The Slovenia Times 120

Real estate: Prices are falling, bargains galore

The Slovenia Times, Slovenian magazine in English, volume 6, number 120, EUR 4,80

September 2009

n i a t n u o f e h T f o th u o y : s t r o s p re p, o t h t l gu e a h t e H pin for Sha ching rea

CONTENTS

September 2009 4

Panorama

POLITICS

6

Prekmurje - troublesome far East

8

Poorly equipped and understaffed law enforcement

9

John Groffen, ambassador of Netherlands

Partners

ECONOMY

12

The endgame for Istrabenz and Pivovarna LaĹĄko

14

Real estate in Slovenia: Bargain-hunters welcome

16

Nabucco and South Stream: Pipeline politics, a primer

18

Slovenian logistics sector on the move

19

How to store energy?

20

PR Series: Communication in health care

21

Paul Krugman is visiting Ljubljana

22

Trimo introduces modular kindergartens

C

M

Y

CM

LIFESTYLE: Health resorts

24

Revitalizig spa programmes

28

Rich history of thermal bathing

32

Iztok Altbauer on the future of spa tourism

34

The European challenge

38

Dine with style

CULTURE 40

Cinema returns to the town centre

41

The event guide

SPORTS

44

Basketball team facing the new season

46

Endurance cyclist Jure RobiÄ?

PEOPLE 48

50

Stane Kranjc, flyer and parachute designer

Every Picture Tells a Story September 2009

MY

CY CMY

PANORAMA

source: STA, Slovenian Press Agency

The tide is turning Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers, Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor, agreed on a framework that could lead to resolution of the issues that have soured otherwise good cooperation between the countries - the border issue and Croatia’s EU accession.

“There is a chance to solve the issues this year,” Pahor said after coming out of a 90-minute meeting with Kosor near Croatia’s Varaždin. There are some issues that have remained unsolved, but a path has been paved, which gives both of us enough hope for reaching an agreement this year on a solution that would be in the interest of both countries and the EU”, Pahor stressed after his first meeting with Kosor, who was appointed prime minister earlier this month. He

added that a detailed framework for the resolution of the issues would be worked out by the autumn, “but not always in front of cameras”.

The Croatian prime minister meanwhile labelled the meeting as open, concrete and constructive, and stressed she believed the meeting “turned a new page in solving the current issues and questions”. The prime ministers moreover stressed that both sides would step up efforts over the coming months to solve the pressing issues.

They were later joined by national delegations, which also included the foreign ministers, Slovenia’s Samuel Žbogar and Croatia’s Gordan Jandroković. Several Slovenian political parties welcomed the outcomes of the meeting.

PM Pahor with Croatian counterpart Kosor

Photo: BOBO

Diplomacy

Justice

Minority rights

Žbogar meets Clinton

White collars, beware!

Who’s afraid of bilingual signs?

Foreign Minister Samuel Žbogar paid a visit to the US. Žbogar, former ambassador to the US, also met State Secretary Hillary Clinton.

The minister and his interlocutors debated issues concerning the Western Balkans, cooperation in Afghanistan, fight against climate change, Slovenia’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, and economic cooperation. Žbogar also presented to Clinton Slovenia’s positions on the solving of the Slovenia-Croatia border dispute. The US has no initiatives regarding the issue, it however wishes that the problem is solved and Croatia enters the EU. After the meeting the pair exchanged ratification documents about bilateral agreements on extradition and legal assistance.

The Justice Ministry has ordered the Office of the State Prosecutor General and the Supreme Court to adopt more effective measures in the fight against white collar crime, after receiving a report from the prosecution showing backlogs in dealing with such cases. The report, which reviews the situation in the first six months of 2009, is also an important basis for the set-up of a special group of judges to combat the hardest cases of white collar crime: in the area of white collar crime and corruption the state prosecution received 429 criminal complaints against individuals and 58 complaints against legal entities in the first half-year of 2009. In June, the prosecutors were dealing with 1,649 criminal complaints against individuals and 283 against legal entities. “Some data from the report are worrying. Court investigations, which should be over in six months, take up to two years on average in some courts, while some-

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times they are not closed in ten years,” Justice Minister Aleš Zalar pointed out. Among the ministry’s efforts against white-collar crime, Zalar highlighted the set-up of the National Investigation Office, which is to start its work in January 2010.

Justice Minister Aleš Zalar

Editor-in-chief Marko Vuković marko.vukovic@sloveniatimes.com

Marketing/Advertising

Senior editor Jaka Terpinc editor@sloveniatimes.com

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Art director Maja Kaplan (design@domus.si)

fax: +386 (0)1 520 50 82 email: info@sloveniatimes.com The Slovenia Times

The National Council of Carinthian Slovenians, an organisation representing the Slovenian minority in Austria, stepped up its efforts to protect the rights of the minority.

After filing a criminal complaint with the Austrian corruption prosecution due to the halting of an investigation against Carinthian Governor Gerhard Doerfler over a scandal with bilingual signs, it urged the Slovenian government to put minority issues high on the agenda of bilateral relations with Austria.

The main problem the Slovenian minority has been complaining about for years is the failure of the authorities in the Austrian province of Carinthia to set up bilingual city limits in line with the Austrian Constitutional Court’s rulings.

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UNDER THE PRESS Repression

Health condition of the health minster

The prison uprising

Slovenian Health Minister Borut Miklavčič was admitted to hospital in Croatia’s Šibenik for stroke symptoms in mid August. Tests confirmed that the 65-year-old minister likely suffered a stroke. His condition subsequently improved and he was reported as feeling fine the day after. The Health Ministry meanwhile turned down reports that Miklavčič had tendered his resignation after being hospitalised. A respected Slovenian neurologist meanwhile confirmed that Miklavčič could return to his job after a short respite.

…it is one of basic tactics, well known from the animal world. When female lionesses hunt zebras, they try to separate one away from the drove. These animals use elementary instincts.

But our herd sticks together.

After a 26-year-old was found hanged in his cell at Slovenia’s most notorious prison, Dob, in the southeast of Slovenia, the issue of human rights in prisons was raised once again. The mother of the deceased, who was serving a 3-andhalf year prison term for attempted rape and battery, was reported to be taking action against the prison authorities for their failure to deal with her son’s depression.

Some 300 inmates meanwhile announced a lawsuit against the state over poor living conditions in the Dob prison, which currently holds 438 inmates, which is nearly twice as many as the facility was designed to accommodate.

Jože Možina, the boss of national broadcaster in an interview for the Catholic weekly ‘Družina’, explaining the plot of Zares party to remove him from office.

They send me hyperlinks to Družina and Možina, and recommend that I should read one of the spiciest recent interviews with the RTV leadership. They expect me to strike back, but I just do not feel like doing it. I am also beginning to feel pity for the darkened mind of the television boss. I can see him going to bed and being subjected to some of Zares [meaning “real”] nightmares, with a spear and anvil, I sense him sweating, as he fights the forces of light in his dreams, the forces, which keep melting his statue. You know how dreams are: you seem to run and run, but your feet feel like a concrete. I see him, how he runs for the father of his [broadcasting] law, who distantly waves with spreadsheets, the cheapest and the best television, beef broth, with being balanced, loyal programming council, loyal supervisors…

He is desperate to hold the hand of another father, to swear loyalty to him.

Infrastructure

The smell of new asphalt The national motorway company, DARS, has inaugurated two key stretches of motorway that shorten travel times in the west and north-east of the country. The officials opened the Razdrto-Vipava section heading to the western Slovenian city of Nova Gorica and the final section of the Maribor bypass. Both sections were deemed extremely challenging to build. Their construction took seven years and come after long delays related to planning and execution of the works. The Razdrto-Vipava section, which completes the link from Ljubljana to Nova Gorica and on to the border with Italy, cost EUR 221m. True to the complications surrounding their construction, the opening of both sections did not pass without its share of problems. The stretch in the west of the country faced immediate closure for traffic as DARS waited for final permits, which eventually arrived.

Culture Minister and Zares party member Majda Širca blogging about the mental state of Jože Možina.

…even if the scripts, served to the public through websites

by Ms Širca do not reflect the official position of Cultural Ministry (I hope they oppose them), it is essential that the president of the government reconsiders the minister’s authority and credibility for further leadership.

RTV Slovenia is an institution of the highest cultural rank, while the minister labels it a public house (according to Slovenian dictionary: a house where you can pay for sexual favours). If she is troubled with the fact that she dislikes the current director, that still does not give her right to drop to the level of the worst primitivism, because it insults the thousands of employees who work for this institution.

Oldtimers at the Razdrto section opening ceremony.

Tourism

Natives to the rescue

Stane Granda, President of the programming council of RTV Slovenia in his letter to the Prime Minister Borut Pahor Photo: BOBO

In July 2009, more than 344,000 tourist arrivals were registered in tourist accommodations, which is 5% less than in July 2008. The number of overnight stays of foreign tourists decreased by 15%, while of domestic tourists increased by 9%.The highest shares were contributed by tourists from Germany and the Netherlands (both by 12%), Italy (11%), Austria (8%), Belgium (7%) and the United Kingdom (5%). More overnight stays than in July 2008 were registered in health resorts. In the same comparison the number of overnight stays in seaside resorts decreased by 2%, in mountain resorts by 11% and in Ljubljana even by 28%. The number of overnight stays in hotels decreased by 4% while the number of overnight stays in motels increased by 10%, as well as in boarding houses by 5%.

TV Slovenija really deserves to be called a “public house”.

It sells joy and a vision of love to the people. It generously repeats excellent informative broadcasts, documentaries, religious and entertaining shows and therefore satisfies the viewer’s compulsive-obsessive needs and passions. But not all of them – sport for example. The passionate sport fans have been denied Championship League football, handball and finally the basketball Euroleague.

Dnevnik columnist Vlado Miheljak on the public broadcaster’s programme.

Photo: BOBO

Government

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

The summer of zero-nine

POLITICS

Prekmurje

By Jaka Terpinc

The slack time of events in the holiday

season is a magic time to evaluate the state of a national mind at 30C plus. It lets us see what crawls out on to the front pages, when the other main media attractions are away on holiday. Apart from the usual set of disasters and accidents, which have been no less generous this year, there are a few specific issues.

The hottest one was slaying our tycoons – yesterday’s heroes, who got themselves into debt to purchase even greater shares of the national economy and whose shares, after financial breakdowns became far less valuable than their debts. To re-program their debts, to nationalize them, or god forbid, let them sell the shares to foreigners with a doubtful reputation?

Meanwhile the companies kept laying off the workers and going bankrupt. The even more shocking news came with the discoveries of luxurious expenditures and other greedy moves of the managements just before the imminent deaths of these, companies, while their workers did not get paid their deserved salaries. That is the stuff that revolutions are made of!

This leads us up to another less burning debate, which came with the initiative by European parliament to commonly approach and condemn all the totalitarian regimes of the previous century, which on a certain level equalizes Nazism and communism. In Slovenia the initiative became a darling of the political right in their attempt to re-evaluate the sins of WWII - anti-communist Nazi collaborators.

However this sounds less pleasant to those who look back at the Tito times with more sympathy. According to a widespread belief that the relatively humane and open-bordered regime, although technically a non-democratic communist party rule, cannot be so easily compared to the Soviet variant. And let us not forget that a real tragedy to humanity in former Yugoslavia came as soon the democracy replaced one-party rule. The occasion again reminded us that things are far from being ready to simplify.

An extreme simplification has been committed to the SloveneCroatian relationships. The very interesting multi-layered, yet pretty insignificant dispute over sea borders has, thanks to the media, became a matter of a few emotionally charged expressions such as “not giving up a millimetre”, ‘occupied territory’, or ‘blackmailing’.

Financial crisis or not, most Slovenes seem to have followed their pilgrimage path to the Croatian coast, probably trying to behave as if nothing untoward has been happening during the year. Actually the tide seems to have made a slight turn as the two Prime Ministers finally met. Instead of glorious words, they decided to keep silent and let the media speculate. The speculations said “condominium over the disputed area”, no government specifically denied it and both nations reacted relatively positive. Also the Croatian Tourism Minister could not avoid admitting that the Slovenians saved the Croatian tourist season for this year. What breaking news, but probably only in Slovenia! .

Meanwhile Zmago Jelinčič, the romantic knight of the Slovenia territorial expansion came with a bold plan to attach the entire Istira and Kvarner islands to Slovenia. He also became the news of the day, but most people just sighed “Eh, Jelinčič”.

The August vox populi polls show that nothing has stopped the continuous drop in support of the government, with the opposition SDS still in the lead and Jelinčič’s party gaining one spot. A sign that many did not make it to the coast this year?

Neither here nor there The Slovenes recently celebrated 90th anniversary of Prekmurje being annexed to the homeland after WWI. The commemoration, however, came in a time of tremendous insecurity and persistent threat of ever deepening social problems plaguing Slovenia’s northeasternmost region.

By David Aleksander

I

f the region’s turbulent past is any indication of what lies ahead, the prospects of Prekmurje breezing into a golden age of some sorts seem to be rapidly dwindling by the hour. The region’s troubled past, which saw the people of Prekmurje endure almost a millennia-long yoke of foreign governance apart from their Slovene compatriots, may in the coming months suffer due to yet another twist of fate and lapse into an even deeper social abyss.

Historical unfolding The Slovenes in Prekmurje lived under various forms of government for more than 900 years. In the late 10th century the area was invaded by the Magyars and remained part of the Kingdom of Hungary (from 1867 part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) until the end of WWI. At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference Allied victors convened to set the peace terms for the defeated nations and deal with the empires of the defeated powers. The two treaties which emerged from that conference affecting the territories of present-

The mill on Mura river, a regional symbol...

day Slovenia were the Treaty of Saint-Germain from 10th September 1919 and the Treaty of Trianon from 4th June 1920. The latter stated that Prekmurje, which at the time was home to around 74,000 Slovenes, 14,000 Hungarians and 2,500 Germans, be annexed to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The demarcation line between the two states became the watershed between the Mura and Raba Rivers, which meant that some Slovenes, i.e. the Porabje Slovenes, remained part of Hungary and some Hungarians became part of the newly-founded state ( since the 1950s the Hungarian language has enjoyed a co-official status in the areas settled by the Hungarian minority).

Long overdue recognition The date chosen for the celebration of Prekmurje being annexed to the homeland is 17th August, which is a state holiday but not a work-free day. The significance of the date lies in the fact that following 12th August 1919 when the military took control of the re-

POLITICS

a true Prekmurje – or even more broadly – Pannonian identity.

Vlado Kreslin, who was the main protagonist of the celebration and performed his best loved songs on stage, is one of the most recognisable and respected Slovene musicians of today. With his Beltinška banda band he turned to folk music and single-handedly caused the revival of ethno music in Slovenia. He frequently collaborates with foreign and young Slovene musicians.

Tough times ahead Seei ng t hat t he celebrat ion came in a time of great distress currently sweeping through the lands of Prekmurje, it is hard to imagine that such a commemoration, although honouring an important historical event and paying long overdue recognition, left anything more than a lingering bitter aftertaste. The fate of the largest company in Prekmurje, i.e. Mura – the largest textile factory in Europe and once a crowning jewel of Slovene economy – is getting gloomier by the hour. The company is in dire

Photo: BOBO

gion without armed resistance the control of the region was handed over to the civil administrator in Beltinci following a mass gathering five days later on 17th August 1919.

First observed but three years ago, this state holiday had not been given much importance to and was rarely remembered prior to 2006, when the accession of Primorska to the homeland also began to be celebrated. This year’s celebration was dominated by two renowned Prekmurje-natives Feri Lainšček and Vlado Kreslin (other famous Slovenes from this area include the author Miško Kranjec and the first president of Slovenia, who is often seen as the father of the Slovene state, Milan Kučan). Feri Lainšček, co-writing the programme for this year’s celebration centred on the opus of Vlado Kreslin, is a Slovene author that has won numerous literary awards. Creating works of literature in an environment where culture and art are not widely supported, Lainšček’s work is closely connected to the land and soul of Prekmurje. His novels revolve around the theme of searching for

...and the workforce of halted Mura factory, once a national pride, now a burden.

straits, perhaps the biggest since 2002 when rehabilitation of the company began following state investment worth EUR 10 million. The rehabilitation has been unsuccessful so far resulting in constant loss, worker layoffs and constant downsizing of the production and sales. Because of this the government a couple of months ago decided that another financial injection to the company would be akin to frittering the taxpayers’ money and throwing it out the window – a decision that was followed by rancour and public protests amidst appeals and marketing strategies to save the biggest Prekmurje employer (like selling enormous amounts of Mura logo T-shirts to save the company). New possible investors have been mentioned sporadically in recent times, yet no one really knows what the future holds for this region. Employing more than 3,000 people in a region that is fighting grave social problems such as alcoholism, suicide and Slovenia-highest unemployment rates makes Mura a social time bomb that could go off any moment leaving 3,000+ workers, their families and the wider Prekmurje area in a state of constant fear and uncertainty.

Prekmurje, which is home to more than half of Slovenia’s Roma population, is further plagued

by having the lowest education scores in the country. In the international TIMSS 2007 research, which is an internationally comparative assessment dedicated to improving teaching and learning in mathematics and science for students around the world, the Prekmurje region had the lowest scores among all Slovene regions, finishing way below average and markedly behind their 4th and 8th grade peers in Nova Gorica. The findings spur concerns whether the region can at all overcome its obstacles and lagging development if brain drain and poor education results continue.

Coupled with the ubiquitous presence and strain of the global recession, the people of Prekmurje seem to be in for a challenge that will most likely hit this region even more severely than other parts of Slovenia. State celebrations like the one last month are a mere fleeting intermezzo in the midst of shouts of indignation and despair reverberating through this troubled land and its people, which is seeing an all too familiar story from the past unfold once again – once glossed over by foreign governments, the present native government may be treating the region as some kind of spoils of war, neglecting the region’s problems and hoping they would clear up by themselves.

September 2009

POLITICS

Police

In the crossfire A dramatic shooting in Ljubljana raises questions about Slovenia’s police.

I

t began on August 7 with an apparent domestic dispute in a residential street in Ljubljana.

When police arrived on the scene, the 69-year-old suspect opened fire. Two police officers were shot, the others managed to respond, killing the man. The injured officers were taken to the hospital, where they recovered.

In a country where gun violence is relatively rare, and police shootings rarer still, the incident quickly became big news. A rarely talked about subject suddenly found itself in the center of national attention.

The police reaction was not particularly controversial. Police representatives insisted that the officers were correct to act in selfdefense and, for the most part, the public accepted the argument.

Still, the incident raised a number of questions about the state of Slovenia’s police force.

Too old for action?

It’s a tough job Still, police unions insist that more money needs to be spent on equipment for officers. According to union representatives, Slovenia’s police force is underfunded, particularly in terms of neces-

sary long-range investments.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, says it’s determined to rectify the situation. Ministry officials promise that a wide range of new equipment, including vests, will be purchased by next year – a result of increased funds set aside for this purpose. However, the ministry admits that the police would need far more equipment to be properly equipped. According to the government, that should be addressed by its long-term police equipment strategy, the first of its kind in Slovenia.

The controversy over the vests served as an opportunity for the police to draw media attention to increased dangers facing officers.

At a press conference in Ljubljana, Robert Ferenc of the uniformed police adm in ist rat ion talked about the increasing rate of attacks against police officers. In the first half of this year, there were almost 10% attacks against police officers than during the same period last year. And in Ljubljana, the number of police officers who have been attacked doubled year-to-year. While attacks with guns remain relatively rare, offic-

Photo: BOBO

Chief among the concerns was the issue of bulletproof vests used by the police and why the two injured officers were not wearing them at all. The leader of Slovenia’s Police Union, Branko Prah, was quick to speak up, arguing that the vests are simply outdated and ill-suited to today’s needs: “We

have been rejecting these vests for some time now, since we feel that they entirely inappropriate.”

According to Prah, the vests are too heavy. Because they are available in only one size, it is not possible for police officers to wear them while driving. When they arrive at the scene of a tense situation, like that of August 7, there simply isn’t enough time for them to put on the vests.

In addition to the weight of the old vests, some of them dating back to 1991, union representatives also raised safety concerns.

They argued that the protective material has degenerated and that many of the vests are now older than their designated lifetimes, thereby putting the lives of officers in danger.

In this respect at least, fears turned out to be largely unfounded. Experts from the University of Ljubljana quickly tested the vests using various types of live ammunition. The vests passed the tests, so no recall was initiated.

PM Pahor, Interior Minister Kresal and Police Commisioner Goršek conferring decorations for bravery and dedication.

The Slovenia Times

Photo: BOBO

By Jaka Bartolj

ers have also been attacked with knives, broken bottles and canes.

And with the recession showing no signs of easing, crime in Slovenia is expected to increase.

Police and Politics Slovenia’s police force has also had to deal with political controversy. Despite criticism from opposition parties, which warned of possible politicization of the police, Interior Minister Katarina Kresal introduced amendments to the police act that change the way police commissioners are appointed and expand police powers. Kresal’s pick for the commissioner’s post, Acting Police Commissioner Janko Goršek, recently announced a complete overhaul of the police force, which has been facing personnel shortages for some time: “After the changes, the police force will no longer be what it is now,” he told reporters.

Goršek was also quick to deny allegations that the police force is being used for political purposes by investigating companies close to the opposition, as well as the claim that the investigation of former Prime Minster Janez Janša came about because of Kresal’s pressure. (Janša was accused of disclosing classified information by publicly quoting Kresal’s statement from a 2007 meeting of party leaders.)

In Slovenia’s highly politicized environment, however, separating politics from the public’s perception of the police may turn out to be a task even more difficult than the current equipment and personnel shortages.

POLITICS

Interview: John Groffen

From Slovenia with love John Groffen, Dutch ambassador to Slovenia and the winner of The Slovenia Times’ Guest Star of the Year award, has left Ljubljana for Qatar. We talked to him about his four year stint in the country.

You are soon leaving Slovenia. Are you satisfied with the work you have done here?

I thoroughly enjoyed my four year stay in Slovenia: it is a beautiful country, centrally located in Europe and it has a lot to offer in the field of culture and nature.

The relations between The Netherlands and Slovenia are excellent but as an ambassador you always try to ‘make a difference’, to add something to what already exists.

I think that our Bilateral Fokus weeks that we have been organizing since 2001 have been very successful. I also look back with a lot of pleasure to the royal visit of the Prince of Orange and princess Máxima in October 2007. I also made quite some good friends here in Slovenia, so I can say: Yes, I am satisfied.

Bilateral focus Slovenia-the Netherlands is already well established. How would you evaluate the impact of the project?

With the Bilateral Fokus we manage to create a lot of publicity for the Netherlands and for DutchSlovenian cooperation. The events we organize are meant to make people aware of the opportunities of working together, be it in the cultural, political, administrative or economical field. I am very satisfied with what we have achieved and also the reactions we get from Slovenes and Dutch alike are always very positive.

Organizing the Bilateral Fokus each year demands an enormous lot of work of all staff at our embassy. But because we have gained a lot of experience and we all know what to do and how to do it, we manage. Over the years we have also witnessed a growing interest in Slovenian society - organisations, NGO’s, ministries, publishing houses - to cooperate with the embassy in organizing events.

For example in 2001 approximate-

ly 80% of the events were organized by the embassy, last year it was 20%; the other 80% was done

by Slovenian partners whom we helped and assisted.

We don’t have an enormous budget but we make good use of the money we have. What I find most gratifying is that the Fokus offers opportunities to young people, at the beginning of their professional career. We always try to involve as many young people as possible: with school exchanges, visits to schools, getting students from the AGFRT, conservatories or ballet schools to perform at Fokus events, or to invite students to rehearsals.

We have not seen much investment in the Slovenian economy by Dutch companies. Why? Investments by Dutch companies in the Slovenian economy might seem modest; however, they grow slowly and steadily. We should not forget that it is not so easy to penetrate the Slovenian market, as new brands are not easily accepted and foreign companies have difficulties winning tenders.

The sectors which seem to have the greatest attraction for the Netherlands, are the health food sector and health tourism; on the other hand the Netherlands has a lot to offer in the area of logistics, as the Netherlands has ample experience as a distribution country for a large part of Europe. If Slovenia has the ambition to become a distribution hub for South-eastern Europe, it could learn from this experience.

Another area, in which the Netherlands is leading, is greenhouse technology. Also in this regard the Netherlands could share its expertise with Slovenia, where so far there is one greenhouse with advanced Dutch technology. This greenhouse, Ocean Orchids in Dobrovnik really is one of my ‘pet’

projects. I have enormous respect for the two young guys who started this project from scratch and turned into a big success.

If you had to propose a Slovenian destination or two to your fellow countrymen, which ones would you choose?

These are always the hardest questions: I would say visit old towns such as Škofja Loka, Novo Mesto, and Trnovo in Ljubljana, go hiking around the lakes of Bled and Bohinj, and see the magnificent Soča river in all its turquoise splendour.

What are your future plans?

Are you staying in diplomacy?

My next posting will be in Qatar, which will be a complete change from Slovenia. I am really looking forward to the challenges that this new job will bring, but at the same time it makes me feel sad to have to say goodbye (for now) to Slovenia. And after Qatar, who knows: another interesting posting, Inch’ Allah.

The Netherlands has a lot to offer in the area of logistics, as the Netherlands has ample experience as a distribution country for a large part of Europe.

If Slovenia has the ambition to become a distribution hub for South-eastern Europe, it could learn from this experience.

September 2009

10

Economy

FACTS AND FIGURES

source: STA, Slovenian Press Agency

Slovenia’s own private bailout It is easy to get carried away by diatribes in the left-leaning media in the country, blasting the US policymakers for bailing out big financial institutions, whose bosses have paid themselves millions of dollars in compensation for what were obviously reckless and self-serving lending policies. Homegrown scandals, however, often get overlooked.

The problem is that the guarantee scheme is bound to result in lending policies that helped to precipitate the current economic crisis. The scheme’s stated aim is to make banks less wary of lending to vulnerable sections of the population, such as the unemployed and those with fixed-term job contracts. Sadly, it was exactly the so-called ninja loans – no income, no job, no asFreezing up number of transactions, price per sqm for apartments in Slovenia 2000

Price per sqm

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0 Q1 2008

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sests – and free lending to companies that could repay their debt only in the best of all possible worlds that lies at the heart of today’s financial turmoil.

Critics claim that the scheme is nothing but an attempt by the government to bail out the construction firms whose bosses have not only gotten very rich in the past couple of years, but now sit on the thousands of unsold apartments built during the housing boom. Real estate prices have lately started to fall, although they have not fallen by far enough to lure buyers back into the market. Increasingly, builders and developers have trouble servicing their debt; a guarantee scheme, if successful, would help prop up housing demand, making it easier for construction sector to weather the crisis.

Banks, of course, know this very well. When EUR 1.2 bn in guarantees to thaw the credit freeze was made available to them earlier this year, the response was not exactly enthusiastic. Some economists think this a good thing as banks are recoiling from making risky loans that a couple

Deflation arrives in Slovenia

Govt caps 2010, 2011 budgets

Source: SURS

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 -1

2009

J A S O N D J F M A M J

The Slovenia Times

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Photo: BOBO

Public finances

Here we go monthly inflation, y-o-y, in %

In an unlikely event, however, that banks will suddenly start extending mortgages to unemployed, the state should have no problems stepping in when the loans go bad. The recently announced introduction of a new tax bracket for the very rich will see to that.

Which is fine - but it will be the taxpayer holding the bag, if the loans approved under the guarantee scheme go bad, which is very likely to happen. Although the figures have stabilized a bit, recession is not over; unemployment will be rising and fixed term-contracts will not be renewed across the board, not exactly an environment conducive to increased lending.

Economy

Consumer prices in Slovenia dropped by 0.9% in July, the Statistics Office said. At an annual level, Slovenia recorded deflation for the first time, as prices dropped by 0.6%. Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, deflation was recorded both at monthly (-0.8%) and at annual (0.6%) levels in July.

of years ago would have been approved with no questions asked. That puts the success of the guaranttee scheme under question.

Construction malaise: A hole in the ground, a hole in the books

Telecommunications The government decided to cap the 2010 and 2011 national budgets to EUR 8.956bn each. The budget deficit in 2010 is to stand at 4.8%, while in 2011 it is expected to be lower, at 3.5% of GDP. Development Minister Mitja Gaspari explained after the government session that the move represented the beginning of the fiscal consolidation Slovenia is required to carry out in order to ensure the stability of its fiscal and economic policies and system in line with the requirements of the EU.

Steel

SIJ spites the recession The shareholder assembly of the Slovenian Steel Group (SIJ) adopted a yearly business report of the group for the year 2008 on the 26th of August. The company increased its revenues by 3,5 percent to EUR 703 m, making EUR 37,9 in profits. Value added per employee rose by 1,9 percent to EUR 44.807. The business was good in 2008; not only were the production volumes bigger than the year before, SIJ, in spite of recession, was hiring rather than firing workers. There were 3490 people employed in SIJ at the end of 2008, 3,2 percent more than in 2007.

Simobil Q2 profit down 42% Simobil, the second biggest wireless operator on the Slovenian market, saw its operating profits for the second quarter fall by 41.6% to EUR 5.8m against a year ago. Revenues were down 8.6% to EUR 42.4m.

According to the results released by the parent company, Telekom Austria, Simobil grew its subscriber base by 8.8% to 581,800 customers at the end of June, increasing its market share from 27.2% to 28%.

Photo: Mobitel

In the middle of August when those that can still afford them enjoyed their vacations somewhere on the Adriatic, the government adopted a guarantee scheme to help spur lending to households.

Banks can count on EUR 350 m in guarantees; if all the funds are auctioned successfully which is, given the experience with a similar scheme for companies, far from certain, this will result in around EUR 600 m of new loans.

11 Real estate

Pharma

Newspapers

Prices of new housing stabilising

Krka’s revenues up by 2%

Printed media in dire straits

Home appliance maker Gorenje has signed a lucrative deal to supply its appliances to a home electronics chain in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The company expects sales through Jumbo Electronics to make up 20-25% of its sales in the region, which currently amount to around EUR 6m.

Research

JAPTI helps R&D in companies The Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (JAPTI) gave out almost EUR 700,000 to nine companies for employing researchers from institutes or larger companies. By providing financial aid for employment of researchers, JAPTI wants to improve the quality and applicability of science and research, increase the knowledge flow and boost cooperation between research institutes, universities and the economy.

Insurance

Matjaz Rakovec to head insurer Triglav The supervisory board of Slovenia’s top insurer, Zavarovalnica Triglav, appointed the boss of the insurer’s Ljubljana branch office, Matjaz Rakovec, the company’s chairman on Monday. Rakovec will assume a fiveyear-term once he gets the approval of the insurance market watchdog.

Health industry

Spas making good business

The number of guests in Slovenian spas in the first half of 2009 grew by 1% compared to the same period last year, amounting to some 304,000, according to the Slovenian Spas Association. The number of overnight stays meanwhile increased by 2% to almost 1.26 million. The majority of foreign guests came from Italy and Austria.

A fall in the number of overnight stays was recorded among visitors from Croatia and Germany, while tourists from Russia generated 20% more overnight stays than in the first half of 2008.

Unemployment rate rises to 9.1% in June Slovenia’s registered unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 9.1% in June, the Statistics Office said. This is the ninth consecutive month that Slovenia’s unemployment rate has increased after bottoming out at 6.2% in September 2008 at the onset of the global financial crisis.

Inexorably rising the number of unemployed persons 80000 60000 40000 20000 0

2009 J

F

M

A

M

J

Banking

Banking

NLB group reports half-year loss

Abanka and Gorenjska banka to merge

Slovenia’s biggest banking group, NLB, made a EUR 5.6m loss in the first half of the year due to impairment of its investments and a drop in revenues. The harsh conditions on the market had transformed the EUR 84.2m in pre-tax profit the group made in the same period last year into a EUR 2m pre-tax loss this year.

However, the NLB bank, the core of the group, operated in the black, making a net profit of EUR 35.7m for the first six months of the year. This is nevertheless a 45% drop compared to the first half of 2008.

Still in positive territory NLB profit 120 100 80

Source: SURS

Gorenje in Middle East deal

Economy

J

Photo: Dreamstime

Home appliances

Pharma company Krka released its half year results on Thursday, announcing it generated EUR 477.84m in revenues, up 2% year on year. Krka’s profits in the first half of 2009 meanwhile stood at EUR 78m, which is on par with those from the same period a year ago. The crisis has however affected Krka on southeastern markets where local currencies have been devalued, particularly in Romania. Revenues from the markets of Southeast Europe fell by 7%, Colaric said. Sales in Eastern Europe dropped by 2%, with the exception of Russia, where they grew by 10%.

The popularity of printed media in Slovenia continues to fall, growing only for free daily Žurnal24 in the first half of 2009, according to the National Readership Survey.

Supplement TV guides Pilot and Vikend share first place with an average of 367,000 readers and free weekly Žurnal came in third with an average of 357,000 readers. It is followed by two tabloids - Slovenske novice (342,000), which remains the most widely read daily, and weekly Nedeljski dnevnik (340,000).

The biggest owners of Slovenia’s third largest bank Abanka Vipa and the Kranj-based bank Gorenjska banka signed a letter of intent in support of preparing a merger of the two banks, Abanka said.

Slovenia’s top insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav, chemicals-through-tourism conglomerate Sava, asset management firm Zvon Ena Holding and hardware retail chain Merkur thus confirmed the intention of the managements of the two banks to carry out a merger.

60 40 20 0

* 1st half

The prices of new housing in Slovenia fell by 2.5% in the second quarter of this year. While the prices were marked down for the third consecutive quarter, the drop was much smaller than in the first quarter of 2009. The average price of new flats in the second quarter was at the level last seen in mid-2007 and was 11.9% below the second quarter of 2008.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*

Search engines

Firefox and Explorer fight it out The Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox web browser has caught up with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in terms of popularity among Slovenian users at the end of June, according to Iprom, a Slovenian web advertising technology provider. After being the number one web browser in Slovenia for years, Internet Explorer now leads only by two percentage points with 48% of the users.

September 2009

12 ECONOMY

Istrabenz and Pivovarna Laško

Photo: Mercator

The little engines that could…not

Mercator: Creditors have wrestled control of Slovenia’s biggest retailer from Šrot

As the tourism season slowly winds down, worries about what will happen to three debt-ridden companies, continue. Infond Holdings, Pivovarna Laško, and Istrabenz are no longer powerful engines destined to reach a glorious destination. Instead, all are slowly heading towards “Insolvencyville.”

By Lucija J. Millonig

“

Insolvencyville – Where Your Company Might End Up” is the slogan of this fictional town, which now has two new occupants – Infond Holding and Istrabenz. Both got there due to similar reasons (taking loans out that could not be repaid) and now it is just a matter of time for brewery company Pivovarna Laško to join them.

Like the little engine that could, this Slovenian conglomerate is fighting hard to remain afloat but faces many obstacles to this as Infond is at the financial heart of the company. All three companies have failed in the business realm and are in desperate need of a confidence boost. The biggest surprise however , is that all three companies have similar stories.

Infond Holding, Pivovarna So similar …

Laško, and Istrabenz – all In fond Holdi ng, Pivova r na Laško, and Istrabenz – all differdifferent in their business ent in their business dealings, but dealings, but similar in similar in their business models. their business models. It It is as if all three were cast from is as if all three were cast the same mould and now all face similar fates. from the same mould and Istrabenz was the first to go under, now all face similar fates. thanks to Igor Bavčar’s misjudged The Slovenia Times

business ventures. Then Infond went down for the same reasons and in almost the same manner.

Because Infond owned more that

50 percent of Laško, the brewery company is suffering as well. The mastermind behind the last two holdings is Boško Šrot – former

Connecting the dots 1: Ownership structure of Šrot’s Infond Holding and Pivovarna Laško before share seizures

Pivovarna Laško WHO WAS CEO OF

WHICH HAD A 57 percent

Boško Šrot

Infond

AND WIFE ANICA OWN

WHICH HAS A 71 percent

Atka Prima

Center Naložbe

WHICH OWNS

WHICH OWNS 78 percent

Kolonel

ECONOMY 13

86 percent

of the beer market in Slovenia

2 leading beer brands 70 percent

of the beer market in Kosovo

300 million euros is the estimated worth of Pivovarna Laško

Source: Finance.si

CEO of Pivovarna Laško and indirect owner of Infond Holding.

Currently, Istrabenz is encountering losses in the tourism division, Laško might be sold, Šrot is suing NLB, Laško’s biggest creditor and Slovenia’s leading bank, and a new CEO was appointed for Infond. Confused?

No matter how strange or ridiculous the current situation may seem, these companies and their former CEO’s are still gracing headlines, because what happens to them will affect the lives of many as well as the Slovenian economy.

Infond cries “Hold Me” At this point Infond Holding needs some serious TLC. This Maribor-based financial firm recieved its biggest hit when state-controlled NLB bank failed to extend a EUR 130m loan in June. Instead, NLB started seizing shares.

Infond officially declared insolvency in August and other banks are following NLB’s lead decreasing their holdings stake in Laško and retailer Mercator drastically. However, creditors have not requested for receivership yet, so debt restructuring might still be possible.

In the meantime, former CEO Boško Šrot has tried to place emphasis on NLB and away from Infond by suing the bank. After NLB seized shares, they were put up for sale on the stock exchange. A 23.51 percent stake in Pivovarna Laško and 10.75 percent stake in Mercator were sold to Fin-Do, a financial company entirely owned by NLB and Slovenian financial firm Publikum Fin – a deal generating more than EUR 120m. Šrot claims that this deal, although carried out legally through the stock market, was rigged and that both the buyer and price per share were predetermined. Šrot is suing the bank for compensation through the Čeferin law firm, claiming that the sale decreased the value of the holding by more than half.

In the meantime, Italian businessman Pierpaolo Cerani, owner of Iniziative Generali 96, a Triestebased medical supplies provider, has been appointed CEO of Infond Holding and has been signed on for a four-year term.

Beer, anyone?

The saddest tale of all is that of Pivovarna Laško. The brewery empire that holds more than 80 percent market share in Slovenia is starting to crumble as creditors are slowly selling their shares in Laško that were seized from Infond Holding.

Laško’s fate is directly tied to Infond, therefore if Infond faces receivership the consequences will be dire. Currently, only debt restructuring and good relations with the banks can help Laško out of this precarious situation. Even Danilo Türk, president of the Republic of Slovenia, commented to Finance.si that Laško’s situation is of national importance.

Laško has consequently started its own legal proceedings against Infond for failing to settle its liabilities to the brewery company amounting to EUR 110m in a timely manner. The management board however, has not initiated bankruptcy protection in the courts yet, some speculating that Laško is forming undisclosed deals with its creditors – the banks would be able to seize as many shares as possible from Infond and in return they would renew Laško’s loans.

As of today, this conglomerate is thought to be worth nearly EUR 300m. If the company was to be sold, the buyer would be handsomely rewarded with 85.5 percent market share in Slovenia, 70 percent market share in Kosovo, an already established entrance into the Croatian market as well as numerous brands of mineral waters and juices, plus investments in two established media outlets in Slovenia.

But for now millions of euros worth of Laško shares are being sold in block deals on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. It is unclear yet who exactly are the buyers or the sellers, but it is known that several banks have already cashed in their collateral, one being the noted NLB.

Istrabenz – Not a tourist attraction August the 10th was the deadline for creditors to file claims against Istrabenz. Of a total of 1381, only 44 creditors registered claims worth up to EUR 501m – an action that was part of the court-ordered debt restructuring plan.

The claims will be analyzed and

Photo: BOBO

Pivovarna Laško in control

whether they will be accepted will be known by September the 10th.

As of now, the debt-restructuring plan, aims to make 100 percent repayment of all debts by 2014.

At the same time, Istrabenz’s tourism division has seen great activity.

The Grand Hotel Adriatic in Opatija, Croatia, has been put up for sale with the consent of all the shareholders. A buyer will have until September to initiate the purchase by placing a deposit of EUR 31m, in the hope that the sale will be finalized by Oct. 22.

The same hotel has been placed on the market previously, but has never been sold successfully.

The Hotel Palace in Portorož, Slovenia, is also suffering during this economic downturn.

Partnered with Kempinski hotel group, Istrabenz invested approximately EUR 70m into the renovation of the hotel. According to management consulting group, AT Kearney, its current value is estimated at only EUR 4m, a number that will not rise above EUR 22m by 2015, all a consequence of the levels of debt the hotel has against it.

As a (now former) CEO of Istrabenz, Bavčar led a debt-fuelled expansion gone wrong

Currently, Istrabenz is encountering losses in the tourism division, Laško might be sold, Šrot is suing NLB, Laško’s biggest creditor and Slovenia’s leading bank, and a new CEO was appointed for Infond.

Connecting the Dots 2: Bavčar’s would-be empire

Igor Bavčar

WHO WAS CEO OF SINCE 2002

WHICH HAS A 25.8 percent

OWN

FB Investicije

Istrabenz

WHICH HAS A 78 percent STAKE

Maksima

September 2009

14 ECONOMY

Real estate in Slovenia

Time to buy?

Slovenia: a small nation of two million inhabitants located in the heart of Europe and bordering four different countries and the Adriatic Sea. Many foreigners who visit the country, either due to business or tourism, fall for its distinct charm and diversity. When thoughts of buying a property arise in their minds however, many stand in amazement when faced with the high prices they encounter. Many wonder why the country’s real estate is so expensive…

By Carlos M. Silva

When analyzing the rental yields (the percentage of annual rental income given the purchase price) the numbers were and continue to be relatively low, making property investment in Slovenia appear unattractive.

The Slovenia Times

S

lovenia’s real estate market has been completely open to European Union nationals since the country joined the EU in 2004. At that time, experts speculated that thousands of EU citizens eager to buy properties would rush to the newly open market. The reality is that only a handful came and even fewer purchased, the high prices encountered in Slovenia compared to other EU countries frightened investors away and made them consider if the investment was indeed worth it. When analyzing the rental yields (the percentage of annual rental income given the purchase price) the numbers were and continue to be low, making property investment appear unattractive.

Throughout the first years after liberalization, only around 500 properties were sold to nonSlovene EU citizens. From January 2006 to April 2009, foreigners

The actual scenario According to the Statistical Office of Slovenia, over7,500 new apartments and houses were completed in Slovenia in 2005 and 2006, and

more than 8,000 in 2007. The rapid rise of property prices from 2003 to 2007 was due to strong housing demand and to the fact that most Slovenes own their houses (the rate of owner-occupancy was 82 percent in 2005).

If we compare such numbers with the first quarter of 2009, planned construction was 41 percent down compared to the same period in 2008.

The shock of the global financial crisis has been bringing property prices down. Consumers are now pessimistic about buying and building houses due to the large investment it represents and the costs associated with it. Banks have also tightened their lending. These factors have resulted in a drop in the number of real estate transactions (purchases and sales) in the market and consequently, as the law of supply and demand dictates, a drop in the prices of properties.

The domino effect House price increases in Slovenia began to slow in 2007, and started to decrease in 2008 especially in the third and fourth quarters.

In the first quarter of 2009, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia the advertised prices of houses in the country declined by 7 percent compared to a year earlier. This represents the biggest annual

Is now the time to buy? second-hand houses and apartment price index, 2005 = 100 160

142

124

106 Source: SURS

Construction sites around the country do not swarm with workers anymore

bought only 2,026 properties according to the Slovenia Tax Administration. The vast majority of the buyers were from the United Kingdom (39 percent), Italy (29 percent), Austria (8 percent) and Germany (6 percent) (Insert illustration). At that time, the only two banks who offered mortgages to foreign investors were Volksbank of Austria and SKB Banka.

The price of real estate from 2003 to 2007 grew at an enormous rate, reaching double digit percentages per annum and up to 30 percent on certain properties in the capital, Ljubljana. This was the consequence of the rapid economic growth registered in the country during those years (average GDP growth rate of 9 percent between 2000 and 2007) and the associated speculation within the real estate market. In July 2008, considered by many experts to be the height of the market, average property prices in Ljubljana ranged from €2,926 to €3,737 per sq. m. Rents were on average €491 per month for a small (40 sq. m.) unit and larger ones had rents that could reach up to €2,175 per month for a 150 sq. m. flat.

88

70

Q1 03

Q1 09

Photo: Emonika

ECONOMY 15 Not exactly a bargain-hunter’s dream EUR 62.820

for a 20 sqm studio

EUR 114.160

for a 1-room 40 sqm apartment

EUR 155.580

for a 2-room 60 sqm apartment * based on average advertised prices for sqm, June 2009, slonep.net)

Emonika, the capital’s flagship project, is mired in financing and other troubles

price fall since 2003. the number of transactions in Slovenia was also 56 percent down in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period the previous year.

Ljubljana saw a sharper drop in prices of houses recording an 8 percent fall compared to the values of the first quarter of 2008. The total number of transactions realized between January and March 2009 amounted to only 141 while during the same period of time in 2008 the number reached 393, representing a drop of 64 percent on a year on year comparison.

Ljubljana‘s price figures Ljubljana has a natural charm that attracts not only foreigners but also Slovenes who decide to pursue their lives in the capital of the country. Its small and charming center, its unique architecture, natural beauty and genuine safety makes the city an attractive place to live and it is also considered by Forbes.com to be the second best city in Europe. to live in.

People seeking an apartment in Ljubljana can choose from several options ranging from a simple studio to a large apartment with five or more rooms. Prices in the city center within a radius of 7 kilometers from the historic part of the city are high. Actual rates range from an average of 60.000 Euro to 95.000 Euro for a simple studio of 20 to 30 sq. m. If seeking a larger apartment, prices per square meter become more affordable, making a 3-room apartment of 80 sq. m. around 200.000 Euro on average.

In June 2009, advertised apartment prices registered considerable drops when compared with 2008 values. Rates for an average 1-room apartment in Ljubljana registered the biggest drop with an 8 percent fall, compared to the average of the previous year. The demand for studio apartments also seems to be dropping as their prices suffered the second biggest hit with a drop of 7 percent in advertised prices followed by 4-

Pricey average price per sqm in the capitals, in EUR

room apartments (-6.5 percent), 2room apartments (-6 percent) and 3-room apartments (-4 percent).

Apartments with 5 or more rooms suffered the smallest decline, registering a drop of only 3.5 percent in advertised prices. Although, one should keep in mind that such properties are generally aimed at a higher class of people and maintaining a high listed price is a common practice in order to attract the right target audience. The final prices realised might therefore be well below the advertised value when buyers commit to the purchase.

Future trend With signs of recovery from the financial crisis in countries such as Germany and France, Slovenia should also follow in the near future. In the meantime, based on historical data, the 3rd and the 4th quarter of this year should not surprise us as property prices continue their way downward.

In 2004 when the country joined the EU, the high prices encountered in Slovenia compared to other European countries frightened investors away.

In June 2009, advertised apartment prices registered considerable drops when compared with 2008 values. Rates for an average 1-room apartment in Ljubljana registered the biggest drop with an 8 percent fall, compared to the average of the previous year.

Who’s buying share of foreign buyers of Slovenian property by country

6000

Others 18 %

5000

UK 39 %

4000

Germany 6%

3000 Austria 8%

2000 1000 0 Ireland

Austria

Slovenia

Germany

Croatia

Hungary

Italy 29 %

September 2009

16 ECONOMY

South Stream and Nabucco

Nabucco

South Stream

As the summer slowly draws to an end, policy makers and households alike are increasingly focusing on what the cold winter days might have in store for them. Russia and Ukraine have already made some disconcerting noises regarding the issue of gas pricing; that makes the sudden interruption of Russian gas supplies to Europe all the more likely. This means that South Stream and Nabucco, competing pipeline projects to bring the gas that warms many European homes from the East to the EU, are once again surfacing as the focal points of energy discussions.

Photo: BOBO

A tight race Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission

Distance: 3300 km Capacity: 31 bcm per year Investment: EUR 7,9 bn Completed until: 2015

By Marko Vuković

P

ipeline politics has never been a fiendishly complex business; it follows wellestablished principles of energy sources and supply routes diversification. The more diversified the sources and the more diversified the routes by which they flow to the the buyer, the less dependent is the latter on its supplier.

The EU wants to break its dependence on Russian gas by using Nabucco, which bypasses Russia by supplanting it with energy sources from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, by constructing South Stream, strives to circumvent Ukraine,which today hosts the majority of pipelines bringing Russian gas to Europe. If built, South Stream would allow Moscow to negotiate the prices Ukrainians pay for Russian gas

without worrying about disruption of gas supply to the EU.

Business as usual?

In July, with the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the project between Turkey, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, Nabucco took a big step forward. The pipeline is supposed to link Central Asia, with its huge gas reserves, to European markets where the demand for gas is projected to grow substantially in the next couple of decades. The US welcomed the move, emphasizing however, that Nabucco should not count on Iranian gas to fill its capacities.

The critics of the project say this proves that it is not based entirely on commercial considerations.

As one Russian observer puts it, Nabucco is a „pipeline with geopolitical stuffing“; in his view its

main aim is to extend the Western zone of influence into what was once Russia’s backyard.

Streaming south Many commentators think that the same goes for the Russian project; which largely follows the Nabucco route whilst carrying Russian gas, South Stream looks like an attempt by Moscow to make the EU- and US-sponsored pipeline redundant. Moreover, Russia increasingly lobbies, some say even pressures, Central Asian countries to route gas and oil exports destined for Europe through Russian territory; if they succeed, this will be a serious setback for the commercial viability of Nabucco.

It is the first rule of the pipeline business that pipelines have to be full, if investors are to make any money out of them. Judging

Beregovaja

ITALY

SERBIA Varna

GREECE Proposed Nabucco gas pipeline Proposed South Stream gas pipeline Suggested Serbian South Stream route The Slovenia Times

Source: wikipedia

Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom

Distance: 3200 km (900 km under sea) Capacity: 30 bcm per year Investment: EUR 20-25 bn Completed until: 2015 by the projections of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the demand for gas will be there; the problem therefore, is one of supply. Chronic lack of investment in new gas and oil fields not only in Central Asia but also in Russia could prove to be a problem.

It seems that both Nabucco and South Stream are partly geopolitical projects; South Stream, however, is in a better position to tap sufficient gas sources to fill the pipes.

On the other hand, Gazprom is not as flush with cash as it was a few years ago. With lower oil and gas prices battering the profits, the energy giant might find itself in an awkward position if it has to delay its South Stream plans.

Enter Slovenia Slovenia enters the big energy game in a supporting role, as a would-be host country for a section of the South Stream pipeline linking Hungary with Italy.

As with other host countries, the main issues in negotiations about the status of the joint company, that would be managing the individual sections of the pipeline, are the ownership structure and tax treatment.

T he Sloven ia n gover n ment wants to split the ownership of a joint company into equal halves and leave the tax treatment issue open; Gazprom, on the other hand, maintains that its share should be at least 51 percent and that the joint venture should enjoy certain tax advantages. The deal between Slovenia and Gazprom has yet to be signed; because the matter could not be settled on the lower level, Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss it soon.

and

18 ECONOMY

Logistics

The need for speed If you look at Slovenia’s geographical position within Europe, you can see a vast potential that can hardly be overstated. Two strategically important trans-European corridors pass through Slovenia. Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, lies on the crossroad of the fifth and tenth European corridors connecting Lyon with the Ukrainan border on the west-east axis and Austria with Greece on the north-south axis.

By Roman Oberč

T

Photo: Luka Koper

he trouble is that these are not yet established routes, but projects that exist only on paper.

If for some reason the existing plans ran into long delays and less than enthusiastic government support, the corridors would have to be reconsidered. This is now the danger Slovenia faces. Progress on big infrastructure projects has been slow traditionally and this is now compounded by the financial crisis.

How not to do it As a potential high growth sector, logistics services are a strategic focus of the Slovenian government. Consequently there is no shortage of plans by Slovenian logistics companies to expand their capacities; unfortunately there is also no shortage of blunders.

One such blunder was, without a doubt, the construction of Čehov, a new logistic center recently erected by Intereuropa, one of the country’s leading logistics companies, near Moscow. Much hope was put into this project; it was to be the biggest strategic expansion for the company in recent years.

But, as often happens, when ambitions exceed talent, the resulting outcome is unfavorable.

Under the watch of Andrej Lovšin, Intereuropa’s former CEO, the cost of the project, once estimated to be EUR 40, m ballooned to EUR 100 m. It is no wonder then that the company expects to show heavy losses in its half-yearly business results. To add insult to inju-

The port of Koper has ambitious expansion plans

ry, Intereuropa is now in the process of being sued by the former Intereuropa-East CEO Esad Ajeti who was also responsible for the Čehov mess. The reason may be his severance pay though he has already denied this. In any case 2009 will probably be one of the darkest years for the company.

The crown jewel The logistics sector in Slovenia relies heavily on the port of Koper.

The annual volume of cargo handled has been growing steadily year on year In 2008 the throughput figure was 16 million tons of cargo. However, if the port is to achieve its full potential, it must still develop and expand.

Drafting of the national spatial plan for the port is nearly completed and will soon be unveiled, enabling the stakeholders to mould

Shaping up to be a good year? throughput of the port of Koper in ‘000 tonnes 15000

10000

5000

0 2005

The Slovenia Times

2006

2007

2008

1st half 2009

their different ambitions into a tangible goal. The plans to be unveiled will include the building of the third pier on the northern side of the port. This plan is not new and has been controversial because it extends into the nearby salt meadows which form part of the EU environmental protection programme Natura 2000 and are a home to an impressive range of biotic diversity. The new pier will be exclusively used for containers and mooring will only be possible on the south, port side, respecting the protected area.

Further port enhancements include a five storey warehouse for cars; an extended second pier with state-of-the-art warehouses for dry bulk and liquid bulk cargoes and new shore tanks for oil derivatives. In the future, the first pier will be used mainly for containers, following the global trends in container shipping.

With the new central clearance law of the EU, the import tax collected on the goods destined for any EU country will be split in two ways; 75 percent will go into the EU budget, while the remaining 25 percent will be split by the country that collected the tax and the country of destination.

This law was proposed during the Slovenian Presidency of the EU council and is viewed favorably by Slovenia as the port will be a big source of income for the country.

Focus on the Railways Both of the European transport corridors that pass through Slovenia need massive investment in their infrastructure. In Slovenia, the railway infrastructure is the biggest problem. The trains run on the same tracks that they used a century ago. This simply will not do. The network is so out of date that it must be completely redesigned.

A second railway track from Koper to Divača would go a long way to relieve the congested route linking the port of Koper with its hinterland. An optimum 160 km/h speed must be achieved throughout the main railway routes, not to mention an increase in track load bearing capacities.

The funds needed for this are immense. According to modernization plans the total cost is projected to be EUR 8,884 m.

This amount cannot be raised

by Slovenia alone. The best solution would be to find a strategic partner. There are already talks of a Deutsche Bahn - Slovenian railways partnership which could solve the problem. However, critics point out that Slovenia could lose key strategic assets in the process. This is a realistic fear because potential foreign partners would probably insist that the offer on the Slovenian side must include the bulk of Slovenia’s logistics sector, including the icing on the cake, the Port of Koper.

ECONOMY 19

Energy

“Energy storage still a problem?”

These are the predictions of Ankica Đukić, assistant at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Maritime Studies who dedicated her doctoral thesis to hydrogen research. “Hydrogen as a secondary source of energy or energy carrier, is capable of storing energy for subsequent use”, she noted in her presentation at the REIC summer school on renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency, that took place in Fojnica, Bosnia-Herzegovina..

By Alenka Žumbar

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When solar energy reaches solar cells, electrical energy is passed into the electrolyzer and further on into a hydrogen tank. The energy can then be used subsequently, when we need it. This process is purely natural; no emissions of GHG are involved. If solar energy is not available, wind or hydro power can be used as alternatives”, An-

kica Đukić says, adding that the primary source of energy in this process should be the sun. “The sun is an infinite source of energy and the ultimate vision of the solar technology industry is to produce 50 percent of electricity from the sun by 2030. In the future, not only heating but also cooling will be driven by solar energy. hhh V_VcXVeZ\R _Ve cV]ZRS]V V_VcXj _Vhd

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Last year a football stadium in the Swiss capital was fitted with the world’s largest solar power station comprised of 7,930 solar cells, generating 1,134,045 KWh of electrical energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 630 tonnes.

Currently, the largest photovoltaic park, with a capacity of 60 MW, is located in Spain.

Secondary source of energy for the future “Hydrogen as secondary source of energy “, claims Đukić, “can be considered the fuel of the future”.

In view of this, an experiment was performed at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Maritime Studies which enabled the production of solar energy and its storage in the form of converted hydrogen. The experiment procedure involves the use of 3d electrodes coated with metal foam.

Their large specific surface area yields better output (600 μm) and better efficiency of electrolysis in comparison with the electrolysis using 2D electrodes. Fuel cells will be connected to the system as well.

Currently the main focus of the researchers is the reduction of wasted energy during the process.

While European roads are seeing an increasing number of fuel cell vehicles and while the network of gas and hydrogen stations throughout Europe is expanding, Japan has taken this technology a step further by implementing a hydrogen storage station with the capacity of 50 Nm3. In Japan, the number of fuel cell vehicles is set to reach five million by 2020.

“Furthermore”, Ankica Đukić asserts, “only a successful use of the combination between hydrogen and renewable sources of energy will help us achieve the environmental goals set by the EU.”

Slovenia-China relations

Business talks Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu was received by Prime Minister Borut Pahor at the end of the month. The pair hailed good relations between Slovenia and China, particularly in economy. Pahor said that the visit by Hui and the accompanying strong business delegation “will encourage cooperation and help balance bilateral trade”.

By STA

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rade in 2008 reached EUR 510m, 25% up over 2007. However, while Slovenia exported EUR 69m worth of goods to China, its imports from there amounted to as much as EUR 441m.

Pahor therefore said it was Slovenia’s wish to balance the trade, whereas Hui is convinced that both countries will do their best for this to come true.

Hui was accompanied by a delegation of around 80 representatives from 60 Chinese companies, who are having talks with Slovenian business people at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).

Pahor and Hui could not avoid touching on the global economic

crisis, with Pahor outlining the government’s efforts to deal with the crisis.

“As a small and open economy, Slovenia is trying to successfully deal with the economic crisis also by being more intensively present on the Chinese market.”

Pahor added that it was therefore vital, despite the government’s savings measures, to attend the 2010 world exhibition in Shanghai.

Although on a smaller-scale than originally planned, Slovenia will attend the Expo show because it would like to increase its investments in China, explained Pahor.

On the margin of the visit, sev-

eral documents were signed to promote cooperation: a memorandum on cooperation in agriculture and another in the area of SMEs, an action plan on health care and medicine for the 2009-2012 period, an agreement on cooperation between Ljubljana University and the Beijing Foreign Studies University and another to establish a Confucian institute at the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics.

The Chinese vice premier also attended a Slovenian-Chinese business forum. At the forum, which saw more than 200 individual business meetings, Hui said that cooperation is also important in view of addressing the impact of the global economic crisis.

Hui Liangyu

Following an address by Zdenko Pavcek, in which the GZS president expressed his conviction that the forum will contribute to boosting cooperation, PM Pahor said it was “no surprise that today China is one of the countries that attract the gaze of the political and business eyes of the whole world”.

Describing China as one of the most important players on the global market, Pahor said it was Slovenia’s most important partner in Asia.

September 2009

20 ECONOMY

PR Series: Health care communication

Keeping communication healthy Health is one of the most treasured assets among Slovenians. Health and wellbeing are among the most frequently reported topics in the media, particularly the lifestyle press. Healthcare communication is in many cases connected to one of the most heavily scrutinised and legally restricted industries, pharmaceutical manufacturing.

By Špela Bizjak, Mmd Slovenia

Building best practice

Topics addressed in communicating healthcare issues differ from improving the quality of everyday life and tips to lose five extra kilos before summer, to highly sophisticated and complex stories on achieving new milestones in the research of cancer or HIV therapies.

The pharmaceutical and healthcare business is one of the most challenging areas of communication. Communicating on life science and healthcare issues demands a specific set of skills, an in-depth understanding of medical matters and a high level of experience. To achieve set objectives, a multifaceted public relations strategy is very often deployed, such as government relations and regulatory affairs, lobbying, business-to-business, corporate and consumer communication, as well as media relations and leveraging social networks via digital channels.

For instance, topics addressed in communicating healthcare issues differ from improving the quality of everyday life and tips to lose five extra kilos before summer, to highly sophisticated and complex stories on achieving new milestones in the research of cancer or HIV therapies. Lately, public health has been in prime time news referring to H1N1 influenza and the role of the pharmaceutical industry. On one hand, manufacturers are lauded for offering vaccines, while on the other compa-

How to communicate this? number of diagnosed AIDS cases 40

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Importance of endorsement

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nies are under fire for their testing policies and animal rights.

Because of industry complexity and sensitivities, it is absolutely necessary Špela Bizjak to have a thorough understanding of the target audiences to be addressed in each communications campaign.

Key audiences in the healthcare sector include: • Originators of communication – pharmaceutical companies, healthcare institutions or individuals • Authorities – national and local regulators • End recipients of messages – current and potential patients • Expert conveyors of messages – doctors, scientists • Intermediators of messages – patient organisations and groups; also celebrities and public figures • Media – reporters as influencers with an increasing importance of digital and social media contributors.

Because of industry idiosyncrasies, the role of the communication consultant is very important and absolutely necessary. On the basis of experience, skills and understanding the complexity of the issue, the consultant’s role is to advise healthcare companies to identify the best model of communication to satisfy the business needs and goals of their clients – sustainably and ethically.

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The goal of communication campaigns is the delivery of key messages to audience groups and interaction with those groups. Such messages may be product-oriented, educational, related to responsible-business practice or simply

generating news about the company itself for regulatory disclosure reasons. In case of educational campaigns or launching new therapies, third-party endorsement is frequently used to generate audience support for the company’s position and typically those are doctors, key medical specialists or patient associations. Communication consultants identify the correct endorser suited to the subject matter and of appeal to the target audience, to balance the goals of the selected third-party endorser with those of the company.

Traditional media or going digital?

Slovenia’s high internet penetration and usage of social media networks shows that digital communications should be increasingly deployed beyond traditional media in a healthcare campaign’s communications mix. The anonymity offered by the Internet ensures that potential patients can research otherwise sensitive health-related topics before selfreferring for treatment or seeking other forms of support.

Successful communication in this fast moving sector requires a truly integrated approach. In our experience successful communicators and consultants need to understand the public policies, local attitudes and traditions and channel them effectively to an increasingly well informed and demanding consumer with clear messages, conveyed in a responsible and credible way. Špela Bizjak is the Head of Healthcare Communications at Mmd Slovenia

ECONOMY 21 Photo: wikipedia

Paul Krugman

The sage in Ljubljana Paul Krugman is not only one of the world’s most original economists; as a Nobel prize winner for economics in 2008, a columnist for the New York Times and a prodigious blogger he is also an opinion-maker of unprecedented reach. On September 16, Mr Krugman will visit Ljubljana, sharing his views on current economic and political issues with what is definitely going to be a big audience.

By Marko Vuković

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n the US where he teaches at the elite Princeton university, Mr Krugman is a controversial figure. His views on the role of government in the economy have never really chimed with the prevailing neoliberal orthodoxy taught in economic courses, not only in the US but in the majority of universities around the world.

The markets should be left to their own devices, the creed goes, the state should focus on their deregulation and liberalization.

The neoliberal dream went down in flames when international financial markets with all their innovative instruments and lack of effective regulation proved to be the cause of the economic melt-

down that followed the deflation of real estate bubbles in the EU and the US. Suddenly, erstwhile market prophets were going cap in hand to finance ministries, begging them to bail them out.

Mr Krugman, although in favour of bailing out systemically important financial institutions, has denounced this as socialism for the rich. In his view, it is not acceptable to privatize the profits in good times and socialize the costs when the going gets tough. Therefore, regulation should be beefed up and indiscriminate liberalization of markets such as international financial market avoided.

Mr Krugman also favours big fiscal boosts to the economy to keep

it from sinking.

In eyes of h is critics that makes him a Keynesian, a supporter of a set of economic policy guidelines that were suppos- Paul Krugman: The Nobel laureate will lay out his views on the edly discredited economic crisis in the 1970s when in the country. The Nobel laureate economic stagnation and inflation will surely have some questions to swept the developed economies. answer about the relative merits of Mr Krugman’s arguments, how- these two approaches to economic ever, will also impact on debates policy, although it is not expected that have been raging in Slovenian that his word will settle the diseconomic circles. Two schools of pute once and for all. thought, one following the neolibThe event is organized by KD eral creed and the other opposing Banka, a member of KD Group, in quick privatization, deregulation cooperation with Ljubljana Uniand liberalization, have developed versity’s Faculty of Economics.

Golden Drum

PR is in, at last Pu bL iciS, foto: To maž Gregori č

From Trieste to Vladivostok, from Helsinki to Tel Aviv Golden Drum Festival qualifies as one of the biggest, most important advertising and PR events of the year that spreads its wings over the area of New Europe.

S OZ, Parmova 53 , 10 00 L j ubl jana, S l ove nia

With sixteen years of tradition, eminent speakers and a worldwide reputation of a high valued program Golden Drum became established as a ‘must see’.

This year, however, is not only about the excellent program, prestigious awards and numerous novelties. For the first time in sixteen years the program also includes public relations. Highly respected experts will present new trends in the field of PR; they will speak about creative ways by which public relations can demonstrate and generate a positive return on investment by driving sales, improving efficiency and helping to avoid catastrophic cost.

Furthermore, PR agenda will be full of discussions about the dividing lines between PR and advertising, the growth of the online space and its effect on PR trends.

16th AdvErtISING FEStIvAL ANd MEdIA MEEtING POrtOrOž, 5 - 9 OctObEr, 2009 www.GOLdENdruM.cOM

September 2009

22 ECONOMY

Innovation in architecture

Modulate the kids The town of Brezovica opened 5 new departments within the new extension to one of municipality’s kindergartens which provides additional room for 75 children. Kindergartens made of modular units are an established practice of solving the issue of room shortage abroad, whereas the Podpeč Kindergarten, just a few kilometres out of Ljubljana near Ljubljana, is the first kindergarten of this kind in Slovenia.

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t was built by Trimo. The investment of enlarging the existing kindergarten with modular units is worth slightly above EUR 370,000.

The Mayor of the Municipality of Brezovica, Metod Ropret, said at the occassion: »We opted to enlarge the new kindergarten in Podpeč to reduce distress to parents facing the problem of available room in kindergartens. The assembly of modular units was a pleasant surprise in terms of speed and price acceptability.« Trimo has erected more than 30 kindergartens and schools made of modular units, in co-operation with its established partners all over Europe - such as a kindergar-

ten in Oslo, a school in Salzburg, a kindergarten in Vienna … Last year alone as many as 10 kindergartens made of Trimo modular units were erected in Austria.

Thanks to their flexibility and dynamic features, modular units are very convenient for kindergartens and schools, as they provide quick solutions for room shortage, taking less than 2 months from the ‘first shovel’ to bringing in the children.

Tat jana Fink, MBA, General Manager of Trimo, explains that the company has started building a kindergarten in Grosuplje, and that in the coming days preliminary works for building a modular kindergarten in Ilirska Bistrica will start.

Trimo introduces modular kindergartens

Green Karst – EnVision the Future The Notranjska-Karst region in Slovenia is well-known for its unique and well preserved natural and cultural heritage. Therefore the municipalities Bloke, Cerknica, Ilirska Bistrica, Logatec, Loška dolina, Pivka and Postojna have combined their efforts in creating a common vision of the region based on sustainable development and the cohabitation of nature and humanity. With the purpose of increasing recognition and strengthening its promotion, the region has also developed a new brand name, “Green Karst”, as it better illustrates its main characteristics and advantages.

Green Karst is one of the most sparsely inhabited areas in Slovenia. Intact and unspoiled nature offers shelter to numerous endangered species and that is why 54 % of the area is included in the Natura 2000 network.

The region is very famous for its numerous karst features: Cerknica Lake, the largest intermittent lake in Slovenia, Planina Polje, a world-famous example of ideal karst field, caves (Postojna Cave, Križna Cave) and its cultural heritage: Predjama Castle, Snežnik Castle, Prem Castle and many others. On the other hand, the area’s additional typical landmark is its extensive forests.

Goals and directions of sustainable vision The Green Karst main goal is to preserve nature and a healthy living environment. It will assure the development of the tourist infrastructure as well as

products and services on a local level that will be linked into the integrated regional products together with agriculture. Stimulation to reach higher standards in the field of environmental protection will increase environmental awareness and consequently save Green Karsts’ natural potentials.

increase environmentally friendly technologies.

To successfully implement the vision of Green Karst, four directions of development have been defined:

Bringing it into life

• Tourism: Green Karst’s natural and cultural jewels offer endless possibilities for active holidays and give tourists many ideas on how to spend their time in Green Karst.

• Agriculture with supplementary activities on farms includes widespread implementation and promotion of the most typical and famous regional products, among which are: cheese, strong drinks, honey, fruit products, fresh vegetables and products made from herbs.

• The economy of the Green Karst will stimulate the development of small and medium companies and

• Knowledge is the common attribute for all development directions as the implementation of the Green Karst vision depends on human resources.

A well preserved natural and cultural heritage represents a unique advantage to develop the economy as well as agriculture on the principles of sustainable development, to stimulate the use of renewable energy sources and to encourage tourism that will respect and preserve nature. But the most important part of the vision and its goals is the way it will be achieved - through active participation of different organizations and individuals inside the region as well as beyond its borders.

By Lucija Marovt, consultant, Consensus Communications for a Responsible Society d.o.o. advertisement

Regional characteristics as a basis for sustainable vision

Contacts: RRA Notranjsko-kraške regije, d.o.o., Prečna ulica 1, 6257 Pivka, Slovenia www.zelenikras.si, www.rra-nkr.si, e-mail: info@rra-nkr.si, tel.: 00386 5 721 22 40 The Slovenia Times

LIFE STYLE

Living healthy Everybody needs plenty of positive energy for daily activities and regular restoration of one’s sources of power. Professionals in Slovenian thermal spas can help you with their precautionary and rehabilitation programmes. The activities conducted

by Slovenian spas bring them closer to the global movement for the prevention of diseases of civilisation that appear as a consequence of contemporary lifestyles and the detrimental effects they have on our environment. The only way to treat a person is using a balanced unity of the mind, body and soul and to utilise traditional and modern techniques to help restore a sensitive balance, keeping you vigorous, healthy and creative through all your life.

24 LIFE STYLE

Spa programmes

Boosting vitality and beauty

Spa programmes integrate modern techniques for restoring, preserving and invigorating vitality and the beauty of the body and mind into effective programmes based on natural processes providing measurable effects.

By Dragica Sternad

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hese treatments are usually designed in cooperation with nutritionists, physical activity and cosmetology experts, while the preparation of precautionary and rehabilitation programmes often even includes doctors. An active holiday, pampering in modern Slovenian thermal oases with a top quality wellness offer, spa services, relaxation by the sea, culinary delights and enjoyment in idyllic natural surroundings – all this awaits you in the embrace of true Slovenian thermal spas.

Help yourself to new sources of power Do you wish to take the pressure off your body, detoxify it and restore your energy potential? The VitaDetox programme carried out at the Medico Wellness Centre in Šmarješke toplice is a unique programme of detoxification through fasting. It accelerates the secretion of harmful substances from the body and improves its energetic balance. It is based on detoxification with fasting, adapted physical activity and a number of new detoxification treatments. The programme is led by a personal trainer and a nutritionist and you will enjoy freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices or fasting with whey or soups.

Are you ga i n i ng excessive pounds and the diets are not havThe Slovenia Times

ing the desired effect? It is time to lose weight healthily and to radically change your habits. SlimFit is a wholesome and professionally designed weight loss programme. The problem of excessive weight is solved with the help of the latest medical discoveries and procedures. The programme includes modern and safe methods for burning fat, firming and lifting flabby body parts, stimulating agility, flexibility and tissue regeneration. The results are additionally enhanced by the altitude training programme that accelerates the degradation of fat in body cells, regulates the metabolism and improves your physical fitness and the body’s immune

system. Pleasant body treatments and massages enhance the effect and improve your well-being.

Your age is no obstacle to feeling and keeping a good and youthful appearance – where there’s a will, there’s a way. The Vino Vitarium rejuvenating programme at the Spa & Clinique Centre in Šmarješke toplice restores your youthful feeling and radiant skin.

The grapes and its products are grown in vineyards cultivated using biodynamic agriculture principles. They are a true treasury of polyphenols and antioxidants that inhibiting the aging process.

Time to regenerate If you cherish your health during recuperation from an injury or if you desire a precautionary

spa programme and know how to take some time off for your health despite an active everyday life, visit another one of the Slovenian thermal spa oases. Go with your loved ones and take a week to complete yourself by entering an oasis of well-being where you can relax and enjoy yourself.

The swimming pools of the Balnea Wellness Centre in Dolenjske toplice are filled with thermal waters that heal, relax, pamper and restore your powers, acting as a precautionary measure against potential illnesses and injuries or when recuperating after one.

Find peace by choosing the sauna or steam bath that your body needs – classical Finnish sauna, sanarium (bio sauna), Turkish steam bath, aroma bath, Japanese sweat bath with a zen room for relaxation and inner peace on water beds. The cottage made of spruce wood with its nudist terrace is a perfect shelter for everyone wishing to feel primeval nature. Try the whirlpool that revives your senses and washes away your last remaining worries. To ensure you have enough energy, discover the diverse offer of massages, facial and body care programmes and different therapies.

In love with the sea?

Do you understand the language of nature, feel the pulsation of the seasons and follow the energy swell? Sometimes, it is enough for continued on page 26

Wellness Orhidelia

A new, prestigious indulgence paradise in the heart of nature Terme Olimia boasts a brand new addition to their spa complex, Wellness Orhidelia, intended for the more demanding guests and those seeking new levels of relaxation and pampering.

Opening this year, Wellness Orhidelia represents the most luxurious spa experience in this part of Europe.

The Birth of a Paradise The name Orhidelia itself is steeped in symbolism.

Orchids have always been shrouded in mystery and were the substance of fairy tales and legends.

Already in the ancient times, people believed in magical medicinal powers of the orchid roots. Today the orchids are the most popular cut flowers on the market.

The nearby Kozjanski Park is home to 40 species of Orchids. The most amazing is the Drone-bee Orchid (Ophrys holosericea); it was its unique beauty that inspired the new Wellness Orhidelia.

Keeping Close to Nature The key motive in designing the Wellness centre was to keep as close to nature as possible.

Located between the Welness centre Termalija and Aparthotel Rosa, Orhidelia is, in most part, constructed below ground. The entire premises are landscaped as park with the roof of the complex providing green surface.

The entire Orhidelia centre is intended as a single programme unit. Visitors can freely pass from the pool to the sauna section without control gates.

Orhidelia is connected via underground passages with the Wellness centre Termalija, with Wellness hotel Sotelia, Hotel Breza and Aparthotel Rosa.

The Pools of Eden The pool section covers an area of 1000 square meters. The pool hall is designed as a flowing space, winding around the open-air atrium. The water surface is shaped in natural curves and contains several thematic islands, lifted above water level so as to ensure privacy.

The islands abound in interesting diversions, among which guests can indulge in massage chairs, geysers, whirlpools, slow river, light cave, and music pool.

The pool-hall is characterized by an interesting supporting structure. Pillars resemble a forest of trees and the ceiling is of different heights, making up for a diverse selection of relax areas. One can chill right next to the lively pool or find a quieter place further away by the gallery, or retire to a tranquil area completely separated from the pool.

Indoor pool area extends to the outer atrium and further onto the green terraces extending towards the surrounding forest. Outdoor water surfaces wind around thematic islands. The outside pool has a superb cocktail bar, a perfect place to settle down with a refreshing drink.

A special feature is tree-shaped relaxation places, where one can indulge in luxurious and extravagant rejuvenation therapies. Here you can revive your senses with sound therapy with planetary gongs, relax to the sound of crystal bowls, reclaim youth with Tibetan exercises, stock up on energy with yoga and learn the correct breathing with special breathing techniques.

Sauna Section There are three sections, each offering a unique sauna experience.

The Finnish Sauna section is designed in the northern spirit, with interior decked in wood and other natural materials. After steaming in spacious Finnish and infrared saunas it is time to relax in the “wooden cave”, cool down in the refreshing pool or indulge in foot massage on the “massage passageway”.

The Steam Bath section design draws inspiration from the Islamic world, where this type of sauna originally comes from. Apart from the spacious steam baths, visitors can relax in the heated lounge chairs and a large whirlpool.

The sauna terrace, which can be accessed both from the Finnish saunas and steam baths, features a warm swimming pool with massage chairs and ground geyser.

Terme Olimia d.d., Zdraviliška cesta 24, 3254 Podčetrtek, Slovenia T: +386 (0)3 829 78 36, info@terme-olimia.com, www.terme-olimia.si

26 Life style

Health through massage

More than 3,000 years BC, the Chinese discovered that massages can mitigate pain, help athletes and prevent cramps, help people in stressful situations, accelerate detoxification, contribute to the general wellbeing, help with insomnia and of course pamper us and contribute to a greater self-confidence.

Hippocrates said that “rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose and loosen a joint that is too rigid.” Massages were used at the BC Olympic Games and Sigmund Freud used them 2,000 years later to treat hysteria. Massages are not just smoothing and shaking or rubbing in essential oils however, nor are they only good to alleviate pain. The next few lines present some of the most common types of massage therapy.

Conventional massage is performed on the nude and oiled body. This is a full body massage that begins on the back and ends on the abdomen. The positive effects of this massage are both physical and emotional, as the body and the muscles relax, aches and pains are reduced and remedied, cramps are eliminated, detoxification is accelerated and the tone of the skin is improved while inner tensions are relieved. Fast and firm movements invigorate while slower movements lull you to sleep.

Thai massage has been in use for more than 2,500 years combining traditional Chinese and Indian medicine. The basis of Thai massage lies in the energy flow that travels along ten meridian lines running through the body. Acupressure points are located along these meridian lines and these provide insight into the condition of the body and the body’s energies, which blend with the energy of the body, mind and soul. The therapist uses the hands, feet and elbows to massage the channels The Slovenia Times

and points of your body where life energy flows. Thai massage is especially beneficial to everyone with muscle and joint pains or circulation problems, easing menstrual and digestive problems, for insomnia, headaches, stress, depression or chronic fatigue.

Reflexology or foot massage – when stimulated, nerve endings on your feet send impulses to the central nerve system and thus also to the whole body.

These impulses are based on the principles of energy flow. Energy flows through the meridian lines in your body and ends in the reflex areas in your feet and palms.

Applying pressure to these reflex areas on your feet can alleviate various illnesses and pains related to digestive and menstrual problems and headaches.

This massage also has a precautionary note and can be used as relaxation.

Shiatsu is a form of Japanese bodywork that developed simultaneously with acupuncture.

Shiatsu has its origin in oriental massage and involves applying finger pressure to acupressure points. This opens energy channels enabling the unhindered flow of energy through the body and to all body organs. Shiatsu therapists use pressure, kneading and relaxing muscles and stretching limbs.

All massages are usually accompanied by aromatherapy, which means that the massage is conducted with the addition of scented plant oils called essential oils. This is an intertwining of art, a harmony between the therapist, essential oils and the person receiving the massage.

The combination of essential oils depends on the individual and on the purpose of the massage – whether it is used to alleviate pain or as a beauty programme to ease tension with a full body massage.

continued from page 24

our eyes to see the horizon where the sea and the sky meet to make the day better and restore your good mood.

If you are inspired by the “big blue”, visit one of the seaside health resorts on the Slovenian coast.

Such is the Salia Talaso Centre in Strunjan, which has already been brought in line with the throb of your soul. They use the pleasant power of nature to provide top quality rehabilitation treatments and to stress your well-being and beauty. Thallassotherapy is based on the sea and everything related to it: seawater, the coastal climate, sea mud, algae and sea salt. The highly professional team of experts listens to your needs and designs programmes to heal you, restore your energy and pamper you. The Talaso Strunjan is located in the pristine natural environment right in the heart of a Nature Park famous for its high

cliffs, lush Mediterranean vegetation and the over a century old salt pans providing shelter to rare birds and where salt is still produced from sea water using traditional methods. In this way, the offer is unobtrusively intertwined with the natural resources helping to shape the opportunity for a wholesome experience of all that the seaside has to offer. Staying in a hotel located just a few steps away from the sea and the pleasant beach rounds off your marine experience.

The healthy and natural food is a gift from the sea and from the surrounding fruit and vegetable growers. Strolls through wonderful nature, along the shore, through the pine wood, along the nearby cliffs or through the Istrian villages with an additional soothing effect – the sea air gently pampers your respiratory system, not to mention the benefits of swimming in sea water during rehabilitation.

Ivanke Ajlec, general manager of Terme 3000

The miraculous healing black water What is special in what the Terme 3000 can offer?

The motor of the development of tourism at Moravske Toplice is the unique black thermal and mineral water.

This is the basis of our tourism-related activities spanning over four decades, during which we have developed various products and services that enable an all-round and complete tourism offer, namely top-class wellness programmes, relaxation and health spa packages, golf, business meetings and congresses, camping, sports and recreation.

Where lies the difference between thermal resorts in the Pannonian Basin from those in mountainous areas?

We have combined the rich heritage of the Pannonian Sea, tradition, knowledge and superior tourist services with the kindness of our people and a well-tended environment, thus creating a popular destination for health, beauty and rich experiences, which is confirmed by the most prestigious accolades in tourism. The Livada golf course features a small lake created from a gravel pit; dragonflies hover over the surfaces, which indicates that the environment is relatively clean and well balanced. We are surrounded by picturesque settings, where the Goričko Hills gently dissolve into the Pannonian Basin, enriched by the River Mura and its exceptional biotic diversity. This best preserved of Slovenia’s lowland rivers, along with its belt of flood groves, forms part of the European network of ecologically important areas (known as Natura2000).

Prekmurje provides an idyllic countryside backdrop to all lovers of bicycle rides, allowing them to discover a rich cultural heritage while roaming across our region.

We put extra care to developing specific tourist products and services in collaboration with the local environment, and to integrating them into the offer of the Terme 3000, this being the only way in which we can act as excellent narrators of the Prekmurje story.

What causes the black colour of the thermal water and what are its positive effects on human health? Are there any stories accounting extraordinarily successful healings attributed to this water?

The sea that covered the Pannonian Basin millions of years ago left behind a rich legacy of thermal springs.

They were discovered by pure chance in the early 1960s, when drilling for oil on the meadows in the vicinity of the village of Moravci. Several sources of mineral and sometimes hot water came gushing out from great depths.

Convinced that this was plain hot water, the oil company workers simply closed off the drill hole and left.

Yet curious locals opened secretly the valve and let water flow into the manhole by the drill hole, which they then started carrying home in buckets. Before long, they discovered the soothing and beneficial effects of the black water and the news of the exceptional salubriousness of the black water from Moravci spread rapidly. In 1964, the Health Committee of the Republic classified the thermal water from Moravci as a natural health product, thereby laying the foundations for the development of the health resort. Research has shown that the mineral content of the water helps cure ailments caused by various rheumatic, skin and lung diseases, and helps the body towards a faster recovery from injuries or surgeries on the motor system.

Of particular interest are the numerous accounts of our guests as to the beneficial effects of the Moravske Toplice black water, also recounted by the media. One example is an article published in the Večer daily newspaper in 1966, entitled ‘After More Than 10 Years, He Will Have to Buy Himself a Comb’ telling the story of Josef Deutsch and Josef Smeitzl of Fürstenfeld. “…And so this year, a certain Josef Deutsch, an Austrian citizen, native of Fürstenfeld, who suffered from severe rheumatism, came to Moravci. He said that this was his 38th time this year bathing at Moravci. After a week’s stay, his pain

disappeared, but this is hardly a novelty. What is more interesting is that three months ago, Josef Deutsch was entirely bald and has not used a comb in ten years. Yet in September, he noticed that after bathing at Moravci, his hair started growing again and has since covered his once bald head. Also worth mentioning is the fact that this new hair is not grey, but light blonde. His general practitioner and acquaintances cannot hide their amazement at his swift recovery, not to mention the fact that he has grown his hair back. Another curiosity is the case of one Josef Smeitzl, also from Fürstenfeld. As recently as last year, he was bedridden. His legs have failed completely. He sought help at the hospital and many spa resorts. He learned of the Moravske Toplice from Josef Deutsch. He came to Moravci, and, following some thirty baths he was cured. He walks without using a cane, he feels no pain whatsoever and is, in his own words, rejuvenated and completely healthy. Josef Smeitzl said that upon returning home, he dug up his entire garden, which his illness had prevented him from doing for years.

Both Austrian guests are enthusiastic about Moravci.

According to them, the resort does not only cure the ill, but also rejuvenates them.”

What is the profile of the clients who account for the majority of demand?

In the first seven calendar months of the current year, we welcomed a little over 52 thousand hotel, holiday apartment and campsite guests, which is a good three and a half per cent more than during the same period last year. These guests combined stayed for a total of almost 215 nights, which is approximately 3 per cent more than during the same period last year.

During the aforementioned period, our guest structure consisted of a little more than a half of domestic guests, while foreigners were mostly from the traditional markets of the neighbouring Austria, Italy, Croatia, as well as Germany.

What are the plans for the future for the resort and the wellness centre?

Following an intense investment cycle, when we at Terme 3000, with the help of financing from European structural funds, invested extensively into building new infrastructure and renovating the existing facilities, the future will be much more oriented towards successfully positioning the new capacities on the demanding travel and tourism market. We are also constantly exploring new development possibilities and are planning on several development projects aimed at improving the services and products on offer, thereby raising the bar for Slovenian tourism in general.

We see our opportunity to evolve mainly in offering high quality tourist packages, and in doing so, we will put great care into constantly improving the quality of our services, unique products, expert training, knowledge and motivation of our staff and optimising the cost component of our business processes.

Nowadays, deciding on a holiday destination depends much less on the destination itself than it used to; on the other hand, the possibility of enjoying varied experiences is becoming a key factor, which we at Terme 3000 take into great consideration.

28 Life style

History

Spa before the spa Slovenia is rich in natural thermal wells, and their history reaches far back in the times of Roman conquest or perhaps even to Celtic times. What a perfect ground for spa tourism.

by Tanja Goršič

A

lready the first humans knew of the pleasant and healthpromoting effects that bathing in hot water springs can bring.

Archaeological finds in Czech Republic and France bear witness to those ancient bathers, as Bronze-age weapons were found at hot springs.

Apart from being healthy, bathing in special wells, holes, and springs was believed to have magical effects.

Ritual bathing was practiced by the Native Americans, in ancient Egypt, in the Indus Valley in prehistoric times, by the Aegean civilizations, and of course by the Romans and Greeks.

The ritual of bathing survived millennia and can still be observed in Jewish, Moslem, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu religious practices, all reflecting the belief that water purifies both physically and spiritually.

The Roman way Bathing in the Western world was begun by the Greeks. Their practice forms the basis of the modern spa experience. The Greeks introduced small bathtubs, wash basins, and foot baths for personal hygiene. In their training facilities – gymnasiums

Rogaška Slatina With its long history, Rogaška Slatina Spa is rightfully regarded as one of the most important Slovenian as well as European health resorts. The first written mention of the springs was noted in the manuscripts dating from 1141. The water found there has been used for curative purposes since the medieval times. Rogaška Slatina resort built its reputation mostly on the medicinal properties of the water and drinking it, was a popular course of treatment early on. The medicinal properties of the Rogaška spring water were first analysed in 1572 by the alchemists. The wells gained much popularity 1665 when the count Peter Zrinjski

The Slovenia Times

promoted their healing powers in the world.

In the 19th century its popularity grew and Rogaška became a prestigious haunt of the rich, the famous and the noble. During its golden age, the spa was visited by members of the major ruling families, such as the Habsburgs, and the Bonapartes, members of the nobility, such as the Esterhazys, the Turn und Taxis, as well as other noble and important guests, among which also count Strossmayer, the composer Franz Liszt,

bishop Anton Martin Slomšek and the great Slovenian philologist Fran Miklošič.

In 1803 the estates surrounding the wells were bought off and this year is considered the founding year of the health resort.

In 1908 a highly mineralized water spring was discovered, under the leadership of the geologist and inspector of the Karlovy Vary spa, dr. J. Knett. Due to its high content of magnesium, the water is a unique medicine for diabetes and digestion ailments, useful both in curative and in prevention.

With the advent of the railway line Vienna –Trieste towards the end of 19th century, the spa proliferated even further. Increasing numbers of visitors were coming from all around the world: England, Italy, Russia, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and the United States.

During the wars, the spa was the most luxurious and modern resort in the entire territory of former Yugoslavia, attracting the new elite - government and military authorities, and industrial moguls.

After WW2 the resort was in disuse due to privatisation, but now it is back on its feet, still reflecting its glorious past with many 19th century buildings lining the central promenade.

Life style 29 Radenci Health Resort The healing water was discovered in 1833 by Karl Henn and set up the first bottling facility in 1869. Health Resort was initiated in 1882, the development of which was furthered with the construction of the railway. This activity again experienced a boost during both world wars, and later, in the 1960s and 70s new bottling facilities were built, as well as new hotel, spa and recreational infrastructure. Today nine springs are in use with average temperature of 12 to 16 degrees Celsius.

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showers, both for pampering as well as cleanliness.

The Romans constructed baths in their European colonies, among which also at Aix and Vichy in France, Bath and Buxton in England, Aachen and Wiesbaden in Germany, Baden, Austria, and Aquincum in Hungary.

Slovenia has a remarkable spa history as well. It boasts several thermal resorts, which have been around for centuries.

The most recent finds under the Kongresni trg Square and Zvezda Park reveal ancient Roman baths.

They unearthed floor heating system of a private sauna and found a preserved furnace which was used to heat the air for the saunas.

In the Roman times, every larger and wealthier household had their own private thermal complex and sauna with hot air and pool.

According to historian Bojan Cvelfar, it can be assumed, that even prior to the advent of Roman authority in the times of Caesar Augustus, Celtic natives in these lands were already making good use of the thermal wells. There is no conclusive evidence to support this except for Celtic coins that were found at the springs of Kostrivnica and Dobrna.

After the Romans left the area this practice was largely aban-

Bojan Cvelfar, historian, general manager of Celje historical archives and expert in spa history.

doned. The barbaric nations, which finally proved fatal for the Roman Empire, did not know how to make good use of the accomplishments of the higher evolved civilizations and were in most cases doing the exact opposite – destroying everything with swords and hooves. Later, the Europeans were literally re-inventing hot water, says Cvelfar, such as central heating, canalization, and aqueducts. Also the beneficiary effects of the spas were re-discovered in late middle Ages. continued on page 30

September 2009

30 Life style Rimske Toplice

Terme Olimia This thermal resort has also been around for centuries. It changed a lot in recent years. Today’s top notch thermal resort is a long way from the first wooden pools which were constructed by the healing thermal springs. The most recent addition is the luxurious sauna and wellness complex Orhidelia, which is a sight to behold as well as offers a pampering for body and mind.

The Evolution of Thermal Resorts Rimske Toplice is definitely the spa with the longest history, although it can be suspected that Dobrna and Rogaška Slatina were also being used already in the ancient times.

In the preserved written accounts, however, Dolenjske Toplice is the earliest mentioned spa (1228). Rimske Toplice is mentioned in the Aquileia Document in 1486, Dobrna is mentioned in the year 1582, and the medicinal water of Rogaška Slatina is first mentioned in 1572. The latter resort boasts the richest history, which reached an enviable popularity, and attracted the most rich and known personae of the time.

Already the name (Roman Baths) suggests that these thermal springs were already appreciated by the Romans. They were the first to built baths at the thermal springs. Archaeologists found devotional statuettes and altars dedicated to the goddesses and nymphs, common offerings by the patients who regained their health.

First mentioned in 1486 in the Aquileia Document, the thermal springs later came in the hands of the Habsburgs after the counts of Celje became extinct.

The first big turn came in 1840 when the complex was bought by a big merchant from Trieste, Adolf Uhlich. It remained in the possession of the Uhlich family until the emergence of Yugoslavia. After the independence of Slovenia the thermal resort fell into disuse, but is currently undergoing reconstruction and will offer modern wellness programmes and sleeping facilities.

On an interesting note, in old times the noble guests of the spa would plant exotic trees in the resort park, so now we can admire giant sequoia, Canadian Hemlock, Japanese hloes, Californian Cedars and other species. continued from page 29

Fit for a king and for a common

All thermal wells were primarily used and frequented by common people living in the area. When the word of their healing powers spread, and accommodation complexes and pools were built, also the rich foreign guests started coming.

The data on the visitors to the Rogaška Slatina spa shows that up to the 1940s it was mostly still

frequented by the aristocracy, but later the majority of visitors were townspeople. This trend continued until WW2. After the introduction of the so-called people’s democracy, thermal resorts became accessible to practically all social strata, mostly through medical referral.

There were, of course the golden ages when these resorts were frequented by the world aristocracy, mostly in Rogaška Slatina.

Dobrna was frequented by the famous writer Karl May and Rimske Toplice by Austrian poet Franz

Grillparzer, Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, the biggest attention, however, attracted the 1879 visit of the English princess and Prussian heiress Victoria.

The development of thermal tourism in the past can be ascribed to the owners of the thermal springs. The most successful were the Trieste merchant Gustav Adolf Uhlich of Rimske Toplice, the prince of Turjak in Dolenjske Toplice, the barons Dienerspergs in Dobrna, the Swiss entrepeneur Arnold Rikl in Bled, and the Styrian provincial governor Ferdinand Attems in Rogaška Slatina.

A big flourishing of Slovenian spas occured in the 19th century when several new spas emerged: Šmarješke Toplice, Čateške Toplice, Medijske Toplice, Bled, Portorož, Radenci and other.

In the beginning the thermal resorts were mostly visited by people seeking health. But with a change in lifestyle these resorts changed as well, and started becoming relaxation and holiday destinations.

This turning point occurred in the second half of the 20th century. Nowadays these resorts cater to patients as well as holidaymakers.

The developement of thermal resorts would not have reached

the level it has without the medical doctors and other medical staff working there.

After WW2 practically all thermal resorts were taken over by the government and their management was left in the hands of more or less competent leaders. After the independence private initiative has been on the rise and some individuals have made a remarkable headway in this area. Many Slovenian spas are thus confidently proceeding in the 21st century with many new products, offers and bold renovation plans.

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Price for programme per couple (without accommodation): 3 days ... 258 EUR, 4 days ... 279 EUR. Accommodation can be arranged in a new Hotel Balnea**** superior.

Terme Dolenjske Toplice, tel.: 07/ 39 19 400, booking.dolenjske@terme-krka.si, www.terme-krka.si

Terme Dolenjske Toplice

Rich Tradition Intertwined with New Dimensions of Indulgence Its many years of tradition as one of the oldest European natural spas – mentioned even in the works of Baron Janez Vajkard Valvasor – coupled with its excellent wellness offering place Terme Dolenjske Toplice among the most recognisable centres of well-being. Opened last year and nominated for the prominent Plečnik Prize for architecture, Hotel Balnea**** Superior is inviting guests to start living their dreams or to do a bit more for their health.

Indulge All Your Senses Hotel Balnea caters to all who love nature and like to escape the urban hustle and bustle. With its modern design featuring select natural materials, the hotel will impress even the most demanding wellness aficionado. Experience true delight by staying in our fireplace-equipped suites where you can take a bath while looking at idyllic nature or simply enjoy listening to the fire crackling in the fireplace. As special features of Hotel Balnea, the recreation room on its top affords a magnificent view while the attractive panoramic hallway connects the hotel to the wellness centre.

Improve Your Health or Just Relax The indulgence programmes for couples are among the most popular at Terme Dolenjske Toplice.

Then there are the health improvement programmes based on the well-recognised therapeutic method of reflexotherapy – for those wanting to do a little more for their good health. These are the programmes that include both a dietician and a personal trainer: • Peaceful sleep, to cure sleeplessness.

• Stop smoking, offers a less stressful and more effective way to break your smoking habit.

• Strength, to boost your body strength.

• Slimming, to help you on your way towards healthy dieting.

New – the ‘Healthy Weekend’ at Terme Dolenjske Toplice Includes a consultation with a physician, a personal trainer and a nutritionist, all in one weekend. You will also receive tips for leading a healthy way of life, the opportunity to indulge yourself in the wellness centre, and to discover the Dolenjska region’s natural beauty and culinary specialties.

Available dates: 9 – 11 Oct; 13 – 15 Nov, 11 – 13 Dec.

Iztok Altbauer, expert in spa tourism 2U [OL RPUNKVT VM [OYLL OLHY[Z 2ADENCI (EALTH 2ESORT CELEBRATED

THE TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPA ACTIVITIES TWO YEARS AGO 7E OFFER THE POSSIBILITY OF ACCOMMODATION IN TWO HOTEL COMPLEXES 2ADIN

AND )ZVIR

4HE HOTEL COMPLEXES ARE CONNECTED FROM THE CENTRAL AREA ACCESS TO HOTEL RESTAURANTS AND BARS INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL POOLS

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2

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DYSFUNCTIONS IN LOCO MOTOR SYSTEM AND METABOLIC DISORDERS :$2!6),)ˆ§% 2!$%.#)

:DRAVILI˜KO NASELJE 2ADENCI 3LOVENIA

4 & WWW ZDRAVILISCE RADENCI SI The Slovenia Times INFO ZDRAVILISCE RADENCI SI

Something for everyone Slovenia is a country that abounds with thermal waters and has been widely enjoyed since the times of the Ancient Rome. Today its natural health resorts represent the country’s number one tourist product and places it among the world’s top spa destinations. We talked to Iztok Altbauer, the Secretary of the Slovenian Natural Health Resorts Community and an expert in the field of spa tourism, about the current situation and plans for the future.

by Polona Cimerman What does the trademark Slovenian Natural Health Resorts represent?

It unites those spas which have received verification from the state that they fulfil the required condition of having a certain natural factor. This can be natural healing water, which is the case in all of the 15 Slovenian natural health resorts with the exception of Strunjan. Its identity is built on seawater and sea mud.

What is the advantage of natural health resorts in Slovenia in comparison to those in other countries?

At the first glance, spas in Slovenia are similar to those in Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

All these countries have a highlydeveloped thermal tradition. Yet Slovenia offers some very special features unique to our country. We are famed for our famous black water, which contains some crude oil elements. It is the highlight of Moravske toplice spa and it is recognized for the positive effects it has on skin. Another feature is the mineral water Donat Mg from RogaĹĄka Slatina, which contains the highest amount of magnesium of all waters in the world. Some guests come exclusively for water-drinking treatments and we can offer them something truly unique. But for a top-quality service one also needs proper infrastructure. In the last five years we have invested a great deal of money into hotels, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, wellness centres and also in expert medical personnel and apparatus.

What are the current trends in spa tourism?

On the one hand, natural health resorts worldwide are returning to their roots i.e. to healing.

It has taken the modern shape of medical wellness, wherebye medical staff perform detoxification,

weight-loss programmes, various anti-aging treatments and even minor cosmetic surgery. The natural spa in RogaĹĄka Slatina already has an operation room and they are specializing in medical wellness. Abroad, the field of medical wellness is extremely strong and found in many spa centres, where are clinics and sanatoriums.

Surgery,even in its most demanding forms like heart operations, and rehabilitation both take place in health resorts and this is an ideal symbiosis. I expect our spas will also provide such services in the near future.

On the other hand, there is an explosion of exotic traditional massages from the Orient, Far East and Africa, sometimes these are modified into special relaxing techniques by our experts who make use of thermal water, mud or salt. This trend began in the mid-1970s, which represent a turning point in the history of the Slovenian spa tradition. It was a time of major investments into the infrastructure and these changes brought along a new scheme – programmes for children and families which involve outdoor pools and the accompanying attractions; development of congress tourism; emphasis on sports by building golf courses and managing nordic-walking and cycling trails. All this ideally complements health treatments which are on offer in wellness centres.

Which services are most in demand?

This depends on the location and the tradition of the spa. For example, in PortoroĹž, the main service is Thai massage, due to the fact that the wellness centre there is the largest Thai centre in Central Europe and is now accompanied also with the Ayurvedic centre.

What is the attitude towards ecological issues?

More and more attention is given to ecological awareness, especially in new infrastructure. The ecological factor has been taken into account in planning of how to make the best use of hot thermal water and its energy. Water temperatures vary from 23 to 76 ˙C and it can be effectively used for heating.

What is the structure of guests?

In the past, spa centres used to be a place for the elderly in need of rehabilitation. But after the changes that occurred forty years ago, health resorts have become a popular destination for more and more young people. Outdoor pools and accompanying programmes interest young families with children; massages and saunas appeal to young couples and newly married couples; revitalizing programmes attract athletes; beauty treatments also draw some other target groups. Just like our product, our clientele is extremely heterogeneous. 60 % of guests are Slovenians, others are mainly Italians and Austrians; there are also a lot of Croatians, Germans and Russians. Sometimes we even welcome athletes from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and other exotic countries.

Why are the spas so popular among the Slovenians?

I think they are simply part of our identity. Slovenians know really well what natural health resorts have to offer and they heartily welcome novelties. Besides that, more and more people recognize the value of good health and staying fit and has become their priority also when on vacation.

How hard has the recession hit the Slovenian spas?

It surely has had a negative influence, although it is true that since January the statistics show an increase of both day trippers

Life style 33 lation to the quality of service they are above the established standards. A research has been carried out which showed that in terms of quality, our natural spas are much above average, but at the same the prices of their services are 20–30 % lower than on the Italian or Austrian markets. Guests really get the most value for their money.

and those who stay overnight in comparison to the same period last year. We could definitely see this as a success. Yet the profits will without a doubt be smaller than in 2008. The reasons for this are the immense pressures on the prices and the adaptation to the short-term guests. I call these pressures “the dynamic adaptation of the supply to the demand”.

In the most critical months, spas have had to connect with foreign partners and introduce special offers, e.g. pay 3–stay 4 nights packages, but since May our capacities are now full.

Yet such measures pay out on the long run – you get to keep the guests.

This is true in a way, but they may also have very negative consequences. Price reductions may get out of control and guests may always expect such low prices.

And then it is immensely difficult to position yourself back to where you were before. Such things can ruin the whole image of a company.

At this point it is worth mentioning that we are aware that the Slovenian natural health resorts are not cheap, but also that in re-

You have mentioned an exceptionally broad spectrum of services already available. Are there any hidden potentials left?

I believe that there is always room for improvement. When it comes to imagination, only the sky is the limit. As long as there is a creative force in us to think of new, interesting and attractive programmes, there will be a challenge, motivation and consequently success. What I have in mind are totally new things but also to upgrade the existent ones.

For example, organic cuisine is on the rise and it will gradually become part of our service too. We follow international trends, organize educational trips to explore good practices and attend fairs all around the globe.

What are your aims for the future?

One of the many goals is to remain successful and recognized in Slovenia. Also, we wish to attract new guests and show them that natural health resorts are places where everyone can find something for themselves. As for the foreign countries, we will work on building and strengthening our identity. Development of our trademark, progress and satisfaction of our guests are our permanent and most important goals.

Health resorts worldwide are returning to their roots - healing. It has taken the modern shape of medical wellness, wherebye medical staff perform detoxification, weight-loss programmes, various anti-aging treatments and even minor cosmetic surgery.

In terms of quality, our natural spas are much above average, but at the same the prices of their services are 20–30 % lower than on the Italian or Austrian markets.

Guests really get the most value for their money.

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September 2009

34 LIFE STYLE

European spa tradition

The new face of health tourism in Central Europe Europe is a continent which is characterized by its long spa and cure tradition, and currently experiences new dimensions in health tourism.

By Matthias Buchholz

T

he European Congress on Health Tourism in Budapest is one of several conferences which are exclusively devoted to health and medical tourism. This indicates that there is a high interest in this topic. With the coalescence of the European-member states the demand for medical treatments abroad has increased within the European borders.

On 2nd July 2008 the EU-Commission adopted a proposal for a cross-border healthcare directive as a part of the social agenda. The directive is intended to facilitate transnational patient transfers within European borders. Today financing treatments abroad is still strongly dependent on the good will of health insurances. Astonishingly 70 % of the Europeans believe, that their health insurance will fully reimburse the costs of their treatments abroad (EU-Gallup-survey). 4 % of the polled EUcitizens had received a treatment in another EU-state within the 12 months prior to the survey being

Medical tourism The drivers • differences in the quality of the treatment • missing availability of the treatment at home (unique resources) • long waiting lists for treatment at home • differences in the cost of the treatment • legal status of a treatment at home • healthy lifestyle and beautymania The barriers • cultural barriers • behavioural uncertainties • unawareness / missing • transparency • patients budget / reimbursement policy • inconvenience / time effort • satisfaction with treatment at home • VISA-regulations The Slovenia Times

conducted. These results show that this is a high ratio.

For those customers who are paying for treatments themselves such as low priced dental or beauty treatments in Eastern Europe ,then the differences in the costs play an important role alongside the quality of treatment that they receive and when making the decision of where to receive their medical care. The driver of the reduced costs will become minor in the EU and in the long-term, due to the balancing wealth levels between East and West. This is now a providential opportunity for Central European health care providers as the quality and not the price becomes the decision-making determinant when choosing the locality .

Health tourism destinations The sector of traditional spa and cure tourism remains a major factor for the in-bound tourism and a core competence of the CEE-countries. The prevention sector with concepts like medical spa and sustainable health programs and the second health care market will become more important in relation to the cures,. To reduce the risk of failure by using a single product strategy and to scale down the strong reliance on insurance policies, a broader carefully designed product portfolio is an advisable strategy for the health (not cure) destination. Strategic foresight instruments indicate which product strategy is sustainable.

While some Asian countries such as Thailand or Singapore are already well-experienced and established on the global market for the international patient tourism, Europe is just getting started. As the treatment costs in the EU are comparatively high, Europe has to offer the best quality care. German health regions, health clusters and health care facilities have begun to promote their services at fairs like the Arab Health or the Stravo Moscau or the Medical Tourism

Congress in L.A. All the venues in these countries are identified with main customer segments.

Cities with a high-standard healthcare structure like Munich, Paris, Hamburg and Berlin are working hard to establish their destinations as future hubs for international medical tourists. Vienna which has also a high potential has not installed an adequate marketing platform so far. Turkey just released the Turkey Health Tourism Guidebook 2009. These efforts usually happen in the context of a broader health destination strategy like the masterplan HealthCapital Berlin-Brandenburg. The German state of Bavaria just launched a campaign: Bavaria – Better State of Health and has developed an MBA for Medical Tourism Experts. Cluster initiatives, marketing platforms and co-opetitive approaches (cooperating competitors) are crucial to reach a significant position on the international markets.

and an information platform for medical facilities and patients often following questionable, provision-based revenue models. Over the last decade, the fight for quality seals accrediting health and medical tourism facilities has become much more rigorous. From the customer’s point of view, Best Health Austria, Best Health International (TÜV Rheinland), Medical Spa, Europespa, JCI, KTQ,… the significance of seals is disputable, but the value for the internal quality management processes and for the B2B-marketing is out of question.

Nowadays health tourism in Europe is a multi-facet market that offers many unique opportunities.

However the restructuring of this feature still needs to be greatly improved. Slovenian destinations and companies can benefit from using well-selected destination strategies and business models in health and medical tourism.

Companies Several new business and revenue models have been developed over the last decade. Hospitals and rehabilitation centers have adopted a new organizational structure - an International Department serving the special needs of foreign patients. The unit of the Hamburg-Eppendorf hospital, is run as its own distinct profit making centre. This leads into new customer-based perspectives when servicing the patients and a real marketing facility. It allows a direct calculation of profitability.

Simultaneously the spread of integrated and interdisciplinary real estate solutions between hospital and hospitality branches (patient hotels/guesthouses, serviced apartments) is noticeable .

So called medical tourism facilitators are now acquiring patients, and offering them VIP-services, in addition to raising their website platforms similair to ˝treatment-abroad.com″ or ″flymedic″ which then provides a contact

Dipl.-Kfm. Matthias Buchholz is a Health & Medical Tourism Consultant at Kohl & Partner Wien

First Person of one company (Single Registration)

195,- € (1st delegate = full price)

Delegates of same company

(=12 % discount for every next delegate from the same company up to 5 delegates) 172,- € (2nd delegate) 152,- € (3rd delegate) 134,- € (4th delegate) 118,- € (5th delegate) 100,- € (for every additional delegate from the same company)

Members of the Slovenian 150,- € (per person) Spa Association (flat rate for spa association members only, otherwise conditions above apply)

Available in Slovene and English

Summer guide is a special supplement of The Slovenia Times magazine.

World Tourism Day 2009 – Celebrating Diversity The celebration of the World Tourism Day, the announcement of the 2009 Best Manager in Tourism Award winner and the closing of the CLOSE TO HOME, CLOSE TO THE HEART Summer 2009 Project will take place on 25 September 2009 at the Grand Hotel Primus in the town of Ptuj.

27 September is the day dedicated to

celebrating tourism. Each year, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) selects a topic from the field of tourism, which will permeate the activities of national tourism organisations and all the other parties involved in the celebration of this special day for tourism. This year, the UNWTO chose diversity in tourism as the main topic. The exceptional variety on a global scale in the field of language, religion, architecture, natural environment, local customs, culture, politics, etc. represents a vast environment, in which tourism has developed to become the most important export item. In fact, diversity has for centuries been the motor propelling travel and the development of tourism.

The World Tourism Day is also special for the Slovenian tourism industry. As in the previous years, the Ministry of the Economy – the Directorate of Tourism and the Slovenian Tourism Board will invite everyone involved in Slovenian tourism to take an active part in the joint preparation In September 1979, the General Assembly of the WTO (held in Torremolinos, Spain) made the decision to designate 27 September as the World Tourism Day. The main purpose of the World Tourism Day is to organise, each year on 27 September, events and activities selected at the members’ discretion, aimed at establishing an ever closer link between the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Member States, with the joint objective of raising the awareness of social, cultural, political and economic values, made possible by travel and tourism. advertisement

Ptuj, venue of the Slovenian World tourism day event

and implementation activities, aimed at celebrating the global feast of tourism in Slovenia in a solemn, interesting and, above all, tourist-friendly manner, joining in the festivities on the global scale.

On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, the Ministry of the Economy – Directorate of Tourism and the Slovenian Tourism Board will bestow the BEST MANAGER IN TOURISM 2009 Award.

Atrium á la carte restaurant –

38 DINE with style

Flavours for the most demanding

Cosmopolitans accustomed to quality tourism services know that renowned hotels offer top-class cuisine.

At the Mons Hotel, a member of the distinguished hotel World Hotels chain, quality is reflected on all levels, including the Atrium hotel restaurant. In addition to the excellent service and the select á la carte dishes, the restaurant boasts an extremely pleasant atmosphere, as its glass wall practically blends it in to the adjacent forest.

T

he Atrium restaurant is particularly frequented by businessmen wanting to enjoy a meal in peaceful surroundings, escaping from the busy business world for lunch at least. The restaurant is a superb venue for business lunches, because refined waiters, fluent in foreign languages, will also attend to the wishes of foreign business partners. Free Internet access is an additional reason that attracts businessmen to the Atrium restaurant, which also offers a very special service, namely the rental of a hotel suite or room so that lengthier business meetings can be conducted in peace and full comfort.

Light and delicious dishes, always fresh, are often prepared by

Atrium Restaurant Pot za brdom 55, Hotel MONS (main entrance) Tel.: +386 1 470 27 00 info@hotel.mons.si Open: Every day: 12 pm - 10 am

Food type: Slovenian and international cuisine Price range: menus from EUR 25 Reservation: recommended

Our suggestion for lunching at the Atrium restaurant Foamy ramsons soup with crayfish flamb ***** Pork fillet with pancetta and grapes on kohlrabi purée with pistachios, baby corn and chardonnay sauce ***** Lamb with thyme,rosemary and cuscus The Slovenia Times

– Mons Hotel

Top choice

DIne with style 39

Restavracija Calypso

Kidričeva 7, Nova Gorica Tel : + 386 5 336 31 35 e-mail: restavracije.perla@hit.si Sun – Thu: from noon – 3pm, 7pm -midnight Fri – Sat (also on Italian holidays): from 7pm-1am

In Issue 116

Restavracija Smrekarjev Hram Nazorjeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana Tel: + 386 1 308 19 07 E-mail: smrekarjev.hram@gh-union.si Every day from noon to 11 pm A la carte restaurant in the city centre of Ljubljana

Pri Vitezu Breg 20, Ljubljana Tel : +386 1 426-60-58 E-mail : privitezu@siol.net Mon-Sat noon-11pm (closed on holidays)

Grad Otočec Restaurant famous chefs because the Mons Hotel frequently hosts chefs from abroad. Every few months, the Mons Hotel cooking staff prepares a new selection of seasonal dishes, include vegetarian and fish meals. At the same time, the restaurant provides daily breakfast and lunch menus, ensuring that guests who are pressed for time are served quickly.

However, those who visit the Atrium for the Thursday piano evenings are in no hurry. While listening to the sounds of the piano, they can treat themselves to one of the excellent cocktails mixed by the hotel barmen or can reserve a table for a company of friends. The Atrium restaurant accepts bookings for private parties on other days of the week as well, while the Mons Hotel also offers

the ‘Polna skleda’ self-service restaurant for children’s birthday parties and more relaxed meals.

This restaurant received a special award – 2008 Quality Selection from the Municipality of Ljubljana and the Ljubljana Tourist Board.

The Atrium á la carte restaurant is popular for everyone who, alongside exquisite cuisine, appreciates a lovely interior design, simple accessibility and an abundance of parking spaces. The Mons Hotel and Congress Centre is located in the approximate vicinity of motorway connections and features a substantial parking area. The excellent location is one of the hotel’s great advantages – the Mons Hotel is surrounded by green areas and the nearby forest, but is only four kilometres from the very centre of the city of Ljubljana.

Grajska cesta 2, Otočec Tel.: + 386 7 38 48 900 E-mail : booking.grad-otocec@terme-krka.si www.terme-krka.si Every day until 11pm

Bled Castle Restaurant Special experiences for special occasions.

Cesta svobode 11, Bled, Tel : +386 4 579 44 24 Every day from 8am - 8 pm (November-April till 6pm) E-mail: blejski.grad@zkbled.si, events@vgs-bled.si www.hotelastoria-bled.com, www.zavod-za-kulturo-bled.si

Restavracija Vila Bled Delights of the French, Mediterranean and Slovenian cuisines.

Cesta svobode 26, Bled Tel: +386 4 575 37 10 E-mail: info@vila-bled.si, www.vila-bled.si Every day: 12pm-10pm

In Issue 117

Dvorec Zemono Tradition with innovation and creativity.

Gostilna pri Lojzetu Dvorec Zemono, 5271 Vipava Tel : +386 5 368 70 07 E-mail : zemono@zemono.si

Top Eat & Party Ljubljana centre, Tomšičeva 2 Pantone Process Black cmyk 0/0/0/100 Tel (reservations): +386 40 177 775 rgb 0/0/0 info@klubtop.si; www.klubtop.si In Issue 118 Wed-Sat: 8:30 am - 5 am Delights of the French, Mediterranean and Slovenian cuisines.

Pantone 186 C cmyk 15/100/100/10 rgb 191/31/36

Atrium Restaurant Pot za brdom 55, Hotel MONS (main entrance), zahodna obvoznica, izvoz Brdo.

Tel : +386 1 470 27 00 E-mail: info@hotel.mons.si In Issue 120 Every day: 12 am – 10 pm

The Ljubljana Mons hotel and congress centre is just a couple of minutes from the bustle of the heart of the city, hidden safely in the embrace of nature. Largely made of glass, it lets the daylight penetrate deep into the interiors.

Wherever you are – in a conference hall, a passage or a room, you will be followed by sunrays.

114 comfortable, elegantly designed rooms with a modern set of equipment satisfy the most demanding guests. Congress centre is designed as a multi-purpose venue serving conferences, seminars, business meetings and special glamorous events.

Cafe & Restaurant Evropa Slovenska cesta 47, Ljubljana centre Tel : +386 1 438 24 20, +386 40 846 681 In Issue 119 E-mail: info@kavarnaeuropa.si Pasta Nona and Lesar a la carte: daily: 11 am-11 pm, Saturdays: 5–11 pm, Sunday closed; Café: daily: 8 am onwards, Saturday, Sunday, holiday: closed

September 2009

40 CULTURE

Cinema

The city in 24 frames per second

In the time of soulless multiplex cinemas, the reopening of the old Kinodvor comes as a blessing to Ljubljana’s cultural life.

By Petra Milič

K

inodvor is a small movie theatre in the centre of Ljubljana and just across the street from the train station. In the era of huge commercial multiplexes such as Kolosej, Kinodvor stands for something different ,focussing on artistic productions and a variety of other happenings that make going to the movies more than just watching a movie.

It is not to say that this movie theatre is less popular; on the contrary, for the serious film lovers, this is the place to go.

Kinodvro has a history. It was built in 1923 in order for Ljubljana to get a movie theatre similar to other big cities in Europe at that time. The first film ever screened in Kinodvor was Austrian Der Junge Medarus (The Young Medarus) directed by Michael Kertesz, who 20 years later made the famous Casablanca. In the first years after opening doors to the public, the programme mainly consisted of silent films, directed

The Slovenia Times

by some of the best European and American filmmakers (Fritz Lang, Cecil B. DeMille, Charles Chaplin, Abel Gance, Jean Renoir etc).

Between 1935 and 1946 the theatre was in the hands of a cultural institution called Sloga. Under this name, it was active until the 90s and in the last decade before renaming it, Sloga focussed on screening films of an erotic and pornographic content. Most of the people still remember it by this period. In the last decade the cinema exhibition industry in Slovenia has gone through a complete metamorphosis when americanstyle multiplex cinemas opened in most regions of Slovenia. The emergence of these, caused the closing of numerous cinemas in city centres around Slovenia. Kinodvor found a solution by offering a wide range of »artistic programmes«. However, in the last few years Kinodvor faced financial problems and therefore had to close down on 1st April 2008.

With the help of the city of Ljubljana it was reopened in October 2008. Adding “The City Cinema” as its official name and to stress the importance of having a good old traditional cinema in the centre of Ljubljana. Times and habits have changed but people remember the old days with nostalgia and there is a special feeling in going downtown to see a movie.

Not everybody is a multiplex cinema fan, some like it old-school, to be able to take it easy, walk the streets of the old town, catch the feeling of Ljubljana and see a movie of a different type in Kinodvor.

This is now a theatre with 193 seats and Dolby digital surround.

Kinodvor has a history and tradition of 80 years and this is something that people in Ljubljana do not want to see disappear.

The new plan In nine months after the reopening of the theatre, the new plan for

Kinodvor became a reality. Today you can choose from a variety of activities for visitors of all ages: from babies to seniors.

The core of activities in Kinodvor is the projection of high quality films with a special emphasis on European and independent films, as well as films from other countries around the world.

Saturdays and Sundays are reserved for children and teenagers with concurring creative workshops on the last day of the week. You can come for Breakfast in Kinodvor on Sundays and enjoy a croissant and coffee while your children are well taken care of. There are experienced baby sitters available so you can relax, read all sorts of film magazines or browse through a variety of books, DVDs and CDs of motion picture soundtracks in the newly open bookstore. Once a month, parents with small babies can attend a quieter screening.

EVENTS 41

The Slovenia Times Recommends

Jazz for gourmets

Jazz Club Mons – culinary evenings with the jazz sounds of the RTV Slovenia Big Band Each and every year, the Mons Hotel easily sells all of the 200 available season tickets for the six annual Jazz Club Mons concerts, organised in collaboration with the RTV Slovenia Big Band. This season’s programme begins on October 10th with the concert entitled All of Me, when the legendary trumpeter, Duško Gojković, and Uroš Perić, pianist and singer famous for his Ray Charles interpretations, will present their album with the same title.

Hugo Šekoranja, the Artistic Director of the RTV Slovenia Big Band says that the artistic purpose of any season is to present a programme that is as balanced as possible, one that can be of interest to jazz experts and a more general jazz public alike. “I think we did a pretty good job in the past two seasons, which is the reason why the Jazz Club Mons series continues successfully. The artists, that is, solo vocalists and instrumentalists, conductors and composers, were all, without excep-

Rok Golob and Lojze Krajnčan, all present the very best that Slovenia has to offer in this field. Additional attractor is of course the orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Big Band, a guarantee of good music. “We would not be this successful without the true quality of our programme, as the current Slovenian jazz scene boasts many excellent performers, not to mention the fact that jazz lovers are demanding listeners,” says the Artistic Director. The combination of a concert and a culinary event, sitting with a small table party in the company of friends, enjoying fine wines is something any true hedonist finds hard to resist. tion, delighted with the invitation to take part in the coming season’s programme.”

According to Šekoranja the huge success of previous concert series lies in the programming itself and the artists selected. Solo performers, such as Nuša Derenda, Mia Žnidarič, Lucienne, Uroš Perić, or conductors, such as Tadej Tomšič, Emil Spruk,

The Jazz Club Mons project is born out of the collaboration of two entirely different institutions: a hotel and a media company which comes with a package or advantages: a large car park and easy access, purchasing season and individual tickets at reception, the possibility of staying the night after the concert. Some jazz lovers even invite their friends to a concert to celebrate their birthdays.

Choir 4 Sept at 8.30 pm, in front of Atlantis Water Park,Ljubljana.

Admission free.

These traditional Music Nights, are organised by BTC and held in front

of Atlantis Water Park for the fourth year in a row, and will this year host the Perpetuum Jazzile jazz choir alongside other top-level musicians.

The choir boasts a long-standing repute on the Slovenian music scene and features excellent soloists and a glow of youth, as well as an unique style. All are welcome to join these musicians under the starry sky at this evening event

Soul

Joss Stone 4 Sept at 2pm, Ljubljana centre (by the train station.

Admission free) British soul and R&B singer, songwriter and actress Joss Stone emerged to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ‘The Soul Sessions’, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist.

Her second album, the equally multi-platinum ‘Mind, Body & Soul’, topped the UK Albums Chart for one week and spawned the top ten hit ‘You Had Me’. Album and single each received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards,

while Stone was nominated for Best New Artist. Her latest album, ‘Introducing Joss Stone’, was released in March 2007. Throughout her career, she has won two BRIT Awards and one Grammy Award.

Her concert in Ljubljana will be accompanied with performances by the Slovenian artists Siddharta, Neisha, Leeloojamais, Zlatko and others.

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Subscriptions to the Blue, Orange and Vocal Series from 7th till 10 th September 2009 between 10.00 am - 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm at the Slovenian Philharmonic, Kongresni trg 10, Ljubljana. www.filharmonija.si

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Music Nights with Perpetuum Jazzile

42 EVENTS

The Slovenia Times Recommends

Performance

Sutra 20 Sept at 8pm, Cankarjev dom (Gallus Hall), Ljubljana, EUR 14–28

Irish spectacle An innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song comes to Ljubljana. Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures.

With its fusion of Irish and International music and dance, the show broke all box office records during its world premiere run in Dublin in early 1995. When the show transferred to London later that year, the reaction was unprecedented, with the original 10 performances being increased to 151 in subsequent months. There followed a hugely successful tour to New York, Belfast and Cork. Since then, it has packed theatres throughout North America, Oceania, Asia and Europe.

With music and lyrics by Bill Whelan, produced

by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, Riverdance is the development of an original idea by Moya Doherty, which was initially performed at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin in April 1994 as a seven-minute interval act. This music theme was

taken as a starting point when composing music for that seminal interval act.

Riverdance traces the life of a river. The number builds from the gentle song to the dancers’ feet rhythmically recalling a river gathering force and rushing to the sea. The choreography reflects this cycle. The river, from cloud to sea to cloud again, symbolises the life cycle, and echoes the Irish experience of emigration and renewal: people who had left their homeland and travelled across the sea, returned in the 1990s to enrich Ireland with their talents and experience gained abroad. The show as a whole builds on this idea, also exploring the way people from different lands enrich the countries they emigrate to, bringing with them their own culture, music and dance.

Opera buffa

The Apothecary 21& 22 Sept. at 8pm, Ljubljana Castle, Ljubljana, EUR 25

30. sept, 1 oct, 8pm, Tivoli, 55-80 EUR

Pop

Rock

Pop & rock

Lepa Brena

Day 202 – Dan D

5 Sept at 9pm, Auditorium Portorož, EUR 35–70

13.Sept at 8.30pm, Križanke, Ljubljana, EUR 25–30

Mars - Ljubljana Zagreb Trans Europe Festival

Fahreta Živojinović, better known as Lepa Brena is arguably the most well-known and successful singer of the 1980s in Yugoslavia. She has sold over ten million records worldwide, which makes her the best selling female artist in history of the Balkans. In Portorož she will present her latest album ‘Uđi slobodno’, released in 2008.

19 Sept at 5pm, Križanke, Ljubljana, EUR 20–23

Organised by Radio Slovenia in coproduction with Festival Ljubljana.

This traditional concert will again combine the Symphonic Orchestra of the Slovenian RTV Public broadcaster and rock music, this time with momentarily one of the most popular rock bands in Slovenia, Dan D. The Slovenia Times

Sutra is a kind of travelogue, which led Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui to one of the sources of his inspiration, the Shaolin temple in China, the cradle of kung-fu. This is a mythical site where one comes across the ghost of Bruce Lee and one of the world’s most elaborated corpuses of thought on the human body. The monks’ spirituality and the practice of martial arts. It is the body and its energy – mastered, released, vital, animal – that enlivens the stage of Sutra, where seventeen Shaolin monks encircle Sidi Liarbi Cherkaoui in a choreography that shuns folkloric recreation and recreates a philosophy of life through its speeds and pauses, bursts and withdrawals, apparent vivacity and internal release, its animal inspiration and its spiritual surges.

The idea of this new festival is to connect two countries and especially two countries in a cultural world based on friendship and music creativity. The link between the two will be the popular Slovene and Croatian rock groups Let 3, Elvis Jackson, TBF, Vatra, I.C.E. and Morso, performing first in Zagreb and then in Ljubljana.

Josef Haydn wrote his comic opera Lo Speziale (The Apothecary) while serving at the Esterházy estate, where the work was performed for the first time in 1768. In recent decades Lo Speziale has enjoyed something of a renaissance, and has probably become Haydn’s most frequently performed opera.

Haydn based it on a work by the renowned dramatist Carlo Goldoni, who packed his Lo Speziale with the classic figures and intrigues of the popular commedie dell’arte, revealing human weakness through them in a perceptive and witty way.

Haydn approached setting light comedy to music in an extraordinarily serious way. He profoundly

C

delineated the characters of each role with all of their psychological shades. As an experienced symphonic composer he trusted an important role to the orchestra, which shadows each change in mood with the colour of its instrumentation.

jazz, tango and Italian-Spanish influences.

Ethno

23 Sept at 7pm, 26-30 Sept. at 8pm, 3-4 Oct. Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana, EUR 9–11

Renato Borghetti 22 Sept at 8.15pm, Cankarjev dom (CD Club), Ljubljana, EUR 12–15

Ecstasy, humour and first-rate virtuosity: Brazilian accordion superstar Renato Borghetti, master of the rich musical gaucho traditions from southern Brazil, is back in Europe with his new programme in 2009. His shows are unforgettable live events, offering an exciting and elegant mix of traditional forms such as Milonga, Chacarera and Chamamé with elements of

Theatre

Shadows. Thoughts.

Drawings .Cadence.

Employing elements of theatre, film as well as site and sound installation, the project from Hanna’s Atelier of Sonorous Arts is propelled by the story of three women, who find themselves in a dark rift between life and death. Triggered by the fluid sound, their emotional response and mental images make spectators gradually lose sense of reality and orientation in space. The only link with the reality remains the voice of the three women.

EVENTS 43 M

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CM

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During the first part of this live show, the spectators are subjected to darkness. They lose their sense of space and get the feeling that someone is lurking in their vicinity.

The second part has several aims.

The spectator identifies himself with the performers, he becomes one of them. He realises that his responses and perceptions have contributed to the show decisively.

A question is raised whether unintentional responsiveness still constitutes responsiveness.

Classical

The RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra 09/10 24 Sept at 8pm, Cankarjev dom (Gallus Hall), Ljubljana, EUR 8–19 As per tradition, the opening concert of the new subscription season of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the chief conductor of the orchestra, En Shao. The Russian pianist, Mikhail Rudy, will give a piano solo in the first part of the concert program, and play Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B flat minor. The 10th anniversary of the Slovenian composer and academic,

September 2009

CY CMY

44 EVENTS

Primož Ramovš, will be commemorated with a performance of his work Izpoved (Declaration), and the

SPORTS 60th anniversary of the death of German giant of symphonic music, Richard Strauss, with a performance of his symphonic poem, ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’. The famous musical work was inspired by a philosophical treatise by Friedrich Nietzsche and has been used by numerous film-makers, most successfully by Stanley Kubrick in his famous science-fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Jazz

Big Band RTV Slovenija 10 Oct at 8pm, Jazz Club Mons, Ljubljana, EUR 20 Duško Gojković is a world-class jazz trumpet player, and singer and piano player Uroš Perić, who has proven himself as an excellent interpreter of the Ray Charles music, will present a CD All Of Me with Big Band RTV Slovenija. Big Band RTV Slovenija has existed continuously since 1945 and prides itself with being amongst the oldest orchestras of its kind worldwide. Today the band is rejuvenated – the average age of its members is just over 30.

Most have studied at various jazz academies abroad and each of them has mastered their instrument with virtuoso skill. Amongst the qualities of the band is its di-

Basketball

Last chance for a slam dunk While most people are trying to relax and enjoy the remaining hot summer days, some are putting in extra sweat and working as hard as ever. These are the chosen athletes of Slovenian national basketball team, who are now going through the preparations before the highly anticipated European basketball championship.

By Andrej Pirnat

versity and the ability to fulfil the needs of various radio and television programmes. It has excelled in diverse musical genres such as film, dance, popular and classical music. Jazz, however, is the music that the band plays with the greatest dedication and pleasure.

I

n September, Poland will host the European basketball championship EuroBasket 2009. This tournament will be of significant importance to Slovenian basketball world, fans and experts alike, as many see it as the last and final opportunity for the high-profile generation of those players, Matjaž Smodiš, Primož Brezec, Boštjan Nachbar, Jaka Lakovič and Beno Udrih, to earn a place in history of not just Slovenian, but also European basketball, which this team, at least on paper, definitely deserves.

The story of this year’s national team began approximately half a year ago, when a young coach Jure Zdovc, who was once one of the best players in Europe, was chosen to lead the selected few. Together with his team of coaches he was

Athletics

Kozmus rock solid once again Olympic champion Primož Kozmus outclassed his competition in a sluggish hammer throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. Kozmus was the only competitor to throw over 80 metres.

The 29-year-old’s victory, which came exactly a year to day when he became Olympic champion, is the first gold for Slovenia at a World Athletics Championships. This is Kozmus’s second medal at a World Championships, after he finished second in Osaka two years ago.

There he was beaten by Ivan Tikhon of Belarus, who was not competing this year due to a doping-related suspension.

The Slovenia Times

expected to bring a new element to this team and take them as far as no one else had before him. He did not shy away from this responsible role and went even as far to predict a medal for the team , of course this was only in case that all major players confirmed their participation.

Heavy burden for one man’s back The Slovenian national team has had its share of controversies in the past, some were even caused by the same players who will be performing this year. The most resounding, dates back to 2003, when two players, Marko Tušek and Boris Gorenc (not part of the team anymore), had an altercation, supposedly over a spilled drink at lunch. What made the matter even

SPORTS 45

Youth and experience: Goran Dragič and Beno Udrih. (photo: Mediaspeed)

Long journey In order to make this a strong and competitive team, Jure Zdovc with his team of assistants has done everything to persuade the top players to show up. Jure and his team travelled all over the world to talk with potential on-court representatives and in most cases they were successful. The only ones who slipped

through their fingers are the pillars of defence and previous team captain Rašo Nesterović, who decided to rest before he starts his season in Toronto and one of the best Slovenian guards, Sani Bečirović who is injured. Other than that, they have collected everyone they wanted, even NBA champion L.A. Laker Saša ‘The Machine’ Vujačič, who was probably the most coveted of them all.

Vujačič is a very special player, a player with many fans, and nonfans alike. He is now 25 years old. When he was still a teenager, Vujačič was considered as a future hopeful for Slovenian basketball and who was seen as a prototype player and everyone wanted to see him wearing the national team jersey as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to some controversies between Slovenian basketball association and Vujačič, this contract never happened – until Zdovc came into play.

For now, the core of the team remained intact and is still a beautiful arrangement of youth and experience with Goran Dragič, Uroš Slokar and the amazing Erazem Lorbek on one side and Beno Udrih, Primož Brezec, Boštjan Nachbar and team captain Matjaž Smodiš on the other side. What will happen next no one knows, but it is a common belief that a lot depends on Erazem Lorbek, who has been without question the best player of the preparation period and Matjaž Smodiš, who was unfortunately injured himself and missed the last couple of exhibition games, but has in the past years always proved that he is a true team leader and difference maker.

EuroBasket starts on September 7th and it will be very interesting to see how Zdovc’s troops battle it out. Due to the fact that he, as well as some of the other players have labelled themselves as one of the favourites to win a medal. Everything short of this will be seen as a failure and criticisms will not stop for years to come. But if he succeeds in his proclamations, he will become ‘immortal’, an untouchable, and a daring man who has saved Slovenian basketball.

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Reality check-in With hard work and commitment Zdovc put together a respect-

Tennis

Kayak/canoe

Slow recovery

Kauzer wins the World Cup

Slovenia’s best women’s tennis player Katarina Srebotnik will be making her comeback from injury at the US Open. Out since the beginning of the season due to various ailments, Srebotnik had overcome a nagging shoulder injury and should be fit to play at this year’s final Grand Slam in New York. She finished 2008 ranked 20th in the world, but has fallen to 51st during her time away from the courts. Katarina was first sidelined by an Achilles tendon injury, which forced her to withdraw from the Australian Open. Having overcome that a few months later, she was forced to continue resting due to shoulder pain.

He who flies high...

WELCOME!

Slovenia’s whitewater kayaker Peter Kauzer was second in the last World Cup K-1 slalom event in Canada’s Calgary, bagging the overall victory in the cup. Kauzer, the first Slovenian to have won the K-1 slalom World Cup, was satisfied with the success, saying that he had fulfilled one of the goals in this season. “The World Championships remain the main goal.” Another Slovenian, canoeist Benjamin Savšek came in second in the C-1 slalom, finishing the World Cup in second place, while female kayaker Nina Mozetič placed second in K-1, bagging the third place in the World Cup overall standings.

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Zavod za turizem Ljubljana, Krekov trg 10, 1000 Ljubljana

worse was that they did this in front of all the other teams, including Israel, a team which knocked them out of the competition later that evening.

New coach Jure Zdovc is definitely aware of the past events, but he will make it his duty and responsibility to keep the team cool and working in harmony. One of the biggest tasks, that was also a big issue in past games, will be to convince star players, of which many have leading roles in their clubs, to completely merge themselves into the team and do what will be asked of them. If this means scoring 30 points, score 30 points and if it means cheering from the bench, then cheer from the bench.

able team and everyone wanted to see how their great individual abilities would mesh on the court.

At the beginning of August they started with exhibition games against some of their adversariesto-be in the upcoming EuroBasket and after a dream start and wins against Macedonia, Croatia and the current champion Russia, the system totally collapsed in a short exhibition tournament in Spain where they faced Lithuania, Spain and Great Britain and lost against all three.

Even though it seems that the team is sticking together for now, and claiming that they are still learning the plays and building team chemistry, the first accusations were made and heads began to fall. With a surprise decision to everyone, the first to go was ‘superstar’ Vujačić, who only got a chance to play a few minutes into a couple of games, due to the injury he suffered during one of the work-outs before the preparation period even really started. Cutting Saša might not have been the best decision

by Zdovc due to the simple fact that, if nothing else, he gave this team something it has been missing for many years and that is character.

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46 sports

Jure Robič, endurance cyclist

Born to suffer This man does not compete in a high-profile sport. It is actually an obscure activity and he spends most of the time away from cameras. He does not have a big sponsor, he struggles for funds and he sometimes even borrows money to do what he likes best. Even winning does not usually earn him big prize money. Nevertheless, or because of that, he is one of the most respected athletes in Slovenia. Meet Jure Robič, 44, ultra-endurance cyclist from Koroška Bela near Jesenice.

R

obič made h istor y by winning the Race Across America (RAAM) a record four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008).

The RAAM is a special race because cyclists can pace themselves as they wish. The 4800-kilometre race is considered one of the hardest sporting events in the world.

During these epic races Robič not only showed his physical strength but also his fighting spirit that won him many fans throughout Slovenia and abroad. At the same time, he remains a modest, down to earth guy, a feature that has proven popular among Slovenes.

His efforts in the RAAM were made into a film, directed by national television journalist Tomaž Kovšca, and who also wrote a book “I’m Only Human”.

As a teenager and a young man, Robič was known as a racer, decent enough locally but not talented enough to land a professional contract. Throughout his 20’s, he rode with small Slovene teams, supporting himself with a sales job for a bike-parts dealer. On

the advice of a cyclist friend, he started training for the 1999 Crocodile Trophy, a notoriously painful week-and-a-half-long mountain bike race across Australia.

He finished third. In 2002, he quit his job and volunteered to join the Slovene military, undergoing nine months of intensive combat training. He earned a coveted spot in the sports division, which exists solely to support the nation’s top athletes. For Robič, the post meant a steady salary and the freedom to train full time.

The RAAM fairytale kind of ended this year. After leading most of the time, Robič withdrew from the race in protest against organizers who, according to Robič and his team, imposed unjust penalties on him. “I don’t mind losing in a fair battle but what they wanted to do was to humiliate us,” said Robič. He also discounted any other participation in the RAAM until it was led by the current organizing committee. He received a one hour penalty for 1) urinating in an undesignated place, 2) over-

(photo: Mediaspeed)

By Simon Demšar

Receiving award for special achievements form the hands of Prime Minister.

taking under a caution period and 3) not following the designated route due to navigation problems.

He didn’t gain any advantage as a result of the offences and the navigation problems made his route even 10 kilometres longer.

According to Robič, the main rea-

Facts and Figures • He won the Race Across America (RAAM) a record four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008).

• In 2003, he took part in his first RAAM, finishing second.

• In 2004, he set a world record in the 24-hour time trial by covering 834 kilometres. The same year, he won his first RAAM in a record time of 8 days, 9 hours and 51 minutes with an average speed (including sleeping) of 23,6 kph. During this time, he was reported to have had only eight hours of sleep.

• Six weeks after his second RAAM victory in 2005, he won Le Tour Direct, a 4000 kilometres race on a course contrived from classic Tour de France routes. He finished in 7 days, 19 hours and 20 minutes and climbed some 42,000 vertical metres, the equivalent of nearly five trips up Mount Everest. Hans Mauritz, the coorganizer of Le Tour Direct, said at the time: ‘”For me, Jure is on another planet. He can die on the bike and keep going.’’

• He convincingly won the Race Around Slovenia (the Slovene equivalent to RAAM) twice.

• During a race, he typically consumes 16,000 calories per day.

• In addition to races, he trains 335 days each year, logging some 45,000 kilometres, or roughly one trip around the World. On average, he trains seven or eight hours per day, covering some 250 kilometres and 2500 vertical metres.

Robič racing across America.

The Slovenia Times

• Once, he climbed Mt. Stol (2236 metres above sea level) 38 times in two months.

son behind the withdrawal was not the penalties by themselves but organizers ignoring similar offences, committed by Daniel Wyss, his only serious opponent.

Robič’s team filmed some of them these and handed them to the organizers but they would not even look at them. »’They just shrugged them off,’« said a disappointed Robič. He nevertheless received a warm welcome at his hometown and was later received by Slovene president Danilo Türk, who supported his decision.

RAAM Overview The RAAM started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race between the West coast and the East coast of the USA, usually from Oceanside, California, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. With around 4800 kilometres (the route varies) it is among the best-known and longest endurance events in the world. The RAAM is open to almost anyone. However, all entrants must prove their abilities by competing in any of several qualifying events, completing a course within a specified time period.

Winning the race is purely a matter of prestige as there is no prize money.

sports 47

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26.8.09 8:22

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF GARMIN TRIATHLON BLED The date of the first triathlon on Slovenian grounds (former Yugoslavia at the time) is August 12, 1984. It had a record-breaking number of competitors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 407. It has only been for the last three years that this record is being broken by the number of competitors close to 500.

It was Alojz Hvala, who, with the help of more experienced Austrian colleagues, first organized the event as a part of a Radio-television Slovenia promotional action â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Kaveljci in korenineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which was originally a 2km swimming marathon across Lake Bled (with more than 600 competitors, European record at the time). However, there were many competitors who decided to continue the race, by cycling to Bohinj and back (60km) and running twice around Lake Bled (12km). The first ever to win this triathlon were Dr. KlemenÄ?iÄ?

Maksimiljan and Dr. Brane Breznikar (who together crossed the finish line in less than 3 hours). The first female ever to cross the finish line was Karmen RaiĹĄp.

Unfortunately, the necessary roadblock between Bled and Bohinj was too big an impediment for the organizers and triathlon was held in Bled only once more. But the idea survived and by today, there have been many triathlons organized all over the country, for instance in BraslovÄ?e, Sevnica, Kamnik and Novo mesto.

Even though the development of triathlon in Slovenia cannot be compared to other countries, there are many successful Slovene athletes who pride themselves with medals from Euro-

pean and World championships. We have also gained lots of experience in organizing such events and have received praise for organizing European youth championships and Alpe Adria cup. The Bled triathlon is the conclusive event of Alpe Adria cup with two preceding events in Udine (Italy) and Klagenfurt (Austria). The winners have so far been Slovene, Italian or Austrian, yet we are planning to expand to Croatia and Hungary in the following year.

Garmin Triathlon Bled has in recent years grown to great extent and offers many different races for all generations and types of athletes; we organize children, youth, recreational and senior triathlons, as well as the professional race on European level. The children triathon is appropriate for children of all ages (50m swimming, 1,5km cycling and 400m running). Youth and recreational distances are 400-13-3. Same distances are in the relay triathlon (three competitors) where every competitor races in one event only. It is this race that makes Garmin Triathlon Bled the biggest multisport event in Slovenia, where swimmers, cyclists and runners gather in one place. What adds to the importance of the event is the so called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Media triathlon,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

where people from the Slovene media participate mostly in the relay race. In previous years Borut Pahor, DuĹĄan Mravlje, TomaĹž Humar, Martin Strel, Jure RobiÄ? and Marko PotrÄ? found the courage to be on our start list.

Since we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of triathlon in Slovenia, we would like to warmly invite those, who participated in the first event in 1984, to join us again this year. So far there are two athletes on the start list, who regularly appear in such events: MatjaĹž Ĺ tibelj and Miro Kregar.

Would you like to spend a sporty Saturday accompanied with multi athletes? Feel free to join us in Bled on September 5, 2009. We are expecting a record breaking number of athletes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; more than 500. Be one of them!

For more information contact us on www.trisport-klub.si or miro.kregar@siol.net.

September 2009

Photo: James Boole

48 people

Stane Kranjc, parachute designer

A life of adventures in the sky This is a man who is in his fifties and rarely stands on the solid ground. Hehas flown the entire course from experimental home-made hang gliders to flying suits.

Meanwhile he has created a successful career in the design and production of high end parachutes.

T The mome made hanggliders were constructed of irrigation pipes and covered with sailboat linen, available from the nautical stores in Trieste.

In the workshop.

The Slovenia Times

he beginnings: An aviation crazy kid grows into a student, who in 1973 and by some coincidence read a German Stern magazine that included an article on paragliding in the USA. What he read there, totally captured his imagination. Based on the photographs in the magazine, he began constructing a glider from pipes and the linen commonly used for umbrellas, which was available in his local store.

He tested the prototype in the December, but it didnot fly. After some improvements were implemented the device finally lifted off in the following spring. Maybe he was not the only one solitary Icarus in the country, who experimented that way, but in the case of Stane, this was only the first step in a life of adventure beneath the clouds. He also made an example and became a sort of a guru for many flying idealists. Over the course of the next ten years, the Slovenian sky was full of home constructed hang-gliders. These ‘skeletons’ were made of irrigation pipes, which, so he says, were even better than the material that the Americans used for the same purpose. The glider was covered with sailboat linen, available from the nautical stores in Trieste.

He views these times as a sort of renaissance, that was linked to individualism, and was reflected in American ‘hippie’ movement and surfing mania.

While in the western world, access to the joys of flying mainly depended on the financial status and the socialist states that of-

By Jaka Terpinc fered the same in exchange for dedicated contribution to aeroclubs or youth-cultivating organisations. Stane didnot fit into any of these options, so he went his own way. Actually, as he points out, there were small workshops everywhere in the world. Everyone invented and experimented. The innovation potential of these enthusiasts were in certain aspects surpassing NASA with its unlimited resources.

Getting to the business By the end of the eighties, hang gliders surrendered to paragliders. These were easier to transport and store. They became the new obsession for flying enthusiasts.

Stane was no exception. Together with a friend, he immediately moved on to create his own paraglider, then another, and another… His engineering and crafting skills, which had been so far, only available to his friends, started to turn into a business. Within a few years, he had reorganised his production to specialize in emergency parachutes. This didnot last long as his business partner proposed another deal and so those parachutes used for jumping out of the planes landed onto Stane’s production line. The drafts for these parachutes were based on a certain American model. Somehow these did not perform well, and so Stane decided to take the matter into his own hands. He attended a parachuting course and everything became clear, after only a few jumps using the prob-

lematic chute that he had made,.

He then moved on to design his own parachute with many useful improvements which derived from his knowledge of paragliders. His innovative approach resulted in the reduced size of a chute that retained the same falling speed. This parachute model created enough demand to sell a few hundred in the USA and to finally let Stane became totally independent within his business.

When asked about the size of his current production, he avoids the quantifiers: “I never wanted a big factory. What matters is that my products are of top quality and that I keep my free time.”

A giant leap into the void As if the fateful Stern magazine was not significant enough, another similar occurrence set another milestone. This time it was a document he received by chance from his German business partner in the early nineties. It presented the so called BASE jumping – which is – jumping off earthly structures.

This turned out to be an absolute challenge for his still youthful renegade attitude towards formalities, institutions, licences and flight controllers: “I have my own toy and I want to use it anywhere, according to my own judgement.”

Soon he established a contact with a renowned American “baser”, who presented him with the secrets of BASE jumping. After only a few jumps, he was ready to create his own BASE parachute.

people 49 His reputation placed him on the list of few ‘jumpers’ who were allowed to dive off the magnificent Petronas tower in Kuala Lumpur.

The winners of the show, who were rated with the highest aesthetic and measurable criteria, were the two Croatian companions who also used Stane’s specialized parachute, which, again captured much attention, and unexpectedly resulted in becoming another regular item on Stane’s production line. Apart from Petronas tower, there are now many other BASE trophies in Stane’s pocket –the “nine important towers in Frankfurt” as just one example .

The Birdman Stane had already tested special flying suits when jumping out of aeroplanes in the late nineties. But the ultimate challenge of flying in a winged suit and off a mountain wall, was only a matter of time.

This approached slowly but surely.

The baptism took place at the steep north face of the Mount Eiger, but the results were not satisfying.

So, again, Stane took time to contemplate on the optimal use of the birdman suit. In a short matter of time and with a more attempts he soon had happily established that birdman flying became another ultimate experience for him - with some 200 jumps to date. “It is the most natural way of flying.

All you use is your body. Wings like a bird. And you have to learn it, the same as birds. It is relatively difficult to establish the best wing angles and body position.” A bird man can reach up to 2,7 glide ratio - meaning it progresses 2,7 units forwards while loosing 1 unit of altitude and at a speed at around 150 km/h. The flight takes one to two minutes. The lift-off demands a high amount of concentration, while the rest of the flight leaves one enough time to say to himself: “What a lucky man I am. Out of billions of humans, there are only some twenty to thirty of us in the whole world who can do it.” The

birdman lands with a parachute, which is sometimes opened at no more than 50 metres above the ground.

On the edge Stane response to the question, ‘Is it dangerous?’ was “Every year there is a funeral. For the last three consecutive years these were in Austria.” The last one was of a friend, who I instructed in birdman flying. Jumping off the balloon, he somehow turned around, with his back towards the ground, panicked, and opened the parachute at a high altitude and got himself caught in the strings.’

He cannot recall any near-fatal situations himself, but at the same time he does admit that a healthy amount of fear and cautiousness are a constant companion, especially when he is at a new place.

“You should visualize the entire jump. During the ascent I already estimate where to jump, which direction to fly, where to pull the parachute… Eliminate all the possible surprises. Experience helps a lot. All my previous sports contributed to it. Along with personality you grow beside.”

He fears especially for the young guys around 25, who are physically at their peak, but lack maturity.

He feels responsible for educating them, but since this is not an organized or regulated activity, the only way to do it, is to present them with an example.

What comes next…

It is a reasonable question for a man who has gone all the way from home constructed hang gliders to a flying suit. Stane explains that there are two elements which drive his imagination: the technical knowledge and his practical skills in flying. What a rare combination. In most cases it is either a constructor or an user. With BASE jumping as the favourite, he combines all the flying methods he has experienced so far. Of course, the components of his hang glider are

no longer borrowed from farmers and sailors, but is now a highend carbon made flying machine.

In his workshop another project awaits completion – an ultra light two-winged glider based on a model from the seventies.

After thirty five years of flying, three children - one of these following his steps - and four grand children, he considers himself a man who still lives his dream. He has seen much of the world, only to establish that Slovenia is a miniature BASE jumper’s paradise. He maintains a circle of friends from all over the world, many of them renown alpinists of parachutists. Despite his flying inventions ranked as the world’s best, he has received only one award, that was conferred by a Swedish club. This also reflects a non-competitive characteristic of sky adventurers like himself. This is probably why he does not understand the exhibitionist logic of popular air shows.

He enjoys books and poetry, and is currently on Chomsky. He still winds up his gramophone to play some old Pink Floyd albums in his apartment above the workshop. He regrets that contemporary society gives so little attention to encourage technical innovations, educate engineers and physicists. Finally, he has at last fulfilled his personal wish of owning a fast sports car. It is not Ford GT40 of the dreams of his youth, but the amazing Opel speedster.

BASE turned was an absolute challenge for his still youthful renegade attitude towards formalities, institutions, licences and flight controllers

A bird man can reach up to 2,7 glide ratio - meaning it progresses 2,7 units forwards while loosing 1 unit of altitude and at a speed at around 150 km/h. The flight takes one to two minutes.

BASE jumping employs a parachute or the sequenced use

of a wingsuit and parachute to jump from fixed objects, with the parachute unopened at the jump. BASE is an acronym for the four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennas, spans, earth. The expression was made up by film-maker Carl Boenish, who in 1978 filmed the first BASE jumps to be made using ram-air parachutes and the freefall tracking technique from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The firs BASE jump in history is considererd a 1912 Frederick Law’s jump from the Statue of Liberty.

September 2009

Book editor Zdravko Duša applauds to Boris Pahor at the writer’s 96th birthday celebration ceremony in Cankarjev dom.

(Photo: Mladinska knjiga archive)

Slovenian Moslems attend iftar, a dinner ending their fast during the month of Ramadan on the site of the future Ljubljana mosque. (Photo: BOBO)

Singer Vlado Kreslin (left) with mum and dad at his annual gig at Križanke summer theatre. (Photo: Maja Kaplan)

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