Tindouf airport, Tindouf, Algeria

Tindouf airport - military influenced town, small airport, slightly confusing staff, but not more than usually Arabic. Waiting is imperative.

Isabelle Mayoult - freelance journalist, lives in Beirut, family of peasants turned into teachers as 3rd republic emerged, great-great-grandfather change name to Mayault, political science graduate at Science Po Lille, worked also for Mediapart, works with Rick Roels, was on trip to Sahara for Sahrawi story and social issues in general, runs Mashallah News covering Arab world, reading Don Quijote and writing short stories, such as We are not a grain of dust, as she was hanging out with Algerian friends in her childhood. One day she will install 50% of women to power on all levels and see what happens. Let's wait and see. 

Tourette syndrome is something Isabelle does not have. Period.

Smara Refugee Camp, Tindouf, Algeria

Smara - one of the Sahrawi refugee camps with troubled history and no bright outlook at the moment. Hosting Sahara Marathon for 12 years in a row already. A great experience. No infrastructure, but full of kindness and great people. Totally recommended. Run, desert and humility.

Martin Costa - retired teacher and advertiser, Wild Track agency owner and representative of human rights observation in Western Sahara, living in Buenos Aires, born and raised in San Isidro, grandmother from Germany, family came from Greece in 1774, university teacher for 20 years - history of ideas and philosophy, worked for Lautrec agency (now Euro RSCG), also 1 year in Sao Paolo, Brazil, 2 grown up kids, did/does squash, kayak, mountain bike, running - just finished 21km Sahara Marathon, reading Utopia by Thomas Moore, not religious, but close to Hinduism thinking and practice, travels a lot, was 4 times in India, will one day leave Argentina and a hotel in Ranthambore, biggest tiger reserve. Roarr for many more years!

Sand, camels and smiles. Not much else.

Guliver, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Guliver - an old, traditional, very well known place. Great food, somewhat one-needs-to-get-used-to place. Worth a try. They respond to email reservations very quickly :)

Malainin Mohamed - Polisario Front representative to the Balkans, Saharawi native, studied at Complutense in Madrid, joined Polisario in 1975, went back to Western Sahara via France and Algier to help in liberation efforts, worked for SaharaLibre newspaper and radio, worked in Brussels as BeneLux Polisario representative and in Athens for Greece/Cyprus/Malta and later in Mexico SADR Embassy, has two kids back home in Western Sahara and hopes he will one day be unemployed in the sense that there will one day be no more need to fight for SADR freedom and recognition. That day is coming.

Sahara Marathon ... soon ...

Gostilna As, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Gostilna As - one of the best and the best known restaurants in Ljubljana down town with recently renovated Aperitiv Bar. A must see and try if you want to be confident in discussing Ljubljana culinary scene. Or for any other reason. Recommended.

Pavel Škerlj - CIO at Vzajemna Insurance company, grew up in Tomaj and while his brother is today a recognized wine maker, he is only wine lover with WSET degree done at Robert Gorjak's Belvin, FRI graduate, worked for NIKA PID/PZU, KD Group and DZS, mountain biker, 3 kids, parallel reader: currently one by Milivojević and one by Ihan, TEDx event goer  introduced by Robert Kržišnik, is practicing Zen - recommends Peace Is Every Step and will one day help make all human communications and relationships more direct and honest. Mizu no kokoro.  

Piramida - Celovška, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Piramida - one of the longest standing pizza places next to Tivoli park in Ljubljana. Friendly service, pizza variety, convenient location and parking.

Marko Bauman - Product Manager at Intera, born in Ptuj, raised in Lovrenc na Dravskem polju, FERI Telco graduate and about to finish MSc there, too, triathlon career fading due to time constraints - little daughter being one of the reasons - now focused on marathons only, about to lunch CRMTrendi blog, wrote about long cycling trips on Nabiciklu.Wordpress, reading Trdobojec about Dejan Zavec by Esad Babačič, avidly following Slovenian sports and Slovenian NBA players in particular and will one day do the real Hawaiian Iron Man while remaining a trusted advisor in CRM field.

Restavracija Lev, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Restavracija Pri Levu - where chef is also a blogger. Nice and quiet ambient. Exclusive emptiness.

Matej Golob Matzele - Executive director at PDP, born in Ptuj, father Jani wrote Prisluhni školjki among other hits, brother Rok fully exploiting musical family roots and taking it to next level, while he departed  into financial and investment side of life though he also played in Pink Panter and Boogie bands, EF  graduate, worked for Bank Austria and Poteza, has a large iTunes music collection, likes watching Top Gear , reads Private Equity Valuation combined with latest Harry Potter and will one day travel the world, while composing music - probably with his daughter who already created her first song in Garageband.

GP Trojane, Trojane, Slovenia

GP Trojane - before the highway was built, this was a must-have-donut-stop on the way to and from Štajerska. Nowadays it calls for a detour. A delicious one, nonetheless.

Marko Raičević - Expert advisor and development team leader at Abanka, about to move on, Grosuplje native, Montenegro father roots, great-great-grandpa was decorated by King Nicholas I, FRI graduate, just about to finish FOV MSc, started at Abanka as Delphi developer, worked also for Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, basketball player and body-pumper, loves early and late seasons at Adriatic sea, reading Lindstrom's Brandwashed, engaged in Ypsilon education project, working to install wind-power on family estate in Montenegro and will one day help people drive ideas to realization by finding finance and connections, while keeping focus on youth and children in need. Youthpreneurship.

M Hotel, Ljubljana, Slovenia

M Hotel - "Five minutes out of the centre on the road to Bled, this fine, modern business class hotel comes with over 150 well appointed rooms, all with cable television, en suite bathrooms, free wireless internet access and 40 extra-length beds for those who need it. Excellent value for what you get, extras include restaurant, summer terrace, car rental and a hairdresser." - by InYourPocket Ljubljana

Mitja Pirc - Manager at A.T. Kearney, Brežice native, MSc at Stockholm School of Economics with active alumni, PhD at Pompeu Fabra Barcelona in consumer behaviour, decision making and pricing mentored by Robin Hogarth, author of Educating Intuition, was briefly in mobile/SMS business, worked for SAS, parallel reader with one of the books open being Maister's Managing The Professional Service Firm, recently attended Lindstrom session in Mons and will one day have one foot in academia, lecturing on behavioural economics like Ariely, Taylor and Khaneman, and one foot in management consulting, not unlike  Shlomo Benartzi, recently appointed CBE at Allianz.

Makalonca, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Makalonca - "After several years hiatus, and several months of renovations, Makalonca reopened in September 2009 with much fanfare - and deservedly so, as it occupies one of the coolest locations in the Ljubljana. Located below street level along the Hribar Quay, it offers a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere than can be found at the strip of bars and cafés on the Ljubljanica's opposite bank (or at least on nights when they forego the electronic music)."  by InYourPocket Ljubljana

Nejc Klopčič - Business development manager at Dassault Systemes, Logatec native now lives in Ljubljana center and likes it a lot, not related to screenwriter Matjaž Klopčič, FS and Cotrugli MBA graduate, as student worked for Tobačna - remembers Marko Raubar, was also swimming instructor and worked for Hella after Toni, newly wed with honey moon in Phuket and Hong Kong, avid fitness goer, cross-country skier and golfer, reading Watkins' The First 90 Days and recently finished Hunger Games and will one day reignite his creative side and develop breathtakingly designed products.

Save the turtles. Phuket style.

Stara Pumpa, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Stara Pumpa - old gas station turned grill joint, online always not to be found, but on Oust.me, recommended, deservingly so. No frills, just grills.

Mitja Mavsar - Head of UX at D.Labs, guest blogger at Delo and passing the knowledge as lecturer at Middlesex's IAM MPM, roots in Ivančna Gorica, lives in Trebnje, FDV graduate, landed his first job inviting potential employers to interviews, a beekeeper and dog walker, all his own, reading Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love  and will one day, without limitations, pour unlimited amounts of money into interesting tech startups, creating an awesome incubator (like Y Combinator, just better) to find/raise/identify top geniuses, hard-working teams who can form a totally new breed of highly productive world-changing products and would mostly support internet-connected smart devices that will help preserve environment, increase personal happiness and help mankind colonize the universe. Ta-da!

Locavores' delight. Trunk-full of home produce. Commerce ready and tax free.

Vozi Miško, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Vozi Miško - with a strong sense of Yugoslav nostalgia, located in Mercator shopping centre, inspired by Ko to tamo pjeva, 1980 Yugoslav comedy movie. Recommended. Not only for the old times sake.

Herbert Paar - System Engineer and CTO at KidComm and prolific developer, born and raised in Maribor, moved around for work a lot: Vienna, Graz, New York City, Dallas/Fort Worth, finalist at iTime 2011 competition, ran WideLabs kodierschweinchenfarm, worked at apc interactive solutions AG, a Philips joint venture, GlobalComm, Atos Origin and Roche Diagnostics, working on QPortal, golf player, reading Accelerando, a Stross' book on Singularity and will one day deploy a working solution for automated behavior pattern recognition. Just in time for singularity. 

The original Sarajevo coffee serving. With all the details and perks. A must have.

Dobra Hiša, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Dobra Hiša - a recent, very welcome addition to Stegne Business Area in Ljubljana. Stylish, quick serving, no frills. Recommended, especially for busy bees.

Toni Kolenc - business owner and manager at Furnitura, running SalonPohistva.si webshop, born and raised in Ljubljana, Dolenjska roots, FOV graduate, one final thesis away from Masters degree, worked at Genis and 3K-IT, created and sold Si.Toy company, when younger also made some money making decorative olive branches, proud father of two daughters, basketball player, preparing for amateur skiing competition league, reading The Book Of Five Rings, about to finish his new house and will continue to pursue his destiny of serial entrepreneurship. Professional competition.

In some other place, in some other-other time.

Hong Kong 2, Komenda, Slovenia

Hong Kong 2 - pretty big and nice Chinese place in Moste pri Komendi. Can serve big groups, food is very good and if you're going somewhere near there, it's worth a visit. It belongs to a chain of Chinese restaurants run by a same Chinese group.

Matevž Kregar - tech support team member for medical systems at Interexport, born and raised in Ljubljana, recently married, related to Rado Kregar - the architect, graduated IAM MPM in cooperation with Middlesex University, worked at iStore and Telekom, all family members are Apple fans, does not eat fish nor any other sea products, likes to cook, a lot, with her newly wed, recently received original KitchenAid, watches series and cooking shows such as Good Eats on watch-series.eu, does not read, started running in addition to regular Šmarna gora hikes, without limits he would be part of a global UX team making everyday experiences a whole lot better - not just apps. Influenced also by Mitja Mavsar recent lecture in Kiberpipa.   

Bangkokstreet, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Bangkokstreet - one of many places in food court of Citypark shopping centre. Destined to constant flow of potenital clients, but also a lot of competition close by. They try hard and deserve a visit or two. Shopping optional. InYourPocket Ljubljana describes it like this: "Settle into a table with views of an artfully-lit perforated metal structure just beyond the ceiling-high windows at the back of this stylish new eatery, and you just might be able to forget that you're staring at the façade of a parking garage from a shopping mall. While the food won't have you sprinting to the nearest telephone to call home and sing its praises, it's better than you might expect given the location and you'll be hard-pressed to find better value in terms of ethnic food - the portions are huge and there's also a relatively inexpensive all-you-can-eat buffet."

Staša Podgoršek - Small Business Manager at Microsoft, grew up in Mengeš, top grades and Zois grant winner, graduated at FDV in international relations, finished Cotrugli MBA, started as a hostess, climbed to sales management, worked as JEF volunteer, TEDx organizer, AmCham YP member, very experienced backpacker with Ghana, Togo, Nagorno- Karabakh and 43 other countries behind her, volley ball player and maniacal sushi maker since her trip to Japan. Without limits she would create Podgorsek Foundation, mimicking Gates Foundation and they would divide the market: you take polio, I take malaria. Done deal.

Reševalec Mile, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Reševalec Mile - ex-Little Italy, renovated by famous hairdresser-come-actor Rado Mulej. With the exception of the new host, not that much different. Without mandatory reservation, they were still willing to accept us. Reasonably OK, worth giving a try. And no website this time. 

Borut Jeglič - graduated economist with experience and skills, about to be snatched by a lucky company, born and raised in Ljubljana, mother-side grandpa was dean of EF, worked at Kibuba with Rok Stritar, introducing Rogelli brand, spent a semester in Finland with Erasmus exchange, currently on international business post-grad, entrepreneurship teaching assistant, mountain biker and serious sailor, joined Zavod Ypsilon as he knew co-founder Žiga, karate trainer at Slovan, listening to Jobs biography audio book by Walter Isaacson and Leadership Charisma by Deiric Mc Cann from Profiles International, recently delivered a TEDx talk and will one day through public speaking and lecturing raise level of entrepreneurship in Slovenia and on top also have a major impact on UX, not unlike Microsoft video at recent AISEC Youth to Business forum. UX entrepreneurship.

Euro gurman, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Euro gurman - a bit remote location, still considered in Ljubljana city, does not look very sophisticated, friendly staff, odd-ish website yet quite good food.

Aleš Gros - software specialist for system Z at IBM, lives in Stanežiče, knows Miran Tepeš, the ski-jumper, who lives in the hood, roots in Koroška and Prekmurje where grandfather Samec first started veterinary practice, FE graduate, worked for Smart Com and EMC, his daughter is a ski jumper and women ski jumping will be Olympic discipline in Sochi 2014, about to attend TEDx event with his son, used to mountaineer and rode mountain bike a lot, worked in UK when younger, as he is aware who gets to miss you the most when you're gone, even without any limitations his family would still be priority number one far above anything else. Family man in the most positive sense. 

Badges from TEDGlobal. Most applicable for TEDx organizers on the day of event :)

Angel, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Angel - by Kaval group, stylish, up-scaleish, a bit priceyish, full at business lunch time, worth a visit or two.

Vera Dobravec - event manager, connecting demand with supply in a broader sense, grew up in Miren, lived for a while in Madrid and Tenerife just because she liked it, studied at Turistica, worked at several companies starting with P, co-organized NPP 2010 and Projektno vodenje with Aleš Štempihar, organizes Optimum IT and Minimum IT conferences, when younger worked also on Arion cruiser, attended Top Talk and listened to Richard St. John, parallel reader recently opened Dumas' Camille and fell in love with Coellho in Fnac in Madrid, plays flute, chess and pool, fluent in Spanish, Italian and English, regular aperitivo goer on Saturdays as she lives in Trieste, attended TEDxTrieste where she listened to Ricardo Illy and will one day raise level of all SME IT and maybe also study psychology. Click. 

Angel in tucked away in Mercator shopping center. Not the best of the spots.

Maratonec, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Maratonec - not long after we have visited this particular place dressed up as Lotus Chinese restaurant with Martin Wirtz, Maratonec is back, where it once already was. For this occasion, Martin did "a bloglunch FORM" on me. It was an interesting experience.

Matej Golob - as joitted down about me over lunch by Martin, unedited:

"I have meet Matej Golob five or six times mainly through business. I have been lucky enough to be invited by Matej twice on a “blog lunch” and jolly nice they are too. It was after our last “blog lunch” that I realized that Matej was asking some fairly probing questions and gaining an insight into me – sneaky I though this will not do! So I decided to “turn the tables” on Matej and invite him to lunch so that his readers may also gain an insight. Matejs mother is from Maribor and his father is from Celje and he grew up in Menges. He regards himself as a true Stajerska with the long pockets and the very short arms. He is married to Petra and they have a 17 month old son called Tristen and they live in Siska. Matej seems to have a lot of close, not so close and positively distant “Golob” relatives he was telling me about a web site called geni.com – so far 800 Golobs. Matej would like to get a car full of Golobs and cross the border just to see passport controls reaction. While studding Matej worked at Allied Domecq and as a tourist guide – so a tourist guide and Allied Domecq ? umm I can see the connection. Guide me around the restaurants and wine cellars of Slovenia time certainly not wasted while studying! Having studied computer science and finishing his masters 10 years at IBM was next. Now Matej works for Interexport in charge of all things IBM. Matej has undertaken some long distance cycling! to Hungary, Germany – long distance I would not want to be his socks after such a journey ! Now he participates in marathons so needless to say the golf was to unchallenging walking after a small ball even with a handicap of 24. Submersible sailing seems to be new sport I had not heard of until Matej explained. The key is to get the deck line submerged and then try to sail – anywhere. Sounds like fun but I am not too sure it will catch on. “Users guide to the brain” is Matejs current reading and after several months still not finished. You might say the book has become a marathon to finish. It’s either a very thick book or ... Matej does not have the traits of a true Stajerska as he enjoys making someone happy by giving away things that have no worth to the Golob family by placing unwanted items on web sites - for free. He is even trying to “optimize” this, he sends an e-mail with a google map of directions where to pick the items up and places the items where they can be picked up without anyone being home. Matej is also a member of Kiva.org “giving the gift of giving” by helping 3^rd world enterprises. So, if you are fortunate enough to be invited on a blog lunch with Matej ask as few questions !"

Yes, Maratonec is back. For good? For better?

Na Brinju, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Na Brinju - "One of the capital's best known traditional Slovene restaurants, little has changed at this Ljubljana mainstay for well over half a century. Now in the third generation of the Marinčič family, Brinje has managed to maintain the air of an unassuming neighbourhood diner despite its popularity and clientele (many of the country's top power-brokers are regulars). Of course it helps to have had the same furniture for 50 years and the same cook for almost as long. The menu is quite extensive and changes seasonally, but year-round the house specialty remains obscenely large portions of high quality meat, followed by Solnograški žličniki - a one-of-a-kind dessert invented by the family matron." - by In Your Pocket Ljubljana

Matej Golob - photographer and photo blogger, born and raised in Ravne na Koroškem, graduated at VSŠR and now studying photography at VIST, worked briefly in Železarne Ravne, was saving and sold car to study in Ljubljana, long distance biker, around Slovenia in 11 days, biked through PL, CZ, SK and HU, recently returned from travel in India, reading The Art of Happiness and will one day change the mindset of masses to non-violent and fair society. Aum.

Valmarin, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Valmarin - "Venture into the oldest part of the old town to discover what is arguably the best seafood restaurant in Ljubljana. There's a lot to like about this charming family-run place, from the home-made bread and olive oil to the excellent service and selection of wines from smaller Slovene vineyards. However, it's the food that will have you recommending it to your friends the next day. Prizing quality, freshness and simplicity, ingredients are all sourced from small local producers, and the seafood is supplied daily by the restaurant's own two fishing boats in Koper. Definitely worth finding!" - by In Your Pocket Ljubljana

Kiki Omrzel - artist, professor, illustrator communicator, one of the most connected Slovenians on Linkedin, born in Bačka Palanka with roots from Montenegro, Slovenia, Germany and Ukraine, grew up in Novo Mesto, does not like Dolenjščina, has a bit of old Ljubljana accent from her grandma, Linkedin connectivity was a project, reading Ender's Game, is exploring life and will one day get deeper in advanced research while remaining an artist. Anything is allowed and one can be whatever in art.