My list of Top 10 Taiwanese models

Classiest, sassiest and hottest Taiwanese models of 2010/2011

Taiwan is full of beautiful women! I think that's clear to everyone who's ever visited that beautiful country. From young to old, most Taiwanese girls and young women are graceful and classy, but bold enough to be sexy when they feel like. Be it beautiful girls selling betel nuts on the countryside or sassy urban women in Taipei, who make streets look like catwalks, Taiwan is simply a pool of exceptional beauties like rarely seen in other countries. Why is that so, I'll leave it to someone else. What I want to do here is introduce to you the hottest Taiwanese models of 2010/11.

Interestingly, I only knew three models from Taiwan before (who are now over 30): The always labeled as number one model in Taiwan Chiling Lin (林志玲) and the the eternal runner-up Pace Wu (吳佩慈). These two dominated the model business few years ago, but are less active now. Even more famous is another model (turned actress) from Taiwan: Shu Qi (舒淇). She gained international fame by appearing in various popular movies. Who doesn't know her from the movie Transporter?


Today however, I want to show you, that the new generation of Taiwanese models are more than eager to grab that invisible crown from Chiling's head. The girls listed below were introduced to me by my girlfriend, who also helped me composing this post. However it was I, who picked and listed them in the order of my preference. So this may also be a list of Taiwanese beauties seen through a foreigner's eyes. These girls are pretty known, if not very famous in Taiwan. I'm sure most of them would land in the top ten of an average Taiwanese guy as well. They're not only models, who go to fashion shows or make photos for the magazines, they usually appear on TV in various Taiwanese talk shows, advertise beauty products and appear on various events. Some even act or sing. In Taiwan most celebrities have multiple talents and are usually engaged in a lot of projects at the same time. Many of them are also known in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and PR China. Beauty is very important in Taiwanese culture, especially for the women. And once you make it in the Taiwanese beauty business, wealth, fame and admiration are guaranteed.

The models on my list were all born in the 1980s, they're mostly tall, skinny and photogenic (which was the essential criteria to be on my list) and they're probably some of the hottest women in the country at this moment. Please vote on the poll at the end, I want to know your top ten. And be careful not to get blinded by all that beauty (wink).

My list of Top 10 Taiwanese models (name first, family name last):

01 隋棠 Sonia Sui 1981, 173cm

Sonia Sui or 隋棠 (pronounced Suí Táng) was born 22. 10. 1981 in Jhongsing village. She is one of the most famous Taiwanese models of our times. She's part of the famous Taiwanese model agency Catwalk Production House. I chose her as my number one Taiwanese model, because she has the perfect body of a model as well as a perfectly beautiful face with a gorgeous smile. She always looks classy, but with a touch of a cute girl next door. She's certainly a dream woman, who just looks perfect on every photo. Check also the video on the left to see how good she looks in TV commercials. She's also an actress, starring in several Taiwanese drama.

Photo and info sources: [WikiEN][WikiTW][FB Page][Nipic.com][MY POST]

02 姚采穎 Yvonne Yao 1981, 173cm

Yvonne Yao or 姚采穎 (pronounced Yáo Cǎiyǐng) was born on 16. 11. 1981 in Taipei. She's probably the most photogenic of all the models and has the perfect model body and face. She's not the cute girl next door, but more of a femme fatale. She's famous for a life with many ups and downs. She grew up in poor circumstances and without a father. She became popular as a model in 2000 and her fame peaked in 2004. Being in the focus of the media, a photo of her smoking a cigarette spurred an outrage, because she was engaged in an anti smoking campaign. She publicly apologized. In 2008 she was arrested and suspected to be in possession of marijuana (someone used her name), but tests proved, that she did not use any drugs. But the negative press damaged her name again. In 2010 a video of her smoking was leaked on You-Tube.
Photo and info source: [WikiTW][Blog][FB Page][Flickr pics]

03 王伊平 Vickey Wang 1983, 178cm

Vickey Wang or 王伊平 (pronounced Wáng Yīpíng) was born on 18.6.1983. She's famous for having a very nice curves and Taiwanese gave her the nickname "美胸名模", which means the "super model with a beautiful chest" (see a famous video of her walking). Besides these outstanding assets (no pun intended), she's one of the tallest models on the list and the one that probably has the most beautiful face. She's also one of these models that looks amazing in all types of clothes, especially in jeans. Besides being a supermodel, Vickey is a talented musician. She graduated in traditional music at TNUA. All that combined totally convinced me to put her in my top 3. Ain't she amazing? Photo and info sources: [Bio][Sohate.pixnet pics][Babe1616 pics]

04 王思平 Jenna Wang 1987, 173cm

Jenna Wang or 王思平 (pronounced Wáng Sīpíng) was born on 22. 5. 1987. She part of the younger generation of the current top Taiwanese models and proved herself to be a very versatile and photogenic model. She became popular in 2009 by being on the cover of FHM Taiwan (see the photo shoot in the video). She's not so famous like some other girls here, but I really like her photos, because she always looks good on them, especially when she's wearing elegant clothes, such as gowns. She's also amazing casual wear, such as shorts and tops. She's definitely the cute girl next door type and not a vamp like Yvonne Yao or Vickey Wang. I'm sure she'll be more famous in the future. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][Blog][FB Page][Moko.cc][MY POST]

05 赖琳恩 Lene Lai 1989, 169cm

Lene Lai or 赖琳恩 (pronounced Lài Línēn) was born on 6. 6. 1989 in Taipei. She the youngest on the list. She has recently became popular and is known as a very versatile and talented young woman. She started her career with beauty pageants (2nd runner up in Miss Asia Pageant 2008) and continued to play in dramas, movies and music videos, as well as appearing on various TV channels either as a guest or as a co-host. She's said to be the younger version of another famous model named Ruru Lin (the girl below), because they look alike a little. I think she belongs on this list, because she extremely likable and cute, probably the cutest of all the girls on the list (check her video). In a couple of years, she'll probably be the number 1 model in Taiwan.

Photo and info: [WikiEN][WikiTW][FB Page][RainDog pics][Purple gown pics][MY POST]

06 林葦茹 Ruru Lin 1981, 175cm

Ruru Lin or 林葦茹 (pronounced Lín Wěirú) was born on 28. 11. 1981 in Taipei. She's a popular TV presenter and model. She also appeared in music videos and did several advertisements and promotions. She's one of the "oldest" on the list here, close to that dreaded 30 mark, but she looks way younger. If I didn't know she's born in 1981, I would think she's way below 24 years old. She does have an awesome body (like most girls on the list) and obviously she feels great doing shoots in bikini (it wasn't easy to find pics of her not in one), because that's where she looks the best. But she also has a face to remember, a cute girly face that is. She looks more like a hot girl next door than like a supermodel (compare to Yvonne Yao). She could've easily be in the top 3 here, but I gave other younger girls the chance to be higher on the list. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][Blog][Album][FB Page][Osaki99 pics]

07 李毓芬 Yufen Li 1985, 163cm

Yufen Li or 李毓芬 (pronounced Lǐ Yùfēn) also known as Tia or Keiko, was born 11. 5. 1985. She's said to look a bit like the younger version of Vivian Xu, a popular Taiwanese singer. But that wouldn't do her justice, because she's much than just a lookalike of her. She's the shortest of all the girls on the list, but she's definitely a great model. She makes up for the lack of height with her charming persona and beautiful eyes. She really has great modeling skills and if you'd not know that she's so short, you wouldn't think she's any different than other girls here. She looks petite and cute, these are her biggest assets. But she's also very good in looking serious and seductive. She's definitely on the right list. Photo and info: [FB Page][Blog][Osaki99 pics][RainDog post]

08 馮媛甄 Abby Fung 1982, 164cm

Abby Fung or 馮媛甄 (pronounced Féng Yuànzhēn) was born on 30. 10. 1982 in Chiayi. She a famous model and TV persona in Taiwan. Her nickname is little cutie (小可愛) and many people say she's the small version of Taiwan's famous supermodel Chiling Lin. Abby is probably the cutest girl on the list. She's also not the tallest, but you'll forget about that completely, when you hear her speak. She has the cutest voice ever. You gotta see the video and hear her speak. I asked my girlfriend, if it's really her voice and she guaranteed me, that this is truly her voice. Amazing, huh? She's not the supermodel type, but she's definitely the cute girl next door type, the one you'd love to have as a friend, if not girlfriend. She has a very good figure and a smile you won't forget. And I'm not even gonna mention her voice again.

Photo and info: [WikiTW][Bio][Blog][Osaki99 pics]

09 白歆惠 Bianca Bai 1982, 175cm

Bianca Bai or 白歆惠 (pronounced as Bái Xīnhuì) is born on 23. 10. 1982 in Taipei. She's born in a family of entertainers, her father used to work for a TV, her mother was a singer. She's a famous model and TV persona, who starred in dramas and music videos and also did a lot of TV ads and other promotions. She's famous for a large chest, which she cleverly uses to her advantage (just check the video on the left and you'll know what I mean). Once on a fashion show her nipple was exposed (see NSFW photo), the media gave her the nickname "pink nipples" (粉紅乳暈), because according to my girlfriend (*cough) that color is rare (*cough) for Taiwanese women. I have never even thought about it, and I guess you haven't, too. But well, now you know it :-P Anyway Bianca deserves to be on this list, because she's really a great model with a lot of grace. Maybe not the model type at first glance, but once you see her TV ads, you'll realize how talented she is. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][FB Page][Baidu pics][Osaki99 pics]

10 劉伊心 Yihsin Liu 1984, 170cm

Liu Yihsin or 劉伊心 (pronounced Liú Yīxīn) was born on 30. 11. 1984. She became known in 2009, when she won few beauty pageants (Miss Asia Beauty Pageant) and ever since, she's doing photo shoots and appear in TV shows, but unlike most of the other girls here, she's not really famous. She has a curvaceous body and a beautiful chest, which she loves to display in various photos she makes. A photo of her nipple slip was leaked and people thought she did it on purpose, which garnered her some attention online. I put her on this list, because I thought she has a nice body and a very memorable face. She looks very sexy in most of her photos, but she's more like a photo model and less a fashion model, hence no 10 on my list. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][Blog][Album][Yuan3652 pics][Iamayuan pics]

It took me a while to compose this post and I want to thank my girlfriend again, who provided me all the information I needed about the girls. I hope you have learned something more about Taiwan and about the Taiwanese idea of beauty. There are of course thousands of Taiwanese girls like them, who could be put on this list, but these girls, albeit seen everywhere on Taiwanese streets, are not famous. Many dream to be famous, only few succeed. And I've chosen the ones who have broken through and climbed all the way up to the top of the Taiwanese beauty industry. And believe me, it's not easy, because the competition is fierce. This post will be translated in Chinese and also I may do another list next year to see how much has changed in a year. For now, I want you to vote on the poll on the left and tell me which girl is currently your number one Taiwanese model.

If you can't vote on the poll, go and vote here>>

Related: [My TAIWAN page][My TAIWANESE WOMEN page]

Jaws

Photo by Lily.

Racist tirades against Obama

It looked so promising in 2008

Those who followed my blog in 2008, knew how excited I was about Obama's victory at the 2008 Presidential election. I remember how closely I followed the whole campaign since 2007. Obama particularly caught my attention by that time, I had the feeling that he may go really far. And man, he really went further than my wildest expectations. His speeches gave me goosebumps and sometimes they still do. I won't ever forget that night and his speech in Chicago. in front of thousands of people, knowing that he will be the next president of the United States. It was about 4am in the morning, when I watched that speech live on CNN and I won't ever forget that moment, when Jesse Jackson cried. I guess I was moved a little, too, even though I'm not American. I think there probably wasn't a single African American, who wasn't somehow touched that night. But this was beyond America, the whole world was amazed by what just happened in that moment.

And then 2 years later at the midterm elections, Obama and the Democrats lose their majority in the Congress and the general mood in the country seems anti-Obama. And there seems to be a small but loud group of people, who think it's OK to voice racist comments. I read this article on Yahoo! News (this is just a snippet):

Since the expectations were so high in 2008, Obama couldn't possibly meet them. 2 years are too short for a decade of wrong decisions and failed policies. But well, everyone expects super things from Superman, right? Even though I admire Obama and support most of his policies, I can understand that some Americans are disappointed. But what I don't understand is the disgusting racism against Obama, that seems to be OK now, almost mainstream (I'm talking about online). I remember, when everyone ridiculed the birthers and the tea party a year ago, but now they're getting elected! Now they're mainstream. Same was with the racists: They seemed to be totally nonexistent in 2008 (with few exceptions), now it seems they can spew out their hate against Obama and even get applause from a lot of people (especially online). If you read any article about Obama on Yahoo! News these days, I guarantee you, that you'll come across a lot of flat out racist comments (accompanied with many "likes"). Let me show you some comments on the article above (published a day after Obama lost the midterm elections. I highlighted the worst parts):

Since I'm not American and my impressions about the current situation in America base on what I see on TV or read online, I wonder: Is it really so bad? Judging by the comments on Yahoo! News, America is ruled by an "African born Muslim who is an anti American racist, that can't run the country and needs to be imprisoned, if not executed". That's scary. How can someone in their mind really believe such things? Or am I making too much of it?

What I'm reading these days is a total opposite of what I was reading in 2008. America, what happened? Hope my American followers can enlighten me on this. But please, explain to me why are there more and more racist comments online on Obama. Or is my impression completely wrong?

[Read the COMMENTS by thorswitch][Screen caps: Yahoo! News]

Lee Hyori for Clio: Killer eye liner?

I know this is not really new, but it was today that I managed to update myself on Lee Hyori's latest projects. She's recently involved with a Korean cosmetics brand Clio. She has shot an ad for one of their products called "Waterproof pen liner Kill Black" and she once again proved that she's still one hot diva at age 31. In only two weeks after the launch, 50.000 eye liners were sold and people are starting to call it "Lee Hyori eye liner" (source). See the famous TV ad:

She definitely looks hot in the video, I love the heels, the way she tears the dress and everything... but I feel the eye liner is too strong. Somehow it doesn't suit her so well. I liked it more, when she uses a more discreet eye makeup. I think generally she doesn't need a lot of makeup, because she has that girl next door appeal. She looks better when she smiles than when she tries to be a vamp. I liked her more in the video on the right. But then again, that's just me, someone who's known to have no fashion sense.

What do you think? Is the way she lines her eyes hot? Or too strong? If you're a woman, would you do it this way, too? If you're a guy, would you like your girlfriend do it like Hyori here?

[My HYORI page][Photos by Clio]

Best duck in Taipei: Dragon Restaurant 龍都酒樓

A culinary experience, that will make your taste buds explode

Dear readers, today I decided to give my girlfriend Lily another chance to be a guest blogger on my blog, because she's had an amazing dining experience in Taipei and the post she wrote was so good, I begged her to give me the honor to share her experience with you all. She celebrated her birthday and invited her friends to join her in what will later be one of their best dining experiences of the year. Let me allow Lily to introduce one of the finest Cantonese restaurants in Taipei. You can read same post in Chinese here>>

Every year on my birthday I pick a restaurant where my friends and I have dinner. This time I picked an old but famous Cantonese restaurant in Taipei named Dragon Restaurant (龍都酒樓), which has open since 1983. Their most famous dish is Cantonese roast duck, it is also the most expensive duck dish in Taipei city (one duck costs TWD 1,200), but people give it a lot of praise. If you want to eat their duck, you have to book it at least 2 days in advance and one desk can only book one duck.

I invited 12 of my friends. We were sitting at 2 tables, each with one whole duck. We also shared some dim sum together. The dinner starts, when the waiter brings the duck and asks, how we would like to have it cut.

The whole duck as it was served to us.

They have 2 ways to cut the duck, one way is meat with skin and the other way is meat without skin. Because the duck is so big, so we chose both. The waiter was so skilled, she cut the meat quickly and moved on to my friend's table. In few minutes, both ducks were cut in beautiful pieces and together with a steamed thin pancake (called 麵餅 in Chinese, literally meaning dough skin), the dinner was served.

The duck being cut into small pieces.

And this is how it looks like when they finish cutting.

The steamed dough, the cut duck and the sweet noodle sauce.

The carefully arranged vegetables.

Doesn't it look delicious?

You eat this duck by spreading the dough in your palm, you then add vegetables, the duck and the sauce on top, roll it up and eat. I have to say it's super delicious. All of us couldn't stop eating and complimenting the food, it was simply amazing!

Besides having the famous main dish, we also ordered some other Cantonese delicacies:

Cantonese fried rice: You must order this one, this is the yummiest fried rice I ever had.

Barbecued pork puffs. Yummy.

Fresh shrimp dumplings. They look perfect.

Fried radish patty, the patty was so soft, you must try it.

Steamed shaomai with crab yolk: the shrimps were so fresh!

Steamed beef ball: If you like eat beef, don't miss this one.

Steamed chicken feet with soy bean sauce: Good taste, if you dare to eat.

We also had steamed spareribs with soy bean sauce, fried spring rolls, and one cup of almond jelly. All of them were very yummy, I couldn't find anything to complain about. And we finished the main course with a soup that was made with the remaining duck bones and pickled cabbage. It was very tasty, too. We almost finished the whole bowl, even though we ate a lot already.

At the end my friend SunnyPie, who sells homemade cakes online, unwrapped the birthday cake I've previously chosen and my friends sang "Happy Birthday" to me. After that, I followed the custom of making three wishes and then I cut the cake for them. The cake had the French chestnut flavor tasted very good, SunnyPie really did a great job and so it's no wonder, that so many people buy her cakes.

The birthday cake.

It was a piece of cake to finish this.

I really had a great birthday, because not only did I receive my boyfriend's lovely gift, but also had a delightful birthday dinner and received tons of blessings on facebook, plurk and twitter. I think I was really so blessed that day. I hope I could share my luck to others and the readers who read this post.

If you want to visit the Dragon restaurant 龍都酒樓 in Taipei, follow the directions on this map (created with Google Maps). Go to Zgongshan MRT station and then go out at Exit 3. Walk around 10 min and then you should see this sign. Check also Google Maps for a detailed map. For all the dishes including the duck Lily's table paid 3235 NTD (which makes around 80 euros or 110 USD). 5 people shared the expense.

[My FOOD in TAIPEI page][All photos by LilyChen, 2010]
[My TAIPEI page][Check also Lily's English blog]

生日快樂, 寶貝!

親愛的莉莉,

今天是屬於妳的特別日子.我在這祝福妳生日快樂.謝謝妳出現在我的人生,謝謝妳愛著我.每一次當我在妳身邊醒來,那種感覺就像是我的生日.每一次妳的擁抱和親吻,那種感覺就像身在天堂.我不知道為何.為何我值得擁有這樣一個如此棒的女人.但我珍惜著與妳在一起的每一分每一秒,可惜地,今年我無法和妳共度生日,但我希望妳能感受到我從遠方送來的愛每一天我想念著妳,每一天我再次與妳在夢中相見.但是今日,讓我們忘記距離吧.

我愛妳,你的男朋友寧諾

[Written with help from Cherry]

Maribor: City of towers

Proposing a new slogan for my hometown

The 58m tall bell towers of the Franciscan church, Maribor's famous landmark.

Maribor is a city of towers! I'm not sure if any other town in Slovenia has more towers than my hometown. Out of at least 9 medieval wall towers, 4 are preserved in Maribor today. Three are renovated (Water tower, Round tower and Jewish tower) and serve a new purpose, one is in plans to be renovated (Čeligi tower). And then there are the two 58m tall towers of the Franciscan church and the 57m tall tower of Maribor's cathedral. And let's not forget smaller towers, such as the one on the Maribor castle and on top of Narodni dom. I hope that the people of Maribor know how many treasures our hometown hides all over the old center. And we definitely need to preserve them.

The famous old wall towers of Maribor, from left to right: Water tower, Round tower, Jewish tower and Čeligi tower.

✰ Grajski trg/Castle square

Continuing from my previous two posts, where my girlfriend and I started off from Europark shopping mall and then walked along the river Drava to the Main square and from there down to Lent and to the Old Vine. After my girlfriend had her dose of wine and milk, we headed back up to the old medieval center of Maribor. The first part we had a brief stop was Castle square or Grajski trg. She wanted to shop a little and I had a cup of coffee and waited for her.

Castle square is one of the spots, where Maribor people like to hang out.

Maribor castle and the St. Florian monument.

On the left is a monument to St. Florian (Slovenian Sveti Florjan), built in the year 1700 after a devastating fire. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters. Today only the statue on top is original, everything else was reconstructed. This monument is a popular meeting point among people of Maribor, they would usually say "Se dobima pri Florjanu" ("We meet at the Florian").

✰ Mariborski grad/Maribor castle

The building at the center is Maribor castle or Maribor mansion (Slovenian Mariborski grad). This is currently one of the biggest and most significant historic buildings in Maribor and it has a very rich history. It was built in 1478 on the north eastern part of the wall and was meant as an additional fortification, that shall prevent Maribor from invasions from the Turks.

Maribor castle in the 17th century (by Vischer).

In the middle ages, the castle was much larger than it is today. It had four towers and a big yard, it was one of the most majestic castles in the Slovenian lands (see an old painting here). Unfortunately things turned bad for the whole structure in the 19th century. Three towers and the whole western part of the castle were removed and a street was laid out on the former inner yard. In the 1930s the castle was bought by the municipality of Maribor and became the home of the Regional Museum Maribor, which is still found there today. Inside the building, there's also one of the most beautiful staircases in Slovenia. The castle also had some prominent historic visitors, some of them however, could've stayed out of Maribor, if you ask me. Among them were: Leopold I., Holy Roman Emperor (17th century), Charles VI., Holy Roman Emperor (18th century), Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria (18th century), Paul I., Emperor of Russia (18th century), Pope Pius VI. (18th century), Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer, who had a concert in the castle (19th century) and Adolf Hitler, German fuhrer (1941), (Info: Source).

✰ Typical for Maribor

What happened to this castle is very typical for the whole history of Maribor: Things are constantly built, destroyed, fixed, rebuilt, changed, new things added, old things modified. That was the case centuries ago and it's still a common practice today. Most people in Maribor are probably used to that, but at one point we need to figure out what we really want Maribor to be. I'm rather for preserving the old, when it comes to the center, rather than destroying it and replacing it with new.

This is the Slovenian street (Slovenska ulica). Slovenians lived in Maribor since the beginning (first time mentioned in the 13th century), but until the first half of the 20th century the majority of the people in Maribor were of German descent and the official name was Marburg an der Drau.

The Castle square with the view on the Franciscan church.

Another view on Florjan and the Castle square with all the cafés.

Mariborska hranilnica (a bank) building from 1910. Oh, and another tower.

✰ More interesting parts of Maribor

This is my former secondary school named Prva Gimnazija. "Prva" means "first" and it's currently the oldest secondary school in Maribor. The building was completed in 1873.

In Maribor there are 3 secondary schools ("Prva, Druga, Tretja" meaning "First, Second, Third") and there's a rivalry between the First and Second (Third is totally out of the competition), because usually in the post WWII decades the Second had the smartest students, but in recent years the First caught up (especially when I was there in the late 1990s *cough, yeah...). That's why I believe that Prva is the best and most prestigious secondary school in Maribor and if you think you object to that, meet me tomorrow at 7am under the Old bridge and we can settle this.

In the park near my secondary school, there's a statue of one of Slovenia's most important historic figures: Rudolf Maister. He's especially important for the people of Maribor. As a general, he organized a Slovenian army, who took control of the town. He made sure, that in 1918, when the Austrian Monarchy fell apart, Maribor stayed under Slovenia (then part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs). He's seen as very important and honorable among Slovenes, but for Austrians, he's seen as a controversial historic figure (Info: Source).

Back from my former secondary school to another square near the castle. This one is called Freedom square (Slovenian Trg Svobode). That big sculpture is a monument to those who fought for freedom during WWII and was placed her in 1975. It was designed by Slavko Tihec, a famous Slovenian sculptor. People in Maribor call this sculpture Kojak (Slovenian Kodžak), which named after a very popular American TV series from the 1970s. The detective Theo Kojak, played by the Greek actor Telly Savalas, was bald and hence the nickname given to the round-shaped monument.

Nearby is another famous landmark in Maribor: The Franciscan church. It was completed in the year 1900 and is currently one of the tallest buildings in Maribor, 58m (Info: Source).

After the extensive sightseeing, my girlfriend and I went to Kolosej, the famous black box on the opposite side of Europark, the first multiplex in Maribor. We didn't mean to watch a movie, though. I invited my girlfriend to play some pool with me.

I had to teach her first, but she's really talented. She nearly won and I'm a damn good player. Guess I need to train her well and we can play doubles and win a lot of cash in the future.

Narodni dom (literally "National home") is one of Maribor's landmark buildings, whose tower is seen from many parts of the city. It was completed in 1898 and served as a cultural center of Slovenians in Maribor at a time, when Slovenians were under the Austrian Monarchy. It was also significant in the later years during WWI and II. Today the building is used for various cultural events and gatherings. I remember having dance lessons here and my senior prom was held here as well in the late 1990s (Info: Source).

Back to the river Drava and the Water tower. Read about it here>>

Sun setting in Maribor, late August, 2010.

We really had fun in Maribor, although we were mad tired from the whole Slovenia tour. I think, if my girlfriend could stay longer here, I would show her much more of Maribor. We could see more museums, we could go on top of the hills that surround the town and enjoy the views, we could walk along Drava, go to the Maribor park or go shopping (although that would be more for my girlfriend). Anyway, Maribor is really interesting, especially if you take some time and learn the history and then explore the city by foot. A (at least) three days long stay is a must, if you really wanna feel the relaxing atmosphere of the life in Maribor. And people are mostly friendly, usually much friendlier than those in Ljubljana, so I was told ;-) Oh, and don't forget the towers.

My rating of Maribor:

Great place for photos ✰✰✰✰✰

Well preserved and clean ✰✰✰✰✰

Toilets, parking, souvenirs ✰✰✰✰✰

Friendly to tourists ✰✰✰✰✰

Maribor Old Vine :Before [Slovenia Tour 2010] Next: Graz/Gradec>>

[My MARIBOR page][My SLOVENIA page][All photos by MKL, 2010, except the historic]