Okay, okay, I promise I'll get the hang of these articles… Eventually. Until then, you'll have to be satisfied with what you have, namely this. Nothing much is happening here, so I really don't know what to say. Except…
About the holidays in June… The 25th is a national holiday (it's the day on which Slovenia declared its independence from Yugoslavia almost eight years ago, followed by ten days of war), so the stores will be closed. A big celebration will be held on that day (or a day or two sooner or later), that will probably include a concert or two and a big firework display (probably from the Ljubljana castle) around midnight. Plus some roads through the city may be blocked. In that case, just follow the signs saying "obvoz" (diversion in English).
For those of you who would like to see Bill Clinton, he'll be visiting Slovenia on June 22nd. And he won't need a visa (believe me or not, last month I read somewhere that people needed a visa if they want to visit Slovenia). By the way, if a Slovene wants to visit the States as a tourist, he won't need a visa, either. That was made possible about two years ago. Don't know what we did to deserve it…
The "cultural" stuff includes the concert of Metallica in Ljubljana on the 6th. It's going to be happening at the Central stadion (I think) and (don't you worry) people will be able to tell you how to get there. If you condescend to ask, of course.
If I rush things a little, it might be good to know that the Ljubljana Summer Festival will open its doors at Krizanke in the beginning of July. I'm telling you this because it would be a good idea to get tickets for the shows as soon as possible (meaning now) if you want to see them. Plus, they're cheaper if you decide to buy them in advance. Oh, yes, the Internet address of the festival is, unfortunately, not available in English (yet), but you can drop me a note and I'll be happy to translate the expressions for you.
For the quick, there is also a world music festival beginning on June 1 until the 12th. The Druga Godba is in it's 15th year and features Baaba Maal from Senegal, Toto La Momposina from Columbia, Susana Baca from Peru and many others.
There is currently also an avantgarde theatre festival taking place, called Exodos 99
and some interesting retrospectives in Kinoteka (Slovene Cinema).
The schools are starting their summer break end of June, so the hostels will open their doors again. Also, Ljubljana will reach the stage of desolation, because it (is supposed to) get really warm during summer (somewhere around 35C, which is next to impossible to stand in the city), so most people will be heading for the sea. The other good news is that the roads to the sea are gonna be blocked. You know, the imminent summer road works... They do that every summer, so we've gotten (a little) used to it.
A cute site about Slovenia in English that I found the other day, is at Slomsic.org. It contains a brief history of Slovenia along with some general information (like where to stay and the transport possibilities), generally stuff that is useful to know if you decide to visit us.
P.S. I would love to hear from readers who would like to make any comments. Do you agree with my suggestions and comments? Is there things that you would like me to write about? Do you want more information? Please feel free to contact me ...Tina Petek
