Slovenia 1: Piran

Slovenia is a counrtry George W famously confused with Slovakia. I hope he watched the ice hockey match between the two countries at the recent Sochi Olympics to erase any further doubt he might have had.

Piran is a short drive north from the Croatian border and in fact still part of Istrian peninsula in a sliver of land that gives Slovenia access to Adriatic Sea. It is a charming seaside town and definitely a good introduction to Slovenia. Plus, the main square is named after Giuseppe Tartini, a composer of the "Devil's Trill" Violin Sonata fame, so it would definitely be worth a look. This is a town with both Austrian and Italian influence. I hear a lot of Italian spoken and it is both from locals and visitors.

Piran: a Slovenian port on the Adriatic Sea

 

Piran: Tartini's statue on the main square that bears his name. Yet another Campanile in the background (at St. George Cathedral)

 

Piran: Tartini Square from St. George Cathedral

Piran: sea view from St. George Cathedral

Speaking of Italy, we next move onto Trieste mainly to see an old friend for the first time in close to 20 years. We are meeting Maria for dinner at 7:45pm, so we need to keep driving.  Fortunately there are no border checks between Slovenia and Italy as part of the Schengen Agreement. Trieste seems larger than its stated population of a quarter of a million people but it is straightforward to proceed to our hotel on the waterfront near the main square, Piazza Unita d'Italia.

A tree tunnel near Koper, a Slovenian cruise port which is otherwise nondescript. We are close to Italy. The sun is setting (on the right).

Trieste, Italy: a short drive from the Slovenian border. The main square is the largest that opens to the sea in Italy.

Trieste Opera House, named Verdi (what else)

It is of course a great pleasure to see Maria after all these years and I recall her telling me that some of her friends in Trieate would drive into Yugoslavia for cheaper gas. That was a quarter century ago and how things have changed. Yugoslavia is no more and Slovenia seems to be thriving after achieving independence at relatively little cost.

In deciding on the pasta, I mumble, "what is this Paccheri," and they bring out a sample. This is Italy.

We definitely have allotted too little time here and will have to return,  perhaps next time we visit Venice.



Trieste: Early morning light in the harbor seen from our hotel room