Croatia

This weekend, Ian, Braco, Alma and I journeyed to Croatia. We drove through the Austrian countryside and Slovenia--both of which were beautifully green. I spent hours just looking out the windows, thinking, it was surprisingly calming. 

We went to Rovinj, a small town on the coast. The first night was kind of a blur, seeing as I was exhausted from our 6 hour drive (and 4 weeks of German class, which finally ended). We sat around with their good friend, Sasha and Galena and Susanna, for a few hours and then went to bed--nothing too exciting. The next day, both Alma and I slept until 1pm and after a lunch of Calamari (yes, I did eat it and I enjoyed it too!) we went to the seaside. After a 30 minute drive over an unpaved road and a short hike through woods and over rocks, we arrived at a small beach. The beach had no sand, only white, chalky stones. But the water was beautiful; it was so clear that you could see the bottom no matter how far from shore you were. The water was perfectly refreshing, nothing could have been better on such a hot day.

After hours on the beach, Braco and I joined Susanna, Galena,Sasha, and the kids in Bale, another small town, for some jazz music at the opening night of the Last Minute Jazz Festival. We ate corn on the cob, drank beer, and danced to the music. It was a wonderful night. 

The next day we went to Alma and Braco's "honey man." This bee keeper produces a dozen flavors of honey ranging from chocolate honey to creme and mandarin. I of course sampled them all. Then we walked around town for a few hours. The town was built on a hill, and the view from the top s breathtaking. You could see green for miles and miles. 

   Again, it was blisteringly hot, and the only thing that brought any relief was a swim, so we returned to the beach. That night, Alma and I walked around Rovinj. It is full of German and Italian tourists and is quite lively at night. It was a wonderful night. It was just a wonderful and relaxing weekend in general. 

Unfortunately, we had to return today. Our drive back was not nearly as blissful as the trip there. Across Slovenia, it poured. The rain was so heavy, I thought we were going to have to pull over. But we made it back... not that I was worried. 

I have a week and two days left. I cannot say that I'm not ready to come home, but I'm almost not ready to leave this city yet either. I can't believe I've been here 2 months already. It had definitely been a summer of adventures, to say the very least.