What a turnaround! From a bank to Postojna Cave?

Yes, as a bank teller, I was like a caged bird. And I still remember this time when a local financier came up to me, to my counter, and said, “So, have you learnt anything?” And I replied, “Yes, I'm doing quite well…” And he ended the conversation with, “Great, because you’ll be doing this for the next forty years!” That’s when it dawned on me. And the next time a – now former – Postojna Cave guide came to the bank, I said to myself, "D**n, I’d like to wear this nice uniform too!” Then I met some of the maintenance people from Postojna Cave’s technical department, who told me more about what they did, and I was more and more tempted by this kind of work. And when I started working here, I became really fond of the cave.

What’s the one thing that fascinates you most as a cave train driver?

If you ask me, Postojna Cave is all about the cave formations and trains. This is where it all starts and ends. Before Luka Čeč discovered Postojna Cave, there was nothing here. There was no hotel and no restaurants. The cave made all this possible. This is why I say that it is the beginning and the end. Tourists come here for Postojna Cave. I remember when we were children and we were running around in nature, the thought that there was a mighty cave underneath us and all this going on never crossed my mind. Back in August, when we were running around on Sovič (a local hill), there were thousands of people walking underneath us! Imagine all the things hidden here! The Dance Hall, the Great Mountain, its sheer volume, the surface! The halls, so many types of cave formations – stalagmites, stalactites, columns, the White Hall, the Red Hall, and so many levels!

Sounds like you know the cave like the back of your hand!

We often joke that Postojna Cave is not my second home, but my first home! Of course, it depends on what your job is, but to me it really means a lot that every single thing is done as well as possible and quickly. Even during my off-time, I do everything I need to, just to make sure it's done. Because I know that things are linked to one another. But also because I have a good relationship with my colleagues, a genuine bond. For this reason alone, I do my best. I’m happy to help because I have good people by my side. With some of them, we are actually family. No problem – neither when it comes to work nor when it comes to having fun. Postojna Cave is like some kind of a shelter.

You’re the billboard man! Does this mean more people recognise you?

Those who remember me from when I was a little kid, often, “We waved at you on the island of Krk!” or “I said hi at the Austrian border!” And other visitors ask: “Will the guy from the billboard take us around on the train?”

What’s a bigger turn on for girls: a bank employee suit or a cave uniform?

I think it depends on the girl: for some it has to be all about “you clean up well”, while for others there has to be at least a bit stubble, a real man. – So being in a cave uniform makes you more of a man? – Yeah, I think being a maintenance guy makes you more of a man than wearing fancy clothes and a briefcase in your hand... Without grease on your arm. (laughter)

Why are you so intrigued by the cave train?

Simply because it is quite a specific thing. The cave train inside Postojna Cave is a prototype. And this is precisely what makes the work challenging. But that’s what I love – there are new challenges all the time.

Is there any way to compare the job of a bank employee and that of a cave train caretaker?

There is. In both professions, you have to be very focused, very meticulous. In a bank, when you count money, and here, there are so many screws – and if you forget to tighten one of them, you can have a really big problem!