All the best in 2009!

This beautiful Fairy and I, we wish you all the best in the forthcoming new year 2009!

Over Mura moving cake

Prekmurska Gibanica. My favourite. Reach in flavour, reach in calories, satiable and sweet. Some of the ingredients; poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins, cottage cheese, cream.

Prekmurje region of Slovenia offers some of the best cuisine in the country. you should definitely try some of it. Prekmurska gibanica (of course), Bograc, Bujta repa, Dodoli - it all sounds strange, but the taste is heavenly.

Autumn in Bohinj

October. One of the most beautiful months in Slovenia. No wonder why - the autumn colours are just beautiful and on a sunny Sunday it would be a sin to stay at home!Bohinj seemed a natural choice for its beautiful lake and surroundings. Since I was the only photographer I departed when it was still dark and the others joined me later atBohinj. It was hard to get up that early but when I experienced this magnificent sunrise I was glad to do it!
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Lake Bled - a bit differently

Bled is one of the most photographed highlights of Slovenia. No wonder - the place is just calling for it! When you look at the postcards and tourist brochures it seems it is impossible to make some unique shots. Well, there is always a way to get a different photos - you just have to find it.
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Pumpkinland

The Halloween holiday is getting closer and closer so here is the post about pumpkins. The photos were shot during my assignment to Prekmurje on the end of August. Prekmurje is very flat region and people there say that when you step on a pumpkin, the whole region is at your sight.
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Old Water mill on Mura River

On the way back home from Prekmurje I stopped at Verzej, a small town on the right side of the Mura river. There is one of the two water mills that are still left on the river. The one of Babic family is still operating in a traditional way and I wanted to make some photos of it. When I arrived only the miller’s wife was there and she was quite reserved. Her husband Vladimir joined us shortly and he was kind enough to take me around.
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Prekmurje - a different Slovenia

Prekmurje region is the remotest part of Slovenia. It lies to the North-east of the country, bordering to Hungary, Croatia and Austria. I had been to Prekmurje many times, but never with my camera. This August I went to Prekmurje with an assignment to shoot photos for Tourist Information Centre of Moravske Toplice. They needed photos for their new brochures of the county and surroundings. Moravske Toplice lies in the heart of Prekmurje and the town is known for its thermal water and a Spa.
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Julian Alps - a beautiful day.

Neja and I decided to go hiking to Julian Alps. For the first time this year. Since we had time only till afternoon we decided to drive to Vrsic a 1611m high mountain pass. Vrsic is a great base to explore surrounding area and there are a few easy accessible peaks to visit. We left our car at the top of the Vrsic (there is a parking fee) and headed to Sleme.
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Canoeing on the Ljubljanica river

Last week my father and I went canoeing on the Ljubljanica river. Funny, I live on the riverbank of the river, but this was the first time this year I went boating. It was a nice sunny afternoon and the light was beautiful. There were plenty of animals around and most of them are accustomed to the presence of people. It is quite easy to take photos, but you shoud be careful that the boat doesn’t turn around.
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Bear’s head

This time just one photo. It was taken this spring near Tolmin in Soca river valley. It was quite difficult to get this shot - it was raining and it was windy. Well it was worth to get all wet for a shot like this !

A night visitor

Last weekend Neja & I got a pleasant visit. A hedgehog! Lovely fat and sneezy hedgehog! I asked him politely if he would pose for a few photos in our garden. In exchange for some milk and cat’s food he agreed…
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A day among flowers.

Last week Neja and I went to Arboretum Volcji Potok. It was a beautiful day. just perfect to do some flower photos. In April and may the main attraction of the park is tulips. I used the opportunity although some of the tulips were already withered.
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Slovenian evenings - highlights!

Slovenian evenings by Židana marela have successfully started! I’ve been pretty occupied with all the arrangements for this events for the last month or so. This is the reason I haven’t posted anything on this blog for such a long time. But now when the evenings are running I can finally take a breath. I won’t write much, check the photos instead - they tell a story for themselves! Read more

Slovenian evening in Ljubljana!

The D-day is almost here! Next Friday (18th of April) we finally start with our regular Slovenian evenings in Ljubljana. Everything is set for this moment and we are waiting for it eagerly. After months of preparations Ljubljana will get an interesting product that was missing for such a long time. You can read more about it on our website and if you click on the image below you will see how our fliers look like.

I would love to hear your thoughts about it - all comments are welcome!

The spring is finaly here! II.

This time for real! Finally - I’ve been waiting for warmer weather for quite some time now. Especially because the winter was not really a winter - it was something “in between”. This photo is from Goriska Brda region where everything is in bloom right now. Two more months and we will have delicious cherries from this region!

The spring is finaly here!

Winter this year was not something I expected and wished for. If there was snow, cold and sunny weather, then I was travelling abroad. And vice versa.. I was quite irritated by this, because I didn’t get ONE decent winter show this year and when I said to myself - thanks God, the Spring is finally here… Read more

I must live in heaven!

This morning was beautiful. I woke up at half past five to be on location before sunrise. Crt and I decided a day before to go to Ljubljana castle, because the visibility was supposed to be excellent due to rain and strong winds. Morning was just perfect - clear sky was promising great views and Ljubljana was caught in heavy fog. Here is just one of the photos that I succeeded to take.

Predjama castle

One of the most visited places in Slovenia is definitely Predjama castle. It is situated close to Postojna cave about 9 kilometres further down the narrow road. When you get there it is obvious why - the place is incredible! It is hard to imagine that how hard was to build it in this remote location in front of Karst cave. Virtually impossible to conquer - this was a true Eagle’s nest!
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Alpine fairytale

Gorenjska region of Slovenia is probably the most picturesque part of the country. Its high mountains, narrow valleys, emerald rivers and small alpine villages attract numerous visitors both domestic and foreign. The peak season is summer, especially in July and August when the weather conditions are the best for hiking to the mountains. The main tourist hub is Bled, a small town famous for its lake with beautiful church on a tiny island in the middle of it. During summer it is usually quite busy especially on weekends when also Slovenians come to enjoy its beauties. Not far away, but well hidden is the magical Vintgar Gorge, a place well worth a visit.
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A voyage down the river Styx

In Greek mythology, the “River Styx” is a river which formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, Hades. Last week my father and I visited the Krizna cave (Križna jama) in Notranjska region, Slovenia. A very interesting guy invited us to accompany him on his routine trip to the cave. Mr. Alojz Troha is regularly taking samples of the underground waters which are sent to the institute for further research. He is an experienced caver, a photographer with extensive knowledge about geology, history and biology. Although he was quite busy with taking the samples, he was an excellent guide and his tips on photography were helpful indeed.

Our trip to the underworld was an adventure I didn’t expect. We were using professional caving equipment; high waterproof boots, caving suits, battery lights and inflatable boats. The cave has a pleasant climate, the temperature is slightly above zero and the air is fresh. But being four hours in the cave wading in cold river can be chilly and we were wearing two pairs of skiing sock, skiing underwear and two! fleece sweaters under the caving suits.
A waterproof backpack is a necessity, but even that did not prevent me from dropping my flash unit into the river. Luckily it was turned off and the water was shallow.

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We got the Sower!

Last week there was Slovenian tourism forum taking place in Rogaska Slatina. We also attended it, because our company Zidana Marela was among the finalists in the competition for the Sower. The Sower is an award for innovative ideas in Slovenian tourism, which is granted by Slovenian tourist board. We were hoping to get one of the awards, but we were pleasantly surprised, when we got the SILVER SOWER!

The reason why we got it is Traditional Slovenian Night, our main product which we organise for foreign tourists visiting Slovenia. But that’s not innovative at all, every country has this kind of show, you would say. That’s true, but we were the first ones to run this kind of events here in Slovenia. We make possible to every foreign visitor to experience our tradition in a new and entertaining way. This way we contribute to more authentic experience of our beautiful country.
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Early morning at St. Ana hill

Usually I don’t like to get up early in the morning. But in photography early birds get the best shots. Sometimes even I manage to get my butt out of the warm bed take the camera and go shooting. It was a cold December morning and this time also Crt (you can check his photos here)joined me. We decided to climb the St. Ana hill, which overlooks the Ljubljana marshlands. The sunrise was beautiful and we managed to get a few excellent shots. Yes, a day like this can be really rewarding and we soon forgot, that we got up almost in the middle of the night… Enjoy the photos!

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ESOPRS conference in Ljubljana

Ljubljana was hosting the 25th ESOPRS ( European Society for Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) meeting this year. On Friday, 14th September there was a Gala dinner organised and my company Židana marela was in charge of entertainment. Here you can see some photos from that evening. The evening was a succes!

This is the fancy ballroom of the Grand hotel Union.

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