Zgornji Brnik

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After leaving the glorious Lake Bohinj, we made our way to Kranj to meet up with a guy we had befriended during our time in Vietnam at the beginning of the year. Zima (his nickname) met us with the same infectious smile that we remembered from all those months ago and drove us to his home, in the village of North Brnik (Zgornji Brnik in Slovenian). We first stopped off for a beer at a local pub before going to his house to meet his lovely wife and children for the first time. Zima is a stonemason and he showed us through his workshop before taking me along to meet the neighbours. The first guy I met was missing the top of his index finger due to a mishap at work and was currently limping around because he broke his big toe (vertically) by dropping an 8kg piece of iron on it, once again whilst he was at work. The next neighbour I met was very interested in our travels through Mongolia, as he was a breeder of horses and has always dreamt of visiting the people of this country. In fact, he was quite chuffed to be able to show me his horses mating, which was apparently a rare privilege (as communicated through Zima, as there was very little English being spoken). During these visits, each neighbour proved to be quite the genial host, bringing forth beer at an alarming rate, so by the time I returned to Zima's house I was rather merry. What immediately struck me was the view from the backyard of Zima's house, as I was able to see all of the Julian Alps, which was a remarkable sight and during my stay I often caught myself simply gazing at the stunning backdrop that is Slovenia.

On our first night at his house (we had only planned to stay for one night, but ended up staying for four nights, such was the wonderful time we were having), Zima took us to the nearby village of Kamnik to watch a gypsy band perform at an old castle. I absolutely loved this experience and I noticed that the crowd consisted of people ranging from teenagers to those who could only recall their teenage years through the mists of their memory, but all were having an equally enjoyable time - without the presence of alcohol. Seeing this concert in such a setting compared with watching Shakespeare's 'A Night's Tale' at Castle Hedingham in England, with the exception that the view of the Slovenian mountains and forests in the background held me as equally spellbound as the music, if not more.

After the concert, we met a few of Zima's friends who had also been at the concert, having just returned from Croatia that day. They were all wonderful people and one of them took us all back to his house, where he has set up a private bar that looks out to the mountains. Underneath his house, he has also set up a public bar of the likes I have never seen and I found myself not wanting to leave (which was NOT due to the free Laško (a Slovenian beer) he was giving us!). He had designed and built both of these bars himself and I can see why so many people in the community frequent this place.

The following day I was a little tired; however, this mattered not as Zima drove us and his family to the incredible Postojna Caves ('Postojnska Jama' to the locals). These caves are situated in the south west of Slovenia and are like nothing you could ever imagine unless you have been there. These karst formations stretch underground for a distance of 20kms and you catch a train through the first five kilometres, such is the immense size of the caverns. Even claustrophobic people would feel comfortable in these caves, as they are simply enormous. The stalactite and stalagmite formations created over thousands of years were a feast for the eyes and the time spent inside the caves simply flew by. These caves were even used as prisoner of war camps by invading nations during times of war. The only sensible way to finish off such a day was to eat an enormous pizza, which is exactly what we did.

The highlight of my third day in Zima's village was definitely playing football (soccer) with some other men from his village. This happens every Monday night at seven o'clock on a field that has been made by one of the locals. I couldn't believe that I was participating in this activity surrounded by such divine scenery, as the field was surrounded by woods and a stream, with the Julian Alps providing the backdrop at the western end of the field. Whilst I could barely interact with these locals, we all had a wonderful time together and after the game we all sat around for a few hours and participated in some interesting conversation over a few beers (Laško again).

The scene I have described above is typical of the lifestyle enjoyed by the friendly people of North Brnik. Something that will stay with me for a long time is the friendly and welcoming nature of all the people I met, who welcomed us into their homes with open arms (and providing copious amounts of beer and snacks). All of the children still play together throughout the day and the adults all enjoy wandering from neighbour to neighbour to have a chat and a drink. Laughter is always present and no one is ever too busy to spend time with their neighbour. Added to this is the stunning landscape that Slovenia has in absolute abundance. The locals don't take this for granted either, for example, on our final evening we visited a lady who was doing her ironing outside, facing the impressive landscape of the alps. Why wouldn't you? She happily conversed with us, even bringing out some aniseed liqueur and chocolate for us all to share!

On our last day we visited the capital, Ljubljana. The centre of the city was a pretty place to wander around, as it is built around a river and its cobbled streets are lined with picturesque buildings. For our final moments with Zima, we sat down for a coffee by the river before having to make our way to the train station to catch our train to Croatia.

Slovenia has definitely left a deep impression upon me and I will always remember it fondly, not only for its beautiful natural scenery, but also for the wonderful people whom I met. This was a country where everything just felt right and where I felt an affinity with the landscape in such a way as I could not even have imagined. Slovenia is a truly beautiful part of the world and I don't think I could return there soon enough.

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