Table Decorations

Flowers and candles on tables do sound quite normal, don't they? But have you ever seen live gold fish as table decoration? Well, it seems that this is the latest fashion with florists and it happened on one of the wedding dinners we hosted in Grand Hotel Toplice this summer. I have attached a photo in case you still do not believe it. It looks fabulous doesn't it? I also attached some more classical arrangements which are luckily still preferred by most guests. I have nothing against gold fish, please believe me, it is just that I was thinking what comes next. What if somebody decides to have live snakes or spiders on the tables? Where is the limit? In case you were wondering what happened to all the fish (12 in total) after the dinner, let me say that the guests were given plastic bags filled with water and took them home.

Bled Strategic Forum

Between August 31 and September 1st 2008 Bled was once again hosting Bled Strategic Forum. This year’s topic was Energy and Climate Change: Si.nergy for the Future. In addition to several VIPs that Grand Hotel Toplice had the privilege to accommodate in the hotel, we also prepared a gala dinner for 380 guests. Main speaker was Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary General of United Nations. Once again, a job was extremely well done by our staff. Attached are some photos of the preparations for the dinner as well as the dinner itself. Planning and preparation for such events take weeks. In the beginning, several meetings with the event organizers are necessary in order to establish their needs and wishes. After that careful planning is required within the house, regarding staff, working arrangements, purchase of materials etc.

Flags

Have you ever wondered why some hotels have flags displayed above the entrance? Well I certainly have, but never really got the answer. I imagined all thoughts of thinks, for example, that they represent a tribute to the countries from which the guests come from. Maybe it is a sign for people passing by telling them that we are an international hotel. Maybe if a person would see his home country flag, it would make him feel more welcome. Maybe it is just a decoration. I really don’t know and would appreciate very much if someone could tell me. Anyhow, at Grand Hotel Toplice, we have exactly 28 flags above the front door as you can see on the photo. Since our guests come from a lot more then 28 countries, it makes it impossible to cover them all. Questions often arise regarding why this flag and not that flag. This year we bought new flags and Mateja and I had to decide which flags to buy. (Remember that we were limited to 28.) We decided to go with the EU and Slovene flags first. Next on the list were neighboring countries (Italy, Austria, Croatia, Hungary), then all the countries where majority of guests come from (UK, USA, Germany, ….) and then there was a problem. For the very last place, we actually did not decide by ourselves, since His Excellency Mr. A.M. suggested it. Which one was the last one? Let me just hint that the country has a very long name and the flag is very different from the others.

Web site in Russian language

We have another novelty on our web site and I am extremely happy about this. Our web pages have been translated into Russian language available under http://www.hotel-toplice.com/ru-index.html. We now have a web site available in five different languages! That is something I was really looking forward to. I am extremely partial when it comes to Russian language, since I consider it to be one of the most beautiful languages in the world. I especially like the softness of it. Since the number of guests from Russia in our hotel is constantly increasing, I do hope that they will find this addition helpful. добро пожаловать!

Novelty on the web site

I am glad to be able to announce that there is a novelty on our web site. A wonderful photo gallery has been added, showing not only the present images of the hotel, but also historical pictures, some more then 100 years old. Special features are two virtual panorama tours, one from the balcony on the 5th floor and one of the main hotel lounge. Please go to: http://www.hotel-toplice.com/ photo gallery.

Getting older

How on earth Mr. H. and Mr. K. found out about my birthday, I do not know. Well, it is too late, since the word is out and yes my birthday is coming. It is not one of those critical birthdays, when people go around thinking that the world is coming to an end. I had one of those when I turned 30. I was convinced at the time, that my life was not half but completely over and that nothing good can happen to me afterwards. It sounds absolutely ridiculous now, but back then I did believe it. When I turned 32 I suddenly noticed that my skin wasn’t so elastic any more, but it didn’t seem to bother me. At the age of 33 my hair dresser gave me a “nice” remark about my hair turning gray. At 34 my cosmetician said that my skin looks very young and that she would have sworn I was 33. Imagine a wonderful feeling when somebody tells you that you look a whole year younger. At the age of 35 my son told me not to accompany him to the school door, since he is big enough to do it himself and that I can easily drop him off at the corner of the street, which of course I did. Anyway, I am turning 37 on August 10th and I feel happy about it.

Christmas Holidays

Being August, it might seem to you that Christmas and New Year are still light years away, but I actually had to spend quite some time today, considering both holidays. The thing is that we need to have the contracts for the music bands that will perform during Christmas and New Year period signed as soon as possible. Otherwise we will be too late and all the good bands will be taken. Of course they have all increased the prices compared to the last year which is an important thing when considering the budget. When choosing a band for New Year's Eve one has to consider the fact that guests come from different countries and are of different age groups. Another problem is that people hardly ever share the same taste in music, especially when you talk about the crowd of 100 people or more (last year we had more then 400 people in the hotel for New Year's Eve dinner). Therefore no matter which band I choose, somebody will be disappointed..... and at least somebody will probably love it...... I feel better already, since I can not make a wrong choice, can I?