Day 4- Ljubljana and Mislinja  By: Endea—Jacksonville, FL

On this particular morning in Izola, we woke up to fresh baked croissants for breakfast and rainy weather outside, oh what a combination.  We made our way to the bus around 11 and were on our way to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. As we hiked to the top of the mountain, we did some beautiful sightseeing. The team and parents walked around the Ljubljana castle and took plenty of pictures. This castle was part of the Austro-Hungarian Dynasty and was full of photo opportunities. There were some pictures with the locals and other pictures jumping with the dragon statues. Then we were allowed to do the long awaited shopping. As we broke into groups, we toured the city and found very tasty lunches. That was followed by jewelry and chocolate shopping. Again to the bus, taking us to a small “village” called Mislinja where we got to actually play some volleyball! The high school team had a grueling match against the ZOK Mislinja team and came out slightly victorious. We won one and lost two to these friendly locals, but the dinner with the Mislinja team after the match was quite an amazing consolation prize! We ate, we laughed, and we even danced. The young, the old, and everyone in between danced to the music and shared in the entertainment.  After dinner, we hopped back on the bus and started our journey to Maribor, where we will celebrate the New Year. This trip so far has been exquisite! I can‘t wait for New Years Eve!!

Editor’s Note:  This trip to Lujbljana was quite an experience for our team.  We had to hike up the mountain to get to visit the historical castle.  After taking many team pictures and losing grandma, we headed to Tromostovje (the three bridges) to split up for lunch.  The girls headed in different directions, searching for souvenirs and food, while the parents headed to a local pizzeria.  Back on the bus, we journeyed to Mislinja, one of Ceej’s favorite towns, for some volleyball.  The team’s coaches and a few of their players were just returning from a tournament in Maribor (where they took second place), so the match wasn’t on schedule; however, this did not deter our team.  With Megan and Emily as coaches, the high school team preceded to fall in the first game 16-25, then played a tight second game losing 21-25, and finally were victorious with a score of 25-23.  Afterwards there was a coaches meeting in the upstairs office, where we met Urska’s boyfriend Samo, Meghan’s future husband Jaros, and long time friends Urban and his wife Andreja.  Then the Mislinja team took us to a local restaurant for a great meal celebrating our newly established friendships.  Finally the Boristour bus took us to our destination in Maribor, where many were disappointed with the lack of snow on the ground.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring more volleyball victories, but until then, we all just say adijo (goodbye).