SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

To that end, I first arranged a meeting with the selected person, and then, based on our conversation, I wrote an article.

So one day I arranged an interview with Father Karel Gržan, who invited me to his home in the Upper Savinja Valley. His house is located in a secluded spot in a hillside village.

Before I left home, I typed in his address, and the navigation offered me two options: the first route was supposed to be more economical, and the second one was supposed to get me to my destination faster. I opted for the second option, as it was most important to me to get to him as soon as possible. I wasn't paying attention to what this route was supposed to be like or where it went, which later proved to be a fatal mistake 🙂

I set off from home. After about half an hour's drive, the sat nav directed me off the motorway, and soon afterwards, I began to ascend a hill on a narrow, winding road. Driving on such routes always seems a little stressful to me, as in the event of meeting an oncoming car, you can quickly find yourself in a predicament about where to pull over.

This winding, narrow path was abnormally long. When I got over the first hill, another followed, and then I was already climbing a third. It was a cold February day, and there was even snow in places along the road, which made the ride even more difficult. 

Suddenly the navigation informed me that I only had a few minutes left to my destination. I breathed a sigh of relief. Almost there. Then I found myself at a junction. One path led left and was quite narrow, while the other led right and was wider. The navigation directed me left, where I turned, but the path was somewhat overgrown, so after a few metres I stopped and wanted to check on my phone if it was really the correct one.

I discovered my phone had no signal, so all its directions recently have been rather questionable. Panic seized me. How would I find my way now? There was no one around where I'd stopped. I was alone in the middle of the woods. I'd intended to call Karl and let him know I'd probably be a bit late, but calls and texts were also disabled on the phone.

The only logical move seemed to be to head down the main road. After a few minutes of driving, I saw a pub ahead of me. A stone rolled off my heart. My phone still wasn't working, but at least I'd be able to ask someone for directions, I thought.

There were only two people in the bar: the waitress and a man who had come in for a coffee. I told them where I was going, and the man gave me directions to get there. They seemed quite complicated. He obviously sensed my distress and, to my great surprise, offered to come with me and drive ahead of me in his car. Relieved, I accepted his offer. After a ten-minute drive, we arrived at our destination.

She was immensely grateful to him. This man had been willing to interrupt his morning routine and take half an hour to help a complete stranger.

It seems as though the world, at least for a moment, shines with a special brilliance when someone does something kind for us, or when we do something good for others. In a world that values competitiveness, it might appear that those who manage to acquire the most material possessions win, but these are fleeting. On the other hand, actions born of the finest human values are etched into eternity.

P.S.: On my way home, I realised that the route to Karl's place is pretty straightforward. If I'd taken the route the sat nav suggested first, I would have been driving on a wide, tarmac road almost the entire time. Sat nav can be a great help, but it's always a good idea to double-check its suggestions first 🙂

Petra Kušar, 25 July 2026