Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Slo-what?-ia
The only thing I know about Slovakia is what I learned firsthand from your foreign
minister, who came to Texas.
—George W. Bush, to a Slovak journalist (Bush had actually met with Dr. Janez
Drnovšek, who was then Slovenia's prime minister)
Maybe it's understandable that many Americans confuse Slovenia with Slovakia.
Botharesmall,mountainouscountriesthatnottoolongagowerepartsofbigger,bet-
ter known, now defunct nations. But anyone who has visited Slovenia and Slovakia
will set you straight—they feel worlds apart.
Slovenia,
wedgedbetweentheAlpsandtheAdriatic,isatidy,prosperouscountry.
Until 1991, Slovenia was one of the six republics that made up Yugoslavia. Histor-
ically, Slovenia has had very strong ties with Germanic culture—so it feels like its
neighbor to the north, Austria.
Slovakia
—two countries away, to the northeast—is slightly bigger. Much of its
territory is covered by the Carpathian Mountains, most notably the dramatic, jagged
peaks of the High Tatras. In 1993, the Czechs and Slovaks peacefully chose to go
theirseparateways,sothenationofCzechoslovakia dissolvedintotheCzechRepub-
lic and the Slovak Republic (a.k.a. Slovakia).
To make things even more confusing, there's also
Slavonia.
This is the thick, in-
land “panhandle” that makes upthe northeast half ofCroatia, along Slovenia'ssouth-
east border. Much of the warfare in Croatia's 1991-1995 war took place in Slavonia
(including Vukovar; see the Understanding Yugoslavia chapter).
I won't tell on you if you mix them up. But if you want to feel smarter than a
former president, do a little homework and get it right.
The last century saw the most interesting chapter of Slovenian history. Some of World
War I's fiercest fighting occurred at the So
č
a (Isonzo) Front in northwest Slove-
nia—witnessed by young Ernest Hemingway, who drove an ambulance (see sidebars on
and Hungary—and an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Slovenes perished in Nazi- and Italian-
operated concentration camps.
As Yugoslavia entered its Golden Age under war hero Marshal Tito, Slovenia's prime
location where Yugoslavia meets Western Europe (a short drive from Austria or Italy)—and
