Slovenia - Triglav, Ljubljana, Bled & the Adriatic Coast

Slovenia is a peculiar little country with magnificent nature and a high standard of living - a Switzerland on the Adriatic. Just like Switzerland it knows division on the linguistic basis - the balmy coastal areas, once Venetian possession, are Italian-speaking while the Austrian-influenced Alpine inland is, surprise, more German-speaking. That is not to forget about the national language Slovenian, which to me sounds somewhat akin to the word usage of 8th century Russian epic stories - bylinas.

Back in Austro-Hungary, the chancellor would show up at a parliament meeting with not such a thick book containing the whole body of Slovenian literature to prove his point that education in national languages is, well, pointless, but nowadays Slovenian is a language in its own right.

You can see the Italianesque-Germanic cultural division in the food, architecture, even people's facial types as you travel through Slovenia.

• the twee Slovenian town of Ptuj with its highly decorative churches and Jugendstil apartment buildings;
• a night at a 700-year old (still functional) mill in Slovenian mountains - sampling herbal spirits with the miller and having breakfast on the terrace (trying my macaronic Slovenian on our host was also fun - the lingo is not unsimilar to the language of Russian heroic fables from about 1,200 years ago!)
  
• the Predjama Castle built in a cave;
• rustic scenery on Slovenian byways;
• fish platter on a very Venetian piazza in Izola, Slovenia;
• the gentle coastline and Italianesque villas of Slovenian Adriatic;
  
• driving through a mountain passage at 1,611 meters above the sea level;
• frolicking on a glacier, spotting waterfalls and vantage viewpoints, sunbathing, admiring the alpine flora and fauna, drinking crystal clear water in the stunning Triglav National Park in the Julian Alps;
• Slovenian mountain villages;
  
• the way too photogenic Bled Lake;
  
• Slovenian Culture Festival and night lighting in Ljubljana;
• a basketful of wild strawberries at a Ljubljana fresh market;
• huuuuge Slovenian lunches and equally huge Slovenian dinners;
  
• the picturesque city of Maribor that boasts world's oldest grapevine;

• Austro-Hungary - In The Wake Of A Bygone Realm
• Free Port Trieste, Miramare Palace & Nudist Beaches
  
• Graz - The Northernmost Italian Renaissance City
• Hungarian Countryside - Wine, Hot Springs & Palaces
• Budapest - Figaro, Turkish Baths & The Synagogue