Slovenia is a small but topographically diverse country made up of portions of four major European geographic landscapes—the European Alps, the karstic Dinaric Alps, the Pannonian and Danubian lowlands and hills, and the Mediterranean coast.

It was part of Yugoslavia for most of the 20th century. Before that it was mostly controlled by the Habsburgs of Austria, and, for a small part, by Venice.

After the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation in 1991, it joined the European Union in 2004. Many immigrants from Bosnia and the Kosovo came into Slovenia after the Yugoslavia broke down, culturally very different from the Slovenes, an Alpine folk who have more in common with northern Italians, southern Germans, and the Swiss than the Balkans, and which largely practices Catholicism.

The country has seen enormous economic growth, is almost self-sufficient in agricultural food production, and relies on heavy forestry and horse breeding (the Lipizzaner Horses, celebrated in Vienna, come from here.) The country these days relies also on pharmaceutical exports and manufacture of specialized electronics.

Some years back, I spent some days in Ljubljana, Slovenias’ capital and an enchanting city. Not enough time to visit the limestone caves at Škocjan, which was designated a World Heritage site in 1986 or Triglav National Park or the Adriatic Sea and the Alpine towns of Bled, Bohinj, Bovec, and Kranjska Gora, where the hiking is supposed to be superb. I always thought “there’ll be another time…”

But the city was riveting enough with its medieval structures like the Castle of Ljubljana (Ljubljanski Grad), built in 1144 on a hilltop overlooking Ljubljana. The capital city is also home to many amazing examples of Baroque architecture, including an Ursuline church and a Franciscan monastery. It is also one of the greenest city in Europe, both literally and metaphorically, with a car-free city center, electric busses, and recycling numbers that other countries can only dream of. Bikes everywhere.

It sports numerous law schools and universities, attended by students from all over Europe who are drawn there in part because it is less expensive than other cities, and has an excellent reputation for quality education. As a European citizen you can choose any country to go to school, many are centered on English as a common language. Certainly it felt like I was surrounded by young people wherever I went, and relatively few tourists, compared to the more traditional European travel sites.

Today’s photographs provide just a glimpse of all there was to see – I wrote more on the art scene and the collective remembrance of the recent war catastrophes here.

I did not catch all the bridges across the Ljubljana, the river that flows through the city and is clean enough to swim in!

But the bridges are hallmarks.

As are the many art nouveau style buildings that somehow survived the wars intact.

I also did not photograph much in the more modern parts of the city, just focused on the contrast between the renovated splendor and the everyday decay that is still visible in a country wrecked by its political history.

The city is a Mecca for graffiti and outdoor musical festivals – add the birds and cool clothes –

and it was paradise for yours truly.

And here is an introduction to Slovenian literature with a list of 12 books, a lot of them echoing the trauma that this small but resilient country has endured over the centuries. Maybe some lessons of us, less hardy folks.

Music today by and from Slovenian artists.

Here is the guitarist in a recent competition.

And here’s the traditional far, Slavonic Dances by Dvorak.

Hope it all is distracting and up-lifting. I am going to spend this weekend shifting over to a new computer. If you don’t hear from me on Monday I was unsuccessful……..