Universität Ljubljana, Slowenien

Hey, everyone!

The last two weeks here in Ljubljana were probably the most impressive ones (apart from my arrival week)

For one part, as promised, the festival season has finally started. And secondly, I went on two more great getaways last weekend. I hope you don’t mind me neglecting a more general description of university life for the benefit of this beautiful and unknown Slovenian landscape.

My first trip led me to the ‘European Capital of Culture 2012’. Maribor, the second-largest city in Slovenia is only one and a half hours away from Ljubljana. Maribor has a charm that does not come from the sightseeing attractions but from its very welcoming atmosphere in general: small cafés to sit and enjoy the sight and despite its 95,000 inhabitants no hectic rush what so ever. In 30 minutes you can go to the Piramida (Maribor Pyramid) where you will get a fantastic view over the city and the mountainous landscape around. Definitely worth seeing!

Now to my second trip. At first, I wasn’t sure if I should even tell you about it – not because it was so insignificant, but because it seemed to be one of the few places in the Alps that has not yet been overrun by tourists. I really didn’t want to be responsible for it to turn into a tourist hotspot. I’m talking about the Dolina Soče (Soča-Valley), situated in the Triglay national park. Together with a friend I set out on a rather spontaneous 120 kilometer trip, which took us two hours thanks to the alpine road conditions. The first glances of the canyon of the Soča River, which is one of the eldest rivers in the Alps, were absolutely breathtaking and just as we read on the internet. The water was crystal clear and gleaming emerald green. We parked our “bed on wheels” at a nice spot just a few meters from the river bank. The next day, we went on a hike to Slovenia’s highest waterfall (106 meters) and from there to the smaller Kozjak waterfall were we went for a swim. Again breathtaking, especially because we had this beautiful spot all to ourselves. In Germany this would be unthinkable.

This trip was the absolute opposite from the long awaited music festival season in May. Twice a week several thousand students came to party to live music of every possible genre. Most festivals took place in the city and close to the student residences. The admission price was three euros at most, but often the festivals were for free. Again, unthinkable in Germany!

See you soon.

Lukas