Never go to Slovenia

I was in a terrible state when I arrived in Ljubljana - whatever throat infection I had had robbed me of my voice. Luckily Branka, a friend I'd met in Argentina, did most of the talking.

My first day there we jumped in the car and drove a whole hour to Trieste, Italy. A 1€ mortadella roll from the supermarket was as enjoyable a lunch one could ask for, and a macchiato afterwards from one of illy's own cafe's (they're based in Trieste) was the best I'd had since leaving Aus. I must confess that the coffee's I was getting in Melbourne before I left, and what I get from my favourite cafe's in Sydney, are far superior to my taste buds to what I've had so far over here. But with this point it must be remembered that where I had been getting coffee's in Aus were the 'crema de la caffe' - the typical coffee's from these places was very rich, syrupy espresso, where as the roasts over here (so far) have been more mellow and rounded. And before anyone feels the need to attack me over the above comments, I think an important difference to note is that you're likely to get crap coffee in an overwhelming majority of cafe's in Aus, where as in Italy the median coffee quality is going to be satisfactorily high. The price of coffee also reflects a more historical, ingrained coffee culture in many of these euro countries, where you can get an espresso for around AU$1.50 - this should be ubiquitous.

We only had a short wander around Trieste. The piazza was quite grand, but the waters edge was mediocre, the city's prominence as an inustrial port city shining through.

Next stop was Koper, back in Slovenia, all of about 10 minutes away. It's another old Venician city, yet distinctly different for all of it's proximity to Italy. Of note was that it used to be an island but is now connected to the mainland. The main, old town consists of three main streets - I walked most of the city in 2 hours - but it's really lovely, all narrow, winding cobblestone lanes.

Only slightly further down the coast, we parked the car and walked around to Piran, another of Slovenia's three coastal towns. It was absolutely beautiful. Of course it was touristy, but only slightly so, it felt very casual and relaxed. We grabbed some take aways and enjoyed a beer up on the hill by an old citadel, with a view to the Italian coast line in one direction and the Croatian coast in the other. Seafood for dinner, right by the water, wasn't exorbidantly priced at all, and it went down well with some local Malvazija.

In Ljubljana, Branka's place was only 10 mins stroll from the city centre, which itself is only 20 mins walk across. It's a beautiful little city, with an extremely laid back casual feel - a rarity amongst European capitals - though it's population is only around 200,000. It just has such a great atmosphere, with plenty of bars lining the river; there are also some wonderful markets that are a fixture every day of the week. I can also say that I have never seen a greater concentration of beautiful women anywhere else in my life.

We went for a short day trip to Bohinj where I refused to pay 2.50€ to see a natural waterfall in a national park, but some barley stew 'with sausages' for lunch - a traditional Slovene alpine dish - was fantastic. Lake Bled was spectacular, but unfortunately the sun was nowhere to be seen. We watched Slovenia play USA in Bled. I particularly noted that noone clapped when USA scored - read what you will into that.

And that was pretty much Slovenia. I would have stayed longer for some hiking in their beautiful alps, but the weather has been incredibly average, so instead I've gone to Zagreb, capital of Croatia, for some culture (yes, I am having beers with a concentration of anglophiles). I am indebted to Branka, for putting my sick self up and showing me such a great side of Slovenia. So - Slovenia in summary? Well, you can't beat it really. An eclectic mix of Mediterranean, Continental and Balkan/Eastern Europe, all of which it borders. It's so nice and quiet compared to everything else 'round here'. So make sure you tell everyone, never go to Slovenia, stay well away, and it may maintain some of it's charm.