The settings for summits have made for high political drama over the years.
It was an icy meeting in Iceland – symbolically middle ground - for Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1986 which ended suddenly without an agreement.
Gorbachev again met, in 1989, this time with new U.S. President George H.W. Bush in Malta shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fall of that particular summit was that, although the Maltese Islands location in the geographic center of the Mediterranean – where east meets west – was again symbolic, the early December weather was horrible. Because the “Summit at Sea” took place aboard U.S. and Soviet ships, the event earned the nicknamed the “Seasick Summit,” and also ended without any major agreements. (Some of the meetings had to be canceled.)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and current Russian President Vladimir Putin have displayed what some have called a “bromance,” or, at minimum, a transatlantic mutual admiration society. There is anticipation and curiosity as to when, and where, the two strongman-style leaders will meet face-to-face.
“There is speculation Trump and Putin will meet in Slovenia,” says Mattej Valencic, general managing partner of Imperial / Luxury Slovenia, a company which arranges custom travel experiences to Slovenia for business travelers and vacationers from America, Russia, and anywhere.
Valencic, and his LuxurySlovenia.eu partner Matej Knific, - part of the prestigious Virtuoso Travel Network - have a number of reasons to believe the political pair will shake hands – and hopefully not fists – is Slovenia.
“The first time President George W. Bush met Vladimir Putin it was in Slovenia in 2001,” says Knific. “It was called the ‘Slovenian Summit.’”
That meeting was staged on the Brdo pri Kranju estate in northern Slovenia in a mansion built in 1510 which eventually served as a summer retreat for Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito (who suffered a seizure there leading to his death.)
Brdo pri Kranju is now used as a venue for high-level government gatherings. The most interesting news from the “Slovenian Summit” there was an answer given by President Bush at the closing press conference to the question of whether he felt he could trust Putin:
“I looked the man in the eye. I found him very straightforward and trustworthy. I was able to get a sense of his soul,” said Bush, who invited the Russian President to visit his ranch in Texas, but also gave an endorsement to Slovenia. “I would urge people looking for a good vacation spot to come here,” he said, describing Slovenia as a “spectacular, beautiful country.”
Technically, geographically, Slovenia, an Alpine state in central Europe, is between Moscow and Washington D.C., though Trump’s 4,000 mile Air Force One flight dwarfs the 1,400-miles Putin would have to fly to what’s knows as the “sunny side of the Alps.” Though Slovenia is sometimes confused with Slovakia, Knific says the big surprise for many travelers is that Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, is only a two-hour drive from Venice, Italy and four hours from Vienna, Austria.
In the autumn, Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, told the Associated Press his county could become a bridge between the two superpowers. “We have proved we can organize such meetings…but the initiative must come from Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin,” said Cerar, who, via telephone after Trump’s election win, invited him to visit.
Putin has twice visited Slovenia – Trump, only once when courting supermodel Melania Knauss, a Slovenian who became his third wife and will become First Lady.
After meeting in New York, Melania led “The Donald” back to Slovenia to meet “the parents” at Lake Bled: a stunning setting only 34 miles outside the capital of Ljubljana, where she attended high school, and 22 miles from Ljubljana International Airport.
The “summit meeting” of sorts between Trump and Melania’s parents took place, according to Knific, in 2002 at Grand Hotel Toplice, an elegant property perched over Lake Bled and celebrated for not only its’ traditional cream cakes but also for its’ panoramic view of both medieval-era Bled Castle (circa 1011) high above; and tiny Bled Island, with it’s inspiring spire, below. Small boats with gondoliers take visitors out to the medieval island, including some from another of Tito’s holiday getaways: Vila Bled. The storybook setting was perfect for romance – and Trump may choose to mix business with pleasure by giving Melania the gift of returning to her homeland as leader of the free world and taking his first lady with him.
Neither Trump nor Putin would be alone in visiting Slovenia. The nation, which was part of the former Yugoslavia but never fully under communist domination, has become the latest fashionable find for world travelers.
“Slovenia experienced a 25-percent increase in visitors from November 2015 – November 2016,” explained Valencic, who, with Knifec, have been promoting the beauty of the country and its’ range of activities to American travelers. “We have warm weather along the coastline and skiing in the mountains. Hiking, biking, boating, forests, festivals, natural springs, castle tours, wine, casinos, and museums are just a few of the offerings visitors can experience.”
Slovenia is on the Euro – and most everyone speaks English, which is not the only thing which makes it user-friendly. Zoran Jankovic, Ljubljana’s mayor since 2006, has closed the city center to vehicular traffic, which has caused the riverfront walkways, squares and streets to teem with shoppers, diners, market-goers and partiers during Christmas markets, summer festivals…plus those seeking to take a river cruise or ride the inclinator up to Ljubljana Castle for sweeping views of the city and the mountains. The population is 280,000, but the student population of 60,000 gives the historical city, with its’ renaissance, baroque, and art nouveau facades and stylish bridges, a youthful feel.
Ljubljana translates to mean “beloved,” and Melania Trump is so beloved that locals, in 2016, named the giant Christmas tree in front of the iconic Franciscan Church: “Melania.” Valencic and Knifec, at LuxurySlovenia.eu, would love to welcome her home and hope her visit will encourage others to follow.
