Program 625a: Snowdonia; Outposts; Natural Slovenia

On the next Travel with Rick Steves, British travel writer Dan Richards explores the historic back country outposts and refuges you can visit, that are scattered among some of the most dramatic scenery on earth.

Plus, local guides tell us about the outdoor possibilities in their home turf, from Wales' highest views at Snowdonia National Park, to the surprises you'll find in the elaborate underground caves of Slovenia.

• Welsh tour guide/archeologist Martin de Lewandowicz
• Dan Richards, RLF Fellow at Bristol University and author of "Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth" (Canongate)
• Tina Hiti and Sašo Golub, tour guides from Lake Bled, Slovenia

• Snowdonia National Park is now being referred to by its Welsh name Eryri, and calls itself "one of Britain's breathing spaces."
• The BBC explores the official name change of the park and mountain that took effect in late 2022.
• The Snowdon Mountain Railway takes you to "the rooftop of Wales."
• There's a personal profile interview of archeologist/tour guide Martin de Lewandowicz on the Rick Steves website.
• Dan Richards is the author of "Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth." He spoke with Rick about visiting the forest outlook in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state, where writer Jack Kerouac once stayed, on Travel with Rick Steves program #579 in October 2019.
• Dan wrote the section about the Holloways of Dorset, in southern England, in the prose-poem book "Ghostways." Co-author Robert Macfarlane spoke about that on Travel with Rick Steves program #620 in November 2020.
• The Rick Steves destination guide to Slovenia includes information about Lake Bled and the Julian Alps region.
• The Skocjan Caves Park is considered the largest underground cavern system in Europe.
• The "human fish," or olm, is a type of salamander found in the caves of Slovenia.
• Tour guides Saso Golub and Tina Hiti can be contacted at their PG-Slovenia website.

• "With a limited time for our first trip to the UK, our family of four (2 teenagers) can't hit every park to the extent that we would like. Should we see Snowdonia instead of Dartmoor, Yorkshire Dales, or the Lake District? Why should we climb Snowdon instead of Ben Nevis?" (e-mail from B.J. in Mackinaw, Illinois)
• Caller had visited Lake Bled when she was in Slovenia, "but we accidentally stumbled upon Lake Bohinj and the Vogel cable car, which took us to the top of the mountain. Hiking back down the mountain was a special treat and we loved the beautiful waterfall we saw on the way down. Hanging out around the lakeside afterwards was fantastic." (Martina in Atlanta)

• Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Richard Studt, dir, "St. Paul's Suite for strings, op. 29-2, H188, no. 1: Jig (Holst)," English String Music / Naxos
• Ar Log, "Y Gwr a'l Farch - Pant Corlan Yr Wyn," Gorau Gwerin - The Best of Welsh Folk Music (collection) / Sain
• Kirkmount, "Brenda," Late Summer Air / (self-released)
• (brief sample of 2011 performance by Burlington Welsh Chorus, "The Mining Song")
• Marilyn Bennett, "My Sheep were Grazing," Angels Among Us / Bennett Music
• June De Toth, "My Sheep are Lost: Allegramente," Bartok - Solo Piano Works, vol. 2 / Orchard
• * Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields, Sir Neville Marriner, cond., "Early One Morning," Ultimate Classical Relaxation: The Essential Masterpieces / Decca
• EKO, "Eclipse," Panorama, disc 2 (collection) / Higher Octave
• Rune Alver, "'Klaversonate in e-mol, l op. 7-Andante molto (Grieg)," Mountain Dance: Visionary Masterpieces by the Young Edvard Grieg / Edvard Grieg Museum, Troldhaugvn
• Haunted By Waters, "Like the Dust," Portraits in Sound vol 1: A Collection of World Music (collection) / World Domination Recordings
• Robbie Robertson, "Skinwalker," Music for the Native Americans (collection) / Capitol
• Reinbert de Leeuw, "Gnossiennes III (Satie)," Erik Satie: Gnossiennes; Gymnopédies; Ogives; Trois Sarabandes; Petite ouverture à danser / Philips
• Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Yutaka Sado, cond., "Gaité Parisienne XXIII: Bacarolle (Offenbach, arr. Rosenthal)," The French Experience (collection) / Warner Classics
• Billy Joel, piano, "Delusion," Creating the Perfect Atmosphere (sampler) / Sony
• * Martyn Bennett, "Rye," Bothy Culture / Rykodisc
• Magnifico and Turbolentza, "Zh Ne Sui Pa Pur Tua," Gypsy Groove (collection) / Putumayo
• Natalija Verboten, "Dva policaja," Ko Te Zagrabi / Nika (Slovenia)
• Paul Winter Consort, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, "Singing to the Mountains," Miho - Journey to the Mountain / Living Music
• Tamburica Orchestra, "Tri Putari Kolo," Songs and Dances of Yugoslavia / Smithsonian Folkways (recorded by Laura Boulton in 1951)
• Claudine Steenackers, "Persephone (Nue)," Invocation (collection) / RealWorld-Caroline
• Café Antarsia Ensemble, "Rakija Waltz," Songs of the Table / Innova
• Slavko Avsenik, "Slovenija, od kod lepote tvoje," Slovenija, od kod lepote tvoje - 40 let hitov (40 years-the Best of Avsenik music) / (self-released) (Slovenia)

* Indicates filler music used during internal breaks on the broadcast

• Martin says the top of Mt. Snowdon gets crowded in the summer, at 10:28. At 11:00 he adds to beware of the weather at Easter, for example, when the conditions at elevation can be much colder than below.
• Rick makes a couple of references to the "Me Too" movement when Sašo describes a Slovenian traditional tale, at 42:25.
• At 43:50, Sašo says he believes there are still 22 licensed traditional boat operators on Lake Bled.