My country is celebrating 27th birthday today - I am proud Slovenian!

Today (25th of June 2018) Slovenia celebrates 27th birthday or to be more formal: it is 27th anniversary of our independence. We are fairly young country. Such a festive day seems like the right one for writing this blog.

^Slovenia

I am guessing that many of you do not know much about Slovenia, so this blog could be useful and interesting read.

Where is Slovenia?

Slovenia lies in the Central part of Europe and our 4 neighboring countries are Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. Slovenia has roughly 2 million inhabitants that live on an area of 20.273 km² (7.827 miles²). To make it simple for you... it is 15 times smaller than Italy. We have 46,6 km (29 miles) of coast on the Adriatic Sea. Disappointed? Do not be... Many interesting things to see and do here... It is versatile mini country and being small and tiny is part of our charm and beauty!

Most famous sights to see or know about

Slovenia has a lot of mountains. Mount Triglav, the highest peak, rises to 9,393 ft (2,864 m).

^{Triglav is highest mountain of Slovenia

Source}

So there are only mountains there? Nope. Slovenia is a very interesting and diverse country and it is the only country in Europe that combines the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pannonian Plain and the Karst.

Karst area is very specific and known for many caves. Škocjan Caves are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List. But more famous and visited is Postojna cave.

^{Postojna Cave

Source}

The largest lake in Slovenia is Lake Bohinj. More visited is Lake Bled. They both are worth to see.

^{Lake Bohinj

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Areas along the coast are already in a warm Mediterranean climate. If you come and visit us, go to Piran (at least). Nice are also Portorož, Koper and Izola. Check out what jewels are hidden on only 46,6 kilometers of our Adriatic Sea coast!

^{Piran

Source}

Lots of forest and clean water here in Slovenia

Over 56% of the Slovenian territory is covered in woods, which places Slovenia among 3 most wooded countries in Europe. You can find many rivers, as many as 260 waterfalls and most of these places are offering a possibility for water sports too. River Soča is very likely the most beautiful river in Slovenia and it is also famous for being the site where some scenes from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian were filmed.

^{Soča River

Source}

Capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia. The Triple Bridge is one of the main symbols of Ljubljana. It was designed by Jože Plečnik, in 1929. Jože Plečnik has left many architectural signature buildings here in Ljubljana. The city is lively and beautiful. Most people in Ljubljana enjoy socializing and drinking coffee/wine/beer in the cafes by the Ljubljanica River.

^{Triple Bridge in Ljubljana

Source}

Very short history of Slovenia

The Slovene lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the World War I. In 1918, the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, which was named Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia. After 40 years of living in Yugoslavia there were too many tensions and different views on future of Yugoslavia. So Slovenia wanted to leave Yugoslavia. We succeeded in establishing our own independent country in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Today (25th of June 2018) is our 27th birthday.

For some more serious information about the economy and such...

In a few sentences: Slovenia is strong in pharmaceutical industry, car industry, and tourism. To be more exact: the top manufacturing exporting industries in Slovenia are chemicals and chemical products (CHM),
fabricated metals (FMB) and machinery equipment (MEQ). Reflecting the outward orientation of Slovenia, almost all industries are highly export orientated.
We are part of European Union since 2004 and in 2007 we became a member with all rights and obligations (so also Euro as currency and Schengen area member). Our currency is Euro. Our economic growth is currently among top 3 in Europe and level of unemployment is low. For details and more thorough info you can go to Eurostat forecast or you can read an article about what changed since our independence.

Good to know...

I will share also some info and interesting facts for anybody who intends to come and visit us:

Slovenian anthem – Zdravljica – is unusual, because instead of glorifying one single country as most of the anthems it's lyrics (written by greatest Slovenian poet France Prešeren) hopes that all nations will live in peace. You can hear it here and read English lyrics while listening to it..
Slovenian language is one of few languages in the world where dual form still exists. It can be of course sweet and romantic: you just say “midva” and everyone understands that you mean "two of us". At the same time, for foreigners, it’s one more source of pain when they learn Slovenian language. BTW: nearly 2 million of Slovenes speak in 32 regional dialects.
Although every region in Slovenia has its own specialties, most of Slovenia’s oldest traditional dishes are made using flour, buckwheat, or barley, as well as potatoes and cabbage. Also, lots of meat is eaten here, but I am vegan so let us not dig into it... As a vegan, I can tell that Ljubljana is very well covered with vegan and vegetarian restaurants and places.
We are very proud of our sportsmen and women in different sports: basketball (we are a current champion on Euro Basket), skiing (Tina Maze), handball (we won the bronze medal on world championship in 2017 in France) to list only some recent successes.

^{Slovenia won Euro Basket in 2017}

How are we seen from the "visitor's eyes"?

I found this article from Telegraph, where you can find all 18 fascinating facts about Slovenia. I picked a few of them and others you can read on your own:

Apparently, we are tall, old and like to smoke and drink wine. (I am tall, getting old, I do not smoke, I like a glass of good wine :)
We are one of the world’s most environmentally-friendly nations.
It is not too expensive here.
Bees are popular here and we like honey (well, not vegans...).
We are seen as people who do not like to quarrel. Well.. most Slovenians would start to quarrel on this one :)

Thank you for reading this and if you have additional questions or comments, you are very welcome!