In search for the statue of Melania Trump (and her ancestral home)
Once I heard that there's a statue of the 45th First Lady somewhere in Slovenia back in around 2019, I kept that in mind for so long until I almost graduated from High School in Summer 2023, which is when I spontaneously decided on 06/18 to make the necessary preparations to go there (and given that I'm from Germany, those consisted of packing a suitcase and ensuring that my car has enough gas to drive the ≈ 620 miles to Kamp Polje, a camp spot an hour drive away from Sevnica).
The next day, I drove off to Novo Mesto where I at first assumed the statue was because that's where she's been born.
After driving through half the city, it turned out, however, that the statue stands in Sevnica because that's where she grew up.
While googling for its precise location - contrary to my expectations, there are no way signs whatsoever indicating to the statue, neither in Novo Mesto nor in Sevnica - I found myself lucky since Sevnica is just about an hour drive away from Novo Mesto.
So I entered the coordinates for the statue I got from its Wikipedia article into my navigation device and set sail.
The route consisted for a large part of mountainous forest roads with crucifixion statues around every corner as well as very little traffic - with the sun shining all the time, it felt like a path straight out of a fairy tale.
 |
 | |
 |
On the way to the location I thought (!) the statue was (spoiler alert: Wikipedia gives out two different coordinates, more about that later) I strictly followed the instructions my car gave me, and soon I found myself hitting a ditch in the middle of nowhere because I tried to drive up a path that was as tight as it was steep and certainly also not meant to be followed by car.
After I managed to free myself by shifting into reverse and going full throttle while steering alternately left and right, I kept following the coordinates that ultimately led me to somewhere about 15 miles away from the statue's actual location because, as I just mentioned, Wikipedia gives out two different coordinates as can be seen here:
Once I realized that, I entered the correct coordinates and set sail once again.
But since there are no way signs of the statue, the final "riddle" was finding a way that leads to her because her coordinates are directly next to the Sava river and there's only one street alongside it, so I drove that up and down until I found a way through a narrow tunnel.
The final ≈ 1,500 ft from the tunnel to the statue were easy to conquer and there she was, the famous statue of Melania Trump that I like to call "Slovenia's Statue of Liberty".
 |
| The street alongside the Sava river |
 |
| The tunnel that led me to the statue |
 |
| Me with the statue |
 |
| The bronze statue of Melania Trump (it's actually the 2nd statue of her because the 1st wooden one got vandalized) |
 |
After taking some pictures with her, the sun soon set, and I drove back to Novo Mesto where I enjoyed my first Slovenian McDonald's meal for a reasonable ≈ $11.
 |
| The McDonald's I dined in |
The next day, I drove the beautiful path to Sevnica again.
This time, I'd visit the town and look for everything Melania-themed I could find.
My first stop was a shoe store called "Kopitarna Sevnica d.o.o." because I read that it at some point sold pairs of slippers called "White House".
 |
| Sevnica's shoe store |
But unfortunately, it wasn't open, so my next stop was the tourist information.
There they sell so-called First Lady tea, wine and chocolate - given that it was summer and accordingly hot in my car, I opted to purchase several tea bags.
Upon me asking about Melania, they were so friendly to give me the driving directions to her former home.
Upon me asking about Melania, they were so friendly to give me the driving directions to her former home.
 |
| Sevnica's First Lady Tea |
With what I just learned in mind, I went on to my next stop, Hotel Ajdovec, where I didn't need to search long to find their signature so-called "Torta Melanija", which is a cake dedicated to her.
They kindly took it out of the freezer so that I could take a better picture of it.
 |
| Torta Melanija, a cake consisting of sponge cake with ground nuts, white chocolate mousse made from Belgian chocolate and white gold colored leaves |
 |
My next stop was her (second) former home, where she moved in with her family as a teenager.
It is located on a narrow street not far from the Sava river and thanks to the directions I got, finding it was pretty straightforward.
The house is white with black bricks and it features a balcony, a huge porch, a front yard and an American mailbox.
When I was there, one window was tilted and a white Mercedes parked in front of it, but I doubt that someone from the Trump family was inside.
 |
| Melania Trump's (second) former home with one window tilted |
 |
After visiting her (second) former home, - I'd also visit her first former home three days later, more about that at the end of this blog entry - I visited the Sevnica Castle at the highest point of the town just under 2 miles away from said home.
This castle was likely built around 1106–1147 A.D and it features a great view over Sevnica.
 |
| The inner courtyard of the castle |
 |
| Sevnica seen from the POV of the castle |
Various goods can be bought at its store; among others the same First Lady products as at the tourist information plus some "First Lady Beauty Cream".
And according to the brochure they were so nice to gift me, there also exist several other First Lady products that were unavailable at the time of my visit like "First Lady Salami" or "First Lady Apple Slices Dipped In Chocolate" - in case you're interested in ordering them, here you go.
 |
| dozivljaj@kstm.si is the email address that can be contacted to make an order |
 |
| The "First Lady" catalogue |
The next day, I learned about an 8 hours long "Melania Trump Tour" that would show me among others where she studied in Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital.
But unfortunately for me, this tour requires a minimum of 2 participants - and since I went to Slovenia all by myself and no one else booked it for the same date I did, it couldn't take place.
 |
 |
| The "Melania Trump Tour" I attempted to book |
However, regardless of that tour, I decided to drive to Ljubljana on my own anyway.
Upon my arrival, I (re)searched where Melania went to study, and it didn't take me long to find her old High School, the Secondary School for Design and Photography.
This school runs three educational programs:
This school runs three educational programs:
Design, Photography and the so-called Art Grammar School.
 |
| One of its hallways |
 |
| The campus |
Just a 5-minute walk away from her former High School is also her former University, the University of Ljubljana, where she studied architecture and design.
 |
| The University's entrance door |
 |
| The front yard of the University of Ljubljana |
While in Ljubljana, I continued to search for Melania Trump merchandise because I read about items like a Melania-themed honey jar as well as a soap that's dedicated to her, so I entered almost ten different (souvenir) stores.
But it seems like these products are currently not being sold because after an extensive search, all I could find was Mary Jordan's book "The Art of Her Deal". |
| Zakladi Slovenije, one of the souvenir stores I visited in Ljubljana |
 |
| The Art of Her Deal, a book that's supposed to give insights into Melania Trump's biography |
Interestingly though, the owner of the online store that sells/sold the above-mentioned soap, Urša Mravlje, went to the same High School as Melania (Melania was just one year ahead of her) and so I contacted her and asked for an interview.
She quickly answered my mail by telling me that she's recovering from a recent surgery and therefore unfortunately unable to give me one and kindly provided me with some good information about where I could find more stories/merchandise related to Melania.
She quickly answered my mail by telling me that she's recovering from a recent surgery and therefore unfortunately unable to give me one and kindly provided me with some good information about where I could find more stories/merchandise related to Melania.
Should I ever revisit Slovenia, I definitely know who I'm gonna contact again :).
Another thing I did in Ljubljana was visiting its castle, the Ljubljana Castle, which was probably constructed in the 11th century and, like the Sevnica Castle, offers a great view over the city.
 |
| The view over Ljubljana from the highest point of its castle |
 |
On my last day in Sevnica, I'd visit her (first) former home as well as her former elementary school, the Osnovna Å¡ola Sava Kladnika Sevnica.
 |
| Naselje Heroja Maroka, the housing complex she lived in during her early childhood |
 |
| A basketball court ≈ 500 feet from said home |
Said elementary school is located ≈ 1,000 feet from her (first) former home and therefore within easy walking distance.
 |
| This bust of Savo Kladnik stands under a tree to the right of the schoolyard |
 |
| The Osnovna Å¡ola Sava Kladnika Sevnica is named after Savo Kladnik, a native Sevnican who was a political activist during the time of WW2 |
Later that day, I'd leave Sevnica and drive off to Izola, where I'd continue my vacation.
Should President Trump get re-elected in the upcoming November, I can very well imagine coming back to check up on the souvenir stores to see if they're featuring merch of her like the above-mentioned honey jar again.
Comments
Post a Comment