Going to Work and Slovenia

On Thursday after I returned from Venice, I visited my friend Jennifer at her school. Jennifer and her husband work at the International School of Trieste. The school is located just a few minutes walking from their house and in a pretty nice residential area near Opicina.

It was a great day and good to see another view of international teaching. Many of the same complications I face in the UAE are faced by teachers here. It was good to see things from a different perspective. I spent a lot of the time while I was there talking to the students about living and working in the United Arab Emirates. Many of them had been to Dubai so it was interesting to hear how they experienced it as tourists.

Talking to the students at IST.

On Friday, after updating my blog, I headed back to the school. Luckily I got there just in time for lunch! The school feeds not only the students but the teachers as well! Both days I enjoyed a nice lunch with Jennifer and many of her very friendly students. After lunch and the end of the school day, Jennifer and I headed off to Ljubljana, Slovenia. After a nice bus ride through the snow dusted villages we arrived to a very busy and festive Ljubljana.

First sights of the city.

It is a beautiful city! The area where we stayed, along the river, was festively decorated with music playing and people out and enjoying a fun (and cold) Friday night. I had my first taste of mulled wine as we made our way to the hotel. We stayed in a cute hotel just minutes from the main attractions (the bridges, shopping and the castle).

My first mulled wine (kuhano vino)!

After checking in we headed back to the bustling area near the river and happened upon a riverboat just getting ready to set off on a cruise. For 5 Euros we got free mulled wine and a thirty minute cruise down the river and back. It was beautiful. Then we wandered around checking out the booths and things selling holiday gifts. Tried some honey liquor and had a traditional Slovenia dinner.

View from the boat cruise.

On Saturday we headed out to check out the various bridges in Slovenia, the castle and a delicious little place called Cacao (all chocolate all the time!). We took the train to the border of Italy and Slovenia then hoped into a cab for a quick ride to Opicina. As we were getting ready to pull out of the parking lot, three backpackers asked for a taxi, they were headed to Trieste so we told them to get in with us. They were from New Zealand and are traveling for three months (and I thought I had it good!).

Dragon Bridge

Ljubljana castle.

View from the castle grounds.

Lovers put their locks on the bridge.

Giant mug of hot chocolate (thicker than thick) and a chocolate covered brownie. Delish!