Happy happy!

A beautiful weekend in pictures. 

Friday night at our favorite pedestrian street. 

Real olives in the olive oil. Gotta love it!

     

Drinks with coworkers after having to work on Saturday. (It doesn't happen often - the work on Saturdays part).

Walking tour of downtown with the newbies. :)

I'm not normally a take pictures of buildings kind of person, but I just can't get over how beautiful this city is! Life is good. :) 

My First Day of Work

Today was our first official day of work (no kids) although Ian and I have been working a little every day for the last week. I must say, this happens every school year when I first start back to work, I feel EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. Like all I can do is eat dinner and go to bed. It feels like my body is in shock from all the laziness of the summer... And it gets even harder when the students get there. Then, you feel an exhaustion that is indescribable to non-teachers. But anyway, my classroom is almost ready. I hope to put some pictures up soon, but all my furniture won't be in until next week, so I may wait until then.

I do, however, have some other pictures, so you all can see what we've been up to.

This is Maksimir Park. We went last weekend with another teaching couple and their dog.  Awwwwww, right? :)

Here's another picture of my every day life. Although there's been a heatwave this last week, so not quite as much outdoor fun for the stormies. I feel like this is a good time to mention that I am OBSESSED with my dog. I don't know why, but I always have been, and it's doubtful I will stop. There, you've been warned. :)

This is the park by our apartment. There's a little hiking trail behind it. 

This is Dolac Market. It is amazing! You can get all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and local goods (like beautiful woven baskets - I've got my eye on one :) ). And the prices are ridiculous. $1 for a medium-sized container of fresh, local raspberries. I just love this place and have a feeling we'll be back weekly until it's too cold.

We had the new teacher orientation today, pretty typical overall, but we found out that the first PTA meeting will be catered by a local winery and there will be a tasting... AT THE PTA MEETING! How random is that?! Okay, that's all for now!

How to go to school

Today we will share how we get to the American International School of Zagreb from our apartment.

Here is a view of our apartment building from Ksaverska cesta. We live on the 2nd floor.

Prvo, uzeti lijevo na Ksaverskoj cesti i hoda prema stajališta Jadrolinije tramvajske.

First, take a left on Ksaverska cesta and walk towards the Jadrolinija tram stop.

Čekati tramvaj.

Wait for tram.

Pogledajte! Ovdje dolazi #14!

Look! Here comes #14!

Vozi jug tramvaj prema centru Zagreba 3 zaustavlja i Silazim na Belostenceva.

Ride the tram south towards downtown Zagreb 3 stops and get off at Belostenceva.

Prijeći ulicu i idu gore Glogovac stepenicama Suhinova ulici.

Cross the street and go up the Glogovac stairs to Suhinova ulica.

Prošećite zapad na Suhinova ulici prema Mesiceva ulici.
Walk west on Suhinova ulica towards Mesiceva ulica.

Uzmi lijevo na Mesiceva ulici.
Take a left on Mesiceva ulica.

Uzmi pravo na Voćarska cesta.
Take a right on Vocarska cesta.

Prošećite Voćarska cesta na Radio hrvatske katoličke zgrade.
Walk down Vocarska cesta to the Croatian Catholic Radio building.

Šetnja prema školskom ulazu. Tu je sportski polje!
Walk around towards the school entrance. There is the sports field!

Šetnja kroz vrata u dvorište i igralište.
Walk through the gate to the courtyard and playground.

 Šetnja stubama. Dobrodošli u Školu American International u Zagrebu!
 Walk up the stairs. Welcome to the American International School of Zagreb!

A week in Zagreb

So, I have a lot to say, but I also feel like I haven't really digested everything yet, so I've been holding off... anyway, let the blogging begin!

We will have been in Zagreb one week tomorrow. Our first impressions were:  The city is really clean (aside from graffiti)! The staff at AISZ (American International School of Zagreb) are warm and inviting. It's really easy for us to access downtown via walking or train. It's ABSOLUTELY beautiful here!

Our apartment is bigger than expected and we really like it. There's a fenced in yard for Xena and the neighbors have a dog named Nera (a black lab) whose really friendly. I'm so happy that Xena is happy and has a friend! :)

So here are some pictures of our place. This is the entryway.

 This is the hallway to the kitchen. And the half bath with.... a bidet! No, we haven't used it yet.

 The kitchen.

 The balcony off the kitchen.

 The guest room and Ian's closet.

 The living/dining room.

 The second balcony off the living room.

 Our bedroom.

 My closet! :)

 With a secret door to the bathroom. :)

The full bathroom.
                                                 
But I am still thinking of this place sometimes...

I got really homesick yesterday (I know... already), but thankfully talking to friends and family does make me feel better. Thanks, people!

I guess that's all for this time. We don't have to report to work until next Thursday, so we've been doing a little each day. It looks like my classroom won't be entirely ready by the beginning of the year (August 28th) because they're ordering new furniture (it used to be a computer lab). More on the culture, the school, and hopefully a fun trip to the botanical garden next time.