The Glory of Carniola

Solidarnost

Solidarnost (Solidarity): A statue in Izola, Slovenia.

Heavy concrete statues and socialism seem to be made for each other.

The Venera Shop

The Venera Shop is like a box o chocolates, ya never know what ya gonna get.

I had to laugh when I saw this sign in Koper. In Slovene (and other Slavic languages, like Russian) venera means Venus. So, it's entirely appropriate to have an erotic shop named after the Roman goddess of love. However, to an English speaker, "venera" sounds very much like "venereal"... as in "venereal disease." (In Slovene: spolno prenosljive bolezni.)

And that sounds slightly less appealing.

A Pool for the Blind

A pool for the blind on the Adriatic Sea. Trieste is in the background.

This pleased me in my heart when I saw it. It's a swimming facility on the Adriatic designed for the blind. The sign says:

Bathing in the pool is restricted! This is a trial project for members of the home for the blind

I don't think it's fully operational yet. But when it is, I feel sure that it will be a thing of splendor.

Koper Week Begins

Hotel Zusterna in Koper.

I'm back, like the bitch in the Elton John song. And yes, I had a wonderful long-weekend in Koper/Capodistria.

Unfortunately, we had to return a little earlier than planned because of a misunderstanding during check-in. See, we asked for a "quiet room," and although the concierge promised us the "quietest room in the hotel," he actually meant to say: "The quietest room in the hotel until the sun sets, after which it becomes the loudest room in Koper, because it's directly above a small stage where live bands play 80s schlock-rock until 2 a.m. followed by a fireworks show."

Just to be clear: Hotel Zusterna is a family hotel; it openly promotes itself as such. That's why we picked it. And sure enough, the guests were overwhelmingly parents with young children. Plus retired couples. There was no one in the 20-30 age group, or anyone who looked like they wanted to rock-n-roll all night and party every day. Knowing this, why would you stage really long, really loud rock concerts in the parking lot?

Janez and the Ear-Drum Breakers prepare to rock. Note the massive audience.

I just don't get it. On Saturday night, we slept terribly. But we were in high spirits and assumed it was an isolated event. The next evening, we noticed more bands warming up and decided to leave rather than suffer through another night of cheesy guitar solos.

When we went to the concierge to ask for our money back, he calmly told us: "Yes, a lot of guests have been complaining." As if this were slightly interesting, but in no way useful, information.

Despite this, we had a wonderful time. Slovenes often make fun of their own coast, but I really enjoy spending time there. That's why this week will be Koper Week here on The Glory of Carniola. From June 1st to June 6th, there will only be pictures and posts about Koper (and Izola!). If you don't care about Koper (or Izola!) the only thing to do is wait until Monday, when the posts about Koper (and Izola!) will stop.