There is something romantic about cruising through a place that feels still somewhat wild and untouched. A place that has served as the crossroads for trade, culture, and war for centuries has plenty of stories to tell in its red-starred roadside markers and tiny houses whose walls line the roads of small towns, making it feel like you’re driving through deep, impenetrable moats. Gliding back and forth across the border between Italy and Slovenia in the 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet makes that romanticism even more tangible.

See more of my story over at CoolHunting.