Introducing the - Peugeot

PEUGEOT CL U B EU R O P E
CLaSSiCS
A 1936 Peugeot 402 of Paul Papka and Les Boshoff
(currently living in South Africa and Les from Cape Town
and the desirable 1937 Peugeot 402 D’arlmat Roadster of
Michael Baux, France
L’Aventure Peugeot,
Slovenia – 2007
*Compiled by Ian Loubser
14 2 15 3 PEugEOTCLub
Peugeot lovers from all over the world
were welcomed this year in Slovenia
for the yearly Rassemblement
International de L’Aventure Peugeot meeting.
The Republic of Slovenia lies at the heart of
Europe, where the Alps face the Pannonian
plains and the Mediterranean meets the
mysterious Karst. To the north is Austria,
Hungary to the east, Croatia to the south
and Italy to the west. This tiny country only
covers an area of 20.273 sq km and has a
population of 2 million people.
With its Sub-Mediterranean climate on the
coast and Continental climate in the interior,
we were welcomed in the capital town
of Slovenia, Ljubljana with some pleasant
weather. All participants gathered at the
Lev Hotel where cars were off loaded,
wiped clean and registration took place.
A total of 142 cars entered this year:
43 from France, 28 from Belgium,
20 from Italy, 14 from The Netherlands,
10 from Finland, 12 from Switzerland,
5 from Germany and Austria, 3 from
Slovenia and 2 from South Africa.
A welcome dinner was held after registration
for all participants at Hotel Lev (Lev is the
Slovene word for Lion, rather fitting for the
occasion). The next morning, all participants
set off on the first leg of day 1 to the
world renowned Postojna Cave. Mr Thierry
Peugeot also arrived there in a beautiful
1934 Peugeot 402 Limousine. These caves
are absolutely phenomenal. You travel with
a little under ground train via tunnels for
3 km’s before you end up doing a guided tour
for another hour on foot. Traditional Slovene
food was served after the tour on the green
grass just below the cave.
After lunch we all depart on the second leg
to visit the Technical Museum at the Bistra
Castle with the exceptional collection of
vintage and classic cars which belonged to
Tito, President of ex Yugoslavia. The estate
of Bistra is located in the south western part
of the Ljubljana Marshes, in the vicinity of
the town of Vrhnika. It was named after the
Bistra brook, a tributary of the Ljubljanica
River with several karst sources. In the past it
was the home of Carthusian monks, built by
the Carinthian Duke Bernhard of Spannheim
in 1255. In the 17th century, it housed a
monks’ school and a library, which kept
numerous valuable manuscripts.
The Technical Museum of Slovenia (Tehniški
muzej Slovenije) was founded in 1951. The
most admirable is its Department of Vintage