Land of dreams

What's it like to live and work on a farm in Slovenia? Why does one decide to become a volunteer? Meet Brigid from Germany and Malva from Sweden, two young ladies growing from their challenges in Slovenia. What have they learned about/from farming in Slovenia, and does a land of dreams exist? Brigid's and Malva's music choice: Giant Rooks - "Bright Lies". You can listen to the full song here: http...

Meet Sanam, born and raised in Iran, a law graduate from France, and now a shop owner in Maribor. Sanam has lived here for 14 years now. Her initial plan was to work in the field of law, but met her future Slovenian husband while waiting for a job interview. Today Sanam has two children and sells goods and artisan crafts mostly from Iran. We paid her a visit and were offered some traditional tea a...

Young and in love. Jung Minuk is from Seoul, South Korea. After meeting Vanessa he decided to come live and study in Slovenia. They live together in Pernica, Vanessa goes to school in Maribor and Minuk studies in Celje. He says Slovenians eat a lot of bread, are friendly to strangers, and it was in Slovenia that he first saw a night sky full of bright stars. Jung Minuk's music choice: Busker Buske...

Meet Ahmad, a young Libyan playing professional volleyball in Slovenia. Ahmad is happy to be in Slovenia, he says his team and staff in Maribor have accepted him well. He admits that coming to Slovenia and acquiring the visa was a difficult process, involving a lot of paperwork... But a smile can get you a long way and also give hope to people, which is why Ahmad always smiles :) Find out what Ahm...

Englishman Daron Evans says he returned to his roots when he decided to buy some property in the village of Borjana in western Slovenia. Daron's mother was actually Slovene, born in the same village, located near the Nadiža river. Daron calls the Nadiža valley his ancestral home and says there is love in Slovenia. Childhood memories of swimming and trying to catch fish, discovering nature, renovat...

Viola is from Austria and Viola lives in Maribor. She's not a football fan, but she has watched NK Maribor play. Viola is a chemist who works in a lab in Maribor. She says the coffee in Slovenia is cheaper, that the people are friendly, and that Slovenia's nature is a small-scale version of Austria, with the big exception that Slovenia has a seaside ;) Find out more about Viola and her thoughts ab...

Peaceful, silent, with blue skies above and surrounded by nature. That would sum up Peter Davey's home, located just outside one of the small villages in the Karst region. Peter met his husband, Milan from Slovenia, around 26 years ago in London. In 2005 they decided to buy some land and put up a house in Slovenia. Peter is now retired from work and lives a life in complete contrast to what he did...

Carmen Kuntz is a traveler, environmentalist, freelance writer, hiker and kayaker. Carmen is a Canadian, who has chosen to live in Slovenia. Residing near Kobarid, next to the Soča river, she says Slovenia's mountains and rivers are beautiful and still wild. She came here because of love and goes kayaking almost every day. She still does miss a few things from Canada, like for example space, and t...

Taste the pleasure of simple physical work in an untouched region, a sweet spot at the end of the line… Meet Samuel Baldwin, an Englishman in love with the Koroška region! Sam is an author, traveler, entrepreneur and marketer, who has a 300-year-old house in Breg, near the town of Mežica. He says the house has character, and in his wish to preserve the old traditions he recently started making woo...

There was nothing rational in her decision to choose Slovenia. Neither she nor her husband knew anyone in Slovenia, they had no place to stay and no jobs waiting for them. But she was the one that chose Slovenia. She says her choice was emotional and that Ljubljana's name sounded nice and warm. Meet Tatiana Legina, who together with her husband and two young daughters made the move from Kiev to Lj...

Henri and Niina found themselves under lockdown in Slovenia while traveling the world. They found a quiet place to park their van in Sevnica and have been living there for two months now!!! They say it was meant to be, and have actually found what they were looking for: beautiful nature, mountains, warm weather, and their own food garden. Henri and Niina are in no rush to return to Finland, and ar...

Meet Greg Difortuna, an indoor skydiving instructor living in Slovenia! Greg is an American from New Jersey, living in Ljubljana, working in Logatec ;) He says Slovenia takes care of its people. He likes the clean water, amazing food, beautiful nature, beautiful people and Slovenia's open society. To find out more about his experience in Slovenia join us for a hike up Šmarna Gora :) Greg's music c...

Meet Rainer Schamberger, a managing director in the banking industry. And meet his alter ego, Ray Shames, a virtual musician living out his emotions in the circus of life! Rainer is an Austrian living in Ljubljana and is very much dedicated to his work and music. He says what the world needs is more empathy. To find out more about his work and experience in Slovenia so far, join us in the Land of...

Tanja is from Belgium and moved to Slovenia a couple of years ago with her family. She now lives in Podsreda, where she has her own ‘gostilna’ serving Belgian beer!!! She says life in Belgium was too stressful, that people in Slovenia are more open, and that her two small sons already speak better Slovene than she does :) In the past Slovenia was her family’s favourite holiday destination, but tod...

Love opens many doors and can lead to beautiful things. For Roberto Monas it was moving to Slovenia and opening his own restaurant – a typical Italian osteria tucked away in the countryside in Imenje, which is close to Moravče and Krtina, which is not far away from Ljubljana;) Roberto loves to cook and spoil his guests, and says Slovenia is green, clean, and full of beautiful people. Roberto's mus...

Meet Bojan Jovanov, a young Macedonian living and working in Ljubljana. His first memory of Slovenia is winning a silver square medal at a swimming competition when he was 10-years-old. Many years later, he decided to come to Slovenia to complete a second Master's degree. He then eventually found a job and now works as an education consultant helping other foreign students come to Slovenia ;) Is h...

Meet Beril Balal and Omer Buyuktas, a young couple from Istanbul who decided to take chance on Slovenia:) First, they came as tourists and fell in love with the country. Then, they decided to move here and open a business - a Turkish street food restaurant offering Turkish style potatoes and waffles. More about their story and vision, in the next Land of Dreams! Beril and Omer's music choice: Dola...

Denys Masliuk is a pianist from Ukraine happily living in Slovenia. He lives with his Slovenian wife and their two children in Koper. He teaches piano and plays in concert halls across Europe. In order to become a good pianist, Denys says one must be talented and work hard. 20% talent and 80% hard work! He says his Slovenian students are both talented and hard-working. Denys Masliuk's music choice...

Meet Svetlana Sapelova, a Russian originally from St. Petersburg, living and working in Slovenia. We met up by a lake in Ljubljana and talked about what it's like to live in Slovenia and with Slovenians. Svetlana, a software developer, admits that making friends in Slovenia is a challenge, but says she's happy to have adopted a more active lifestyle, and a better work-life balance. Svetlana's musi...

Habte Tareke has been through a lot in life. Habte is from Eritrea. One day he decided to leave his country, family and children, cross the Sahara Desert and take the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea in hope of a better life. Today he lives in Maribor and works with the Red Cross. After three years in Slovenia, Habte still faces many obstacles… His only wish now is to reunite with his...

Lucienne has experienced it all in Slovenia… touring as a pianist and singer, stardom, Yugoslavia, independence, grandchildren, and living in a house with a sea view;) Originally from Bristol, Lucienne Lončina has been living in Slovenia for 25 years now. She met her husband, who is Slovene, in Finland of all places! To find out more join us as we visit Lucienne at her home in Kolomban. Lucienne's...

Meet Elena Calderon Alaez, a young lady from Madrid working on cultural and art projects in Maribor! She's also into street art and documents graffiti walls and murals scattered across the city ;) What's it like to live in Maribor? What does it lack? And what's Slovenia like? Join us as we walk through the city and also touch on football, swimming pools and tattoos! The next Land of Dreams airs to...

Meet Kim Doucette, a Canadian living in Horjul! She came to Slovenia because of a friend and deciced to stay because of love. Kim is a psychic medium who helps people with spiritual and personal development, and says it's a dream to be here :) Kim's music choice: India. Arie - "I Am Light". You can listen to the full song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ism8dBjxKvc You can also join us on Fa...

This week in Land of Dreams we head to the French International School in Ljubljana to get to know the school's headmistress, Marie Therese Furic. What's it like running a French school in Slovenia, what are some of the challenges, and what has living in Slovenia taught Marie Therese??? Marie Therese's music choice: Georges Brassens - "Chanson pour l'auvergnat". You can listen to the full song her...

Ameer Khanbai is a British national of Indian descent, born in Tanzania, now living in Ljubljana. He says Slovenia is both beautiful and also a great place to start up a business. Ljubljana's vision of becoming a green eco-friendly city is what convinced Ameer to launch an electric scooter sharing scheme, called Flox, in Slovenia's capital! Ameer's music choice: Fink - "Looking Too Closely". You c...