On Tuesday the 26th we decided to do something entirely new and drove to the Slovenian Adriatic Coast. While Croatia is more famous for its Dalmatian Coast, with Split and Dubrovnik, Slovenia has a small coastline along the Adriatic Sea as well. Having never seen the Adriatic before, I was somewhat unsure of what to expect as we drove toward Piran, a small seaside town on the southern part of the coast. Leaving Bled behind, I fell asleep on some point on the autobahn and woke up as we neared the coast, feeling as though I had been transported into Tuscany. The part of Slovenia along the Adriatic is an entirely different Slovenia from that around Lake Bled; this area, which is very near the Italian city of Trieste, was once ruled by Venice and has retained its Italian influences. Indeed, every road or street sign was in both Slovenian and Italian, and in some places along the coast, I read that Slovenian only replaced Italian as the majority language in the mid-twentieth century. Arriving in Piran, we parked our car at the top of a hill, as the town is situated on a hill sloping up from the sea, which is on both sides of the town (it's on a peninsula). From the outskirts of town, we walked into the main square, where the architecture was very Italianate in style. We then wandered up some side streets (up being the operative word), climbing higher and higher until we reached the church at the top of town, from which point we had a wonderful view over the town and out towards the sea. Enjoying the views, we had a picnic lunch at the top of the town; after two weeks of chilly Berlin, I also greatly enjoyed the Mediterranean sun and warmth!
After lunch, we walked back down to the main part of town, and proceeded out along the sea to the lighthouse at the farthest point of town. Along the way, I tested the water, which was very chilly, to say that I've touched the Adriatic, although I'm not sure that I actually would want to go swimming and immerse my whole body in that cold water. At the point of the town, near the lighthouse, I climbed some rocks to get a good view of Piran's surroundings, all of which seem to be straight out of Tuscany, Umbria, or the French Riviera. With the double Slovenian and Italian road signs, it was hard to believe at times that we were still in Slovenia, and had not crossed the border into Italy. On our way back into town, we stopped for gelato before making our way back to our car.
Leaving Piran, we headed north to Nova Gorica, which is on the Soca (Isonzo) River, and then up into the hill country to look at Slovenia's vineyard region. Here again, with the hill towns, narrow roads, and vineyards, Slovenia feels amazingly like Tuscany. After winding our way through several small towns, we decided to stop at a hill town called Smartno, and walked around; Smartno was quite picturesque, but very quiet (almost deserted), as if few people lived there anymore, although the buildings were all very well-kept and newly renovated. From Smartno, we decided to turn back toward Bled, and wound our way out of the hill country back through Nova Gorica, at which point we were very close to Italy, as Nova Gorica is the Slovenian side of the Italian city of Gorizia (as with Gorlitz in Germany and Zgorzelec in Poland). Returning to Bled through a rainstorm, we had dinner at a Slovenian-style Gasthaus, which was very good.
As we walked around Piran today, I noticed that German and English are still everywhere. I also noticed during our car travels that Slovenia seems to be a pretty prosperous country, on the upswing, instead of on the down-and-out. People on the roads seem to drive nice cars, and most towns seem to be well-kept, although cities such as Nova Gorica still have communist-era apartment blocks that are eyesores. Driving around Slovenia, it feels difficult to believe that it was ever part of communist Yugoslavia (except when you see socialist architecture); it's as if, upon becoming independent in 1990, Slovenia shrugged off its past entirely, not falling victim to the same nostalgia for communist days that countries in the old Soviet bloc have struggled with. In some ways, parts of eastern Germany still feel more ex-communist than Slovenia, although I can't quite explain why.
Next up, Ljubljana! Stay tuned!
After lunch, we walked back down to the main part of town, and proceeded out along the sea to the lighthouse at the farthest point of town. Along the way, I tested the water, which was very chilly, to say that I've touched the Adriatic, although I'm not sure that I actually would want to go swimming and immerse my whole body in that cold water. At the point of the town, near the lighthouse, I climbed some rocks to get a good view of Piran's surroundings, all of which seem to be straight out of Tuscany, Umbria, or the French Riviera. With the double Slovenian and Italian road signs, it was hard to believe at times that we were still in Slovenia, and had not crossed the border into Italy. On our way back into town, we stopped for gelato before making our way back to our car.
Leaving Piran, we headed north to Nova Gorica, which is on the Soca (Isonzo) River, and then up into the hill country to look at Slovenia's vineyard region. Here again, with the hill towns, narrow roads, and vineyards, Slovenia feels amazingly like Tuscany. After winding our way through several small towns, we decided to stop at a hill town called Smartno, and walked around; Smartno was quite picturesque, but very quiet (almost deserted), as if few people lived there anymore, although the buildings were all very well-kept and newly renovated. From Smartno, we decided to turn back toward Bled, and wound our way out of the hill country back through Nova Gorica, at which point we were very close to Italy, as Nova Gorica is the Slovenian side of the Italian city of Gorizia (as with Gorlitz in Germany and Zgorzelec in Poland). Returning to Bled through a rainstorm, we had dinner at a Slovenian-style Gasthaus, which was very good.
As we walked around Piran today, I noticed that German and English are still everywhere. I also noticed during our car travels that Slovenia seems to be a pretty prosperous country, on the upswing, instead of on the down-and-out. People on the roads seem to drive nice cars, and most towns seem to be well-kept, although cities such as Nova Gorica still have communist-era apartment blocks that are eyesores. Driving around Slovenia, it feels difficult to believe that it was ever part of communist Yugoslavia (except when you see socialist architecture); it's as if, upon becoming independent in 1990, Slovenia shrugged off its past entirely, not falling victim to the same nostalgia for communist days that countries in the old Soviet bloc have struggled with. In some ways, parts of eastern Germany still feel more ex-communist than Slovenia, although I can't quite explain why.
Next up, Ljubljana! Stay tuned!