Slovenia - an accidental intrusion to a fairy tale

Tranquille. Serene. Surreal. Fairy tale-like. Stunning. Amazing. Breathtaking. Astonished.

I am running out of words.

Walking around Ljubljana made me feel like an intruder to a fairy tale, where every character in it enjoys itself immensely and knows where it stands. Its beauty for sure had attracted numerous tourists, yet tourist population is far from the critical mass in disrupting the normal local life. Tourists enjoy the luxury to remain spectators in observing this dreamy world without waking up the characters.

Slovenian beauty is unique. it has taken the best of everything: the lively colourful architecture style with Venice, friendliness and discipline with German, passion and energy with developing Eastern European countries, and of course, beautiful and young faces around coming from self-contentment and confidence.

Slovenia for sure has its national pride. if the French pride drives from Louis Vuitton and Louvre, the Americans from dominance over the world and the Chinese from GDP growth, the Slovenians had theirs coming from knowing what they are and where they want to be with a self-actualised mind. 

In free markets, prices are set according to supply and demand, with the statement being particularly true in a tourist-driven market, where prices can be sky high and way beyond the normal level affordable to locals, yet it can still attract a certain level of demand targeting mainly wealthy tourists who clearly don't mind paying a bit extra on top of all that sunk costs. Yet if there is only one good thing the communist Yugoslavian power left with Slovenia, it is the mentality that there is a "reasonable price" for everything and everyone has access right to certain imperatives: yes the tourists mind not paying EUR20 for the cable car ride to Mt Vogel for the fantastic view of Lake Bohinj, but the ride worth only EUR13.5 so that is what we are charging. And yes the tourists are willing to try the original Bled cream cake at EUR6 but we will charge only EUR3.2 as that would have covered our costs with a decent premium. In a world where credibility is built on written contracts instead of interpersonal trust, it is a luxury to see good value that had been forgotten in the modern developed world.

Perhaps the Slovenian tranquillity lies not with nothingness or emptiness but rather, with the peaceful cohabitation of human and the nature, with human activities blending in perfectly with the natural habitation. And perhaps, real conservation refers not only to the preservation of natural resources but also the long gone trust among individuals. 

Slovenia will definitely remain top of my favourite countries.