Lake Bled, Slovenia

Image via WikipediaI like to hear what other people have to say about beautiful places in Slovenia. I've visited and experienced them countless times and know very well how breathtakingly beautiful some of them are. And that's why articles like the one below make me smile and I like sharing them with you.

Lake Bled in Gorenjska region is one of those places that has been an inspiration to many for centuries - and it never gets old. People from around the world keep visiting Bled for the first time and others keep returning every time they go to Slovenia.

Lake Bled, Slovenia
by Linda Lyon - Jan. 12, 2011 05:20 PM
Special for The Republic 

My husband, Jack, and I lived in Germany for 20 years, and we decided it was time for a repeat trip to the former Yugoslavia.

The Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia was a vacation destination for Germans in the 1970s and '80s. We first visited there in the summer of 1982. It was beautiful, inexpensive and filled with tourists.

The Bosnian wars of the 1990s changed this area forever, and we wanted to see the changes firsthand. We flew to Frankfurt, Germany, then headed south over the Alps of Austria and on to Bled, a picturesque village of 5,000 on the banks of Lake Bled.


Bled is now in Slovenia, about an hour's drive from Ljubljana, the capital of this small country. Its proximity to Germany and Austria makes it a hot spot for tourists now that things have settled down.

Lake Bled is small compared with other lakes in the area. No motor boats are allowed, and the mode of transportation is a wooden barge called a pletna. It's operated by one person who propels it with an oar, much like gondoliers in Venice.

The main attraction of Lake Bled is the small island in the center that contains the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church, where it is said that one can bring good luck by climbing the 99 steps and ringing the bell. A tradition at weddings is for the husband to carry his new bride up these steps. The bride must remain silent the entire time. Imagine that!

A delicacy of this area is the cremeschnitte, or cream cake, a layered vanilla-and-custard dessert. A piece of this treat truly seals one's love for this little town.

Overlooking Lake Bled is Bled Castle, one of the oldest in Slovenia, dating to 1004. We hiked up the hill paths to the courtyard, where we had a breathtaking view of the lake and surrounding hills. Josip Broz Tito, the former head of Yugoslavia, had a home on this lake; the home is now a hotel called Vila Bled. After a wonderful dinner in the castle, we finished our journey around the lake.

The Slovenian people are friendly and welcoming. There are many lovely hotels and guesthouses, and the local food is delicious. Fortunately, Slovenia fared well after the wars and is on the road to becoming a tourist destination again.

There's a lot more about lake Bled at this page (click on the link below) I put together a while ago:
Bled and Lake Bled Slovenia

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New Year's Dance with Bob Turcola

Last Sunday, on January 2, 2011, SNPJ Lodge 778 in Spring Hill hosted the New Year's Dance with Bob Turcola for the second time in a row. The five-piece band sounded great and so did the jammers who took the stage twice. The attendance was decent and everyone had fun. Here are some photos I took at this first successful event of the season at the Slovenian-American Club's Spring Hill Hall.

Bob Turcola with his band

Bob Turcola on piano accordion

Happy dancers

... and more happy dancers

... and musicians' wives, the most important members of the band

Krizanke, Ljubljana

Photo "Krizanke, Ljubljana" - courtesy of Vojko Dular

Photographer’s Note

from web
The Knights of the Cross monastery stands by the southwest edge of the former fortified medieval nucleus of Ljubljana, above the New Square (Novi trg). It was built in the middle of the 13th century and redone in 1567. It was first mentioned in 1265. In the walls and lapidary, the stones, with their Gothic and Renaissance characteristics, testify to the medieval whole. The old elongated church was torn down in the 18th century and, according to plans by Domenico Rossi, a new, differently orientated central building was built (1714) with a waved Baroque roof and altars with exquisite paintings (Martin Altomonte, Anton Schoonjans).




The early Gothic relief with Mary on the throne was moved from the abandoned portal to Krakovo Chapel and later to the National Gallery. After World War II, the monastery complex was thoroughly renovated (1953-1956). The Summer Theatre and the School of Design were built, and the Knights' Hall and a restaurant (Plečnikov hram) were arranged. The architect Plečnik was especially dedicated to the arrangement of the courtyards (Hell Yard or Peklensko dvorišče, entrance yard with a lapidary, large yard) and edge terraces. The surrounding is arranged according to his ideas: walls with stone relics and memorial plaques, Graben with pavement and trees, Emonska Street with a children's playground, and the Square of the French Revolution (Trg francoske revolucije) with the Illyrian Column (1929). After Plečnik's death the renovation and arrangement of the theatre was continued by the architect Anton Bitenc, with Viktor Molk by his side. At the edge of a large courtyard, a memorial statue of a portrait of Plečnik's head was uncovered (Vladimira Bratuž) and later the portrait of Bitenc was added. Part of the premises of the School of Design was redone in 1990 (architect Matija Suhadolc).

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Portrait, bigger than a football field in Ljubljana, Slovenia

I'm going to need a bigger paintbrush: Artist's incredible portraits that are bigger than a football field

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Huge ideas spread over canvases bigger than football fields and onto the sides of buildings is how Jorge Rodriguez Gerada expresses his art.

The Cuban lives in Barcelona and has spent the past decade creating his Identity and Terrestrial Series, across Europe and Latin America, on the sides of 60-foot buildings and using 650 tons of sand and gravel spread over two and half acres.

Sometimes using a 4-wheel drive JCB digger to lift and manoeuvre the pigmented and coloured sand for his art, or going through approximately 300 charcoal sticks for each of his 'Identity' series drawings; Jorge does nothing on a small scale.

'Expectation', a portrait of US President Barack Obama, was created using 650 metric tons of sand and gravel. It was designed to be seen from Google Earth

'Enric Miralles,' Jorge Rodriguez Gerado's homage to the Spanish architect, was also part of the 'Terrestrial Series'

Busy exhibiting his artwork at the N2 Gallery in Barcelona, Jorge, 44, is keen to highlight the importance of a sense of identity in everyday people's lives, but also to highlight new technologies and how they can create works that can elude to the immensity of a certain moment. 

'As part of the Terrestrial Series I created the iconic image of Barack Obama just before the U.S presidential elections,’ said Jorge.

'This was designed to be viewed from space by Google Earth as a way to open a dialogue about the dramatic uncertainty of our times and the irrational search for a hero to save us.

'The large Terrestrial Series of art works are put together using a vector image and GPS technology, so we can map them out on the ground.

'Mapped out digitally it becomes a high art and large scale version of connecting the dots and then we would fill in the roped off areas with the different coloured sands and rocks.'   

Photographed from almost 300 metres up by helicopter, Jorge's representation of Obama was followed up by his slightly smaller work that depicted the famed Catalan architect Enric Miralles.

'Tina' is part of Jorge Rodriguez Gerado's 'Identity' series, and was created on the side of a building in Ljubljana, Slovenia

'Santo', also part of Gerado's 'Identity' series, is in Valencia, Spain. He can take up to one week to complete his stunning building sized drawings

His most recent piece created in collaboration with 350.org depicted a little girl named Galla and covered over six acres.

'They are part of my fascination with aerial photography and with creating something relevant,' said Jorge who grew up in the United States and divides his time between Barcelona, New York and Buenos Aires.

'I wanted to also incorporate the new ways that we can examine the Earth through Google Maps and even getting the work photographed by satellites passing overhead.

'The Obama work was 120 metres long by 80 metres wide and I was aided by volunteers who supported the project and helped me complete the work.

'We were hampered by the weather during the process of completing the work, but we were ultimately successful and interest from around the world was huge. '   

Remarkably for Jorge, who honed his artistic talents as a young artist in New York City, his Identity series, which he produces on the side of buildings is actually small scale compared to his land art.

The artist works on 'Emma' in 2006 in Barcelona. He says the blending of the charcoal and the wall surface with the wind and rain is the most important part of the process

'David' is on a wall in Vitoria, Spain. The artist photographs the subject's face to create a mock-up and then puts a hyper realistic work on the sides of the building

'With the Identity series I select someone who has a strong sense of Identity to the place where they live,' explained Jorge.

'That could be in Slovenia, Spain or Argentina, or even London.

'I then photograph their face to create a mock-up and I go about creating a hyper realistic work on the sides of the building.

'I began the series in 2002 and the drawings are meant to question the controls imposed on public space, the role models that represent us and the type of events that are guarded by the collective memory..

'The blending of the charcoal and the wall surface with the wind and rain is ultimately the most important part of the process. The intent is to have identity, place and memory become one.'

Perfectionist Jorge can sometimes take up to one week to complete his stunning building sized drawings.

'My idea is to show that we should all be seen with dignity. I believe that our identity should come from within not from the brands that we wear. We should question who chooses our cultural icons and role models as well as our values and our aesthetics.

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Ljubljana, Slovenia

Image via WikipediaToday I found this interesting article, written by an American, visiting Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana.
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The Hidden Gems of This Capital City
Published August 26, 2010 by:
Cleo Louise
Source
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"Ne razumem! Ne razumem!" ("I don't understand!") is undoubtedly a valuable phrase to memorize when conversing with people in Slovenia. Luckily, the majority of citizens in Ljubljana spoke English fluently (with a thick Slovenian accent) and communication wasn't a problem at all.
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"Hvala" is "Thank You" in the Slovene language and, in my opinion, is a word which is imperative to know when traveling throughout Slovenia. I know waiters appreciate it when you give your best effort at saying a word in their language, even if it's dreadfully mispronounced. They will always smile.
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To conclude this post on the picturesque city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, I want to discuss the differences between what "hanging out" means in America, and what "hanging out" seems to mean in Ljubljana.
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Where I come from, the only way to spend time with my friends is to hop in my black car and drive at least ten minutes to a location where we all meet up. Perhaps we go bowling, see a movie, or spend time relaxing at each other's houses.
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In Slovenia, one simply doesn't need a car to have an active social life. Youth walk around the town square of Ljubljana and maybe sit a cafe for an hour or two before wandering down the paths by the river. To me, that difference speaks volumes about our two cultures.
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Slovenian mount Raduha

Image via Wikipedia: Hut on Grohot meadow under mt. Raduha

Tadej Štalekar from Mislinjska Dobrava in Slovenia was kind enough to let me use his photos from his recent Alpine-climbing trip to Kamnik-Savinja Alps in municipality Luče.

Mount Raduha (6765 ft / 2062 m) is a peak that offers magnificent views all around. Its SE slopes are covered with spruce forests and meadows to approximately 1600 meters above sea level. Above that there are only grassy slopes and pinetrees. On almost all meadows from both sides you can still see animals grazing on pastures.

The other - NW - side of mount Raduha is a cold and dark rocky wall. Recommended for climbers with at least some experiences.

And if you're not into Alpine climbing in Slovenian Alps, take a trip there via this video below. No mountain shoes and backpack needed! :)

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