FEEL Slovenia Podcast Feel Slovenia

NFT could stand for New Format Tourism, but it actually means Non-Fungible Token, and it’s linked to blockchain technology. Slovenia was the first country to use NFTs to promote tourism. In this episode, Dr. Noah Charney visited the Ultimate Julian Alps Sensory Adventure, a groundbreaking three-day event, for which 15 esteemed foreign media representatives exchanged their exclusive NFTs given to them at WTM London last November. During the event, which took place in Bohinj,  the journalists stayed at the exquisite Bohinj Hotel, providing them with a comfortable and convenient base for their immersive exploration of the region.
Dr. Noah Charney spoke with Klemen Langus, Director of Bohinj Tourism, Aljoša Ota, the Director of the Representative Office of the Slovenian Tourist Board in Italy, Tadej Slapnik, the CEO of Hashnet, and Tanja Bivic Plankar, the Chair of Blockchain Alliance Europe, and discussed both how cutting-edge technology is being used to promote tourism, and how Bohinj can become the “living room” for its guests.

The Ultimate Julian Alps Sensory Adventure represents an innovative approach to promoting Slovenian tourism, bridging the gap between digital assets and tangible value. By integrating advanced technology, the project emphasizes the importance of responsible attitudes towards nature and raises awareness about disappearing plant and animal species in the Julian Alps, such as the Alpine mynah and the wild rooster. The STB and the Julian Alps highlight the crucial link between nature and humans, underscoring that the future of the planet relies on this awareness.

During the event, journalists attended the International Wild Flower Festival, learned about preserving nature's balance and biodiversity, and experienced the fragility of ecosystems and the importance of sustainable solutions and responsible travel. The sensory experience served as a reminder to immerse oneself in the environment with all senses. The event also featured a special dinner prepared by Michelin-starred chef Uroš Štefelin.
Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.

Sound Production: Urska Charney
For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.

Whether you’re an experienced mountaineer or a casual hiker, Slovenia’s mountains certainly are inviting. Three spectacular ranges of the Alps rise up along the country’s northern border: the Julian Alps in the west, the Karawanks and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps in the north. In this episode, Dr. Noah Charney meets some of Slovenia’s mountain rescue professionals, who offer valuable tips on how to safely enjoy the upper reaches of the sunny side of the Alps.

Let us reiterate vital tips:
Effective Planning: Thoroughly research your chosen route, considering its length and difficulty. Stay updated on weather forecasts and route conditions. Make use of a printed mountain map and the maPZS app for comprehensive planning.Essential Gear: Equip yourself with hiking boots, warm clothing, non-alcoholic liquids, a map and compass, first aid supplies, a head torch, and sun protection.Physical and Mental Preparation: Hiking and mountaineering demand physical fitness. Ensure you are in good condition by starting with easier, lower-altitude hikes and gradually progressing to more challenging ones.Respect for Nature: Mountains are home to diverse wildlife and resilient plant life. Show respect for the environment by bringing your trash back to the valley. Avoid creating noise disturbances such as loud music or shouting in mountainous areas.Exercise Caution: Remain vigilant for falling rocks, especially on steep slopes. Be mindful of potential hazards like thunderstorms and avoid overexertion.Inform Others: Share your itinerary and expected return time with a trusted individual. This ensures that someone is aware of your plans and can assist if unforeseen circumstances arise.Stick to Marked Trails: Follow designated and well-marked trails to minimize unnecessary risks. Slovenia boasts an impressive network of 10,000 kilometers of maintained mountain trails, eliminating the need for off-road exploration. Certain destinations, such as specific bivouacs, are reserved for experienced mountaineers. Remember that bivouacs serve as emergency shelters for experienced climbers and are not intended for casual tourists.Explore also the dedicated website Safe in the mountains on www.slovenia.info, offering comprehensive information in multiple languages. 
Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.

Sound Production: Urska Charney
For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.

Ana Roš is a Slovenian chef and restaurateur who gained international recognition for her work at the Hiša Franko restaurant in Kobarid, Slovenia. She was named World's Best Female Chef in 2017 by the World's 50 Best Restaurants, and Hiša Franko was ranked as one of the world's 50 best restaurants. Roš's cuisine is influenced by her Slovenian heritage and the local ingredients of the Soča Valley region where the restaurant is located. She became a household name the world over when she appeared on "Chef's Table" on Netflix. Over the past few years, she has held over 600 interviews, including the latest in the New York Times, in a series “Transforming Spaces” about women driving change in sometimes unexpected places. In this episode, Dr Noah Charney speaks to Ana about her work, as well as chatting with some of her colleagues to learn what makes her so special.

For more inspiration, you are also invited to read a story about Ana Roš and Slovenian sports climber Janja Garnbret.
Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.

Sound Production: Urska Charney
For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.

We’re all aware of the importance of healthy, sustainable eating. For our bodies and for the planet. But it’s not always easy to convince ourselves to make a meaningful change in the behaviors we’re used to, let alone implementing change across societies worldwide. We might understand that a cow has to eat 100 grams of grain in order to grow by 5 grams, making beef an unsustainable commodity. But we still want a steak or a burger. Luckily, there are brilliant minds at work on this issue. The key is to introduce new options that are good for the environment and the individual that lead to long-term habits for consumers of all walks of life. We eat hedonistically, meaning for personal pleasure, not just to sustain our bodies. But we also think morally—we are concerned about animal welfare and the environment. We also want to do what is healthy for us and easy on our wallets.

In order to come up with winning solutions, the EU Food Summit was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia November 5th through 7th 2022. Dealing with themes like reduction of food waste, feeding the undernourished, and producing food that is better for the planet long-term, the EU Food Summit brought together international experts to tackle a problem that affects us all and will affect our descendants long into the future. In this episode, Dr Noah Charney spoke to several of the international guests at the Food Summit to learn what it's all about. Among them were Martin Jezeršek, the CEO of Jezeršek Catering and the co-founder of the EU Food Summit, Dan Saladino, a BBC journalist and writer, Tilen Travnik, the CEO of Juicy Marbles, and Marleen Onwezen, an expert and researcher at Wageningen University.

You will also learn about The 'Common-Sensitarian' Diet Manifesto, which was launched at the event  and has already been endorsed by a wide range of ambassadors and other supporters.  The Manifesto does not refer to a diet that restricts you in what you can and cannot eat. It is both a personal moral commitment and an appeal for social, economic and political change. It respects planetary boundaries and is necessary for restoring sustainable food systems with a lower negative impact on the climate and the environment.

Learn more

The European Food Summit, which has successfully built the future of responsible attitude towards food for the last few years, and thus left a positive mark not only in Europe but also globally, is returning to Slovenia
Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.

Sound Production: Urska Charney
For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.

This episode is about how to fly. Ski fly, that is. The sports of ski jumping and ski flying are hugely popular in Slovenia and throughout mountainous Europe, but not as well-known elsewhere. To learn more about this dramatic sport, Dr. Noah Charney spoke to Olympian Jernej Damjan. Jernej was a bronze medalist at the 2005 World Ski Championships and represented Slovenia over a career that spanned more than a decade, including four Olympic appearances. He is now a color commentator for Eurosport as well as a man active in the business and administration worlds, helping fellow athletes and his sport to develop.

The closest that a human can get to flying without any protective devices, like parachutes or gliders, is probably ski jumping or, when said human launches him or herself from an even greater height, ski flying. The joke is that ski jumping is “falling with style” but there’s so much more to it. And Jernej Damjan explains it in detail.
There’s no better place to enjoy ski jumping than at Planica in Slovenia. First established in 1930, this is a cathedral for the sport, the first place on Earth to introduce a higher hill, completed in 1934, which gave rise to ski flying. The first ever ski jump of over 100 meters (330 feet) was made here in 1936. Ski jumping is the term for the lower hills, while ski flying is for the big ones, those that enable jumps that are up to 66% longer than in ski jumping hills. Every March, the main tournament at Planica draws tens of thousands. It’s an informal national holiday in Slovenia, and has been called the Super Bowl of winter sports.
The best way to experience ski flying is to come to Slovenia yourself, and visit Planica. Planica is fascinating during the winter season, of course, and at its best when there’s a competition in progress, but it is also lovely in the summer, where you can enjoy a museum and climb to the top of the hill and imagine what it’s like to stand before tens of thousands of cheering fans, and prepare for takeoff.
Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.

Sound Production: Urska Charney
For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.

This episode is dedicated to a unique tradition in Slovenia—Kurentovanje. This ancient pagan festival features friendly demons who chase away winter and invite in the spring. Kurents’ door-to-door rounds are one of the best-known carnival traditions in Slovenia, and Kurent is one of the most common and popular carnival characters, which was first documented in 1880. In 2017, UNESCO added door-to-door rounds of Kurents/Korants to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Their favorite haunt is Ptuj in northeastern Slovenia, where tourists flock to see them every February. To learn more about this striking festival, with locals dressed literally in monster costumes, we spoke with experienced photographer and travel writer who follows carnivals around Europe, Rudolf Abraham; Ann Abel, an American travel writer and editor at Forbes, and Uros Cajnko—a local who, every year, dons one of the Kurent costumes and helps chase winter away from Slovenia and invite in the spring.

So, what better day to publish the episode than on the first day of spring?

We invite you to read about another heart-warming tradition held in Slovenia to welcome spring: St. Gregory's Day, celebrated in March, is not only the Slovenian version of St. Valentine's Day, but also the holiday that celebrates the arrival of spring. Places with a long-standing tradition of crafts and trade believed that St. Gregory “tosses the lamp into the water” as the days have become longer and artificial light is no longer needed in workshops.

For more inspiring stories and ideas for spring getaway in Slovenia, visit www.slovenia.info.
Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.

Sound Production: Urska Charney
For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.