When trespassing goes right

Road-tripping through central-europe, myself and Conor had reached the landlocked country of Slovenia. Neither of us had much knowledge of the country, nor - typically - did we do any research before arriving. Through Google, local tips and spontaneous instinct we spent our first few days in the North-East of the country. There we had enjoyed so much of the natural beauty of Slovenia from the famous (and crowded) beauty of Lake Bled to the far more untouched and equally beautiful Triglav National Park.

During those days we had also met some fellow travellers and developed friendships. Normally this is a common part of travelling and one of the most enjoyable. However, with the pandemic still preventing most people from travelling, myself and Conor had spent most of this trip with just each others company and so the rare sociable hostel we found in Slovenia was certainly a blessing. Amongst those who we met was Nico, a Spaniard living in Germany who was solo-travelling in Slovenia for a week.

Nico, along with some of our other new friends, had joined us for a few days of exploring and after a trip to the Skocjan Caves - a truly awe-inspiring underground network of caves which would not feel out of place in a fantasy movie - we had briefly gone our separate ways. Nico was to spend the night camping in the hills, whilst myself and Conor had to return to our accommodation where we had left our belongings. We agreed to meet the next day for a hike nearby where Nico was spending the night.

We met Nico the following morning in a wooded area near Postojna. Compared to our previous days in Triglav the area there may have lacked in the breathtaking views, but on a rainy day the sound and atmosphere under the sheltering canopy of leaves allowed for a peaceful, tranquil experience in its own way.

Close to the end of our hike we decided to stop to have some food. Nico had his portable stove from his camping equipment and we found a clearing to make some pasta. The area was a rare open space amongst the dense trees we had spent the previous hours walking through. There we also found a small, well-looked after vegetable patch, a small shed and some benches. Clearly this was private property but having not seen anyone for a couple of hours we assumed it to be extremely unlikely that we would be troubled by the owner.

We were. Immediately.

With perfect timing, within minutes of us sitting down a small dog bound into the open field followed by a large, shaven-headed man walking directly towards us. His name was Igor.

Fortunately for us Nico and Igor found they shared a common language of German and despite his fairly intimidating looks, Igor was a very genial man. Whilst me and Conor watched on dumbly, Nico learned that Igor was a former military man, now retired. The land we were now on he had cleared many years ago for his now-grown son to play on when he was a child. Now it was seldom used save for some vegetable growing and for his dog.

Having expected him to be less than pleased at finding intruders on his property, Igor was actually seemingly pleased to have some company. Upon discovering that two of his visitors were English his first question - or rather assumption - was that we must enjoy beer. His assumptions were quickly confirmed and he went to his shed and returned with two, ice cold beers. Leaving Nico - who had been the sole person to speak with - empty-handed, Igor apologised, with what seemed to be genuine sincerity, that unfortunately he didn’t have sangria for him. Upon learning that Nico - indeed, Spanish people in general - drink more than just sangria, Igor fetched two more beers for himself and the Spanish trespasser.

Igor even supplied us with cutlery and paper plates from his shed that was seemingly prepared for anything and joined us for a drink. He later left to go home, leaving us on his property with the remarkable memory and respect for an open-minded man who greeted his young trespassers with the friendliness of an old friend.

Thank you for the beers Igor.

Posted: 09/04/2021

Written by: Tom Taylor (@tomtayloor)