SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

When my friend and I reached the Hut at the Triglav Lakes, the surface of the Double Lake was still hidden in the shadow of the mighty mountains. We hiked the ridge of the Great Peak, lounged at the Zasavska Hut in Prehodavci and spent the next two hours soaking up the boundless magic of nature in the Triglav Lakes Valley. 

The day was turning to afternoon, and the view of the Hut by the Triglav Lakes opened up again, where we thought we would stop for just a moment and fill our empty bottles with cold water. Although the weather forecast said there should be no major changes, nature, as it has so often done, showed its mysterious power and suddenly a dark cloud rolled in over the valley. The sun's rays were replaced by heavy rain and thunder, and the sky was lit up with frightening flashes. In time, we retreated to the hut and warmed ourselves with hot tea. The hut filled up in a flash. Some of us were lucky, others were not spared by the storm and came under the roof soaked to the bone. 

"Can we sit down?" I looked up and there was a gasping family at our table - a father, a mother and two small children. Without thinking, I hopped off the bench, made room and invited the two children to join me. The mother was trying to dry the boy's hair with her wet hands, and the father was already bringing the girl warm tea. My heart squeezed and my head filled with questions ... Do they have any dry clothes? What about snacks? How could I put a smile on these frightened children's faces? I could hardly follow my thoughts, the questions were just pouring out of my mouth and my hands were grabbing at my rucksack to see if there was anything useful inside. I found a T-shirt, which was already sweaty but dry. I asked my friend to rummage through his things - he had one too! I wanted to take off my own shirt, but the parents insisted that two were enough, just to change the baby into something dry. The children's faces were still numb. If clothes couldn't warm them, their hearts certainly could! The conversation turned to the Bled kremšnita waiting in the valley for the brave mountaineers who weather the storm, and to the intrepid cartoon characters and forest gnomes ... 

"It's getting late, we'll have to go," my friend reminded me. He was right, another storm was approaching and we still had two long hours of walking ahead of us. Although the T-shirt I had lent the boy meant a lot to me, I didn't have the heart to take it with me into the valley. We mountaineers are good people, so I trusted my parents without hesitation that the two T-shirts would somehow make it to Maribor after the end of their first "taprava" mountaineering adventure. We exchanged information, and I once again ruffled the wet hair of the boy who had got under my skin and I would have liked to put in my rucksack and take with me to the valley, and waved goodbye to the family.

A week passed and the next one followed, the holiday days flowed into each other and the story of the Triglav Lakes was almost forgotten. When I returned home, my mailbox was still barely breathing from the stuffed advertising flyers, and there was a package waiting for me at the door... 

Even as I was opening it, the pleasant smell of fabric softener wafted into my nostrils, followed by the sight of two carefully folded T-shirts. But there was something underneath... I tore the paper and found a small black piece with the words "I can handle anything!" and a folded piece of paper. Since the words cannot be summarised, I quote the note verbatim:

Dear Maribor,

Thank you for all your kindness to our family at the Cottage at Triglav Lakes. Thanks to you, the whole experience has remained a very fond memory for the children and for us. Once again, it showed that we Styrians really are the best! Greetings from the whole family, and if you do any walking in our parts, you are welcome!

I started to read it aloud, but towards the end the words were interrupted by a lump in my throat. We hadn't done anything like that... Just something that anyone would probably do, right? I just ... I lent my T-shirt. And had fun with the kids, for which I should actually thank them, because they added a priceless sense of childlike joy to an already wonderful day.

Moved. Grateful. Richer for the reminder of how little it sometimes takes. Richer also for the realisation, that the world is not only black, that man can still be brother to man, that it is still worth trusting ... That Slovenians are good people! Indeed, how little it really takes... And how empty the heart of those who do not offer a hand and look away, believing that the troubles of others will not touch them and cause them worry or pain. But neither will they be touched by the happiness that would be given to them with a smile and a simple but sincere "THANK YOU" from the person who has helped them, and that would be far greater than their own.

No, this happiness cannot be bought, it cannot be found between the shop windows. It is there for all to see, but it is also invisible. It fills our hearts when we stop thinking about giving it back. Good returns with good!

Nuša Maver, 5. 2. 2025