Croatia 10.-16.12.2017
Maisa and Sonja´s blog
7th of December: Waiting for the trip
Now it’s the 7th of December and only three nights to the trip! We haven’t been to Croatia before and we are really excited. We are staying in families and that’s probably the most exciting thing. We will visit schools and see how and what the kids study there. We will also spend a day in Zagreb and see the sights. There are two kids in the family: Leona and Mihael. And the parents of course. They have eight fish and one cat. This was written by Maisa.
10th of December: Travelling
Today we took a mini bus from Alavus to Helsinki. It took four hours, and we slept for the most part. Our original flight was cancelled due to bad weather. The new flight took off at 6.05 from Helsinki and we arrived in Munich at around eight. There we had two hours time to wait for the next flight. That was a quite bumpy ride, so our drawings came out a bit out of focus :) Instead we saw some amazing mountain views!
As we got to Zagreb we had to wait for our partners, so we walked around Zagreb and went to eat. After that we returned to the airport and headed to Slavonski Brod to meet our families.
11th of December: The second day
After a good nights sleep we woke up at eight. We had a good breakfast and headed to school. First we heard some welcoming speeches and a couple of shows. Then we got to taste some local delicacies, which were super yummy. Then we visited a class with the Greek. We showed a video about Finland, as did the Greek about Greece. After the videos we answered some questions. Then we went to make some Christmas decorations, which turned out great.
After the workshops we went to eat some amazingly delicious food! There was plenty of it and it was really good. Finally we decorated the tree. After that we went home and gave our gifts for the family. They liked them a lot. At around five o’clock we went to a nearby mall. We had some ice cream and had a look at some shops. Everything is cheaper in Croatia. In the evening we played some games with the family, took a shower and went to bed.
12th of December
Today we had a tour around Slavonski Brod. We saw for example: the main street called Korzo with a statue called Franjo Tudman, a tambura museum and a monastery museum. Then we went to a restaurant to have some noodle soup and bread with meat in them. The portions were really big so we couldn’t eat it all!
After lunch we went to a school in Podvinje. It was decorated beautifully and there was a lot of people there. The pupils had a play about European history and also showed us some Croatian way of living.
After that we went to the church to see Christmas plays and listed to some choirs. Then we returned to home and met a couple of Leona’s friends.
13th of December
Today we woke up at six. We had some misunderstandings about the schedule and had to race to the bus, but now we are on our way to Zagreb. We have a tour around the city, kind of the one we had yesterday. We started from Ban Jelacic square. After that we went around Zagreb and saw some sights.
Then we went to eat. We had some bacon-mushroom soup and soft bread. The soup was wonderful and it was nice to dip the bread into it. The main course was chicken with ham and cheese, and something that looked like nuggets with potato in them. For dessert we had some kind of apple pie. This was the best meal in Croatia - in our opinion. Then we spread out in smaller groups to shop some souvenirs.
The weather today was nothing like yesterday, when it was sunny with 17 degrees. Today it’s raining and only three degrees.
14th of December
Today it’s Sonja’s birthday! After having washed our teeth and changed our clothes, we went to breakfast. Leona’s granny gave Sonja a present: a box of chocolate, earmuffs, a pocket mirror and a chocolate bar.
Today we were at Leona’s school and had some workshops and shows. We made angels out of corn peels: first we made the head out of tin foil and wrapped it into a wet corn leaf. Then we tied slices of wet leaf around the neck to make hands, and put on a dress. Finally we added wings and a hanging loop.
The second workshop was about Croatian folk dances. After that we had lunch with pizza. They were good. After eating every partner country sang Happy Birthday to Sonja in their own language. After school we walked to Leona’s house. On the way we bought some chocolate doughnuts from a bakery. When we got home, mum asked us to sit on the sofa. Then they gave a birthday cake to Sonja and sang her a song. At around five we went to swim, it was really fun.
15th of December
Today we got to woke up whenever we wanted, as we didn’t have to be at school until 12.20. We woke up with a bit sad feelings, because today is our last day here. For lunch we had some delicious spaghetti bolognese.
School started at 13.00. The first lesson was music. The teacher spoke only in Croatian, and we didn’t understand almost anything. They gave us instruments with different coloured bells. The notes had different coloured balls that indicated the bell colours. Then the teacher started to play the piano so fast that nobody could keep up. After a while we learned the song by heart but it was difficult.
Then we had PE. We didn’t know that so we didn’t have any extra clothes. Maisa played some hand ball, Sonja didn’t. Then we had Croatian lesson. There we made a Christmas tree and we got to write poems in the ornaments. Sonja just wrote Merry Christmas but Maisa came up with a poem. After lunch we had maths. When school was finished, we went home.
16th of December
Yesterday we had to get up at 2.45. We had packed everything ready and gone to bed with our travelling clothes on, so that we would be ready in the morning. We got up when the alarm went off, but after getting ready we realized that it was only 3 o’clock and nobody else was up yet!
Soon mum came and brought us some bread for the trip. She brought lots of it, so we had plenty to eat. We left for Zagreb airport at 3.30 and slept for the most part of the ride.
Our first flight left Zagreb at 8.25 and arrived in Amsterdam at 10.30. We had plenty of time to spend in Amsterdam to we went to McDonalds and to change our remaining kunas to euros
The flight from Amsterdam to Helsinki was supposed to take off at 14.00 but it was about 20 minutes late, so we were nervous that would we make it in time to the train in Helsinki. By the time we arrived in Helsinki the flight was 40 minutes late and we ran to get our luggage. Luckily they came pretty quickly. We ran with the luggage to the stairs and hallways.
I, Maisa and Atte were the first ones at the train. We didn’t know if it was the right train so we shouted to Inka that what should we do. Inka shouted that keep the doors open but don’t go in. Our ears were blocked still after the flight so we couldn't hear her properly. Things got pretty exciting but and the result was finally that us three were in the train without the tickets and everyone else. Luckily there were trains every ten minutes. There were some nerve racking moments before we all were in the same train heading to Seinäjoki, but all's well that ends well.
Anni and Emma´s blog
Anni and Emma’s blog
7th of December: Three days
I and Emma are going to Croatia for a week. There are also four other students and two teachers from our school coming with us. I can’t wait! I haven’t packed anything yet. I have never been to Croatia, or in a plane! I’m really looking forward to the trip. We are going to stay in a family of five: mum, dad, Lana (12 years), Toni (8 years) and Matija (8 months). They also have two dogs, rabbits and sheep. The dad works in a meat shop and mum is a chef.
Waiting eagerly, Anni :)
10th of December: The first day
Hi, it’s Emma! We left Alavus at midnight. A minibus came to pick us up at school, and it took us to Helsinki. I’m already homesick but I’d have to manage for a week. Everyone was really excited in the morning, but as the plane took off, we calmed down.
At 8.32 in Munich: We are in Munich Germany. We were really nervous when the plane took off. I visited London in the fall, so I have been in a plane before. The atmosphere is relaxed and the lunch is tasty. If someone from my class is reading this, don’t worry: you’ll get some souvenirs!
10th of December: Hello again!
At 19.34 we are waiting for a bus at the Zagreb airport. The bus is coming at eight, but we will not get on the road before nine.
There are seven countries in this Erasmus+ project: Finland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Romania, Greece and Croatia. Turkey arrives at nine o’clock, so we’ll wait for them. The Croatians have planned the day, so we don’t know what’s coming. Today we had a day off. We just walked around Zagreb. We ate in a really good restaurant and had a smoothie too in the evening. Now we are just sitting at the Zagreb airport and waiting to go.
10th of December: Zagreb
So we had a lot of time because our flight was earlier than planned. We have spent the whole day in Zagreb. We had a personal guide Lauri Setälä. He lives in Zagreb where he studies international trade. We went to eat in Lauri’s favourite restaurant and sightseeing. We saw St Mark’s Church and an underground tunnel. We also had some coffee and smoothies.
Advent is celebrated for the entire December. The streets were full of people and merchants. People had colourful lights and glow sticks, and the trees were decorated with led lights. It felt like being in China. There was an ice skating rink in the middle of the market square.
11th of December: To school
Hi, it’s Emma and Anni! We had a busy day today. We went to school called Districtin-school. It is divided into two separate learning modules. Lana goes to the one in the centre and some of her friends go to the one we visited today. It was the first school on our journey. Tomorrow we’ll visit the other one. Today at school we made decorations for Christmas trees and also decorated the tree. It was fun. We also made ancient Greek-styled boxes. But the highlight of the day was when we showed the video about Finland and everyone got to ask questions. The most commonly used answer was sauna. In the evening we went for a swim and are spaghetti. Good night!
12th of December : Tuesday
Today we had a tour around Slavonski Brod. We had a quick visit at Lana’s school, a different school than yesterday. We had a small problem in the morning: we had a meeting point where everyone was supposed to meet. I and Emma thought that Lana would know where to go, so we followed her. Soon we realized that she didn’t know the place, only the address. Luckily people here in Croatia are really friendly, so a nice lady showed us the right place.
We had a tour in a fortress and in two different museums. After the tour we took a walk by the river and went to a restaurant. We had noodle soup for a starter, it was good. As the main dish we had some kind of local bread with meat inside. That was also good. We also got some French fries, ketchup and mustard. After lunch we went to Lana’s school where we saw a play about the history of Europe. After that we went to the church. There we listened to Christmas songs and saw plays. Then we went to the families, ate dinner and now we are writing these.
13th of December: Going to Zagreb
Today we started the day really early as we left Slavonski Brod at seven o’clock. The bus ride took two hours, and when we arrived at Zagreb we had a sightseeing tour. We saw many nice places.
We had some soup for lunch and then had some free time with our own countries. The Finnish team went shopping to the city market square. After shopping we walked to the meeting point and said goodbye to Zagreb. We left to Slavonski Brod and in the evening we just hang out and watched our phones.
14th of December
Hello! Today we were at school and we had mostly workshops. We made angels out of corn peels. It was very challenging. We also had a dance workshop, where we learned Croatian folk dances. It was super fun. For lunch we had pizza. The highlight of the day was when all the countries had a presentation of their daily life. It was fun to see wht kids around Europe do every day. School finished at three, so after school we just hang out and waited Alana from her dance class. Then we went to candy shop to buy souvenirs. Now we are ready to go to bed.
Atte and Henri’s blog
Atte and Henri’s blog:
Introductions
Henri: I am 12 years old. I’m on the 6th grade. Atte is my best friend. We live in the same neighbourhood. I have a cat. My favourite school subject is English. My hobby is skiing. I have never visited Croatia, but I have been to other countries. I’m really looking forward to going to Croatia.
Day one, the 10th of December
Our flight was cancelled due to bad weather, so our stop-over wasn’t in Amsterdam but in Munich. We left Alavus at midnight by a minibus. From Helsinki we flew to Germany, and spent two hours in Munich. After arriving at Croatia, we took a minibus to the center of Zagreb. There we met Lauri, who was our guide. We spent five hours in the city centre. Then we took the bus back to the airport and waited a couple of hours for everyone else to arrive. We reached Slavonski Brod at midnight and went to sleep in the families after a strenuous day.
Day two, the 12th of December
We woke up at our families after a good night’s sleep at eight o’clock. We had a great breakfast with bread, salami, three types of cheese, yoghurt, mayonnaise and butter. Then we went to the school in Podcrkavlji with our family’s son called Marko. At the school they had a presentation called Christmas Eve with traditional dancing, songs, costumes and food. After that we had some workshops. In the first one we made Christmas tree decorations out of paper and pearls. Then we had lunch, after which in the second workshop we made boxes out of cardboard and gold paper. We decorated the three with these ornaments. After all this we returned to the family’s house. There we played PS4 for the rest of the evening.
Day three, the 13th of December
We woke up at eight o’clock like yesterday. For breakfast we had cereal, bread and yoghurt. The family’s mom drove us to the center of Slavonski Brod, where we met the others and attended a tour about the history of Slavonski Brod, as well as a museum of Croatian traditional instruments. We also saw the Slavonski Brod fortress. After the tour we ate some tasty food. Then we visited a school that we hadn’t seen before. There were plenty of Croatian pupils. We saw presentations about Romanian folk dances, Croatian free time activities and Greek history. The Croatians had also prepared a presentation about how Europe got together. After that we spent some time at the school, then we went to a church to see a Christmas play. Then we walked to Marko’s house with him and his friends. We ate some salty liquorice and chocolate. For dinner we had spaghetti.
Day four, the 14th of December
We woke up in the morning and we were in a rush. We had the breakfast as a take-away on our way to Zagreb. The bus ride took 2,5 hours. In Zagreb we had a guide who showed us various historical places. After the tour we went around the city with our own teachers. We visited the market and some shops around Zagreb. We left the city at 17.45, when we got back we played the whole evening.
Day five, the 15th of December
We woke up at a quarter to eight. We walked to school from Marko’s home, it was only a kilometre. We arrived a bit late but it didn’t matter because we weren't the last ones. We made some angels out of corn peels, they were Christmas tree decorations. Then we had a small break. After that we saw a presentation made by students amd a video of Croatian folk dances. Then we went to the gymnasium where we danced a Croatian dance. Then we ate some pizza, after which each country gave us an idea about what a pupil’s average school day is like. Then we walked back to Marko’s home. We played and had fish and potatoes for dinner. In the evening we went to the cinema to see Murder on the Orient Express. The film was really good but the voices were louder than in Finland. After the film we went to sleep because it was late.
Day six, the 16th of December
We didn’t get very much sleep because the bus left for the airport already at 3.30am. We continued sleeping in the bus. At the airport everything went smoothly. We had a stopover at Amsterdam, where we changed the plane. We had 3 hours to eat and buy the last souvenirs. Our flight from Amsterdam was late, and by the time we landed in Helsinki, we had to hurry to the train. When we got to the railway station at the airport, half of us made it to the train and the other half was left at the station. Luckily the next train arrived in time and we all made it to the train to Seinäjoki. There was no time to catch a breath! Our families came to pick us up from Seinäjoki. It was good to be back in Finland. We will keep in touch with Marko’s family. Finland is the next host in the Erasmus+ -project, so Marko is most likely coming to Alavus then. The trip left us with good memories and loads of new experiences. Thanks for following our blog.
Loviisa’s blog
Loviisa’s blog
9th of December: Soon it’s departure time!
Soon we are leaving! We are all very excited and eager to start the trip. The suitcases are full! Passports have been checked and re-checked. The sandwiches have been packed. Now there would be time to get some rest and sleep, but I doubt that it will happen. Maybe I’ll take a nap in the bus on the way to Helsinki.
There was an exciting turn of events already before the trip. We were supposed to fly from Helsinki to Amsterdam and from there to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Due to bad weather, our plans and route was changed. There was a snow blizzard in Amsterdam, which cancelled several flights, including ours. So now we are flying to Munich and from there to Zagreb. We are leaving at midnight from Alavus.
9th of December: Where are we going?
So we are on our way to Croatia, to a town called Slavonski Brod. We will be there on Sunday. We share a ride with the other travellers from the Zagreb airport to Slavonski Brod. It is bigger than Alavus, but a bit smaller than Seinäjoki.
The town is located near the border of Bosnia Herzegovina in the north of Croatia. According to Wikipedia, there are 50 000 inhabitants.
10th of December: Layover in Munich
We are making some progress!
Our ride on the minibus was nice and fast. We arrived at the airport well in time before the departure. We did the check-in ourselves and got the bags in the plane. Everyone passed the security check on the first try. While waiting for the plane to depart, we had something to eat, exchanged currencies and did some shopping.
The flight from Helsinki to Munich went well, most of us were sleeping a while. Now we are here at Munich airport in front of our gate and updating our blogs.
10th of December: The traveling day goes on and on and on…
When writing this, we have been traveling almost 24 hours. We are a brave bunch, that’s all I can say!
The journey continued from Munich to Zagreb, right on schedule. A minor surprise was the small plane by Croatian Airlines. The flight was not long, but the ride was bumpy. There was some turbulence but the scenery was awesome.
We made it to Zagreb. From the airport we took a taxi to the city centre, it took about 30 minutes. In the city, we searched for a place to keep out bags in. We started from the railway station, but the lockers were a mess. ”Out of order” were the words of the day. We took two bags to the bus station.
We had our personal guide in Zagreb: Lauri Setälä, a former student of Kirkkomännikkö school. He studies business in Zagreb. And we had a nice tour around the city!
The old town in Zagreb is a lot like Riga or Tallinn.
At times we walked in tunnels under the city, that’s where these nice pieces of art were in. Then we had a look at the city from high up on the roofs.
The city was very busy with people celebrating the first advent.
It wasn’t until ten o’clock in the evening when we started the journey to Slavonski Brod. The drive took a couple of hours, so we truly travelled for 24 hours!
The 11th of December: Visiting a school in Podcrkavlje
The first whole school day we spent in a school in Podcrkavlje. Our partnerschool in Croatia consists of two parts. Tomorrow we will visit the other place. This school is located about 15 kilometres from the centre of Slavonski Brod.
The building was fairly new, light and roomy. There was a football field next to the school, as well as great scenery.
We had various types of activity at the school. We saw a presentation by a local folklore society, with Croatian christmas traditions, music, dance, national costumes and games. The people at the school were extremely friendly and hospitable. We got to taste different delicious treats.
We also had a chance to introduce Finland to some 6th graders. They were very eager to ask questions.
We prepared some ornaments for a Christmas tree. While crafting, it was nice to get to know the other teachers and students. I had some local kids in my table. We made bears out of nuts. In another workshop we made small boxes which were decorated with traditional Croatian ornaments.
At the end of the day we decorated the Christmas tree with the self-made ornaments. We also added some wooden Finnish flags and straw ornaments. There were also loads of cones in the tree! The tree was a top of another, bigger tree. In the end, they had taken it to the local church.
The 12th of December: A day in Slavonski Brod and at a school in Podvinje
Our day started with a city tour in Slavonski Brod. It is a city with 60 000 inhabitants in the county of Slavonia in Croatia. It is the 6th biggest city in Croatia. It is located right on the border of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. The river Sava is a border river between the two countries.
We started the tour from the statue of Franjo Tudman, the first president of Croatia (1990-1999). He was a key person in the process when Croatia became independent. The airport in Zagreb is also named after him. From the statue we walked to the fortress of Slavonski Brod, which is a major attraction in the city. It was built in the 18th century by Austrians.
We also visited the world’s only tambura museum. Tambura is a stringed instrument that looks like a guitar but sounds like a banjo. A tambura-orchestra consists of various tamburas: soloists, accompanists and those who play the bass line. The tour around the museum was held by a maths teacher who was also a talented tambura player.
We visited an art gallery located in the area around the fortress. The gallery was dedicated to a local artist called Branco Ruzic. He was a sculptor and a painter.
After lunch we went to a school in Podvinje. We got to know the school and saw a Christmas party prepared for us by the students and the teachers.
14th of December: A day in Zagreb
We visited the capital Zagreb for a second time. As we went sightseeing, we took partly the same paths as on Sunday, when we were in Zagreb for the first time. Therefore we had some idea of where to go. This time we also saw the market square, where only a part of it is visible on the ground. We went to the fruit and vegetable market, but we didn’t see flower, meat and fish market. They were located in their own building and on several floors under the ground.
We took pictures of several architectural gems: the gothic cathedral, the buildings surrounding the market square, statues and art on the buildings’ walls.
14th of December: School day in Podvinje
Our journey is coming to and end, but we still have a few days before heading home. Today we visited a school in Podvinje. We spent the whole day with the Erasmus+ people. We had two workshops: we made angels out of corn peels and danced traditional Slavic folk dances.
Today we also watched videos and powerpoint presentations that showed us the pupils’ everyday life in the partner countries.
The 15th of December: The last day
Today was the last day in Slavonski Brod. Tomorrow, early in the morning, we will leave for Zagreb, and from there to Amsterdam and finally to Helsinki. The last bit of the journey we’ll travel by train from Helsinki to Seinäjoki.
Today the teachers had a meeting where we gave feedback and discussed our plans for the project’s future and upcoming trips. We went to decorate the place ahead with Finnish candies and Christmas cards to every country.
We had lunch in a hotel restaurant on the highest floor. From the windows we saw an outstanding view over Slavonski Brod.