SB399SloCro@010

Beach Day and Final Dinner

2010-06-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

May 28th, 2010

After a long couple weeks of company visits we were finally rewarded a free day to do what ever we wanted. For the most part, everyone enjoyed a beautiful day on the beach swimming and tanning. The beach was pearl white while the ocean was crystal blue surrounded by mountains on one side and two of the largest islands in Croatia on the other. The water had a chilling feeling to it but once in the water you wouldn’t want to get out.
Later in the day we ventured our way over to another side of the beach. There we found a practice course set up for a Jet Ski competition that started the actual racing on May 29th. The Jet Ski’s at the competition were like no others we have ever seen before. They had been customized with graphics and also increased with horsepower to make them go faster.

That night we went out to dinner, as our final dinner together in Europe. On our walk up to the dinner we visited a small cemetery where the captains from the sea were berried. And in honor on the gravestones they had the boat steering wheel engraved. We then proceeded to dinner and sampled a couple of Croatia’s different liquors. One of those was wal nut and the other was grass. Both of them had a very different taste from each other. For dinner we had pork, liver, chicken, and cevapcici with a side of potato fries. For desert we were treated with crepes (chocolate and marmalade).
Before and after dinner most of us got to play boche ball. This game was played with two teams of two players on each team. It started with one person tossing a ball down the court. From there each team had to try and place their ball closet to the ball that was thrown first. This quickly became a huge hit with us, with the competition getting quite heated.
Tomorrow we leave for Dubrovnik where we stay for two nights.

Final Day

2010-05-30T12:53:00.001-07:00

For the final day in Croatia a large group of us went to the city center to explore the walled city. The city originated as a maritime center with a long period of prosperity and development in the 15th century. Within the city are many Churches from different periods, the place and the university Collegium Rhagusinum, which was created in the 1600’s. The city received much damage during the conflict in the 1990’s but has been preserved and fixed since then.

After our travels to the old city many of us chose to spend our last day on the coast at the beach. It was a wonderful day to lay on the beach and swim. Now as the night is coming to an end we are all packing up our things and getting ready for a very early morning tomorrow and a safe trip back to the states.

-Amber

another day in the life

2010-05-28T03:06:00.000-07:00

The day began at the crack of dawn in a hot and crowded youth hostel. Everyone was ready to make the journey from Zagreb to Split and to reach our final destination, Baska Voda. The cargo area of the bus was packed to the limit with just enough room to fit the last bag. As we traveled out of the city of Zagreb I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Our first stop was at a roadside rest stop/gas station for breakfast. As I stepped off the bus it became clear that Croatia has a lot more to offer than Zagreb’s urban wonderland. Mountains stretched off into the distance and the ground cover was an interesting mix of cracked stone and lavender bushes. Under a clear blue sky we ate our breakfast and jumped back on the bus.

We arrived in Split, Croatia’s second largest city, about six hours after leaving Zagreb. Immediately, we set out to explore the ancient ruins of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s retirement fortress. The narrow streets and alleys were lined with vendors of all types selling a wide variety of goods. After exploring the fortress I decided to grab a beer and watch the promenading people as they enjoyed the beautiful seaside views.

After meeting at the bus for the last leg of our trip to Baska Voda, the landscape began to change rapidly. As we climbed the mountains out of Split we could see vast plots of terraced land. The people of the region used to plant a variety of crops from olives to vegetables but have since abandoned the labor intensive practice. The resulting green steps up the sides of the mountains are like a sceen from a movie. One hour later we arrived at a scenic vista which was the site of an ancient fortress and stepped out of the bus to take a few pictures. The view was incredible and it was clear that the location of the fortress was perfectly planned to prevent attack in all directions.

As we approached the city of Baska Voda Boris told a story about his grandfather who was from this region. In the 40’s and 50’s he was a bus driver on unpaved and unprotected mountain roads. The cliffs on the sides of the 1.5 lane roads drop about 100 meters to the sea. As Grandpa Jukic was rounding a corner, the steering column on his bus broke. The bus eventually came to a stop hanging over the edge of the cliff. He had to hold the foot brake while his passengers made an emergency evacuation. After the last person got off the bus Grandpa Jukic said a prayer, pulled the hand brake, and jumped for his life. Thankfully he made it out and no one was injured.

Upon arriving at our hotel in Baska Voda we were pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the rooms and the premium beachfront location. The lobby of the hotel has a very nice bar and restaurant with a nice beachside patio. We settled into our rooms and headed out for dinner. After dinner we took a stroll down the pier and watched the full moon from the sea wall. It was the perfect end to an amazing day.

Francis' Birthday

2010-05-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Everyone was excited to get the day started as this was the last day of company visits before we headed to the coast for the last leg of our trip. We began the day with a visit to a company called elektro kontrakt. The company specializes in producing the electrical components that regulate appliances and other automated processes. I believe the speaker was one of the most intelligent we have heard from thus far. It was interesting to learn the unique method in which the company was able to survive through the crisis in the 90’s and the economic recession of the last two years. The most important piece of information he was able to share was that in order to succeed one must always research methods to change and improve themselves. This can be applied to facets of life, business, personal, and extracurricular.

After the meeting at elektro kontrakt we had a short break before we headed to our final business meeting of the year, Atlantic Grupa. Atlantic Grupa is a company that produces healthcare products and who’s ultimate goal is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Their most recent product, Cedevita GO, is a vitamin drink that can be taken on the go. In addition to vitamin drinks, the company also produces other healthcare products.

After finishing up our last company visit, we were free to do what we wanted the rest of the night. Some of the group went with Marta on a bar crawl with some other university students. Others went out to celebrate Francis’ birthday at a nightclub called Galleria.

Long day of three companies

2010-05-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today was the only day on the trip that we visited three separate companies in one day. We knew that it was going to be a long day but also knew that free time was right around the corner. The first company on the list was Oglasnik, a subsidiary of Trader Classified Media. The focus of Oglasnik is internet advertising similar to that of Craig’s List. Due to the current economic situation, they have had to make some cut backs and employ a new strategy of cost management. The speaker seemed confident that since costs are so low, once revenues raise again the profit will be better than before. If all works out, the company can start to grow again within the next few years.

After stopping at the mall for a brief break, we continued on to the local hospital. We all got the grand tour of the facilities. This included different machines like the MRI and standard x-ray machine. However, they did not have a complex surgical wing because they only perform small and minimally invasive surgeries. Also, for some reason I kept seeing doctors that were well above six feet tall. From the tour we continued on to the presentation that included a part about the specific hospital and a second part about the health care system of the country. Two things said that I feel were interesting was that Croatia has a public health care system and that doctors are paid considerably less than in the U.S.

The last stop of the day was a cell phone service provider called VIP. VIP is one of the top cell phone providers in the area, which is evident by the amount of advertising found throughout Croatia. It runs through a GSM network, which is through SIM cards. The company spends a lot of time on marketing and image branding. It was interesting that the top marketing professional was previously an engineer. The current focus of VIP is upgrading their products to allow more amounts of data, since the demand for data is on the exponential rise.

Beginning of another week in Europe

2010-05-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today we went on our first company visit in Croatia, to The World Bank and Erste Bank. The World Bank is an international organization that provides “financial support, technical assistance, policy advice, and analytical services” to Croatia. We were given a short presentation about what the bank has loaned to Croatia and current projects they were working on. One thing we found that was interesting is that one of their main goals was to fund projects to ease Croatia’s acceptance into the EU.

After the company visit, we all went our separate ways for lunch, the group that I was with, continued our sampling of kebabs from local establishments in the countries that we were traveling to. The restaurant of choice today was King Kebab. While there was only a choice of beef, there were a few different sauces as well as a new ingredient, cheese that gave this kebab a distinct flavor. Here is a picture of the Kebab store.

Following lunch, we visited our second business of the day, Erste Bank in Zagreb Croatia, Like most of the banks around the world, the recession has hit them hard, but their corporate leadership has vowed that no one section of the company would specifically suffer, that each section would have to bear some of the burden of the companies downfall. To counteract this, the company has created a unique rewards system for employees who can brainstorm innovative ideas that will help the company move forward. After the visit, we got to go to the top floor of their building and here is a picture of the view of the city.

Finally, after a long day of company visits, Marta a student from the University of Zagreb took some of us went out for a traditional Croatian dinner that included chevachichi and several other local meats of the area. They also, had a unique way of serving beer called a giraffe and here is a picture of that. Tomorrow we have 2 more company visits and then a few days to enjoy ourselves on the beach.

Kevin and Zack

National Park-国家公园

2010-05-23T02:08:00.000-07:00

On May 23, 2010, we decide to go to the national park. In the morning, there may be ten more people that want to go to the national park. The bus drives us to the national park that use two more hours. It is a long trip. Everyone just sleep on the bus, the time goes so fast. When we wake up, we already stay in front of the national park. The stuff takes our student card to change the ticket. When we get the ticket, we just start our two more hours’ trip.

This picture is that the national park’s map. The map shows all of the national park's way to our tourists. Let the tourists know their way, and let us easy to understand about the national park.

This picture is our first part in the national park that is a huge waterfall. I take the picture on the top of the hill, and we can see all of the views about this waterfall. We also go near to watch this waterfall, and we walk on the bridge, and we watch the little fish in the water, and we talk about the view together. When you go near the waterfall, you can feel the water split on your body.

This picture is that another little waterfall in the middle of the national park. This waterfall is smaller than first one. But the view also is good for the tourists. Moreover, the time is going so fast, after three hours we done for the national parks’ view.

When we finish viewing the national park in Croatia, we cross the bridge together. Even though you see our back, you also can feel our enjoyable. Today we have a good time, and we view a good place in the Croatia.

the largest waterfall "最大的瀑布" in the national park.

Internazionale

2010-05-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

We started off today by touring various symbolic sites in Zagreb. The first consisted of visiting a religious relic where many assembled to pray. Hundred of years ago this historic symbol represented one of few entries into the city of Zagreb. The next site that we visited was the Cathedral in Zagreb. The cathedral was a great representation of Eastern European art and reflected the Croatian culture. After our tour, we ate lunch and headed towards the mall. The girls ended up buying a lot of clothes but I didn’t have an appetite for the European taste of clothing. After the time that we spent at the mall, all of the sports fans were heavily anticipating the soccer European Cup called the Champion’s League. In the city square, many resembled around a huge screen TV to watch possibly the most prestigious game in European soccer. This game was particularly important to Croatia because two Croats were playing in this contest. Henieken, the biggest sponsor of this event, organized a tent where they invited to purchase and consume their products while watching the game. They also held Video game and foose ball tournaments to build hype before the grand event. I took this opportunity to put in to practice my FiFA 10 skills in Europe against various competitors. After an hour of Fifa 10, it was time to watch the Champions league Final . The game was highly contested but Inter Milan ended up winning to the dismay of Croatia but delight of myself and Tim Sweeney.

Gravity At Its Best

2010-05-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

They say the water flows with an accent here, I have yet to hear anything though. Sunday was funday in Croatia, the greatest soccer nation not represented in the World Cup next month. Most of the group ventured to the mysterious and majestic cascading lakes and waterfalls of Plivitch, while some bummed around the capital, and one continued his stay in Italia. The lakes are of the the true national treasures of Croatia and are unparreled in the U.S., however its not handicap excessible and the restriciton of swimming was a major dissapointment to those aquatically skilled, this dissapointment should be countered once the coast is reached. The sun was shining, as it does at least 5 times a week as required by law, and the air was crisp. The fish were friendly and the water is the clearest in all former Yugoslavian lands. The trip included a small detour to a village with waterfalls and connecting streams. For some this was the best 15 minutes of the trip, and perhaps the cheapest. The trip was accomplished in a few hours and allowed for additional venturing throughout Zagreb, the greatest city in all the Roman Empire at one time. The nightime involved the watching of a heated soccer match between Croatia and Wales, as well as some American-Canadian hockey. The city remains alive until the wee hours of the morning even on a Sunday, a testament to the vivacious spirit of the locals. If New York is the city that never sleeps, Zagreb is the city that sleeps during the day. Througout the evening the cafes are still bustling with activity and at least one member of the group has posed the question ˝Does anyone work here?˝ For the time being, the answer might as well be no, since there is always an abundance of beauties walking the streets. According to an anonymous New Zelander Croatia ranks 4th in the world in terms of the beautyof its citizens, behind only Denmark, Holland, and Czech Republic. Company visits restart tomorrow, bringing great joy to everyone since we can get up early.

-Tim

From Vienna to Zagreb, Croatia

2010-05-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today we ended our short but sweet time touring Vienna. Although it was a rainy day, there was still plenty of sightseeing and tasty food to be consumed. A few of us broke away from the group and saw this spectacular palace. They were doing some kind of reconstruction, but it was amazing and the architecture was even better. It seemed as though ever building that we looked at had a different style of architecture. We also found the United States embassy when we were adventuring. Do not worry nothing happened, but it did feel reassuring when people were speaking English.

Now today was not all fun and games. We had an intense bus ride that took a good 8 hours if you include all the border crossings and stops we made along the way. We arrived at Zagreb, Croatia around 7pm local time, which is around 1pm Eastern time in the States. We are living in a hostel until Thursday, but do not get the wrong impression. This hostel is actually really nice; it comes with sheet and the works. The weather got better as soon as we got to the hostile; nice and sunny. Now it is time to do some exploring and try to figure out what is around us.

Matt Staiano

A Day in Vienna

2010-05-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone had a blast in Slovenia. Unfortunately, we had to move on with our trip. We left for Vienna from Ljubljana at around 8:00 AM. Everyone was asleep during the drive to Vienna, Austria because of the lack of sleep the night before. Vienna is a really beautiful city with mixture of its modern technology and magnificent historical buildings. We visited St. Stephen's Cathedral. The Cathedral is massive with an amazing architecture. What really surprised me was getting to know that there is a cemetery in side the Cathedral before today I thought only Popes of the Catholic Church were buried inside a church.

After, the Cathedral everyone split into different groups and went into different directions depending on what they wanted to see in Vienna. My group wanted to see the old landmarks and buy souvenirs. The trains on the street were pretty funny. One just had to watch out for them. My group started to walk on the small sidewalk that was pretty much closed and the train comes towards us slowly and stops waiting for us to pass by and neither did the person in the front move or the train. We clearly looked like tourists. Someone bought a stein, an umbrella with Vienna printed on it and someone bought a t-shirt.

We did not go inside much of the landmarks because the outside views were amazing and great for picture taking. We saw the Austrian National Library and a group picture in front of Prince Eugene Statue. We encountered many more statutes. Vienna has many statues and monuments throughout the city and as tall as some of the near buildings. Day in the center of Vienna was a lot of fun. Vienna is quiet diverse with many ethnic groups. Near the train station a group of street dancers were doing amazing break dancing and were quiet funny. We took the U3 Orange Line back to the motel. I grabbed a chicken sandwich from a local restaurant for dinner.

Parwinder

Last full day in Ljubljana, Slovenia

2010-05-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today was the day most of the students were looking forward to, the tour of Pivovarna Union Brewery. The day started off relatively late compared to other days. We were to meet on the bus at 9:45am. Then we headed to the brewery which was just a few blocks away from our hotel. The tour started off with a short video of the different products Union produces. They obviously produce Union beer as well as Zala water and Za flavor waters. After the video we proceeded to the museum, where our tour guide Sanya explained the history of Union Brewery. Then we were able to view the actual plant starting with the cooking of the beer, then to the filtration, bottling and packaging. Here is a photo of the bottling.

The warehouse for the beer is very large and can house up to 150,000 pallets of beer. Each pallet has 63 cases of beer on it with each case having 24 beers in it. That makes for a lot of beer. Below is a pallet of beer wrapped and ready for shipping.

After completing the tour of the plant we were then invited to sample all the products offered by Union along with some meats, cheese and bread to snack on. Here is a video of everyone at the tables enjoying the beer and food.

After the Union tour we headed back to our hotel for a short break for time to relax and pack our things. Tomorrow we leave at 7:30am for Vienna, Austria. This afternoon we went to the School of Economics at the University of Ljubljana. The Dean of the School of Economics told us a lot about what the University has to offer for graduate programs. There were several students there to answer questions as well. I have come to the conclusion that I would love to get a Master’s in International Business from the University of Ljubljana.

-Caitlin Higbee

Tour of Slovenian Coastal Area (Primorje)

2010-05-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

Seeing the Sights of Postojna, Koper, and Piran!!

Today we boarded the bus very early in the morning at 7:30 am for our scenic tours of Postojna, Koper, and Piran. After driving for about an hour and 30 minutes, the first stop on our list was the Castello Di Predjama in Postojna. This castle is truly unique in that the castle was actually constructed in the side of a cliff with caves underground and a jousting field outside. Unfortunately, the castle doesn’t open to the public until July so we weren’t able to tour inside. So, for the benefit of the people who couldn’t be here with us, below is a picture of what the castle looks like.

We then moved on 9 km down the road to Postojnska Jama or in English, the Caves of Postojna. The cave is over 10 km in length and as a result we had to take a 6 to 8 minutes train ride into the heart of the caves. Our tour then took us into large chambers with thousands maybe millions of stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars that were once river beds, over a bridge constructed by WWI Russian POWs in 1918, into several large cage areas known as red room, white room, spaghetti room, and concert hall. We were also able to see the famous for that area amphibian, the “Human Fish” or salamander. After the tour we took the train back to the surface were Professor Jukic decided to nap and students shopped for snacks and souvenirs.

Next stop on our trip was on the coastal town of Koper were we walked around the town and had lunch before our winery visit. Some tried the kalamari (speleed that way here), chicken fillets, pizzas, pomme frites, and beer. We then moved on to Vina Koper winery where students were given a guided tour of the wine cellars. Thousands of wooden barrels flooded the floors with wine. The largest barrel holds 41427 liters but unfortunately due to rotting it is no longer being used. We then moved on to the wine tasting, the students favorite part. We tasted three wines, a 2008 Capre Malvazija dry white wine, a 2009 Refosk Rex Fuscus red wine, and a 2009 Sladki Muskat dessert white wine with bread and cheese. We then followed the wine tasting with shopping, my favorite, with some of the very wines we just tasted being offered. This winery is also unique in that you are able to purchase wine from pumps like at a gas station. Photo shown below.

Winery Picture

Our last stop of the day was Piran where we could actually see the coast of both coastal neighboring countries, Croatia and Italy. Upon arrival some students decided to jump in for a swim and some chickened out. Picture shown below. Piran has a very relaxing ambiance and as a result, we just strolled around town lazily taking in the sights and seeing how the locals interacted with each other. After a long day of walking and seeing the sights we headed back to the M-hotel for dinner and another night out on the town. Until next time, Dober Viche (Good Night).

--Christianne A. Gosling

Airplanes

2010-05-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today we visited Adria Airways, the regional airline for Slovenia. We were given a short presentation about the company and their partnerships. Adria is a member of Star Alliance, whose largest member is United Airlines. The majority of our visit focused on their maintenance operations. Adria flies Bombardier jets and does most of the servicing and maintenance checks in house. They also service jets for other airlines and have been recognized by Bombardier as their most reliable service provider. We were given a tour of their hangars where planes were being inspected and we were all interested to see planes that were partially deconstructed…some of us may now be reluctant to fly home.

After visiting Adria Airways we drove back to our hotel and had some free time for lunch and maybe a nap (my favorite activity). The group that I ate with went to a stand in the park called Hot Horse, which quite literally serves horse meat. We had horse burgers with nacho cheese on them and an assortment of other toppings. The burgers were actually very good, however you might not want to watch the highlights from the Preakness afterwards.

After lunch we visited Triglav, the largest insurance provider in the Western Balkans. They presented to us some of their financial information and business strategy, which includes shifting from a market share strategy, which has previously been their primary goal, to focusing on profit maximization. One interesting thing we learned about insurance companies here is that they repair cars in house instead of estimating the damage and sending your car to a garage. This is very different from what were used to in the states, but it adds a higher level of convenience.

We have the rest of the afternoon off to get dinner and explore the city some more.

Here’s Francis to tell you all about it.

Francis speaks!

Colin

Hike to Smarna Gora

2010-05-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a late morning for many of us after having a late night out the night before, but myself and six others decided to go on the hike today with Gasper and his sister. We drove about 15 minutes to the base of the area, and hiked for about 30 minutes to reach the top.

It was well worth the effort for the view we received at the top. Today was much clearer than our last hiking trip and the visibility into the mountains was outstanding. This mountain is a common place for many locals to hike with a scenic restaurant and bar on the top. There is also an very old church located at the top, but it was unfortunately closed and we could not see the architecture inside. All of us tried the fried dough before our walk back down to the car.

The rest of the day relaxed and many of us headed into town for dinner and to walk around. In Slovenia Sunday is a day of rest and shops are not open, only restaurants and markets are open though sometimes only for part of the day. We embraced the culture and are taking the day to rest for the next week.

- Bob

Rainy Weekend

2010-05-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

The weekends on our trip we have complete free time; people are doing many different things and going to many different areas. So I am going to not only focus on what the group is doing today, but the weekend overall. Also, Sundays in Slovenia are a day of no work and it is a law that no business shall require an employee to work on Sunday. Because of this most shops and stores are closed for the day, although some stores are open till 12:00 and restaurants are generally open. The 500.000 m^2 BTC City located near downtown Ljubljana was a destination for much of our group. It is the largest shopping center in the country, and one of the largest in Europe. In addition to many shops, the center contains a bowling alley, Movie Theater, go-karts, and probably much more. I didn’t actually go however a class mate provided me with a photo of their excursion.

Instead Nick, Aaron and I decided to walk around the city and While checking out Ljubljana Nick Aaron and I stumbled across a concert for a rally. The concert was located in Argentinski Park and was organized by the Ljubljana University students. Agentinski park is located near the center of Ljubljana and was named to commemorate good relations between Argentina and Slovenia. Naturally we stop and checked things out, the bands where really good so we stayed for a while. I shot a quick video of the band that was playing at the time, we had a great time hanging out with the locals and listening to the music despite not being able to understand most of the lyrics. The weather today was unfortunately fairly poor, raining most of the day and only at 11.7 °C, that’s about 54 °F for those of you in the states.

Something we all found very interesting about the city of Ljubljana, is all of the great graffiti murals found throughout the city. While talking to a local last night I was told that the city generally leaves all of the graffiti up, making for some really cool art all over the city. This picture is of some we found near the M-hotel where we are staying.

Ronald Duford

May 14th, 2010

2010-05-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

5/14/10
Today we went to Gorenje, a Slovenian appliance producer. They gave us a presentation on the company’s corporate structure, and then we had a coffee break. After that we were fortunate enough to be given a tour by a man who has worked there for forty five years. He showed us the warehouse that was almost completely run by machine. Then we went to the show room to see the newest models of appliances. They had many innovative things such as a fridge studded with crystals and a table that had a fridge in the middle that could be lowered or raised up. We then went back to the quaint hotel M.
After returning three of my friends and I went out to eat. We had one of the best foods on the continent, Kebabs. In case you have never had a kebab it is a bun pressed in a Panini press, filled with meat, onions, lettuce, tomato, other stuff, and two sauces. The meat is chicken, beef, or lamb that has been processed in to a log, and slow roasted on a skewer. It is shaved off with a large knife and served up. They truly are an amazing food, and I plan on having many.

Here is the video of how Kebab is made

Tonight I plan on hitting the town and experiencing some more Slovenian night life. I have been out once so far, and found some nice places. One place I have been is called Skeleton. It is a bar in an old basement that is furnished with skulls, creepy paintings, and other haunted mansion like memorabilia. The highlight of my time there was the discovery of the fake book cases that were actually the entrance to the wash closet (rest room). I have to go now to enjoy dinner with my friends, and seize the night. Until next time, dober dan,
-Colin

A Day in the Julian Alps

2010-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

We started out today with climbing a very high ski jump called the Planica. It was a challenge because it was raining and that did not make our journey an easy one. Some of us made it ¼ of the way, some ½ way and others reached the very top.
See the video of Planica here.

After this adventure we went to the MBA school of IEDC. We got a lecture from Dr. Nadya about sustainability for competitive advantage. The University was very small and personalized for students. She starts the lecture by asking us what the definition of sustainability is and goes on explaining the many perceptions there are about sustainability and value are and explains what their true definitions are. She was very precise and grasped the students’ attention so there were only a few questions at the end of the lecture; many students felt it was a very helpful lecture.

Later on we went on to the Bled Castle, and Savica Waterfall. In Bled we had a Lake Bled Specialty Cream cake that Professor Gasper had as a child. Bled Castle was led by monks and they have own home made wine which you could bottle, purchase and wax yourself. At Savica we had a 2 km. hike and had a sip of the waterfalls fresh water at the bottom of or hike. Today was a very mobile day that we enjoyed despite the rain. We arrived at the hotel at 7pm very tired but fulfilled.

Courtney and Erica

The First Full Day

2010-05-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today was our first full day in Ljubljana. It was gorgeous. No rain, limited clouds, plenty of sun and fun. As a group, we started our day at breakfast before our trip to the old industrial zone. The breakfast was a pleasant surprise; it was not your standard holiday inn muffin/yogurt, plenty of hot food, cappuccino, and pastries. Once we had our fill we filled the bus and listened intently to Gasper’s description of where we are going. The chamber of commerce was our first business trip. It was an impressive building that has won many awards in Slovenia for architecture.

Here we are entering the chamber of commerce looking quite formal.

We were lectured on various businesses in Slovenia and how Slovenia is doing overall as an economy. After the lecture, we filed out and back into the bus to head back to the M (our hotel). Food was on many of our minds as we arrived at the hotel.

We all went our different ways for lunch, but it sounds like everyone got something they wanted. I went to pub 2000 for some meat and potatoes. The wait staff didn’t speak English, so I am not really sure what type of meat, but it tasted like lamb. Fun times.

Adria media group was the next stop on our list. They have a super cool building. It has binary on the walls and everything. Unfortunately, it was too small of a building to host us properly, so we headed to a local hotel (apparently Clinton stayed there) where we got lectured again about marketing/publishing. This was a really cool presentation, the company publishes many American magazines, so we were able to relate and really get interested (in playboy). After that, we headed to the town center to explore as a group. We walked straight from the hotel to the castle that is located on the top of the hill, Boris and Fangdi and I rented bikes for 1 euro (so worth it). The view from the top of the castle was breathtaking so I guess it was worth the two Euros it cost to get there.

Good times were had by all and now it is time for us to hit the town, thanks for reading!!!

Nick Skowyra

May 11th 2010

2010-05-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

All legs of our trip went smoothly: We all gathered at Washington Dulles from our respective feeder flights, and had a long but uneventful flight to Amsterdam.

Shout out to all moms from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (just before our last flight):

We made it to Zagreb still in fine spirits and the bus was waiting for us to take us to Ljubljana and our first hotel. Just as we were about to pull out, we realized that there was an elderly gentleman with two large suitcases settling in at the back seat of the bus. He actually thought we were a local commuter bus. After we straightened that out, and pointed him in the right direction, we made our way to Ljubljana and a few hours later, checked in at the M-hotel.

Our first official day starts tomorrow after a good night's rest!

One Day Before the Departure

2010-05-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Packing list - checked.
Passports - checked.
E-ticket printouts - checked.
International Student ID - checked.

I sure hope so.

We start tomorrow. No volcano ash in our path as of tonight.

Here are the links for all five places we will be staying:

Lubljana: May 11th - May 19th: M-Hotel

Vienna: May 20th : Hotel Schwalbe

Zagreb: May 21st - May 26th: Fulir Hostel

Baska Voda / Makarska: May 27th - May 28th: Aparthotel Palac

Dubrovnik: May 29th - 30th: Hotel Adriatic