Rab Island

On Friday, we went to Rab (pronounced Rob) Island with the newbie coworkers. There were 19 people total. We were split up into 4 or 5 apartments, I'm not sure. Ian and I stayed in the dog people apartment with 7 people and 4 dogs. It went surprisingly well. Lots of dogs + fun people = loads of fun. :)

The weekend was filled with a nice dinner out, a day of walking around and enjoying life in the square, a night of home-cookin' (thanks to Ian and Suzy-the computer teacher) then games, coffee, pastries, a bike ride along the coast, more enjoying life in the square, and a new purse for me! :) Here are some pictures, so you can experience it, too!

What we saw driving in...                                    

Walking into town.

A tree, Ian, and the Adriatic.

Our friend, Sam, took this picture. Hope he doesn't sue
me for copyright infringement. Pretty please, Sam! :)

Ian, enjoying his fish stew. That's as joyful as I've
seen from him in 6 weeks! :)

Our new friends Sam and Katie.

The view from our hotel/apartment. 

Everyone enjoying Ian and Suzy's dinner!

Sam & Sam

We biked around the island to the other side of the main town. 

The ride back. So beautiful!

About to get on the ferry back to the mainland. 

On the ferry. :)

 An amazing weekend as you can see! I am so in love with the relaxed vibe on the coast (and in the city of Zagreb as well). We are happy. Staying home next weekend, then heading to Stuttgart, Germany for Oktoberfest the following weekend.

A weekend away

Sometimes, you just need to get away - no matter where you are! Ian and I took our first trip out of Zagreb this weekend. We traveled through Rijeka to the beautiful coastal city of Opatija (pronounced  oh-paw-tee-uh). It was a blissful weekend with lots of walking, talking, picture taking, and relaxing.

We accidentally went to the train station instead of the bus station, so our 2 hour trip quickly turned to 4. But I'd never been on a train before (besides subways), so it was a new experience for me. Here's Ian enjoying his book. :)

We got in at around 9 and headed to dinner at Zlatna Skolnjka - a restaurant we found in lonely planet. It was fancy and yummy.

Then, we took the bus to Opatija. It took about 20 minutes. Then, we fell asleep. This is what our hotel looked like the next morning.

We walked along this BEAUTIFUL pathway that winds along the beach (I say beach loosely, it's like northern California, the beaches they have are rocky). The pathway is about 13km, but we didn't walk the whole way. We just meandered and talked and stopped for a drink at the end.

My feet touch the Adriatic Sea for the first time! 

Then, we went swimming in the Adriatic Sea! It was cold, but the water was amazingly clear!

That night we walked about 2km to Volosko to eat at a fresh, local fish restaurant called Skalinada. The food was amazing!

This is the view of Opatija on the way to Volosko.

We took the bus back to Rijeka on Sunday and then headed up to Trsat Castle on our way out of the city. Beautiful view and fun castle. :)

A wonderful weekend indeed! We are heading to Rab island this weekend with a bunch of the new teachers and Xena gets to come, too! :) That's all for now!

Growing checkers!

Busy, busy, we have been! School is well underway and we are both getting settled into new routines. Ian is playing soccer twice a week and cards at least once a week and I'm doing yoga twice a week and  trying a gymstick class this week. You basically wrap those stretchy fitness bands on a meterstick-type contraption. I'm thinking it'll be like pilates. Hopefully, the Croatian language courses will start soon. Also, we each have to do a student club once a week - Ian is doing something with photography and I'm doing arts and crafts. So, we are definitely staying busy!

Friday night we went to our first soccer match! It was awesome! I love that there are actually professional soccer matches to attend here. We are officially fans now and we have some gear to prove it! :)

Ian - in a sea of checkers!

Yesterday was the international picnic at our school. The troops here cooked American-style hot dogs and hamburgers with real Heinz ketchup! Yum yum! Then, families brought all kinds of international foods for us to eat. It was DELICIOUS! The students had fun with bouncies and slides, face painting, a juggler, and a professional choral group. It was a great chance to meet some of our students' parents, too. Today, we had our regular Sunday, shopping at the market for the week (beets, broccoli, apples, potatoes, nectarines, and carrots). I think we spent about $4... mind boggling.

Ian is at the flea market and just found a new bike! Yay! He said it needs some work. But there's no way his will be as cool as mine!!!! :)

This week we're looking forward to seeing Jan Weber - our first guest! :) I can't believe we've already lived here for a month. Then, next weekend we are planning on heading to Rijeka for our first weekend away! We will be sure to take lots of pictures while we're there!