Chapter 3: Slovenia - In the Heart of Europe

Toto traveled around what used to be the country of Yugoslavia. About 15 years ago the country had a civil war, and as a result it split into several independent countries. I am writing separate chapters about each country I visited so that you can also learn about each one individually.

I traveled around parts of Slovenia, which is a small and beautifully diverse country located south of Austria and east of Italy. (Here is a picture of a street in the capital.) Find a globe or atlas and locate Slovenia on the map. Slovenia is almost in the middle of Europe, isn't it?  While most people have heard of Austria or Italy, fewer people know much about Slovenia because Slovenia is a fairly young country that only became independent in 1991. (If your map is old, you probably will  not see Slovenia, just Yugoslavia.  If so, ask a grown up to help you find a recent European map on-line.)

The two million Slovenians speak their own language, although for centuries they were part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and had to officially speak German. If they were not speaking Slovenian today, I might have thought I was in Austria or Switzerland, as Slovenia has tall mountains from the Alps mountain range that crosses those two countries as well.

Toto used to live in Switzerland where they stack all their firewood in VERY neat piles for the winter.  Well, they have the same tradition in Slovenia. Look how organized this Slovenian family has stacked their firewood this spring for next winter! Do you think it gets cold in Slovenia in the winter?

One of the cool things I did in the capital city of Ljubljana (pronounced LUBE-yana) was to stay in a hotel that used to he a prison. My room (which they called a cell) still had the bars on the window. Fortunately an artist had redecorated each cell individually so the hotel was comfortable and a bit funky. They also gave us the keys to our cells, so we were not locked into the cells like the previous residents of the prison. How would you like to be sent to your room if your room were a former prison cell?  Here is a picture of the hotel. Do you see the bars on the room windows?

Almost a hundred years ago there was a war in Europe called World War I.  Because of its location, Slovenia was the front line in the trench warfare between the Austro-Hungarian empire (of which Slovenia was a part in 1914 when the war started) and the Italians (who are just next door, remember). World  War I (often written as just WWI) was a brutal four-year war with no real winners, as each side was basically stuck fighting in trenches they dug into the ground. While I was bicycling outside of a Slovenian village one morning, I ran into some old WWI trenches. It was interesting to see them up close and to realize just how miserable it must have been for those soldiers to live in those trenches,  especially in the cold winter with all the snow.  Can you see the trenches in these pictures I took?

Many of you asked me to tell you what people eat in these countries. Because Slovenia is next to Italy, they also eat lots of pizza. When I ordered my pizza, the waiter asked if I wanted ketchup. I wasn't sure why, so I said, "Sure." He then put ketchup all over the top of my hot pizza! It was pretty good. I thought it was different to eat ketchup on my pizza. Try it next time you eat pizza, as it isn't so bad. I am sure Heinz would love that tradition to take off in the USA, but I doubt it will do so.

Next time someone mentions Slovenia and does not know much about it, will you be able to tell them where Slovenia is and something about it?

Slovenian Travel questions:

1. What is the capital of Slovenia?  Pronounce it.
2. What country was Slovenia part of just prior to its independence?
3. Where did Toto sleep in Slovenia? 
   A) a boat B) on his bicycle C) in a former prison cell D) at the Holiday Inn Ljubljana.
4. What is another way to spell "ketchup"?
5. How many Slovenians live in Slovenia?
6. What countries fought WWI trench warfare in Slovenia?
7. Name three countries in which the Alps mountain chain exists.

Global Citizen questions on Slovenia:

1. Can you draw a picture of you chopping and stacking firewood in Slovenia?
2. List all the countries in addition to Italy and Austria that border Slovenia. (Hint, there are four total.)
3. The small Slovenian coast line is on what sea?
4. In the Slovenian Alps they have a very tall ski jump at which the current world record ski jump of 243 meters was set.  If there are 3.28 feet in one meter, how many feet is the world record ski jump?
5. When was World War I? What were all the countries involved?  Who officially won the war?  Why is it called the "First World War"?
6. Describe how you would redecorate a prison cell to be a hotel room.