From May 13 to 19 we hosted partner schools from our Comenius project National Parks of Europe.
We spent five days full of interesting activities and new experiences. For almost all the guests this was the first encounter with Zagreb, and we are confident that they will never forget it.
TUESDAY, May 14 2013
We started the day by visiting the school. Students learned something about each other at two workshops, and it was a great way to break the ice. Carl Schmidt, the school’s Comenius assistant, gave a presentation about the Comenius assistants program during the teachers’ meeting.
After lunch at the legendary restaurant Stari Fijaker we took guests on a tour of the city which started in the Croatian Parliament. Walking around the city we visited the Museum of Broken Relationships, after which our guide Dora taught us many secrets of the Upper Town. We ended the tour by taking a ride on an open bus that took us around Zagreb parks where we saw Botanical Gardens, Cibona Tower, Zagrepčanka, Arena Zagreb, Novi Zagreb neighbourhood, Museum of Contemporary Art and other famous buildings in Zagreb. Also, we saw the biggest parks in Zagreb, Jarun, Bundek, Maksimir and Ribnjak...
WEDNESDAY, May 15 2013
We decided to spend our Wednesday in nature and visited Sljeme, the top of Medvednica mountain. After visiting the top and the Red Run where Snow Queen Trophy is held, we visited Medvedgrad Castle which fascinated us with its history and a beautiful view of Zagreb from the top of the tower.
Walk down Miroslavec educational trail presented Medvednica mountain at its most beautiful - with brooks murmuring, birds singing and the best weather we were all able to relax and forget about civilization below us.
After lunch at the legendary pub Medvedgrad we went to the cemetery Mirogoj where we visited the beautiful arcades, Wall of Pain and the last resting place of the first Croatian president Franjo Tu?man and our most famous basketball player in the world, Dra??en Petrovi
, who died prematurely, at the peak of his career.
THURSDAY, May 16 2013
Early in the morning we headed towards the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and our first stop was National Park Risnjak. During the two years of the project our school presented Risnjak, and our guests had the opportunity to learn about plants and animals of the Park as well as the tradition of Gorski Kotar. On Thursday we also learned about the tradition of making ‘šindra’, wooden plates people still use to protect their homes from the snow. Unfortunately, rainy weather prevented a tour of educational path Leska, but we hope our guests will come back and experience the beauty of Risnjak on their own.
We spent the evening in Selce, a town on the Adriatic coast, where despite bad weather, some guests had a swim in the sea.
FRIDAY, May 17 2013
After a morning walk and another swim in Selce we headed to the Plitvice Lakes. Our partner school from Osijek presented this national park throughout the project, however, partners were able to experience the real beauty of the Plitvice Lakes only in person.
SATURDAY, May 18 2013
After a day spent in Zagreb or Ljubljana, teachers closed the meeting at a dinner with traditional music and dance.
Unfortunately, the next day we had to say our goodbyes, and we can only hope we will all meet again in the near future.
