2017 Slovenia Music Tour

2017 Slovenia Music Tour

In the summer of 2017, having experienced fun-filled singing excursions to Ireland and Barcelona in past years, Placer Pops Chorale traveled to beautiful Slovenia. It quickly became one of our favorite destinations.  We disembarked in Venice, where the sense of history was palpable. We enjoyed a walking tour toward our water taxi destination, and after a leisurely boat ride, upon arriving at our bus, we met up with Todd, an American friend of Lorin’s who lives locally, and who would be our “guide” of sorts for the next ten days.  We also met our driver, Boyan, a 30-ish family man with an ebullient nature and mad skills, as we would discover throughout our trip.

Off we went to Bled, where we stayed in a historically scenic, old European hotel overlooking the crystalline blue glacial waters of the stunning Lake Bled.  Every room had a lake view, and that view alone was the worth the trip. The hotel was elegant, yet affordable, and we stayed a few relaxing days, enjoying the local shopping and the incredible Bled Castle. The transportation out to the island, the handmade Pletna boats, was both iconic, having been handed down through one family for centuries, and charming, as they were beautifully decorated. A strapping young man actually rowed each boat of about 20 travelers. Not a job for weaklings.

Moving down to Ljubljana, their capitol city, we did some sightseeing, reveling in the cobbled streets and enjoying the incredible weather and the walking culture of this beautiful city.  There were large open plazas in which no cars were allowed, only pedestrians and bikes.  It was a delightful culture shock for us, although we did get stuck in a completely unexpected, torrential rainstorm for about ½ hour.  It was challenging to find a place to wait it out. One of our best discoveries was that there were gelato stands everywhere.  You can bet that we tested many of the scrumptious flavors, often daily.  We reasoned that if we were walking while we ate, there were no calories. I’m certain we were right. The famous Dragon Bridge was a popular place for many of our photos.  It’s an historic city, and we were imbued with a deep sense of history as we wandered through the local castle on a hill.  We were fortunate enough to perform most of our Broadway concerts to a SRO crowd at their Philharmonic auditorium, which has a history dating back to the 1700’s, and associations with eminent musicians of the past, like Josef Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms.  We invited folks whom we met in the castle to our performance and several of them came. Our audience was so enthusiastic and excited, they were on their feet virtually from the first song.  We all commented that we’d love to ship them over to all of our concerts.  Spectacular people, and so gracious in their praise.  What an unforgettable moment for us!

During the course of our travels, we encountered several small chapels, and we took advantage of the incredible acoustics to perform several songs, one of which was Amazing Grace. In Ljubljana, a lovely gentleman from Britain joined in, and at the end of the song, he was in tears. He asked about us, and invited us to come to Britain, telling us that what we were doing was such a blessing. We were all so moved by his kindness and sweet spirit.  Such a special moment for everyone.

We spent part of an afternoon exploring the astounding feat of construction that is Predjama Castle, the  13th century castle built inside of a cliff face. In the 15th century, its owner survived a yearlong siege until a servant betrayed him, and it is considered the largest castle in a cave in the world. It was a fascinating place to explore.

We traveled into Croatia to see their pride and joy, Plitvice Lakes National Park.  There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the incomparable beauty of this place. Sparkling aqua blue glacial waters flowing over massive rock formations, all descending into a cavernous valley, forming a spectacular lake which is surrounded by endless trees and greenery.  There are so many small waterfalls, and lots of moving water, and the water is so clear that you can see the fish swimming about.  Ingenious wooden walkways crisscross the lake, which affords you access to all of this magnificent place. There is even a train that will take those unable to walk the paths around the park.  What an incredible day!

We took a day trip to Vintgar Gorge, seeing some spectacular scenery, and walking along the roiling river to a stunning waterfall at the end.  The next day, many of us either white water rafted or enjoyed zip lining across the Soca River, while others took a short hike along the river, finding a lovely waterhole surrounded by massive boulders, at which many locals were swimming and sunbathing.  It was a beautiful alternative.

On our way to Koper to perform another concert, we stopped and walked through a WWI bunker.  It was very sobering to see the incredibly rustic living quarters of those soldiers. We also stopped in a chapel that was dedicated to the over 7,000 Italian troops who died in WWI in Slovenia.  Again, a very sobering and moving experience.

Our final stop was in Piran, referred to as the “Gem of the Sea,” and for good reason.  This quaintly charming town with fantastic weather faces the Adriatic and offers an incredible array of beautiful architecture and places to explore. There are myriad sizes of boats floating in the marina, early morning scuba divers fishing, and lots of locals on bicycles. Our lodging, the Hotel Piran, was absolutely beautiful. Even the elevator door was a work of art.  It was so incredible to be able to walk out of the front lobby and be 15 feet from the Adriatic.  A ladder allowed you access to the sea, and on one lovely afternoon, a few of our ladies floated in the sea, singing harmonies.  Not something any of us will forget, for sure.  A lovely rooftop café afforded us an unimpeded view of the Adriatic, and we took a harbor cruise with lunch included. Such a restful day; we all felt so recharged after.  We drove to Koper for our last concert at an open air venue, which was rather sparsely attended at first, being a last minute event.  But folks walking by would stop and sit, and before you know it, we had a sizeable audience which stayed for the entire concert.  Many of us chatted with the locals, who were highly appreciative of our performance.  One lady even liked us on Facebook and wrote a very nice comment about how much she and her daughter enjoyed us.

On our last night in Slovenia, we had dinner at a rooftop café overlooking the main plaza in Piran. The beauty of the architecture, the stunning stonework, the narrow cobbled streets passable only by scooters, the blazing sun setting on the Adriatic; we could see it all.  It was the best moment of the entire trip, and we all realized what great friends we had become in those eleven days. The feeling of family was overwhelming.

The next morning, our affable, adorable, immensely skilled bus driver, Boyan, tried to make a small speech in his limited English, but he choked up and couldn’t continue. He, too, felt part of the family that we had all created in our time together. Todd had to translate for Boyan, and everyone was in tears, and giving hugs all around. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and we can hardly wait for our next adventure.

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