Holidays in Terme Čatež

September 8, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

With the Slovenian turistični bon (tourism voucher), we went 5 days 4 night in a private apartment in Terme Čatež and now we are back! I’m a bit tired but the kids had a blast, so it was all worth it.

Terme, also known as pools resort but with thermal water, are hotspot destination for holidays in Slovenia. There are different size and type. Terme Čatež is quite big, and ideal for family fun with kiddy pools, slides and waves. Enough to fill up a whole day.

Summer Thermal Riviera are the outside pools, with really warm water (26-36°C):

children’s pool with little slides, surrounded by a lazy river
a pirate island for older kids
a Olympic pool with lines

two square pools for fun swimming
a big big slides with swimming rings

a bigger irregular shape pool with different slides
a path with flow
a fountains and waterfalls
massaging bubbles
pool with waves

Winter Thermal Riviera are the inside pools, with even warmer water (31-33°C):

a big irregular shape pools with different massaging bubbles spots
children’s pool
rectangle pool with a nice the bubble seating area
waterfalls

pool with alternating waterfalls and waves
two slides suitable for kids

bigger slides section (were closed)
children’s pool with pirate ship

a big spiral slides that connects with the outside pool
a small pool with a fountain (waterfalls)

Personally I liked the inside pools better, because the kids could go by themselves on the slides and we just had to wait to catch them below. A lot easier for supervision, and the water was deep enough for adults to have fun as well.

Beside swimming, eating and resting – we also took a short drive to Brežice. It’s a nice town for a little evening walk.

Holidays are always nice, but it’s also good to be home! And our cows are soon coming back from their mountain pocitniče (holidays) as well!

Changes in Learning Materials!

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Hey guys!

As I’ve mentioned before my yearly subscription is coming to an end, I’ve decided to stop using Powtoon EDU for creating video. I will be using Canva and I hope to be able to create fun and interesting videos about Slovene!

Upon this decision, I’m also compiling my eBook 7 Days of Basic Slovene (Week 1-2-3-4) into one single pdf – which will be available as a Supporter Post only, via my Ko-fi page. And my Anna’s cheat sheets will be made into spreadsheets, available on my blog in Learning Materials.

(Special Thanks to Monika V. for checking mistakes and typos. I really appreciated it!)

Cheat sheets and individual eBooks will be removed. If you have supported me in the past and would like to get the entire pdf, you can contact me.

Since I start writing my blog, I’ve been trying different new things: photography, videos, eBooks, printables… It’s all great and fun, but also a lot to keep track.. I’ve enjoying the journey and learning a lot as I go, but I want to keep things simple. For you, and for me.

(No, this is not a goodbye post!) Just making changes to the learning materials available on my blog.

I’m also very grateful for your support and positive comments 🙂 It means a lot to me!

Naljlepša hvala!

Slovene Mistakes by my Kids

August 18, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

I might sound weird, but I communicate mainly in Slovene with my kids which is totally not my mother tongue. Obviously, my Slovene is not perfect and my kids also make some funny mistakes as well. Most of the time, I have no problem with them because it is part of the learning process. Although, some mistakes are so “bad” that I just have the urgency to correct them immediately!

But remember:

“It is better to speak with mistakes, than to not speak at all”.

“Radam“

When my son is eating with gusto (YAY), he would often say “radam” or “to radam“. Well, I’m very happy that he likes his food, but unfortunately, “radam” is not a verb… He actually should be using “všeč mi je” (I like) to express that he likes it.

I have a feeling that he confuses it with “rad imam” (I like), which is also used to express that you like something.

“Všeč mi je” is used with the first sklon.
“Rad imam” is used with fourth sklon.

“Močem”

Sometimes, when I ask my son to do something, like putting his shoes on or going to the potty, he would start making a little crisis and screams “močem” or “ne močem“. Well, I’m actually not sure if he means to say “nočem” (I don’t want to) or “ne morem” (I am not able to).

It’s actually sounds like a combination of both. Either way, it’s not happening.

Both “nočem” and “ne morem” are model verbs.

“Pomagiš”

A while back, my daughter would keep saying “a lahko mi pomagiš” instead of “a lahko mi pomagaš” (can you help me) when asking for help. Like 500 times per day. I’m not even sure where she picked it from. After a while of refusing to help her until she says it correctly – she finally got it!

Verbs in present tense have different “endings”, beside the conjugation.

“Smo jedali”

My son likes to report what we did (or ate) during the day, so he often says “smo jedali” instead of “smo jedli“(we ate). He would just add an extra syllable “je-da-li“…

And another similar one when he tells off his sister… “Mami je rekala” instead of “Mami je rekla” (mommy said) – because what mommy says is the rule (especially, when it works in his favor… haha).

The participles for past and future tense are Root of Verb + L_ (Learn more here.)

Most of the time I speak Slovene with my kids, but I do explain a few things in English, scold them in French (so, they won’t understand too much) and teach them some Cantonese words and phrase. That’s the joy of speaking many languages!

What about you? Any funny mistakes that you or your kids make? Or that you’ve heard? Please share with me!

Check out my Interview on Let’s Go Slovenia!

August 8, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,

last week, I’ve been interviewed by Let’s Go Slovenia (in sync with the Olympics!). A very nice website, where Marijana and Samo share their local expertise about visiting Slovenia – lots of interesting info and photos!

Within my interview, you will learn more about me and how I started writing my blog and some of my personal thoughts about Slovene! It also features a new video about Slovene, so don’t miss it out!

Hope that you will like it: Learn Slovene with Anna in Slovenia (but first read this interview).

And yes, let’s learn Slovene together 😉

Video – Opposites in Slovene

July 26, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Hey guys,
as my yearly subscription is coming to an end, I’ve decided to stop using Powtoon EDU for creating video. I’m going to to try out Canva.com instead. I have to say that I am quite happy with the results and how easy it is to use. I hope that you will like it too!

If you want to try Canva.com for your projects, you can use my Referral Link (here).
—
We will both earn Canva Credits for premium elements for free!

I didn’t make a “vocabulary list” for “Slovene opposites – Nasprostja” because I highly encourage that you create your own! By writing them down and using them, it will be a lot easier to remember!

Do let me know how you like (or not like) my new video. For more videos, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel: Anna in Slovenia!

First Prize in Contest!

July 8, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / 6 Comments

Hey guys,
a few weeks ago I participated in a creativity contest by Center for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language to celebrate the 40th years of their Summer school.

The only directive was to create something associated with the word “Slovene”.
At first, I did it for fun only, and I ended up quite happy with the result!

Here is my winning entry:

(You will notice that I didn’t used Powtoon EDU to make this video but another tool, more news about it to come!)

Check out Slovenian idioms to learn for fun!

I’m super happy that I won the first prize! Hopefully I will be able to attend another course soon and start improving my Slovene! A few years back, I’ve already went to two of their courses and it was awesome! So, I can only highly recommend them!

Ask Anna about Slovene #006

July 2, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / 1 Comment

There are many ways to learn Slovene and one that can help you improve is by asking questions (and of course, looking for the question). In my opinion, questioning doesn’t mean that you don’t know, but it means that you are “stepping out” of the books and improving your understanding of Slovene!

Question by Jasmine

The answer to the question “Od kod gre vlak za Maribor?” is “s šestega tira“. I wonder why it is not “od šestega tira” instead.

Anna’s Answer

The preposition “s/z” (from) is used in second sklon when the preposition “na” (on) is used in fourth sklon.

For example,

Sklon 4 : Vlak gre na tir⁴ (The train goes on the rail).
Sklon 2 : Vlak gre s šestega tira² (The train goes from the sixth rail).

The preposition “iz” (from) is used in second sklon when the preposition “v” (to, into) is used in fourth sklon.

For example,

Sklon 4 : Grem v Slovenijo⁴ (I go to Slovenia).
Sklon 2 : Grem iz Slovenije⁵ (I go from Slovenia).

The preposition “od” (from) seems to be used in second sklon when the preposition “k/h” (to) in third sklon or the preposition “pri” (at, beside) is used in fifth sklon.

For example,

Sklon 3 : Grem na obisk⁴ k babici³ (I go on visit to grandmother).
Sklon 5 : Sem pri babici⁵ (I’m at grandmother).
Sklon 2 : Grem od babice². (I go from grandmother).

Personally, I didn’t know the answer to this question, and I had to ask around – and I’m glad that I’ve learnt something 🙂 So, if you have any other questions, please do ask me and let’s all learn together!

Discover more Slovene “lessons” that might interest you: Slovene Numbers & Numerals, Slovene Nouns & Pronouns, Slovene Verbs, Slovene Adjectives, Slovene Syntax, Slovenian Idioms, Slovene Adverbs.

It’s Hay Season (again)!

June 17, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,
if you’ve been following my blog for a while (thank you!), you should remember that every summer is busy time for me! If not, now you do! 🙂

As I live on a family farm, summer means hay! It is quite a lot of works, and the schedule depends on the good weather. Therefore my posting will be a bit slower… but! I will still be available. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me and I will get back at you as soon as I can!

Have a nice summer, wear sunscreen (and a hat!).
Overall, be safe!

Read about my “Move to Slovenia” Experience

June 4, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,

last week I wrote a guest post for Move to Slovenia, a website mainly focused on properties but also news about moving to Slovenia.

After living in Slovenia for quite some years now, I’m happy to be given the opportunity to share my personal experience about moving and settling down in Slovenia – a topic that I rarely talk about in my blog. I have to say that my move to Slovenia has been quite smooth and I’m glad about it.

Want to learn about my expat experience, what procedure I went through and my thoughts? Read my article Anna in Slovenia in Expat Experience to find out.

Hope that you will like it, and don’t forget to share your own experience! It can guide other people that are thinking or planning to move to Slovenia as well! If you have any extra questions, don’t hesitate and ask me!

Interesting Translation of Slovenian Towns

May 28, 2021March 31, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

When I travelling around Slovenia, I never paid much attention to all the town names sign on the road until I got a better understanding of Slovene. Then I noticed some translated names were quite funny. It is not uncommon that some places would be named after the surroundings, I mean, anywhere in the world.

Triglav – Three Heads

Triglav is one of the most significant symbol of Slovenia. It is on the national flag and a well-known point of interest. Located in the center of Triglav National park, it is highest mountain in Slovenia, as well as the highest peak of the Julian Alps. Important landmark includes the famous Aljaž Tower, which is a small storm shelter at the top of the mountain.

Novo Mesto – New Town

Located in the Dolensjka region, Novo Mesto is the 7th biggest town of Slovenia. Cviček is a famous Slovenian red wine, that is produced in the region. Novo Mesto is also known for Otočec Castle – a castle hotel on a small island on the Krka river.

Podčetrtek – Under Thursday

Podčetrtek is a very destination for a day trip in the Savinsjka region with various point of attractions. For spa relaxation, go to Terme Olimia for spa. For a homemade culinary experience, visit Jelenov Greben. Another points of interest are Olimje Chocolate shop, which is near the Olimje Monastery – known for its pharmacy and herbal garden.

Slovenske Konjice – Slovenian Cavalry

Located in the Savinjska region, Slovenske Konjice is a medieval town with a white horse as its coat of arms! It is also a nice town to visit: on one side is the Konjice mountain and on the other side are the wine-growing hills of Škalce.

Ribnica – Fishpond

Located in the Dolenjska region, Ribnica is surprisingly not known for its fishes, but for its traditional woodenware and pottery. The Ribnica Handicraft Center is also a museum. Another point of interest is the Škrabec Homestead, the birthplace of the greatest Slovene linguist of the 19th century: Friar Stanislav Škrabec. His main work was the phonetics and orthographs of Slovene!

Mirna Peč – Peaceful Furnace

Mirna Peč is a settlement in the Dolenjska region with a very interesting name. The most probable origin of the name comes from the German term “Hönigstein” (honey stove). It refers to the color of the cliff Zijalo at the north of the town.

Mokronog – Wet Feets

Mokronog is settlement along the Mirna Valley and Radulja hills in the Dolenjska region. There is actually a human foot on its coat of arms! This particular symbol has been kept and passed down all the way from the medieval period.

Other examples that I can think of: