After what seemed like the longest winter of all time, it's blazing hot here in Klagenfurt. The pup (who is showing some gray hairs as he turned 1 last Wednesday) is tired all the time because he is running around in 90 degree heat with a perma fur jacket on. I myself am feeling like I've finally thawed out after freezing my butt off from November 'til late May, so I can't complain.
In most recent news, I spent 14 days in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina for a study excursion with my International Management class, which was quite the learning experience. I had been to Croatia before for volleyball games, but had never had a chance to explore the beautiful seaside cities and towns that make it such a perfect vacation destination for many Europeans. We first visited Zadar, which was originally settled by the Liburnians sometime before or in 384 BC. HAHAHA. As an American who gets excited about a 100 year old house, Zadar is OLD! But one can imagine why it was a perfect place for humans to live. Its ports are sheltered from harsh ocean weather due to a string of islands that lay just off the coast, acting as breakers for the waves that may otherwise pummel the coast. The weather reflects that of wonderful subtropical Mediterranean temperate climate, so much friendlier than that of Austria!
The wave organ in Zadar
Outside the Falkensteiner resort near Zadar
We spent 4 days visiting various companies and sights in Zadar before moving on to Split, where we had a lecture in an auditorium built inside of Diocletian's Palace. HAHAHA. It's a total joke to me. Having a lecture in a building that was originally erected in the 4th century. What? Unreal.
View of Diocletian's Palace from our lecture auditorium
We spent one fast night in Makarska, a spot with pristine coastline and a perfect vacation vibe. I had some delicious fried calamari there that evening. There's something about eating seafood while sitting a few meters away from the waves that makes an already delicious meal even more delicious!
We then moved on to Medjugorje in Herzegovina, where the Virgin Mary appeared to 6 school children in 1981, now an extremely important place of religious pilgrimage for anyone of the Christian faith. We visited a winery in the area before moving on to Mostar, another old city that was so different from anyplace that I've ever been that I felt like I was walking around in a movie set. Again. HAHAHA.
We headed back towards Austria after that, settling in to our hotel in Zagreb for the last 4 days. I sound like a broken record, but this was also a beautiful city, packed with interesting history and fun things to do. We were busiest in Zagreb, filling our days with visits to various lectures and businesses, but it made that part of the trip most memorable. After our 14 days were over, we headed back to Austria and were met with summer weather in Carinthia!
In other news, as mentioned above, Hank celebrated his first birthday last week! Here's a little video compilation that Marco threw together to commemorate the important event. Yes we're weirdos, but anyone whose heart is not made of ice has to admit that this pup is adorable!!! :)
My season with the Wildcats ended in mid-April, and as the weather has been absolutely glorious, I've embraced the awesomeness of beach volleyball. It's a blast! Besides that, with university stuff wrapping up by the end of this month, I'm hoping to find a part-time summer job to help fill my days until school starts again in the fall. For the 3rd semester of the International Management program we're required to study abroad, so I'll be looking forward to spending several months studying in Ljubljana in neighboring Slovenia. Should be interesting!
Beach volley fun
I am also looking forward to a visit from Tesha, who will be making the trip down from Dresden, my old home whose image has graced the front page of newspapers everywhere due to being the center of a horrible flooding catastrophe that hit large areas across Germany. One look at these pictures and you'll remember how amazingly strong nature can be. Hopefully they'll be able to return to some state of normalcy within the near future, but some of the damage will be irreparable.
Hope all is well with you, and that you'll also get to enjoy some sunshine this summer!
Love,
Anna
We visited our breeder to meet the next generation of Hanks
PUPPY
Our outfits for a recent Middle Ages themed wedding
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