12.05.2008

 "... Nowhere else, I think, have I seen such likeness and harmony between human faces and their places of birth and residence. The smiles on everyone's faces when they receive you are like a steady reflection of the surroundings. This depicts the eternal youthfulness of the soil, which shines on you, me and on anyone else who passes by. It shines with its very inexhaustible light even in the absence of any soul, only for its own sake. It shines because it cannot do otherwise..."

- Ivo Andric, Nobel Prize for Literature: "O pocitnicah v Sloveniji" (About holidays in Slovenia)

With an area of 20,251 km2 (approximately half the size of Switzerland), Slovenia is a relatively small country, but it is blessed with spectacular variety and beauty. The high Julian and Kamnik Alps form the western and northern borders, the Pannonian plain extends to Hungary while a versatile lanscape of hills, valleys, rivers and woods which cover half of the country shows you the way to Croatia. Limestone formations provide Slovenia with the unique geographical phenomena "kras" (the Karst), with over 1,000 underground caves, vanishing rivers and even vanishing lakes. The short stretch of Adriatic coast in the south-west hosts picturesque villages and small towns and the modern Port of Koper.