Eager Wannabe Aerial Archaeologists Visit Prlekija
Inspired by fantastic aerial archaeology work by dr. John Wells (who uses kites for flying the cameras!), with last summer's discoveries at Newgrange, and with our own chance find at castle Kalec, we went searching for more ancient remains that can be seen only from the air. The Ministry of Culture of Slovenia maintains a database of cultural heritage that is conveniently shown on this map, sorted by type of heritage and by age. As we were headed to Prlekija in the norheast,
Arcadia: Dornava Manor and the Grand Baroque Axis
Et in Arcadia ego ... Baroque style - fodder for the masses, as the poet wrote - was both flamboyant and organized; countering the austere and sombre Reformation and celebrating the power of humans over Nature. While sacral Baroque architecture and art went berserk soon - losing itself in excesses of the Rococco - houses, manors and especially gardens of the time retained some sense of Grand Order, with intricate geometric designs, leading lines, extending toward horizons. A
Zaplana: the Birthplace of Dragons
Vast, deep forests of Zaplana plateau, some 30 km southwest of Ljubljana, are a mysterious place. A place where dragons live - and are born. So where better to fly a kite - incidentally, the Slovene word for kite, zmaj means dragon (as it does in many other languages) - than here! Do dragons really fly above these forests? In the religion of Old Slavs, chthonic god Veles - seen sometimes as a serpent or a dragon - inhabits the underground; he is both an antagonist of light a
