italy?"
"What about Slovenia?"


Click to enlarge: piran_fischer_xl (jpg, 113 KB)

With the entire motorway finished to the coast and no border controls anymore it was only a four hour drive for my favorite American and I from Vienna to Koper and 10 more minutes to Piran. For the first time in years I met someone (apartment owner) who didn't speak English and German and who had to communicate in Slovene with me (eternal first grade Slovene student). Well, I got what we needed including some fantastic sunshine.



See the mountains in the background? That's Italy.


More to come. We also visited the absolutely spectacular caves in Škocjan.

The new CD is being released 21 November. Was about time, guys.