Slovenia

Lots of people have asked if we were going to celebrate Trump's birthday this year. (Or before he was elected, whoever it might be), as a continuation of our President's project. I did actually have intentions of doing so, even though we all know I'm not so much a fan.  But, in trying to get countries in, and between other events, I just didn't have the time or energy to plan a whole birthday. Those take a lot of research and work. Plus, I rationalized maybe in a year I'll have something better to say. I mean, in my humble opinion, he hasn't done much besides reverse regulations and piss off a whole lot of people. So, I'm giving it a wait and see approach. Either he'll turn this ship around, or I'll have plenty of material to work with. I mean, the guy has only been president for five months, so I'll give it some more time before I go doing his presidential accomplishments and all that. Plus, I mean, I am Trump fatigued. I'm trying. But holy geez.

But, that is a story for another day. I decided that instead of celebrating his birthday this year, we'd just incorporate it into our current project. 

 So for our last country in double digits, we're headed to the home of our First Lady, Slovenia! Though, when she was born it was part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia has only been its own country since 1991. 

For those of you wondering, Melania is only the second foreign born first lady (here's looking at you Louisa Adams!)  Trump broke some other records too. He took being the oldest president and the only divorced president from Ronald Reagan. 

If it seems like we did Slovenia before, you're probably just mistaking that with Slovakia. And don't worry about the mix up, it happens all the time. In fact, in Washington DC the Slovakian and Slovenian embassies meet once a month to exchange mail that was accidentally delivered to the wrong country. 

I actually had hoped to do Slovenia in February, and maybe even make a trip to Cleveland, Ohio. Now, ok, I get how that might sound weird. But, Slovenia has this Kurentovanje Festival, and it's kind of crazy. The festival is colorful and lively and lasts for 10 days. The name come's from the central figure of the festival, Kurent, the god of unrestrained pleasure and indulgence. They dress up in these crazy sheepskin costumes. For real, google it. It's kind of amazing.  They have furry hats with streamers, feathers, and sticks. They hang cowbells from their belts. They look like they are wearing ties. The whole mask is a major work of folk art in Slovenia. 

So these Kurents go around the town, moving from house to house to ward off evil spirits, and people smash clay pots at their feet for good luck. It was our 'landmark' for this tiny country. 

So, back to Cleveland. Fun fact: Northeast Ohio has the largest population of Slovenian's living outside of Slovenia. So for the past 5 years, they've held their own festival. It would have been amazing to go to. Maybe next year. 

Like I mentioned, Slovenia is a tiny country at just under 8,000 square miles. For context, the country is smaller than New Jersey. It boarders Italy, Croatia, Austria and Hungary.  The small country packs in a whole lot of green though. Nearly half of its total area is covered in forest, making it one of the greenest countries in the world. 

So visiting Slovenia gives you an opportunity to take advantage of the great outdoors. You could hike through the Julian Alps, raft down the Soca River, and float in the Adriatic Sea. 

Slovenia is also home to a whole world down below, with stalagmites and stalactites growing impressively throughout the cave systems. The Postojna Cave even has a train to take visitors down to see a stalagmite (those are the one's that raise up from the floor), appropriately named 'Brilliant'. 

Slovenia may be a newer country, but it still boasts a rich history. In fact, in one of those caves, someone found a flute made of cave bear bones that is said to be the oldest example of a musical instrument ever found (it's said to be 45,000 years old). 

The boys made their Slovenian postcards. (Nobody included Melania though) 

Calib's featured clay pots being smashed at the festival. 

Peyton put in this little tiny church in Slovenia. It sits on an island all alone in the middle of the lake. It's said if you row out to it and ring the church bells, you'll be granted a wish. 

Hayden won me over with his drawing of a Kurent, and the green for all the forest land. 

Slovenia's cuisine is largely influenced by it's neighbors, including the Austrian strudel and wiener schnitzel, the Italian risotto and ravioli, and the Hungarian goulash. 

We went the Hungarian and Austrian way. 

For dinner we had Goveji Golaz (Slovenian Beef Goulash) , Baked Mushrooms with Cheese, Dandelion salad, along with apple strudel and blueberries.  

This meal earned five spoons up. 

Sometimes when I pick a recipe, I know it will be a winner. It's slightly different, but nothing too far off from what we'd eat on a 'normal night'.  This kind of reminded us of the dinner we had for Kazakhstan, and everyone liked that. The beef was more finely shredded, and the noodles were smaller. But the same basic flavors. 

The mushrooms were the only hit or miss. I think Asa and I ended up eating them all. (The boys are just not mushroom fans). 

A couple of notes: We actually do have some Dandelion leaves growing for the tortoise to eat, but not enough to make a whole salad, so we just used greens. Second, that apple strudel was actually apple coffee cake, because it's all the Publix bakery had at the time. 

Worth noting, we wanted to make Sireki, a traditional small cheese cone. But you have to set it out to dry, and I'm going to go ahead and guess that it takes forever, and I didn't go to Costco for the cottage cheese, or prep it in time. 

We colored Slovenia in yellow, just above light green Croatia, and blow bright pink Austria. 

That's 99 down, 94 to go! 

Next Up: Guatemala