Beautiful Slovenia: A Slavic Microcosm of Optimism and Resilience

presented by Dr Adrian Jones, OAM

Good things come in small (sturdy) parcels. Good places seldom boast. Slovenia is both: modest and marvellous. A small country, Slovenia is a borderland of verdant valleys, lakes, caves, and escarpments. The best of Roman, Venetian, Balkan, Austrian and Hungarian heritages combine here, all filtered by the canny resilience and pragmatism of Slovenia’s 2 million (West Slavic) people. Fresh-aired, gourmand and sociable, no place in Slovenia is distant. It is a quiet, creative and youthful country, distrusting the bullying and bluster of past empires run by Romans, Venetians, Viennese, or Yugoslavs.

Recently retired, Dr Adrian Jones, OAM was Associate Professor of European History at La Trobe University. Adrian loves to combine travel, cuisine and history, which he also reprises on segments on ABC local radio and on ABC Radio National. He enjoys the challenges of connecting epochs, cultures, languages and places. He graduated with a BA from the University of Melbourne, an MA from La Trobe University and an MA and PhD from Harvard University, eventually specialising in Russian, Turkish, French and Balkan history. A foundation Director of the [Australian] National Centre for History Education and a former Chair of The History Council of Victoria, Adrian was awarded a national Teaching Council award in 2008, and an Order of Australia Medal in 2009 for his teaching and professional activities. Read more about Adrian and discover the tours he leads on his tour leader page.