Slovenia

Considering there probably aren't all that many people from Slovenia here @Hubpages, I guess I could introduce my country to the hubbers. Our country is small, with only about 2 million inhabitants, so it is understandable that we are not that known in bigger countries where there are cities with many more people than our entire country.

But those who have heard of us, have very likely heard of us for the following reasons:

• Yugoslavia

We were a part of former Yugoslavia, a communist Balkan country. As the most northern Yugoslavian state we were the link to the rest of Europe. Because of our geographical position we were also by far the most developed state and were considered as the 'moneymaking' part of Yugoslavia. In 1991 we declared our independence and became an independent European country. The independence war against the Yugoslav army only lasted for 10 days, so we consider ourselves very lucky in comparison to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the countries that had left Yugoslavia at about the same time as we did, but had suffered a long lasting and brutal civil war for their independence.

• LOVE

We are the only country in the world that has love in the name: sLOVEnia

• Sports

Despite our size, we are a world force in several different sports. We took part in the 2010 World football championships where we won against Tunisia, drew 2:2 against USA and lost by a goal against England. We were unlucky not to proceed to the next round, but as the smallest World Cup participant we did fantastic. Currently we are playing in the World basketball championships and despite the fact we are playing without our three best players (Udrih, Lorbek and Smodis), we were second in our preliminary group, just behind USA and in front of Brazil and Croatia. We are also occasional participants of the World Cup and Olympics hockey tournaments, not to mention we are one of the best handball nations in the world. But this is just the team sports. We are also proud of our individual athletes that give us sports fans many reasons for happiness.

• Tourism

One of things about Slovenia we are most proud of, is our tourism. This is where we can actually take advantage of our small size, because you can drive through the entire county in less than three hours and visit our mountains (Triglav being the highest mountain - 2864 meters) and the sea in an hour. There really are many spectacular sightseeing attractions here in Slovenia, but if I had to choose 5 of them to recommend, I would recommend these:

1. Lake Bled - a natural pearl. Chosen by CNN travel as one of 10 most beautiful lakes in the world. Only 35 miles from the capital Ljubljana.
2. Piran - our most beautiful seaside town. Also one of the most beautiful small towns of the Adriatic.
3. Postojna Cave - a breathtaking cave with a spectacular castle in front of it
4. Ljubljana - one of the most charming capitals of Europe
5. Rivers - several rivers (Soca, Sava, Drava, Kolpa, ...) are worth visiting

This is just my choice and there are several other attractions ins Slovenia, that are more than beautiful and worth a visit. Don't forget to taste our food and especially our wines that are considered to be some of the best in the world. Slovenia is also a European union member and our currency is Euro.

Come and visit us. I promise, you will never regret it.