Hey, there. Have you ever heard of Slovenia?
Slovenia is a small country (20 273 square kilometres) bordering on 4 bigger countries: Italy in the west, Austria in the north, Hungary in the northeast and Croatia on the east and south. It has only about 2 million inhabitants, which speak Slovene (or Slovenian), the official language which belongs to the Slavic language group and is related to Croatian, Serbian, Polish, Czech and even Russian. The capital city is called Ljubljana and it has around 293 000 inhabitants.
Some people like to call Slovenia “Svet v malem” (a whole world in a little place), because it has so many different characteristics depending on where you go. We have the sea and the Mediterranean climate in the southwest, where you can go for a swim in the sea on one of the many locations our 46,6 km long riviera has to offer. In the north-western part, you can go for a hike in the mountains (the highest mountain in Slovenia, Triglav, is 2 864 m high), visit the picturesque Soča valley where The Chronicles of Narnia were also filmed, go for a ride with a traditional boat called “Pletna” on the lake Bled and visit the magnificent island on the middle of it. The north-eastern part of Slovenia is a part of the Panonian basin, there you can visit the oldest Slovenian town Ptuj, especially in the winter when the carnival masks take over the town. The south-eastern part is known also as one of the three wine regions that Slovenia has. It offers a beautiful landscape for taking pictures and of course enjoying a glass of high-quality wine.
Soča river (Source: I Feel Slovenia)
Slovenia also has a lot of natural spas with their own hot springs where you can enjoy, relax and let yourself be spoiled with massages, saunas and baths. You will never want to leave them. But, if you ever do, you can go on an underground adventure. Around 43% of the Slovenian territory is of karst (we even have a plateau called Karst, which gave the name to the underground world all over the place). You can visit many caves in Slovenia, the most famous Postojna cave with the “human fish” (Proteus Anguinus) or Škocjan caves, which are protected under UNESCO World Heritage for their beauty.
One last fun fact: Did you know that Slovenia is one of the few countries that their border line looks like an object? Take a look at a picture of Slovenia. What does it remind you of?
Slovenian relief (Source: Zaplana.net)
Did you say chicken? Well, you were right. ;)
There is actually a legend about a chicken named Fani, which was one of the “kokosaurs” (a subspecies of dinosaurs, which looked like big hens). When she was roaming around the world, she found this undiscovered place, which had everything, from tall, beautiful mountains, green hills, lots of emerald waters, sea to rich wildlife and tasty food. She called it a true paradise on Earth. So, she decided to lay there and enjoy in this beautiful land. It is not known what had happened to her afterwards, but we do know that where she took a nap, she left her imprint and that is why our country is shaped like a chicken. (J. Bogataj)
Now, did I get your attention and interest in this beautiful and picturesque country? Well, stay tuned for more fun facts and information for you next visit to Slovenia! ;)
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