Day Trip – Planica, Zelenci & Lake Jasna

May 6, 2024May 3, 2024 / AnnaInSlovenia / 4 Comments

During school holidays, many popular touristic hotspots, such as Ljubljana, Bled or Piran can be extremely crowded. But we wanted to go somewhere with the kids, because… well it’s holidays! So, we decided to head to the north-west of Slovenia – Kranjska Gora.

Planica

Also known as Dolina pod Poncami (the valley under the Ponce mountains), Planica is most famous and renown for its winter sport: ski jumping! For anyone who follows the Slovenian Ski jumping team, or any teams, should know that the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Finals is held in Planica. If you want to watch it live, you need to book your tickets in advance, because se prodajo kot vroče žemlje (they sell like hot cakes).

We went off “hot” season, but there’s also many activities to do in summer. You can walk up the top of the ski flying hill for fun. If you like adrenaline, you can also zipline down the hill (the steepest one in the World).

Inside the Planica Nordic Center, there’s a wind tunnel and also a snow field for cross-country skiing. Or you can just walk around and admire the beautiful view. When we went, it was so hot and sunny, so don’t forget sunscreen and a hat!

Zelenci

Located in Podkoren, Zelenci is a natural reserve, consisting of swamps. The main point of interest is a tiny, but amazingly emerald lake – that’s where the name “Zelenci” comes from.

The lake is so clean that you can see the bottom and fishes. If you observe attentively, you can even see cold spring water bubbling up. An interesting characteristic of the Zelenci is that the water temperature is constantly at 6°C – that means that it never freezes!

It’s a short walking trail, but totally worth the stop!

Lake Jasna

On the way to the Vršič Pass, you will see the beautiful Lake Jasna. A great spot to spend the day. You can walk around and take pictures or swim and sunbathe.

Pišnica is a mountain stream, with clear and very cold water, even in the summer, it has about 5-10°C, because of its glacial origin. It is divided into Mala Pišnica and Velika Pišnica, which comes together at the artificial Lake Jasna.

After a whole day of activities, we wanted to go eat at my favorite Chinese restaurant Happy Garden, but they were closed on Monday. Then we tried Ribnik žeje, where the seafood is excellent – but to no avail, they were also closed…

Then luck strikes, and we discovered a little gem: Gostilna Sonja. I usually don’t like to eat outdoors, but they had a lovely terrace and the weather was just right. We ate pizza, calamari, home salad and kid menu. The food was delicious and very affordable!

I’ve been to many places in Slovenia, but rarely have time to actually write about them. As I tend to focus more on Slovene 😅, but taking a little break is always good!

The Taste of Slovenia – Potica

March 28, 2024April 9, 2024 / AnnaInSlovenia / 6 Comments

Many festivities, such as Easter, Christmas and New Year, wouldn’t be the same without Potica – a well-known traditional pastry from Slovenia, made of walnuts. The name potica comes from the verb poviti, which means to wrap.

Basically, potica is made from wrapping a dough filled with filling 🤣. Then bake in a potičnik, a round baking pan with a hole in the middle.

Each family usually have their “own recipe”, which is traditionally passed down from mother to daughters.

In our house, my mother-in-law is in charge of this important task.

There are many variations of the recipes, also with different filling. Such as hazelnut, tarragon, apple, chocolate, raisins, poppy seeds, even coconuts…

But we bake the original version, with walnuts. And this is the recipe that we use (and it’s delicious!)

Dough (Testo)

50 dg or 500 g flour (moka)
15 dg or 150 g margarine
5 dg or 50 g sugar (sladkor)
2 whole eggs (jajce)
2 egg yolks (rumenjak)
salt (sol)
4 spoons lukewarm milk (mleko)
3 dg or 30 g of yeast (kvas)

Filling (Nadev)

30 dg or 300 grams of ground walnuts (oreh)
125 ml milk
(zest of lemon)
25 dg or 250 g sugar
rum
8 g vanilla sugar (vanilin sladkor)
cinnamon (cimet)
whipped 2 eggs white (beljakov sneg)

Extra

1 egg yolk (to coat)
powder sugar (to sprinkle)

(Somehow, “old recipe” likes to use decagram and deciliter instead of gram and milliliter.)

In my mother-in-law’s booklet, the instructions are very simple 😂 – because she’s like a pro:

Knead (zamesiti) the dough and let it rest (počivati) for at least 2 hours at room temperature.
Roll out (razvaljajti) the dough, spread (namazati) the filling, roll it (zvijati) in the baking pan. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Coat (namazati) the potica with egg yolk and pierce (prebosti) it many times with a toothpick.
Bake (peči) it for about 1 hour, let the baking pan cold down before taking it out. Sprinkle (potresati, posuti) with powder sugar.

For a more detailed version.

Prepare the dough: let the yeast to rise in lukewarm milk and add a spoon of sugar. Make a hole in the middle of the flour. Add in all ingredients and mix it. Knead for about 15 minutes. Let it rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature.
Prepare the filling: mix everything together and add the whipped eggs white at the end.
Dust some flour. Roll out the dough to about 0.5cm thick. Spread the filling evenly. Roll it and put in the baking pan. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Coat it with egg yolk. Pierce it many times with a toothpick.
Bake it for about 1 hour, let the baking pan cold down before taking it out. Sprinkle with powder sugar.

I rarely write about food on my blog, but through a recipe, we can also learn some vocabulary. And Easter is just around the corner. Potica is an important (and delicious part) of the tradition. So if you don’t have your potica yet, hurry up – bake it or go buy it 😜!

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

Discover Slovenian Facts #006

March 18, 2024March 18, 2024 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hello everyone,

the other evening, after putting two kids out of three to sleep (because my youngest just doesn’t sleep when it’s time yet…). And the show “Milijonar” was on Planet TV.

The question being asked was

“Katero je izvirno slovensko ime za mesec junij?“
(What is the original Slovenian name for the month of June?)

Possible answer: prosinec, mali traven, veliki traven or rožnik.

I knew that the months in Slovene had “old names” (that pretty much no one uses anymore). But I never paid close attention to it (so, here’s my chance!).

The correct answer is rožnik.

Of course, the original Slovenian names of each month has their own meaning, and they are often connected with farming, nature, forests and agriculture.

Januar is prosinec, like proso (millet) or prositi (to ask, to beg). During this period, it used to be famine, so having millet was a sign of prosperity.
Februar is svečan, comes from sveča (candle), made of ice or wax. Both are possible during the dark and cold days of February.
Marec is sušec, like sušiti (to dry). During this time, the earth is absorbing the water from the melting snow, and “drying” the field.
April is mali traven, like “little grass”. It is related to the little greenery in the fields and meadows.
Maj is veliki traven, like “big grass”. It means that the grass is starting to grow.
Junij is rožnik, like rože (flowers). As the fields and meodows are filled with flowers.
Julij is mali srpan, like “little sickle”, because it marks the start of harvest, and the sickle was used.
Avgust is veliki srpan, like “big sickle”, now is the time for the big harvest.
September is kimavec, comes from kimati (to nod). It refers to fruit tree’s branches that are “nodding” under the weight of its ripen fruits.
Oktober is vinotok, like vino (wine). It marks the time when “wine” goes into the barrel during harvest.
November is listopad, like list pade (the leaf falls).
December is gruden, comes from gruda (lump of soil). During this period, the soil in the field freezes and turns into lumps.

Even if it might not be information that I would use/need on a daily basis, I still think that it is very interesting to know. And it also shows parts of the cultural heritage.

Discover Slovenian Facts #005

February 12, 2024February 7, 2024 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Hey everyone,

there’s always something new to learn and discover about Slovene. It can be from something you read in a book, something you heard on the radio or something you watched on TV.

Well, the other day, something funny happened.

I was reading a book to my kids about saying “oprosti” (I’m sorry) and then I saw “modri prijatelji” – which I first thought meant “blue friends”.

And I was wondering where did that expression came from, clearly understanding that it meant something like “smart, nice, good friends”. So, curious little me, I went check the origin, but surprisingly, I couldn’t find anything relevant.

Moder is actually a homonym, meaning that they are written the same, but have different meanings.

blue | i.e. Imam modro^4E majico^4E (I have a blue t-shirt).
wise | i.e. Govori modre^4M besede^4M (He speaks wise words).

The adjective moder, comes from the noun modrost (wisdom).

Have anything similar happened to you as well? If don’t mind, please share it with me, so that we can all have a good laugh and sleep wiser 🙂

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #013

November 20, 2023November 19, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

A good way to improve and refine your Slovene is by understanding and using Slovenian idioms! Personally, I find it very interesting to search and discover their origins, because after all, a linguistic expression must be coming from somewhere, and it usually has to make some kind of sense as well!

Piti kot goba – To drink like a sponge
I almost got tricked in this expression, because goba has two meanings in Slovene: 1. mushroom, fungus 2. sponge (goba, gobica). So, “to drink like a sponge” means to drink a lot of water, like a sponge that can absorb and hold a big quantity of liquid!
Rdeči petelin – Red rooster
The rooster, especially used with the adjective red or fire rooster, means ogenj (fire). It can also be a symbol of fire and sun. Therefore, if you ever hear (hopefully not) “red rooster”, look for a fire and not an animal!
Biti lanski sneg – To be last year’s snow
I find this one quite funny, because it is true. It refers to something that is no longer interesting or actual. Just like the snow from last year – which has melted a long long long time ago… 😀

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #012

October 23, 2023October 22, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

A fun and interesting way to learn “how to speak like Slovenians” is by understanding and using their idioms. You might notice that some of them also exist in a different language – which is quite amazing and always entertaining to make the connection (at least, for me)!

Biti čez les – To be over the wood
It means to be stupid or weird. I can think of a similar expression in Chinese, “木頭” (wooden head). to refer to someone that is stiff and clumsy like a piece of wood 😛 Interestingly, there is an adjective in Slovene: drven, which is synonym to neroden (clumsy, awkward).
Dobiti krila – To get wings
It means to succeed, to flourish to a higher level. It also reminds me of an expression in Chinese, “一步登天” (to reach the sky in one step), which is used to describe someone or something that suddenly reaches a very high state in one go – so, by getting wings, you can fly and reaches the sky (success) quickly!
Biti molzna krava – To be a milking cow
At first, I was thinking that it meant to be easily irritable, like “avoir une montée de lait” (to have a lactation of milk) in French-Canadian… but it actually means to be exploitable, like a cow that gives milk. The English equivalent would be “to be a cash cow” and the actual French one would be “être une vache à lait” (literally, to be a milking cow).

Discover Slovenian Facts #004

July 31, 2023July 30, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,
the other day, I was flipping through my Slovene notebooks, thinking to review some topics until I made an unexpected realization. It was not like I learnt something “new”, but more like I made a deeper connection between theory and practice. It is quite meaningful to me, because I always like to understand the “why”.

So, what caught my attention is a pair of verbs.

Usesti^(perf) se na stol⁴ and Sedeti^(imperf) na stolu⁵

At first, I thought that the two verbs were the “same”, as they have relatively similar meaning “to sit”. Except that one is perfect and the other one is imperfect. Then I noticed that they were also used with different sklon: one in fourth and the other in fifth. Why is that?

After some thought. It is quite logic.

Perfect verbs (dovršni glagoli) are verbs that give a result at the end, that occur once or express the beginning of an ongoing action.
—
Imperfect verbs (nedovršni glagol) are verbs that are ongoing in time, that are repetitive action, done or describe a long action.
—
Learn more about Grammatical Aspect: Perfect vs Imperfect Verbs in Slovene.

Fourth sklon (tožilnik) is used when there is movement toward a direction with the preposition v/na.
—
Fifth sklon (mestnik) is used with the preposition v/na to express a location, without movement toward a direction.
—
Learn more about The prepositions v and na – Fourth Sklon.

Usesti^(perf) se na stol⁴ – To sit down on a chair.
To sit down, means that you are starting the movement of sitting and going toward the chair – which fulfill the requirements for a perfect verb and for the fourth sklon.

Sedeti^(imperf) na stolu⁵ – To sit on a chair.
To sit, means that you are already sitting on the chair (you can “move” but always within the location, which is the chair) – which fulfill the requirements for imperfect verb and for the fifth sklon.

So, as you can see, everything is somehow connected and logical 🙂

Other examples

I have to say that finding similar pair of verbs is not easy, because the context is too specific.

uleči^(perf) se v travo⁴(to lie down in the grass)
ležati^(imperf) v travi⁵ (to lie in the grass)

vstati^(perf) iz mize² (to stand up from the table)
stati^(imperf) pri mizi⁵ (to stand by the table)

Just remember that the use of the sklon always depends on the context, but don’t forget that sklon-specific preposition has priority.

I like how everyday I learn, discover or get a better understanding of Slovene, especially when it is unexpected. Have it ever occurred to you as well? If so, don’t be shy and share your learning with me!

Discover Slovenian Facts #003

May 29, 2023May 28, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,

one of the reason why I like to write my blog, is that I am learning so much while writing 🙂 For those who doesn’t know, my blog started as a way to share news about my living in Slovenia with my friends and family in Canada. Then, I enrolled into a Slovene course and it became my “notebook”, where I would basically write down my personal understanding of the language. Post by post, it eventually grew into what it is today!

And I am grateful to you guys, who reads and learns with me!

Anyways, back to my discovery – it is real that we do learn something new everyday… and there is a lot to discover about Slovene. The other day, I was writing examples with sentence with “pre-made” phrases in Slovene and I found out that…

“Mouth” is Plural

I mean, I know that some Slovene nouns are only plural, such as vrata^s (doors), tla^s (floors), počitnice^ž (holidays), gosli^ž (violin) or sani^ž (sled).

Also those that comes in obvious “pairs”, such as očala^s (glasses) – also called naočniki^m (spectacles) and hlače^ž (pants).

And the body parts like možgani^m (brain), pljuča^s (lungs), usta^s (mouth) as well as jetra^s (liver) – I didn’t know about this one either!

So, if we decline:

	m – možgani	ž – počitnice	s – usta
1	možgani	počitnice	usta
2	možganov	počitnic	ust
3	možganom	počitnicam	ustom
4	možgane	počitnice	usta
5	možganih	počitnicah	ustih
6	možgani	počitnicami	usti

A good tool to find out the gender and grammatical numbers of any Slovene word is to use Amebis Besana – be sure to save it somewhere!

So we say Pečejo me⁴ usta¹, ko jem feferone and NOT Peče me⁴ usta¹, ko jem feferone (as I initially thought). I’m sure that there are many more nouns that are only plural (or always singular) – can you think of any? Also, I’m curious to know if you have also encounter a similar situation like me, if yes, do share it with me!

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #011

February 8, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Using Slovenian idioms is an interesting way to learn Slovene and to have a better understanding of its cultural heritage. It is a different, but fun method to learn grammar!

Sedem debelih krav – Seven fat cows
Having seven fat cows means to be in a time of prosperity, richness and abundance. On the opposite, “sedem suhih krav” (seven skinny cows) means to be in a time of crisis. Each “cows” also refers to a year – so seven years of prosperity.
Pet krav za en groš – Five cows for one penny
Doesn’t it seem like an amazing deal? Well… it actually means that something is too good to be true, and most likely incredible, absurd. Such a nonsense that it is unlikely to be real. (Who would exchange five cows for one penny…? I know I wouldn’t.)
Delati za tri – To work for three
It means to work a lot, as much as three people together! This expression mainly emphases on the “za tri” (for three). Therefore, it can also be used as following: “jesti za tri” (to eat for three), močen za tri (strong as three), veljati za tri (to count for three)…

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #010

August 22, 2022July 9, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

An interesting way to learn Slovene (and speak like Slovenians) is to know and understand how to use their idioms. And the day that you will actually be able to use an idiom correctly, you will be so proud!

Nositi hlače – To wear pants
It means “to be in charge”, the one that makes the decision and has the last word. There is a similar expression in English “to wear the trousers” and in French “porter la culotte”.
Kapo dol – Hat down
It means “bravo”, when you recognize someone’s achievements. The expression comes from the habit of taking the hat off as a sign or greeting or respect.
Gledati skozi rožnata očala – To see through rose-colored glasses
It doesn’t refer to a fashion item, but it means to beautify something, like to see something more beautiful that it really is. Just like the French expression “voir la vie en rose”.