A Lucky Country

It’s the Balkan country that didn’t go to war and is Now becoming a top holiday destination with natural and cultural treasures  that stretch from the mountains to the sea.

Words and Photographs: Don Fuchs

IT IS GLUTTONY, admittedly, and has nothing to do with the need for food. It is all about pleasuring the palate, satisfying culinary curiosity and breaking all the rules of a balanced diet. The scene of this debauchery is the Gostilna Lectar in the historic town of Radovljica near Bled in northern Slovenia. The gostilna, a 500-year-old rustic country inn, serves refined traditional northern Slovenian food that can bring a mountain farmer back to life after strenuous work in high altitudes – pickled tongue, smoked hog’s stomach with horseradish, Karst ham (pršut), upper Carniola sausages, porcini soup, roast veal with buckwheat noodles, grilled vegetables, blood pudding … After three sinful hours, lunch finishes with apple strudel, a shot glass of home-made blueberry liqueur and a spontaneous mouth-organ session of folk music by restaurant owner Jože Andrejos.

Slovenians enjoy life. Music, food and laughter are in their blood. They have good reason for theirs seems to be a lucky country. When Yugoslavia started to fall apart and the Balkans descended into war, Slovenia emerged as an independent country, virtually unharmed. After demanding independence from Yugoslavia’s strong man Slobodan Milosevic, tension was high for ten long days with Belgrade’s army ready to squash the small country with brutal force, but in the end Milosevic set his sights on other Balkan states.

Most Slovenians believe that because of the lack of the ethnic and religious problems that plague the other Balkan countries, only two handfuls of casualties were the price Slovenia had to pay for independence. “There was no history of hate,” says Jože Mulej, owner of a large dairy farm near Bled, who has diversified his business by renting rooms and apartments to tourists. “We have a different culture, history and character. Now we are proudly drinking coffee together with Serbs and Croats.”  

Since the end of hostilities, Slovenia has been working its way up the ranks of top European holiday destinations. Although neighbouring Croatia, whose coastal regions were also relatively unaffected by the war, is still stealing the limelight, Slovenia’s star is on the rise. A tiny country even by European standards, Slovenia has astonishing variety and great beauty to offer. Throw a substantial dose of culture and heritage into the mix and there’s a compact country made for tourism.

When Slovenia became independent in 1991, mountaineers climbed the mighty limestone pyramid of Triglav (2864m), the country’s highest mountain, to raise the national flag. Most of Slovenia’s high mountains are within the border of the Triglav National Park, a large alpine nature reserve in the north-west corner of the country. But you don’t have to be a skilled mountaineer to experience the grandeur of Slovenia’s alpine face.

The park is crisscrossed by an extensive network of roads and walks of all grades. From the picturesque town of Bled, itself one of the country’s major attractions where Tito once holidayed in a lavish villa, the national park is relatively close by. The walk through the wild Vintgar Gorge is an invigorating afternoon’s stroll. But to get at least a glimpse of Triglav, follow local advice. “The best view to Triglav is from one of the peaks above the Pokljuka Plateau,” says Jože Mulej. He suggests a walk to the mountain hut of Blejska Koca. From the hut a steep climb leads to the top of the almost-2000-metre-high Lipanjski mountain. Directly opposite, divided only by a deep valley, looms the mighty Triglav. “On the way back,” he says, “stop at the hut. They serve goulash with polenta, barley soup and schnapps made from the roots of a native gentian.”

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