What we do? Who are we? Where are we? What’s new? When is our next #instameet? We will share all the information with you.

The Best of 2019

It was an amazing year! Our profile Igslovenia reached 100.000 followers on Instagram and 800k photos have been tagged #igslovenia during 7 years of posting! We enjoyed very much our cooperation with Visit Škofja Loka and Huawei Slovenia which gave us opportunity to travel a lot and post many photos of our own.

However, our story is based on the community of people who visited Slovenia and took extraordinary photos here and of people who live in Slovenia and take extraordinary photos! We strive to post as many different locations as possible which is sometimes difficult since most of the people visiting for a few days understandably tend to post and tag photos from the same few locations like Lake Bled, Piran, Ljubljana etc. We also try not to use too many photos from the same photographer but in 360+ posts we do in a year some photographers always stand out and 2019 is not different. But let’s start with the public “vote” – here are nine photos from 2018 which were most popular according to Instagram data:

 

I’m pretty proud  that my own photo made it to the top, even more proud of the fact that it was taken with a mobile (HuaweiP20Pro). Authors from top left to the right are by Instagram handles: zokus_gf, martin.strmiskaprimoz_senk, zokus_gfjostgantar, miss_evycookies, time_out_experience, gregor.raicevic, masabutara.

Most Featured in 2019

Second “statistics” is about the number of features in a year! Most featured author of 2019 was by far jostgantar – Jošt does a lot of work for tourist organisations and covers many parts of Slovenia which are not so popular with tourist.

Mt. Triglav above the church at Štefanja Gora

“Second” place (it is not a competition though) is split between @jaka_ivancic and @dreamypixels. Jaka Ivančič was on top in 2018 and we somehow missed his high profile activity in last year.

Vrsnik between Idrija and Žiri

Aleš Krivec aka @dreamypixels covers mostly Julian Alps and every year makes a gorgeous calendar of his photos.

Slemenova špica in Julian Alps

@jurij_pelc is next on the list – Jurij almost systematically visits places around Slovenia and does his drone magic over them. Since we love to see new places on our feed – here he is!

Kočevje

Gregor Skoberne @gregorskobernephotography mostly but not exclusively covers his home yard Lake Bohinj and mountains above it.

Stara Fužina near Lake Bohinj

His number of featured photos in 2019 equals the number of Malte Heitmüller from Austria who visits the mountains of Slovenia quite a lot.

Kobarid

There are 22 photographer who were featured twice in 2019 so we are going to mention three with three features:

Domagoj Sever @domagojsever from Croatia:

Lake Bohinj

Amadeja Knez @amyknez

Slemenova špica

and @primoz_senk (former fenrisdesignandphotography).

Zgornje Jezersko

Congratulations to all and thank you all!

 

Zoran Leban Trojar

The Best of 2018

Countdown time! The sixth year of Igslovenia on Instagram was marked with another big joint venture campaign with Visit Ljubljana to promote Central Slovenia, the campaign  finished with a very successful international two day Instameet. We have also organised two Instameets with Canon, one in Ljubljana and another one in Zagreb. We also joined an Instameet at Plitvice Lakes in January. @igslovenia community still growing and engaging is what gives us a satisfaction and pays for hundreds of hours spent to bring you the best photos from as various locations of Slovenia as possible. That has also resulted in a cooperation with Huawei since we were always focused on mobile photography, at least on our site in the section Where to in Slovenia.

Some stats first: More than 40 photographers were featured more than once in 2018 what is a bit less than the previous year. The same goes for the number of photographers which were featured five times or more – there are only 8 of them compared to 16 a year before.

Lets’s start with the best nine photos by the number of likes. They belong to eight different artist, from left to right and top to the bottom (all Instagram handles and links, more or less all of them also have a Facebook account which you can find): Jošt Gantar @jostgantarDomagoj Sever @domagojsever@auerimagesTom Strojnik @tomstrojnikHeikki @frozenblizzardPiotr Skrzypiec @piotrskrzypiec9198 @malaposastmiciZoran L Trojar @zokus_gfPiotr Skrzypiec @piotrskrzypiec9198.

Our selection of the year is in fact a result of our selection during the year: we just counted the number of features the artists made on our profile.  We are trying to feature high quality photos of different locations and not to repeat a single photographer and location too many times. But just as it happens with photos of Bled – throughout the year we post many of them and some photographers get more features than others simply because they are highly active and post different locations of superior quality.

To get into the Top 10 four features were needed. Each author is present bellow with one photo which does not always correspond to the actual featured photos on our profile.

Jaka Ivančič @jaka_ivancic managed to the first place by the number of features. Among many other recognitions he have received recently this reflects his high quality photos but also a huge amount of activity spent both in the field and on social media channels.

In the next group, very close to Jaka, were: Ana Pogačar @anapogacar

Jošt Gantar @jostgantar was also close to Jaka by the number of features but he holds the first place by the number of likes in 2018 – and 2017.

Next group consists of a few artist with the same number of features, none of them is new to our list:

Luka Esenko @lukaesenko

Gregor Škoberne @gregorskobernephotography

Aleš Krivec @dreamypixels

In the last group were:  Piotr Skrzypiec @piotrskrzypiec9198

Jurij Pelc @jurij_pelc

Klemen Zepp Dovžan @klemen_zepp_dovzan

Dan Briški @dan.briski

We thank you all for participating, tagging and engaging. Love you all,

Sanja and Zoran

Canon #mynextfirst Instameets

This summer Canon challenged people across Europe to do something for the first time and to revel in the moment. Do you have #mynextfirst kind of experience list prepared already? It could be a small, almost ordinary thing. If you #liveforthestory you can find it everywhere – in your neighbourhood, in your own city, with changing your point of view or just chating with your friends.

An opportunity to do all that is just around the corner! Join us, Canon and your favorite bloggers and Instagramers at photowalk in Ljubljana or/and Zagreb, listen to their stories and take a bird eye view of the city!

We can all learn a lot from the stories of our hosts who have been chasing their #mynextfirst for #canon this summer: @ajdasitar, @ljetoincroatia, @krooncheck, @ursha.si and also from the experiences of organisers @igslovenia and @domagojsever.

Both events will start with a short photowalk which will end with a birdeye view of the city –  in Ljubljana from the Ljubljana Castle and from Zagreb Eye in Zagreb. A chat with your favourite Instagramers will take place in the bar with some refreshments. You can also join the photowalk or the chatting part only! Prepare your questions and – cameras!

Participation is free but an upfront registration is necessary – just send an email to info@igslovenia.si with the following information: your name, the city you want to attend the event in and the host you want to listen to most. No limits, you can attend both Instameets and you are especially encouraged to visit it in the city you are not so familiar with! Number of participants is limited.

 

Instameet Ljubljana

Date: September 6th
Start: 16:30
Location: Novi trg, at the fountain
Heading to: Ljubljana Castle, Grajska kavarna
Refreshments and chat: from 18:00 on
Sunset session: 19:00

Instameet Zagreb

Date: September 13th
Start: 17:00
Location: Europski trg
Heading to: Zagreb Eye
Refreshments, chat and sunset session: from 19:00

 

Tivoli Park Ljubljana

We are dedicated to the mobile photography and are showing you photo spots which don’t demand the use of a special gear. We have begun to use a Huawei P20 Pro just recently so only a few of the following photos are made with it. All of them have a special tag to see the difference.

With the words of Visit Ljubljana: Tivoli Park is Ljubljana’s largest and most beautiful park, stretching right into the city centre. It was designed in 1813 by the French engineer Jean Blanchard and created by joining together the parks which had surrounded Podturn and Cekin Mansions. The park, covering an area of approximately five square kilometres, is crossed by three grand horse chestnut tree-lined walks and landscaped with ornamental flower beds, interesting trees and numerous statues and fountains. The park area blends into the slopes of the Rožnik hill, to which it is connected by several walking paths and a trim trail with several exercise stations along its length.

Morning light in the park /Huawei P20 Pro/

The park is really only a 5 minutes walk from the Slovenska street, it provides a lot of shade for a hot days and it is used for jogging, dog walking, hiking, just resting – you name it! More importantly, it is a photographer’s paradise: it is beautifully lighted in the mornings opposing the rising sun and provides numerous motifs in all seasons: from animals and other nature, statues, action shots. Besides it is never too crowded since it is really huge. We live 5 minutes from the park and we have a dog, so we know it really well and have an enormous stock of photos which me made in the last few years:).  Let us show you some basic spots.

The main entrance to the park /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Most visitors reach the park from the city centre using the pedestrian underpass at the Museum of Modern Art and this is the first view of the Jakopič Promenade one gets just after the underpass. Well, this in fact is the view from the railway tracks just above the exit – it is a few steps climb which is not recommended when slippery.

Jakopič Promenade

The scenic Jakopič Promenade (Jakopičevo sprehajališče) was designed by the architect Jože Plečnik in the central part of Tivoli Park. It  ends at the bottom of the stairway leading to Tivoli Mansion. The promenade is named after the Slovenian Impressionist painter Rihard Jakopič and has become a well known outdoor venue for exhibitions of large-format photographs, open throughout the year.

Jakopič Promenade /Huawei P20 Pro/

In the Tivoli Mansion which changed a lot of hands in its history is today International Centre of Graphic Arts with a cute coffee bar with a view.

Tivoli Mansion

Ornamental flower beds are all over the park combined with many other interesting details.

A detail between the promenade and the park /Huawei P20 Pro/.

According to the story the artist committed suicide when he realised that the dogs are missing their tongues.

The deaf dogs.

Have we mentioned the views in the morning light?

View from the Tivoli Mansion /Huawei P20 Pro/.

This statue is definitely our favourite.

The Dancers

Not that it is the only one. Boy with the flute (1946) is in Slovenia also widely known as the trademark of the national TV broadcaster TV Slovenija. However, it is much more difficult to make a good photo of it since it has a chestnut tree lined path behind its back.

The Boy With the Flute.

Entering the park south of the main entrance just before the small railway station near Tobačna one finds a completely different story: an always occupied bench.

The Poet /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Edvard Kocbek was a great poet and played a big but controversial political role during and after World War II. He spent his whole life contemplating about it and so he will spend the eternity. He has a company, a mini-he on his left. We hope that he is helping and not tormenting himself.

The Company.

Be that as it may, the bench is truly photogenic in the mornings.

Sunrise meditation /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Just a few steps behind the poet’s back is located a fish pond with another small sculpture and lots of different bird species.

The Fish Pond /Huawei P20 Pro/.

A small building along the pond is called the Boat House (Čolnarna) and hosts a lovely coffee house.

The Boat House.

The pond is also a nice spot to capture sunrise over Ljubljana.

Sunrise view

Next to the pond there is a small botanical garden with a glasshouse, whose management was entrusted to the Ljubljana Botanic Garden on its 200th anniversary in 2010. The glasshouse houses a permanent exhibition of tropical and carnivorous plants.

Botanical garden and the glasshouse /Huawei P20 Pro/.

This is definitely the most colourful part of the park!

Moody morning /Huawei P20 Pro/.

It can beat also the many moody mornings in Ljubljana.

Roses /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Tivoli Park is beautiful also in the rain and snow …

Autumn

…using all kinds of benches to capture the autumn…

The carpetl

… and winter.

The Winter bench

Did we mentioned that people just rest under the trees?

Resting /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Let’s look closer with the help of the fantastic zoom of Huawei P20 Pro. So close to the city.

Close up /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Northern part of the park is less picturesque but reveals a geometry of the park and with some proper gear provides nice views of the Ljubljana Castle.

North part of the park

The castle can be also taken from the renowned Švicarija Creative Centre.

Švicarija /Huawei P20 Pro/.

Wish you a lot of fun exploring the park!

Text and photo: Zoran Leban Trojar.

Dragon Bridge

The statues of the four dragons on the each corner of the Dragon Bridge are probably the most famous and recognizable images of the city. They are masterpiece by themselves and everybody rush to take photos with them. This photo point is therefore not difficult to find but we would like to turn your attention to some additional details beside taking selfies with this somewhat terrifying pieces of art.

First of all it is not so easy to take a good photo of the beasts since they are positioned against the sky and backlighted. But they are on the opposite sides of the bridge so it is easy to find out which side suits you better. All photos in this post were taken early in the morning when light is better on that side of the bridge which is just across the road of the food market.

This is also the only corner where one can safely climb the low concrete wall next to the bridge and face the beast eye to eye and also gets the perspective of the bridge and the road – when it is empty it nicely add to the composition.

 

The bridge itself is a unique creation, an extraordinary piece of technical heritage and a superb example of Art Nouveau architecture. It was constructed between 1900 and 1901 and it was Ljubljana’s first reinforced concrete structure. The parapet lamps used to be powered by gas.

The views from the bridge are packed with the most important architectural heritage of Ljubljana: the Ljubljana Castle on the Castle Hill, the Cathedral and arcades of the Plečnik’s Open Market are extremely photogenic and offers many different angles with and without the dragons.

Reaching this point of Ljubljana from the Triple Bridge one probably passes also the point just before the Butcher’s Bridge on the photo bellow. BTW, did you know that the Dragon Bridge replaced the original wooden Butcher’s Bridge?

 

Arcades of the Open Market are also very photogenic but as a rule much more facing east. This is valid from the both parts of arcades, the one just around the corner of the Triple Bridge and the second one which begins at the Butcher’s Bridge and ends close to least photogenic dragon.

We recommend to make a short walk along the left bank downstream from the Dragon Bridge to reach another small bridge. The river view is very beautiful from there – in all seasons but summer. Still a sunset or sunrise time can provide for a nice photo.

This part of the left bank ends with the Tovarna Rog (Rog Factory) which is an autonomous social and cultural centre set on the premises of a former bicycle factory. “Consensually” occupied in 2006, this vast location of 7,000 square-metres in “downtown” Ljubljana currently facilitates a rich programme of social and cultural activities and programmes. The presence of the centre is visible in the neighbourhood.

The part of the city between the river and Trubarjeva street is famous by itself but some additional sights are available from this walk.

Text and photos Zoran Leban Trojar.

All photos taken with Huawei P20 Pro

About the legend of Ljubljana Dragon.

Sources:

Visit Ljubljana

 

500.000 x #igslovenia

500.000. Pol milijona. V petih letih in pol je to skoraj 2.000 na teden. A povprečja lažejo. Na začetku jih je bilo veliko manj. Torej jih mora biti zdaj na teden veliko več. Ne štejeva. A tu in tam se spodobi, da jih preštejeva, da sva vesela in da to tudi naglas poveva.

500.000 fotografij so uporabniki Instagrama označili z #igslovenia. Tujci, Slovenci. Na začetku, pred petimi leti in pol, ni bilo nobene. Sanja si je izmislila to značko, ker na profilu nisva želela deliti fotografij, za katere ne bi imela izrecnega dovoljenja za delitev. Na Instagramu se nekako smatra, da uporaba določene značke, ki ni generična, kot je npr. #slovenia, pomeni tudi dovoljenje za ponovno objavo. Hkrati je tudi dodaten prepoznavni znak profila, če obstaja ta povezava. #slovenia, torej najbolj generična značka, ima 2.240.000 fotografij. #slovenija 318.000. #ig_slovenia, ki je verjetno nastala kot napaka, se je kar dobro prijela s 34.000 fotografijami. #ifeelslovenia, uradna značka z vso promocijsko mašinerijo, ki stoji za njo, jih ima 210.000. #itsculturetime, ki ga promovira v svojem profilu, 61. Ni napaka. Je pa dokaz, da ni preprosto spromovirati nove značke. Na Instameetih v Sloveniji in na Hrvaškem, kjer vedno uporabljamo posebno značko za vsak dogodek, jih redko dobimo več kot 100.

 

Podoba ob drugi obletnici profila danes deluje skoraj patetično. Prvi intervju z nama je 23.9. 2014 naredil Simon Šketa – takrat še ni kuhal – na sketa.si. Takole je povzel: “Več kot 50.000 fotografij Slovenije, več kot 8.000 sledilcev, polovica iz tujine. Nove fotke prihajajo vsak dan, Slovenijo v najlepši podobi na Instagramu pa vse bolj občudujejo tujci.”

Več kot očitno nama je uspelo, tudi 70.000 sledilcev, ki jih je @igslovenia dosegla nekako v istem tednu, to dokazuje. Decembra 2014 je imel Instagram 300 milijonov uporabnikov, danes jih ima 900 milijonov. V tem času je število sledilcev @gslovenia zraslo za skoraj 9x! Še vedno je več kot polovica sledilcev iz tujine. Najboljše objave imajo več kot 50.000 dosega in več kot 70.000 prikazov.

 

Popularnost Slovenije kot turistične destinacije je v zadnjih letih skokovito naraščala. V istem obdobju je naraščala popularnost družbenih medijev, predvsem Instagrama, in njihova/njegova vloga v promociji destinacij. To je bil najin skromen prispevek k promociji Slovenije (in Instagrama v Sloveniji) – 500.000 x #igslovenia.

Zoran Leban Trojar @zokus_gf

Sanja Leban Trojar @sanya_lt

The best of 2017

Another great year behind us! A number of workshops and lectures with companies and tourist organisations, a big joint venture campaign with Visit Ljubljana to promote Central Slovenia, two Instameets we have organised at home and two we joined in Croatia, next one already in January at Plitvice Lakes! Our @igslovenia community still growing and engaging is what gives us a satisfaction and pays for hundreds of hours spent to bring you the best photos from as various locations of Slovenia as possible.

So, The Best Of … Lets’s start with the best nine photos by number of likes. What comes as a small surprise is that all nine are from different artists given the fact that more than 50 photographers were featured more than once in 2017 and fifteen of them were featured five or more times. So here we go, from left to right and top to the bottom (all Instagram handles and links, more or less all of them also have a Facebook account which you can find): Jošt Gantar @jostgantarEmmet Sparling @emmet_sparlingAndrea Papazzoni @andrewpapaLuka Esenko @lukaesenkoIztok Medja @iztok_medja@roamarooStephen Barna @barnadriftJani Peljhan @janipeljhanDragan Gavranović @photocorax.

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Our selection of the year is in fact not a selection at all since we just counted the number of features by the artists. On the other hand this number of course reflects our selection through the year. We are trying to feature high quality photos of different locations and not to repeat a single photographer too many times. But just as it happens with photos of Bled – throughout the year we post many of them and some photographers get more features than others simply because they are highly active and post different locations of superior quality.

There are 16 of them who got at least 5 features, 8 of them more than five. Please note that photos used here are screenshots from Instagram only and that they not necessary corresponds to the actual featured photos on our profile.

Jošt Gantar @jostgantar is the artist with the most features of all.

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In the next group very close to Jošt are:

Luka Esenko @lukaesenko:

Around Logatec

Around Logatec

Ana Pogačar @anapogacar:

Homec near Kamnik

Homec near Kamnik

and Jaka Ivančič @jaka_ivancic

Piran

Piran

Next group with the approximate same number of features consist of:

Katarina Veselič @katarinaveselic

Bled

Bled

Gregor Škoberne @gregorskobernephotography

Bohinj

Bohinj

Aleš Krivec @dreamypixels

Vršič

Pokljuka

and Nejc Suhadolnik @neworx

Krn

Krn

Eight photographers were featured exactly five times each.

Peter Zajfrid @peterzajfridphoto

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St. Ana, Brezovica

Iztok Medja @iztok_medja

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Vršič

Andrej Tarfila @andrejtarfila

Sorško polje

Sorško polje

Dani Turnšek @daniturphoto

Pristava, Cirkulane

Pristava, Cirkulane

Dani Kla @dani.kla

Bled Island

Bled Island

Uroš Abram @uabram

Jamnik

Jamnik

Luka Kotnik @lukakotnikphotography

Piran

Piran

and Jan Čermelj @jancermelj.

St. Jakob

St. Jakob.

We thank you all for participating, tagging and engaging. Love you all,

Sanja and Zoran

Soča Valley Instameet

Soča Valley is one of the most beautiful and most visited parts of Slovenia, but a bit remote too – it takes two hours to get there from Ljubljana by car! It was the sixth Instameet by Igslovenia but first one at such a remote location so it took us a while to finally decide to do it. We have partnered with Dolina Soče tourist organisation and it’s representative and @socavalley administrator, Tatjana, has greeted us on Saturday morning in the charming small city of Kobarid. It was the first time that Sanja and me didn’t meet any of the participants before and they didn’t know each other so we were breaking the ice with coffee while waiting to enter the small bus, courtesy of Dolina Soče.

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It didn’t take long since the light is important for photographers and we were all there just for that – to take some photos together.

Soča Valley is very beautiful, long and popular. Success of the photos with Soča River can be compared to those with Bled Island, at least on our Instagram account. These photos are usually taken from 4 – 5 different locations  between Kobarid and the end of Trenta Valley (where is the source of Soča River). But the valley has so much more to offer and we are never satisfied with the obvious so we decided to start with some parts of the valley which are not so well known.

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Nadiža River is technically not a part of the valley – it’s turqoise waters, torrential during the frequent storms, originate under the massive Stol range. At the foot of mount Matajur it turns south, crosses the border into Italy and concludes it’s 60 kilometer journey when it joins the river Ter (Torre). Who would care about details like this since it is only a few minutes drive from Kobarid and it is in summer populated not only by locals but by people even from Nova Gorica, almost 50 km away – still  by the Soča River. And with a reason – it is very warm and has carved out pools and gorges, as well as depositing numerous shingle beaches. It is one of the cleanest and warmest Alpine rivers, some even say it has healing properties.

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Tatjana was also part time our tour guide and she proposed to start exploring with Nadiža throughs, one of the most beautiful parts of the river and even less crowded since the access by cars is forbidden. We parked the bus in a small village Kredo to reach the river after 10 minutes walk which was not without surprises.

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We had to cross the river with a hanging bridge and find a narrow steep path to the throughs – not without some effort but for a good reason though!

 

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The untouched wild beauty just put everybody in his own movie and the day finally really begun.

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More surprises on the way back to the bus – how to persuade one of the two horses to step over the wires back into its designated places. Just one hint – success is not proportional to the number of photographers who want to help:).

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Next stop on the Nadiža River was the famous Napoleon Bridge. The famous stone bridge crossing the Nadiža gorge dates to around 1812 and stands mute testament to the routes crossing the area since at least the time of Ancient Rome. The bridge used to form part of the ancient route from Pradol and Robidišče along the Nadiža riverand further to the east. Current bridge was built at the time of the French emperor’s conquests, hence its name. Its uniqueness and technical accomplishment make it a precious architectural monument and a memorial to times past.

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The bridge is just a few steps from the road so we were all immediately in full action – searching for different views, angles and approaches.

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We were never short of voluntary models.

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Of all sexes…

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and species…:)

IngmarWein_Exploring_InstaMeet_Slovenia-47

Photo by Ingmar Wein

There is a great photo of our dog, Tara, also in @sebo262‘s feed!

 

Our next destination was Robidišče: The village of Robidišče lies on the western edge of Slovenia. From the north, west and south it is enclosed by the state border. Across the border lies the Venetian Slovenia to which the village always gravitated. The old village is itself a living monument of times past.

After WW2 in 1947 Robidišče was cut off from Venetian Slovenia by the Iron curtain. Because of this more than 150 locals packed their belongings onto wagons, crossed the border into Italy and never returned. The village was drastically changed in 1976 when an earthquake with magnitude 8 on Richter scale shook the village. The reconstruction of the village was never completed and the village decreased. In 1869 the village had 178 inhabitants and in 1910 the number rose to 228. In 1991 there were only 17 people living in Robidišče and the number fell to 8 in 2000.

 Robidišče is a nice starting point for hiking in the neighbourhood and admiring the old architecture. The highlight is the Vanče’s house which is over 300 years old and in which the original smoke kitchen is preserved. /breginjskikoten.wordpress.com/

IMG_5600The village is charming but we have to admit that itself does not offer many photo opportunities – the village is small and houses renewed . We didn’t say it offers none though:)

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There is a magnificent view on Mt. Stol just beside the village but the sun was already pretty high and the skies clear – sunrise or sunset are definitely worth trying.

It was a hot day and after two working stops a short break with courtesy refreshments at Turistična kmetija Robidišče made no harm to anybody. The all local food was great too but we had to leave. Hop-on, Hop-off bus was waiting on us. It was his first day on duty in the season or better to say, a pre-day of duty since it served only our group – otherwise it is a seasonal service which a few times a day drives to some more remote tourist destinations like Robidišče. Visitors thus don’t need to drive their cars or rent them and are also start their cycling or hiking tours at the optimal starting points etc..

FullSizeRender-19Narrow and steep road took us again over the Nadiža upper stream, a pretty popular bathing spot and quite crowded already, so we just checked out @ingmarwein‘s levitation skills. We have already found out before that Tina of @followsunsets is a great model:)

Our next destination was Breginj, a village nested bellow Mt. Stol. The clustered old Breginj was an architectural pearl of Venetian Slovenian architecture. The ground plan of the village was round with concentric alleys called landrone. Most of the houses were built from stone with wooden exterior corridors (gank), stairways, balconies (linde) positioned on wooden or stone pillars with big overhangs and agricultural frescoes on the facade. The farmhouses were joined by intriguing sets of underpasses and overpasses. After the earthquake of 1976 the whole village was completely rebuilt. The remaining traditional houses are now a local museum/breginjskikoten.wordpress.com/

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Unfortunately rebuilding the village was focused only to give the people shelter and no historical elements were taken into account. Bot location itself is a very charming one and there are some views on the village, the mountains and the church above the village we wanted to explore.

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A short examination from the best photo spot above the village cut down our expectations  – it was middle of the day and clear skies, the light not appropriate for taking photos there so we decided to leave it for some other time. Photos above are from our previous visit.

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One of the most popular destinations around Kobarid and in the valley itself is a Kozjak Waterfall. The picturesque Kozjak waterfall is caught in a stony amphitheatre not far away from Kobarid. It can be reached by an easy walking path by the riverbed of the emerald Soča River. /www.dolina-soce.com/

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The Kozjak brook, feeding the Soča river from the east (on the left), springs high beneath Mt. Krnčica (2142 m), and runs through many pools making six waterfalls. One of Slovenia’s most picturesque waterfalls, the Veliki Kozjak, was created in the outlet of the lower Korita of the Kozjak Brook.

Approximately 250 meters lower, the water falls again. Here, the waterfall carved an underground hall. Its bottom is covered by a vast blue and green pool, and its walls are reminiscent of those in the Karst caves. A 15 meter high white water column offers its visitors an unforgettable scenery./www.dolina-soce.com/

Unfortunately popularity equals crowd. It is tough already to get a decent picture of the waterfall given the closed natural amphitheater with scattered source of light. When crowded it is even more difficult to get a shot without people standing in the way. But for dedicated photographer nothing is too difficult:)

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Photo Ingmar Wein

Activity on the photo is illegal though:) You can check out a bit more classical take at the waterfall on @lukakotnikphoto‘s, @alanjereb‘s and @dejskovski‘s feed.

It was time for beer, some great pancakes (salty editions) in the camp near the river and slowly saying “goodbye, nice meeting you”. Phones were also ready for first posts:) Also girls from @igposocje took break in their studying for exams to greet us on their home territory.

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On the way back to Kobarid some of us stopped at another classic spot to photographing Soča River, another bridge called Napoleon’s:).  @dani.kla got his classic shot with kayaks there (check out in his feed) and I got @ingmarwein  and @feinerkerl in action.

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Some of us stayed for the rest of the day or even weekend, some headed for other great photo spots in the area. A week would probably be enough to cover only the best spots of the valley, not even trying to hike the less accessible waterfalls, villages, pastures and peaks.

We had a great day, made great photos and most important – some new friends! We thank everybody for joining us and especially Dolina Soče for hospitality!

More photos from the event: #instameetsoca and feeds of the participants. More detailed descriptions of some destinations are available in Where to in Slovenia section and we will be adding more of them.

Photos @zokus_gf ,  @sanya_lt  and @ingmarwein.

Narration:@zokus_gf .

Instameet in Soča Valley

Yes indeed, finally we are meeting in the beautiful Soča Valley! On Saturday, 17th June at 8.00 we meet in Kobarid in front of TIC Kobarid (Trg svobode 16) and leave to explore some more distant parts of the valley at 8.30 with a mini bus Hop ON, Hop OFF (special route for us courtesy of @socavalley).

We will be heading  to Nadiža River first – Podbela and Napoleon Bridge, followed by a visit of Robidišče, an old village on the border with Italy. Next stop will be in Logje on our way to Breginj.

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We will be back in Kobarid sometime in early afternoon, proceeding on our own with exploration of Soča river and probably some waterfalls, depends on the weather and inspiration.

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Number of participants is limited. Apply by email: info@igslovenia.si. Please state your full name and your Instagram user name in application.

See you there!

Ambassadors of #CentralSlovenia

Winner of  the Share Your Postcards from #CentralSlovenia  Challenge will take over a selection to posting features @igslovenia for a week. There is almost 2.000 photos tagged #centralslovenia, a plentiful collection of postcards to share with your friends.

Purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness of the many beautiful spots just around the corner from Ljubljana. We can be successful in fulfilling this task only with the help of you hence we decided to award the most active supporters as Ambassadors who will also receive an exclusive, limited edition T-shirt!

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What qualifies you for an Ambassador of #CentralSlovenia? It is simple:

  • follow @igslovenia and @visitljubljana on Instagram
  • post your photos from Central Slovenia – the more you post, bigger are your chances to win a T-shirt
  • share featured photos or tagged photos with your friends – tag them in comments, invite them somewhere.

First Ambassador we announced a while ago is @mihapongrac (Miha Pongrac) followed by  Uroš Abram @uabram . They have both shared many photos from the area, Uroš has also been featured.

Following their steps are @peterpancur Peter Pančur and @sasacrocy.loves with a great collections of Central Slovenia posts, @lukaesenko (Luka Esenko) and Jan Čermelj @jancermelj both already with a double feature, Ana Pogačar @anapogacar and Iztok Medja   .

We know that some people don’t have photos from Central Slovenia, but they support the campaign by sharing  photos and, above all, sharing the vibe! Manuel Wolf @manuelo_bo and @hairhoppers_010  are just two of them.

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Update

The second set of ambassadors, awarded by exclusive T-shirts as follows:

@dejkovski and @jakaskrlep have shared many different locations and have both been featured already; this is valid also for @dreamypixels whose time lapse of clouds over Velika planina was the very first video we have ever posted on Instagram. Great collections of photos from Central Slovenia which bring them an Ambassador title have also @valentina_plahuta, @denissimcic, @bojanaklemenc.bofit, @ines_loveslife and @silva.abram , Valentina and Bojana also with a feature. Congratulations!

Update 2

In the last part of the challenge the Ambassador title and a T-shirt go to:

@gregorkacin has shown us many different parts of Central Slovenia and he was also featured. Very active contributors who shared their photos were also @mybluedragoness, @lukakotnikphoto, @lukezifoto, @pjsmooth77 and @mancakorelc.

Thank you all for your support!