2 February 2009
Comedies, gingerbread hearts and feelings of Mitteleuropa
Posted by Carletko under: Slovenija; Trips .
Being born in a big town by the Mediterranean Sea, even in Wintertime I seldom have the chance to enjoy much snow, cold weather, alpine landscape and that mitteleuropean feeling I can find driving north-east for many kilometres from my beloved Ligurian coast towards what was once the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Trieste (Trst, Triest, or call it whatever you want), at the very north-eastern border of Italy, could look similar, at first sight, to my hometown Genova, stretched between the mountains and the sea. But just few kilometres ahead you will leave the country of Italo Svevo and will find yourself in another country, without any border control, no change of currency, similar architecture, same history, same cultural mix.
Slovenian people and Slovenian culture have been part of this region since ages, no matter if now part of it is called Italy, part Austria and the rest simply Slovenia. It was all Austria before Ernest Hemingway wrote “A farewell to arms” during the tragedy of the First World War. After “la Grande Guerra”, how it’s called in Italian, it was all Italy and the tragedy went on under the infamous fascist rule. It was all mixed thereafter the second World conflict, part Italian, part Yugoslavian.
Driving from Gorizia (Gorica, Görz) along the Soča valley it’s a matter of minutes and few metres if you find yourself in Italy or Slovenia. The old austro-hungarian railway, a really pleasant journey for train enthusiasts, goes north-east from the Goriška up to the Kranjska, lapping around famous postcard-friendly places like Bled and Bohinj and then splitting in two, one side to Ljubljana, one side to Villach. The road keeps more on the west, passing through the saddest place of Italian history of the last century, Kobarid (Caporetto), then going up to the Julian Alps in a spectacular scenario of snowy mountains.
The snow is all around in the last days of December, the temperature keeps well below zero and it gets even lower when we cross the Preval Predel (1.156 m) back to Italy. The street is white and it seems like riding a sled. We leave Mt. Mangart behind as we drive carefully down to Tarvisio. Not many kilometres, a strong coffee and we are back in Slovenia at its most famous alpine resort, Kranjska Gora. Crowds of people around, big SUV cars, expensive shops: that’s not really a Hidden Europe spot and the road leads us fast east overtaking what remains of the Yugoslavian industrial heritage of Jesenice and finally ending our fast run far away from the crowds in Radovljica.
Radovljica’s main square, Linhartov trg, looks like heaven to us, even if a freezy one. White snowy ground, soft lights, no one around, a small stage for the upcoming new year’s eve open air concert (only for people brave enough!) and beautiful old painted houses. We enter a slaščičarna and while drinking a much awaited worm chocolate we observe some old posters written in a strange Slovenian way. They are announcing two comedies, “Županova Micka” (Micka the Mayor’s Daughter) and “Ta veseli dan ali Matiček se ženi” (This Merry Day or Matiček’s Wedding). The first is the first ever comedy written in Slovene, the second is better known as “The marriage of Figaro”. Yes, we are still in Linhartov trg, the square dedicated to Radovljica’s most famous citizen, Anton Tomaž Linhart, the father of Slovene historiography and the first playwright in the Slovene language. Radovljica’s local hero, without any doubt.
At the nearby “Gostilna Lectar” there’s another hidden pearl of Radovljica, the “Muzej Lectarska delavnica v živo” a living gingerbread workshop in the same house where Jakob Krivic opened his first gingerbread workshop back in 1766. Buying a gingerbread srčke (little heart) for your beloved one becomes a must after watching this little workshop in this house where everything, except comfort, seems to be still at medieval times.
After a good traditional dinner, some Teran wine and a heavy sleep it’s time to enjoy the sun warming up a bit this cold land. The heart of the town is on a hill, watching the Sava river flowing below after the railway tracks. Far away in the distance the shape of Mt. Triglav, the symbol of Slovenia, is well visible, making it the most patriotical view as possible.
The church of St. Peter, at the southern edge of the square, looks beautiful from the outside, but the big door is closed. A nun runs out of the monastery in our help. Her accent is different, she’s from Ajdovščina, in the Kras, the karst region, once again one of the borders between Slovenia and Italy. She’s so excited to see two visitors coming from abroad on such a cold day and she welcomes us inside the church. The sunshine enters the painted glasses while the interior is as cold as the exterior; the always present jaslice (crèche) lies besides the main altar, remembering us it’s still Christmas time and the three Magi are yet to come in few days.
The young nun talks uninterruptedly and, from saint to saint, altar to altar leads us to another secret treasure of Radovljica: a little chapel, lying behind the church, dedicated to Edith Stein, the German-Jewish nun, born in nowadays Poland, died in Auschwitz, canonized by pope Jan Pavel II in ‘87 and appointed Patron of Europe: a perfect figure for this place in the middle of the Mitteleuropa. The chapel was once a bunker during the world wars, built on the old fortifications of the town: surely it looks nicer now as a symbol of peace.
The sun in shining high in the cold end of December, surrounded by the Alps. The fast train to Ljubljana passes quickly through the station leaving Mt. Triglav and the town of Linhart behind. It’s time to go, more Slovenian roads are waiting for us, here around this snowy heart of Europe.
One Comment so far...
Olga Says:
10 February 2009 at 14:01.
I read “A farewell to arms” dozens of times – it’s one of my favorite books.
And Ljubljana is well-desribed by Paolo Coelho in his “Veronice decides to die”. I would like to see this town (especially in winter after your story)