BLED SLOVENIA

Elysee is beckoning you to join us in the alpine village of Bled, Slovenia.

Bled Castle, with origins to the 11th century, overlooks the village and a beautiful alpine lake.

We chose to stay in Bled, about a 45 minute drive from Ljubljana, Slovenia's capitol. Not only is the village about 1500 feet above sea level and situated at the foot of the Julian Alps, but just down the road is the first class Bled Golf and Country club. More later on this undiscovered underplayed 27 hole gem. Also leading us to Bled was the small size of the population, about 6,000 people divided among several lakeside villages. All the daily needs of life can be fulfilled simply by walking from our apartment to the nearby shops and restaurants. As Elysee thoroughly enjoys swimming, Lake Bled offered tantalizing possibilities later in the summer as temperatures rose. And, should you get bored, within a half days drive is Vienna, Salzburg, and Venice. Not bad for a quiet, not on the tourist trail, summer retreat.

GETTING TO SLOVENIA

ELYSEE ARRIVES IN SLOVENIA
Getting to Slovenia from Southwest Florida entailed a flight from Ft. Myers to Newark, thence to Frankfurt Germany where we changed to Adria, the Slovenian flag airline. My concern was we only had three hours between flights at Frankfurt, including a change of terminals and transferring 160 pounds of checked baggage that consisted to two sets of golf clubs a two monster bags, plus our full allowance of shoulder carried items. I congratulate Continental Airlines for the superb work they did at Ft. Myers, actually checking all baggage through to Ljubljana even though they had no relationship with Adria Airlines. We were thrilled to see all of our luggage arrive in the airport at Slovenia, and sailed through customs, my saying "comink tru" in true Slovenian when I saw a new line opening up, and quickly getting into the waiting van of our landlord Andrej Ristic. A short one hour drive took us to our summer "love nest" in Bled. Next comes the moment of truth when we open the door and see for the first time what we committed for as our summer home.

NEW PRESIDENT

I note that Danilo Turk won Slovenia's runoff Sunday for President of the country. In my view, regardless of whether Mr. Turk is left, right, or center (he is left) the victory is for the Slovenian people who have embraced the democratic process in a region where such example is sorely needed. Politicians from Kosovo to Bosnia should learn from Slovenia's example.

WHERE IS SLOVENIA ?

My wife Elysee and I spend each summer in a different part of the world. We rent for three or four months, moving into the neighborhood, and becoming part of the community. Its a great alternative for retirees than expensive cruises and tours or worse, owning a second home. That is why we have adopted the theme "The World Is Our Second Home." One recent summer was spent in the wonderful country of Slovenia. When we told our neighbors and friends about our plans we usually got blank stares followed by "Where the hell is Slovenia"; or they confused Slovenia with Slovakia. There is little to compare between these two countries. Slovenia was a wonderful choice for a summer. We stayed in Bled, situated in the northern part of the country near the Karavanke portion of the Alps (more on that later) and had wonderful excursions to nearby Italy, Austria, and Hungary, and a memorable stay on Slovenia's small outlet to the Adriatic sea. Have others had this problem of confusion or downright unawareness regarding Slovenia's geographic location?