Slovenia's Alpine Heart: The Julian Alps and Triglav's Legacy
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Did your childhood ever bring you across geographic encyclopaedias? Mine did, and it was ones from Hamlyn and Purnell that I encountered. If I were to look at these now, they would bring home to me quite how much Europe has changed since the most recent one was acquired in the middle of the 1980's. An atlas showing the evolution of nations throughout the centuries came from that time too, and a few more maps of Europe could be added to that collection in the intervening years to show how things have altered over the last few decades.
A momentous change was started late in 1989 and its effects are felt today too. Events like the fall of the Berlin Wall set in train the extinction of a whole swathe of communist regimes across Eastern Europe. Within years, the U.S.S.R. too was set to fall apart. The tumult produced so many new nation-states that I hardly have caught up since the Cold War years that preceded the upheaval.
That may be one of the reasons why Slovenia has never attracted much of my attention. Nevertheless, I have encountered articles in walking magazines that mentioned trips to the country's share of the Julian Alps that it shares with Italy. It is not for nothing that there is an organisation like the Planinska zveza Slovenije (PZS, Alpine Association of Slovenia in English). The organisation originally came into existence to avoid non-Slovenians taking all the credit for first ascents of any alpine summits in Slovenia, but since has turned to the maintenance of hiking trails and mountain huts. That makes the organisation well-placed to offer information on what lies within their national borders.
Slovenia's highest point of Triglav and it too is alpine, though it is ascended by everyone from children to grandparents, such is its regard among Slovenians. There also is a tradition of slapping backsides with branches as a celebration of reaching the top that may appear odd to some observers. Even so, the mountain gives its name to the Triglav National Park that conserves the nearby area and has the Soca Valley as a gateway from nearby Bovec. Also near at hand is Lake Bled, a particular favourite of many, so there is a lot to see here.
The aforementioned delights are just a few in a land with yet more pretty towns, castles, château and churches to savour. Also included among these is the country's capital, Ljubljana, which possibly is most outsiders' starting point and could be mine too if I get around to making a visit. While on the subject of first explorations, the official tourism portal, uniquely called I Feel Slovenia, makes a good place to begin and does not overlook practicalities such as accommodation and travel. Regarding the latter, the country's train service operator makes a good calling point since some of us might want to relax and enjoy the sights, even as we make the most of a short stay.
