Sitting home in my warm kitchen feels good. I travelled 12 hours changing trains in Munich and Nuremberg. It was as long as a flight to San Francisco, but I enjoyed it anyway. The old-fashioned slow-motion journey took me through the beautiful snowy alpine landscapes of Slovenia, Austria and Bavaria. Here in Saxony, it's -10 degree Celsius outside, finally the winter hit Germany. Not much snow in my garden, though. This is my last post - after 4 months writing for the BTPS blog, it is time for some closing words. I've seen most of the chicken: the heart, the bottom, one foot, the back and the throat. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the head which is one good reason to come back :-). You don't know what I'm talking about? Look at the map and then you'll see...
I now have a pretty good picture about Slovenia's variety:
I discovered amazing natural phenomena like the sinking lake, I tasted eco wine and home-made food in some vineyards and medieval villages, I spoke to employees of the Slovenian Tourist Board about innovative strategies, I enjoyed the Christmas "wonderworld" in Ljubljana, I joined the "Days of Slovenian tourism" and learned more about the future development strategy of tourism, I could experience authentic tourism on the coast and on the edge of the Karst, I shared my experiences with "Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme" during several occasions, fairs, presentations and even on TV, I stayed at one of the most innovative hotels of Europe in the Slovenian Alps and talked to the director of this tourism area and travelled to "bravest city in the world" Maribor (this years European Cultural Capital) and finally saw one of Slovenia's many castles.
Slovenia has it all: mountains, caves, coast, vinyards, flat land and forests. All within a 1-2 hour drive. The landscape outside the two biggest cities Ljubljana and Maribor is rather unpopulated and untouched. Not even wind turbines. Sometimes I felt like being put back in time. I spent my last weekend in Ljubljana by walking up the castle hill together with my Slovenian friend and enjoyed a cappucino afterwards on the oldest skyscraper Ljubljana's with a beautiful view to the city. I also went to the "Alpe-Adria Tourism and Leisure Show", one of the biggest fairs in the whole region, to see what the neighbour countries have to offer and I met some old friends: the NEC-team from Cerknica and Nina and Matjaž from Autentica.
I want to thank you all for your cooperation, kindness and openness! SLOVENIA ROCKS!!! I really loved meeting and talking to so many different people and I am happy that I got so many insider-tips and now know places where only locals go. I will tell everyone I know about your beautiful tiny country and who knows, one day I might bring tourists on my own. ;-)
Adijo! Se vidimo!
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