07/18/2026
This is Lipsenj. A small village in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia, tucked between lush fields, fruit trees, and forest โ sitting at the edge of a lake that disappears, a cave where bears once lived, and a mountain where witches cook the weather.
Long ago, there were so many linden trees above the village that people said you could sleep unusually well beneath them. So they named it accordingly. Roughly translated: nice sleep under the linden trees.
This is where I come from. And every summer, I bring my boys back here to remember that.
The view from here never gets old. Lush green, golden fields, fruit trees as far as you can see โ and forest everywhere, the way forest is supposed to be everywhere.
That shimmer in the distance? That's Lake Cerknica. One of the largest intermittent lakes in Europe โ it fills up, it drains away, and then it comes back. It's been doing this for thousands of years. Growing up next to something that disappears and returns felt completely normal to me. I only understood how strange and beautiful that was once I left.
A 30-minute walk from the house is the entrance to Kriลพna jama โ a cave system that stretches for kilometers underground, with underground lakes, crystal-clear water, and the bones of cave bears who lived here over 10,000 years ago. My boys think this is the coolest thing about where I grew up. They are not wrong.
That mountain on the horizon is Slivnica. In Slovenian folklore, this is where witches gather to brew the weather. Every storm that rolls over Cerknica is said to start up there. We hiked it this summer. The boys were extremely motivated by the promise of pancakes at the top. The witches were off duty.
My parents' house. The garden is always fuller than you expect, the fruit trees always have something to offer, and there is always something on the stove. Some things don't change and you stop wanting them to.
Summers here have a rhythm. You wake up, you go outside. Someone picks something. Someone eats it before it makes it to the kitchen. Nobody checks the time until dinner.
Summers here have a rhythm. You wake up, you go outside. Someone picks something. Someone eats it before it makes it to t
