I got paid!
Such a feeling of relief and independence. I actually saved up enough money (not to say that many people didn't help me save money by NOT charging me rent :) THANK YOU MAMZ )... to survive on my own for an entire month! Mind you, there are many initial costs (particularly to fly over here). But I did it! And I even paid off my credit card and everything.
*Big Sigh of Relief*
So, what does an ETA (english teaching assistant) do, once paid?
THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY.
I go to pay off Seesee, my bike, (a teacher lent me the money initially) and then I planned a trip with a fellow ETA to Slovenia.
The train to Slovenia is a mere 4 hours from Salzburg, without a single connection -- easy peasy.
We chose Bled, because of it's natural beauty and hiking options and BOY was it worth it.
After checking into our B&B on Friday we headed out dinner at a very disappointing restaurant called Chili's which was filled to the brim with Americans. We split an appetizer and it was dismal.
Saturday started off on SUCH a better note when we went to breakfast at the MOST adorable cafe Slovenia has ever seen.
We then headed off to the Vintgar Gorge, which was only a short country walk away. I couldn't believe once we got there that people actually take a bus or drive. Such a beautiful walk there and in the gorge. WARNING. You may or may not believe that the pictures I took were real:
We then walked back, showered and headed to the Medieval village of Radoviljca, just a couple km. away. There were were told to wine taste and have dinner. We took a short tour of the town and then headed to Sodek, a little wine library. We had a flight of 5 Slovenian wines, but our Sommelier, Monica, was so fabulous it took us 3 hours. We chatted with her about all sorts of things, about her various careers, about Slovenian language and about all the drunks that hassle her in town :)
Then, we headed to dinner and ATE.
Monica suggested to try some buckwheat mush with old milk. Sounds delicious, no? I opted out, but got the farmer's vegetarian plate which offered a lot of buckwheat options. Buckwheat mush, Sauerkraut, and a variety of dumplings (made of buckwheat) filled with cheese. We had dessert after and headed back to Bled.
Our last day was spent hiking around the lake to get the best views. I think we succeeded:
We headed home and so started a new school week!
Luckily, on Tuesday I was invited on a hike with an english teacher and an animal husbandry teacher to go to the Untersberg. The Untersberg is a magical mountain with many legends. We hiked for about 2.5 hours up to the top and saw sights you would not believe!
But take a look for yourself:
I went to track practice last night and am now recovering from a beautiful day of teaching, tutoring, running, biking and catching the falling leaves. It was truly a BEAUTIFUL day. All in all, I'm staying busy and am thinking about having a relaxing fall-oriented weekend. Any costume suggestions??
-Nelly
Such a feeling of relief and independence. I actually saved up enough money (not to say that many people didn't help me save money by NOT charging me rent :) THANK YOU MAMZ )... to survive on my own for an entire month! Mind you, there are many initial costs (particularly to fly over here). But I did it! And I even paid off my credit card and everything.
*Big Sigh of Relief*
So, what does an ETA (english teaching assistant) do, once paid?
THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY.
I go to pay off Seesee, my bike, (a teacher lent me the money initially) and then I planned a trip with a fellow ETA to Slovenia.
The train to Slovenia is a mere 4 hours from Salzburg, without a single connection -- easy peasy.
We chose Bled, because of it's natural beauty and hiking options and BOY was it worth it.
After checking into our B&B on Friday we headed out dinner at a very disappointing restaurant called Chili's which was filled to the brim with Americans. We split an appetizer and it was dismal.
Saturday started off on SUCH a better note when we went to breakfast at the MOST adorable cafe Slovenia has ever seen.
We then headed off to the Vintgar Gorge, which was only a short country walk away. I couldn't believe once we got there that people actually take a bus or drive. Such a beautiful walk there and in the gorge. WARNING. You may or may not believe that the pictures I took were real:
We then walked back, showered and headed to the Medieval village of Radoviljca, just a couple km. away. There were were told to wine taste and have dinner. We took a short tour of the town and then headed to Sodek, a little wine library. We had a flight of 5 Slovenian wines, but our Sommelier, Monica, was so fabulous it took us 3 hours. We chatted with her about all sorts of things, about her various careers, about Slovenian language and about all the drunks that hassle her in town :)
Then, we headed to dinner and ATE.
Monica suggested to try some buckwheat mush with old milk. Sounds delicious, no? I opted out, but got the farmer's vegetarian plate which offered a lot of buckwheat options. Buckwheat mush, Sauerkraut, and a variety of dumplings (made of buckwheat) filled with cheese. We had dessert after and headed back to Bled.
Our last day was spent hiking around the lake to get the best views. I think we succeeded:
We headed home and so started a new school week!
Luckily, on Tuesday I was invited on a hike with an english teacher and an animal husbandry teacher to go to the Untersberg. The Untersberg is a magical mountain with many legends. We hiked for about 2.5 hours up to the top and saw sights you would not believe!
But take a look for yourself:
I went to track practice last night and am now recovering from a beautiful day of teaching, tutoring, running, biking and catching the falling leaves. It was truly a BEAUTIFUL day. All in all, I'm staying busy and am thinking about having a relaxing fall-oriented weekend. Any costume suggestions??
-Nelly
No comments:
Post a Comment