At the suggestion of the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Damijan Sedar, a trip to Slovenia was organized on March 26 and 27, 2025, for students of Slovenian language classes, with an emphasis on watching the qualification jumps in Planica.
Thus, Bosnian and Herzegovinian students joined numerous other children from Slovenia and abroad, who now traditionally attend the Thursday’s qualifications for the three-day final competitions of the ski jumping season in Planica. The trip was primarily intended as a reward for diligently attending classes and learning Slovenian, as well as motivation and a live experience of one of the largest Slovenian sporting events in Slovenia. The Embassy, in cooperation with the Office for Slovenians Worldwide, Osiguranje Triglav d.o.o. and other sponsors, covered the costs of transportation, accommodation and most meals.
We set off on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The bus left Sarajevo at 5 a.m., where it picked up the first group of children and the adults accompanying them. They were joined on the way by students from Kakanj and Tuzla. In Laktaši, the bus was filled with students from Prijedor, Slatina, and Banja Luka. The entire team crossed the Gradiška border crossing into Croatia and Slovenia, which welcomed us in cloudy but still dry weather, which was what we wanted the most. With minor stops, in the late afternoon we arrived at our first destination in Bohinj, where we comfortably settled into a hostel below Vogel. Until dinner, we took time to walk along the lake through the beautiful nature that is awakening from its winter sleep, which is lagging behind in vegetation due to the colder Alpine climate. Then, already quite hungry, we started a hearty, delicious dinner, after which we headed to our rooms. The adults kept a watchful eye on the children, but the children tried to trick the adults with all their childish tricks and delay going to bed until late at night.
No matter how much sleep anyone got, we had to get up a little after six in the morning, pack our things and have breakfast. A rich buffet breakfast filled us with energy for the long and tiring day ahead. We headed towards Planica and along the way we admired the Slovenian mountains whose peaks are still covered in snow. Alenka and Petar from Prijedor, spent the time enthusiastically singing Slovenian songs.
Planica was waiting for us in a crowd, with several thousand young people, equipped with fans' necessities, and an endless number of buses with license plates from various parts of Slovenia and abroad. We unfurled Slovenian flags, stuck fan stickers on our faces and hands, and headed towards the venue, where we mingled with a huge crowd of euphoric gazes, staring at the giant Planica, where jumpers from numerous countries would try to qualify for the competition part over the next three days. Avsenik's song Planica was playing in the background, which for decades had been the unofficial anthem of jumping at Planica.
The qualifications began. Loud fans cheered on each jumper, especially the Slovenian eagles, as we now call them. The wind was a bit of a tease, so we didn't see any extreme lengths, but we still enjoyed the incredible courage of all these guys, who were descending the slope without a parachute or possible wings and flying into the distance. In the meantime, of course, we took a snack that was included in the free ticket, enjoyed donuts, drank tea or yogurt, took pictures, and so the time dedicated to Planica slowly passed.
Since Planica is also known for its exceptional logistical organization, we left Planica full of positive impressions, without traffic jams, and headed towards Bled, where we were welcomed in a pleasant restaurant by the mayor of Bled, Anton Mežan, who, thanks to Ambassador Damijan Sedar, was our host.
Lunch was again plentiful and delicious, and for dessert we had the famous Bled cream pie, which we took home despite its tempting appearance, because that day our eyes were hungrier than our stomachs, so we sat down to lunch already full, after which Mayor Tone, who was a professional magician before taking office, invited us to his office, from where, as he claims and which turned out to be true, there is the most beautiful view: an island in the middle of the lake with a church, and above the lake a rock on which a castle from a fairy tale reigns. We all wanted to take a photo with the mayor and the beautiful background, and the kind mayor was happy to fulfill our wish. We thanked him for his great hospitality, and the mayor offered to visit us once as a magician in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Then we walked a little further along the lake, took photos in the heart of Bled and slowly left the pearls of Gorenjska. We set off on a long journey back home. On our way out of Slovenia, heavy rains began to follow us on the road, returning us to the harsh reality of unpredictable nature, which is not only beautiful, but from time to time also knows how to show its superiority over people...
As I write this, the outcome of the Planica competitions in which Planica once again became and the queen of flying. Domen Prevc set a new world record with 254.5 m, and in the final Sunday race Anže Lanišek won. Of course, these results are just the icing on the cake, because the Slovenian boys shone throughout the 2024/25 season, not to mention the heroine of the jumper Nika Prevc, sister of the famous Prevc brothers, who is this year's winner of the Crystal Globe for the overall result of the ski jumping season 2024/25. Congratulations to the excellent Slovenians, the world's superpowers in ski jumping.
Once again, I sincerely thank Ambassador Sedar and all sponsors for this unforgettable trip to Slovenia, during which we experienced many beautiful things. Therefore, we hope that we will be able to relive this invaluable Planica experience in the future.
Metoda Perger
