Slovene Exam!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006, 04:14 PM
Since Christmas I have only been able to attend my Slovene class once. What with going to Switzerland and having rehearsals often in the evenings it just hasn’t been possible. Therefore, it was quite a shock a week ago last Friday when I got a text saying that I had a Slovene test on the following Monday. (Especially as I was going to the spa for the weekend!)
Anyway, I decided there was no point in panicking and did a spot of last minute revision on the Sunday evening after Stefan had left and on Monday afternoon. For once, all 6 of us turned up for the exam but extra pressure was added when one of them told me that we have to pay the orchestra for the course if we fail.
The exam felt relatively ok and I felt fairly happy with how it had gone. It was a written exam and what I found amusing was the fact that the others were all talking throughout it and helping each other. It was no help to me as they were talking in Russian but I’m very surprised they were allowed to do that!
In the end we all passed so that’s one weight off my mind and it’s given me a little more confidence with the language. Now I just have to start speaking it…..writing is so much easier!
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( 3 / 801 )Heaven in a Chocolate Wrap!
Friday, February 17, 2006, 12:54 PM
Last weekend, as a Valentine treat, Stefan took me to Terme Olimia, a spa in the east of Slovenia just next to the Croatian border. This was a new experience for me and I didn’t know what to expect.
We checked into the hotel and then decided to get some lunch. We were advised by the receptionist to head into the nearby village of Podcetrtek to a local gostilna. Here they served delicious traditional dishes at a very reasonable price and the atmosphere was great too, helped by the traditional ‘Golica’ music of course!
Back at the hotel we decided to venture to the pool through the tunnel which ran from the hotel directly to the spa. The pool was of course lovely and warm and to our surprise there was an exit from the indoor pool leading straight outside. It was a beautiful day and therefore great to be able to swim out there. There was also a jet stream which sent you spinning around the pool with very little effort. It was actually quite addictive and great fun!
As a surprise, Stefan had booked me in for an Olimia massage followed by a chocolate wrap. The massage was wonderful and relaxing. So much so that I think I may have even fallen asleep near the end!
The chocolate wrap was pure chocoholic paradise. Some of you may wonder what a chocolate wrap actually is? Well, they started by covering me with this hot melted chocolate which smelt amazing…..my mouth was actually watering! After that I was wrapped in cellophane and had this blanket thing pulled around me feeling like a Mars Bar, or should that be Marj Bar??!! (sorry for the bad pun). The bed I was lying on was then switched on and turned out to be a water bed which I sunk into. They then left me there for half an hour and I have never been so comfortable. The great thing was I couldn’t move so I had no choice but to just lie back and enjoy. By the time I had to wash all the chocolate off temptation had got the better of me and I had to just try the chocolate! Didn’t taste as good as it smelt but it had to be tried!
We then went to the saunas. It was a first for me to see a sign that said no underwear allowed! No-one else seemed to have a problem with it but I have to admit I felt slightly uncomfortable and went for the towel option. The sauna was great though and we then spent the rest of the evening in the pools and Jacuzzis. We were still swimming outside at 11:30 at night and it was still lovely and warm.
I’m definitely a convert to the spa now….can‘t wait to go again!
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( 3 / 827 )Cultural Holiday and 'English Week'
Wednesday, February 15, 2006, 07:15 AM
Last Wednesday was Prešernov dan (Preseren Day). This is a so-called cultural holiday every year in Slovenia where they remember their famous poet, France
Prešeren. The Slovene’s certainly have something right there. I think we should try and introduce some ‘cultural’ holidays in the UK!
That same week in the orchestra we played only English music. It was a little strange to play The Planets and Elgar with a foreign orchestra but it was fun even if it made me slightly home sick! Tasmin Little came to play Elgar’s violin concerto which she did superbly of course. It was great to have someone else English there for a change and great to meet her too.
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( 3 / 791 )Graz
Tuesday, February 14, 2006, 04:37 PM
Last week I went to Graz with Sam and Floor. It was a lovely day despite the cold and the city was really beautiful. It was hardly the sort of place I had imagined Arnold Schwarzenegger to have been born but he left there at a young age so perhaps he felt he didn’t fit in! The architecture was beautiful and in a similar way to Ljubljana and Salzburg, there was a castle on top of the hill which we went up to have a look at. From here the views were great across the city and the clock tower was interesting to see too as the hands on the clock face are the wrong way round. The minute hand is the short one and the hour hand is the longer one – very confusing!
Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling so well that day with an annoying cold which seems to have been circling around the orchestra. However, we found a really good café serving hot chocolate which is always likely to make me feel a bit better. I ordered a white hot chocolate and rather than tasting fake and too sickly it actually tasted like the real thing! Very different to the ones in Ljubljana but amazing too! They were made with real Belgian chocolate so maybe that’s the key!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the shops and eating nice food before heading back to Ljubljana. We also saw the very strange looking Kunsthaus (Modern Art Gallery) which was designed by the British architect Peter Cook. It is similar to the curvy style of the new Bullring building in Birmingham which I know very well. Graz is a city often overshadowed by Vienna and Salzburg to the tourist but really shouldn’t be as it proved by being European City of Culture in 2003. I can certainly recommend a visit.
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( 3 / 792 )My Swiss Tour with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Monday, January 30, 2006, 03:34 PM
It’s hard to believe it’s barely a week since I got back from Switzerland. It feels like ages ago and yet at the time it felt like the longest 9 days of my life. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it or that it was boring, it was just much more tiring than I expected. 9 days (2 spent travelling), 8 nights, 6 hotels, 7 concerts and 7 different concert halls turned out to be quite a challenge.
;)
We started out in 2 coaches from Ljubljana. I was unfortunate to find myself in the bus which almost didn’t make it to our first destination, Geneva, after a strange burning smell as we approached Mount Blanc. However, we did make it to Geneva which was a lovely city and the next day I was able to sample the exquisite Swiss chocolates and wander through the town. In the evening we played in the Victoria Hall which was a stunning concert venue.
We then continued through the French-Swiss part onto Montreux. I really liked Montreux but we were quite unlucky with the weather. We were in a hotel right on the edge of Lake Geneva and would have had a fantastic view if it hadn’t been for the mist.
From there we went to Neuchatel and played a concert in nearby La Chaux-de-Fonds and the next day we arrived in Basel. Here the weather cheered up and the sunshine was just what I needed at this point on the tour. All the languages were getting to me and it still felt like ages until we would be home.
After Basel, we went to Winterthur where we stayed for 2 nights and played concerts in Schaffhausen and Zurich. I really loved Zurich and actually spent the whole day there. The lake was really beautiful and because it was so big it almost felt as if we were by the sea. There was also time for shopping and more chocolate buying! It was a great experience to play in the Tonhalle but unfortunately I don’t think we played our best that night. Perhaps it had something to do with being nearly at the end or the tour but not quite.
Our last destination was the town of St Gallen. Again, another very pretty place but it was Sunday and nothing was open. The weather was also miserable which was a pity. With great difficulty we found somewhere open for lunch and we had our last concert in the evening. I have to admit I still feel I don’t want to play Schubert’s unfinished symphony again for a while!
All in all I had a good time although there were some difficult moments usually concerning languages or just the need to have some space occasionally. It was good experience though and good preparation for Japan in April which will be even longer!
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( 3 / 814 )Christmas in Slovenia
Saturday, January 7, 2006, 07:24 PM
Christmas in Ljubljana was wonderful. The Christmas markets and the lights transformed the city into a winter wonderland. It’s great to be married to a Swede as you get to have two Christmas’. They, along with many other Europeans, celebrate on the 24th December but, as a Brit I celebrate on the 25th.
Anyway, Stefan’s parents came to stay with us and it was their first visit to Slovenia so we were able to show them some of the sights. Of course, one was Lake Bled and it turned out we chose the perfect day for it (see photos ). I wonder how many times I’ll walk round that lake whilst I’m living in Slovenia. It’s certainly the most popular destination for all my visitors along with the Postojna caves where I’ll soon be able to become a tour guide!
;)
On the 24th, my Mother-in-law cooked a Swedish meal for us and then it was my turn on the 25th with my oversized 6½ kilo turkey! (We’re still trying to finish it!!) All turned out well but I don’t think I want to see another turkey for a while!
On the 26th we went to Postojna caves which were as spectacular as usual only this time we didn’t have a guide. Being Christmas time they had various nativity scenes scattered around the caves so we were able to wander freely around them.
Stefan’s parents left on the 27th and the snow started to fall heavily again. We had to laugh as while the heavy snow was falling we saw the news from England. The news reporters were standing in ‘the depths of countryside’ where ‘heavy’ snow had fallen. We could still see the grass!!
It continued to snow more or less in Ljubljana until New Year’s Eve where typically it started to rain. However, this didn’t spoil the New Year celebrations at all. We had some friends from the orchestra over for dinner and then went to watch the fireworks over the castle. It was a great evening and the atmosphere was even better.
I played in the New Year’s concert the next day and now I’m back in England for a week.
It was definitely good for me to stay in Slovenia for the Christmas period. Stefan and I got to socialise with the orchestra a lot more and the last 2 weeks have been like one big party!
I’m back in Slovenia next week and then going to Switzerland with the orchestra. I certainly can’t complain about this lifestyle!
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( 3 / 987 )Merry Christmas!!!
Sunday, December 25, 2005, 08:50 AM
Merry Christmas to you all!
;)
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( 3 / 1038 )Slovenia, Croatia and Austria
Sunday, December 18, 2005, 05:59 PM
Over the past two weeks I’ve travelled around some of Slovenia with my brother, been to Zagreb with my friends and to Austria with the orchestra.
;)
During my brother’s visit we went to the Škocjan caves. These were very impressive particularly the large chamber where the Reka River rushes through. This is something very unique although if you’re scared or heights you might not like the 45m high bridge! I think I was slightly more impressed by the stalagmites and stalactites of the Postojna caves compared to the ones here but the canyon definitely made up for that. We also went to Bled again and saw it in the snow which was so beautiful.
Zagreb was really nice but freezing! We wandered around the Christmas markets popping into a shop or café every now and then to keep warm and to test the chocolate of course! The city has some really nice architecture though, just a shame some of it was covered in scaffolding at the time. By the way, check out the portrait photo we saw in one window. One look at this and you’ll want your picture taken by these people for sure! Such a great advertisement!
The visit to Austria was fun if not a little confusing at times. We left on Tuesday to go to Villach and played a concert there that evening. When we all got back on the coach afterwards, I was waiting to be driven to our hotel so it took me by surprise when someone mentioned we were going back to Ljubljana. Turned out I had completely misunderstood what was going on and I felt a bit stupid with all my overnight things with me as we headed home. More incentive to learn the language! The next day we left for Salzburg which was really beautiful and we played in the Festival Hall which was a great experience. This time we did stay in a hotel and I had a really fun evening with some of the other members of the orchestra. The drive there and back was also beautiful through the Alps and the sky was really blue. However, it was a shame I didn’t really get to see Salzburg during the day but I guess that’s just a good excuse to go back some day soon!
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( 3 / 1025 )Braving the snow for Harry Potter
Saturday, December 17, 2005, 11:19 AM
A few weeks back we had the first snow of the season here in Ljubljana. Snow is still quite exotic for me and it does look really pretty here. The showers were quite light in the beginning of the week but after a few days it was really snowing heavily.
;)
Sam and I had planned to go to see Harry Potter that same week at the cinema just out of town. Despite the snow we decided to ahead with our plans and headed off for the bus. We wondered what was going on when we got to the bus-stop as there was a really big commotion. We were not going to be able to get a bus from there as it was all cordoned off so decided to walk up the main road to get to the station. Bad idea…..suddenly a whole protest was coming towards us, blowing whistles and shouting things we couldn’t understand. Our only choice really was to battle our way through them until the next side street which proved a little painful on the ears and very frustrating.
Anyway, with soaking wet feet form the snow we eventually made it to the station and onto the bus. We got to the cinema and film was great in the end and so cheap, even the popcorn! It had even stopped snowing when we came out so we went to do a little bit of shopping. However, when we came out of the shop it was tipping it down with rain! Not a good combination with the snow and really not pleasant to walk in. By the time we got back to the centre of Ljubljana we didn’t think it was possible to get any wetter until we landed in a puddle almost up to our knees and realised we had ice floating in our shoes! Our only option here was to laugh and get home as quickly as possible.
Suddenly snow doesn’t feel quite so exotic…..not this sort anyway!! Luckily it’s pretty much gone now…until the next time!
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( 3 / 1041 )Chocolate
Sunday, December 4, 2005, 07:55 PM
Those of you who know me will know about my love of chocolate and as a self-confessed chocoholic I am always very happy to help out where chocolate is concerned. However, I did not expect a blog would be a way of doing this. Last week I received this email:
"Hi Marjorie,
I just want to thank you...for what you might ask! Well it's simple, here goes.
I too experienced the thick exquisite hot chocolate while in Venice a while back but unfortunately could not remember the name of the brand that i'd enjoyed so much and had been searching for it. I came across your comments about your experiences with the chocolate too but again thought alas, as you didn't mention any brand until....
Your picture (excellent picture) of you drinking your hot 'brew' and there it was, the mug, the saucer and the brand - Eraclea! Yes, I thought, now I can go and see where I can purchase it in the UK.
I guess this might be one of the strangest mails you might have had for a while, so I hope it put a smile on your face. I also hope that all is going well in Slovenia (I read a little of your blog). Feel free to drop me a reply if you like, you never know, we could share chocolate experiences.
Once again, thanks for your enlightening picture.
Regards,
Adam"
The same week I discovered that if you search for 'Chocoholic England' on msn.co.uk I come up as the first result with my website! I'm certainly very proud of this and I'm sure most of you will agree that this is very appropriate!
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