Herfstvakantie in Slovenia!

Europe! Why do you contain so many amazing countries?! 

We continue to fall in love with each new place that we visit. Seems our expat rose colored glasses are still working after 4 years! So hard to believe that we have 4 Hersftvakanties (Fall breaks) under our belt. This year's destination: Slovenia! With Nana and Pops! 

I first heard of this beautiful little country during the 2010 Winter Olympics, when NBC did a promo piece on Tina Maze, a downhill skier and pop star who is arguably the most beloved Slovenian (no, it is not Melania). After watching the footage of Tina parading around her adorable Slovenian village, I told Pete that I wanted to go there. Despite being so close when we visited Croatia's Istrian peninsula, we didn't venture that far North, not wanting to subject Jude (or ourselves) to that long of a drive. I may never have seen that promo piece and gotten Slovenia in my head if it weren't for the volcanic eruption in the island of Montserrat that cancelled Pete and my Valentine's Day weekend trip to Puerto Rico (yes, apparently that is a thing). The universe has a way of speaking to me, though I am regretful that we didn't get to see Puerto Rico before its recent destruction. 

Back to Slovenia... We had heard amazing things from friends about the Lake Bled area and decided that a Fall mountain trip would be lovely. 80 euro roundtrip airfare sealed the deal. Nana and Pops had already left us for a few days in Venice and took the bus to Slovenia, meeting us at the airport. I'm going to go on the record and say that traveling with kids on this trip was super easy. After arriving at the airport much earlier than we needed to based on warnings that the airport was really busy due to fall break, we enjoyed a leisurely gourmet meal :) and playtime at the airport. Maeve fell asleep on the plane and Jude was glued to his Ipad. Our next flight is 4.5 hours so I'm sure this comment will jinx that flight experience! 

There she is!

We drove an hour North into the foggy mountains to the town of Bohijn where we'd rented a 5 bedroom home for a whopping $150 per night (for everyone). We walked through the rain to town and had our first hearty Slovenian meal. Stews, sausages, pastas and pizzas were the go-tos in this country nestled between Italy and Austria. Our server could not have been nicer and I knew the week was going to be very enjoyable. 

We woke up to a clear, but very brisk day. We couldn't wait to see the surrounding scenery. While Pete rested after an early morning wake up, the rest of us went on a stroll along the bike path that runs through the valley connecting Lake Bohijn with Lake Bled. The sun and mountains are really good for the soul! 

One of the things that I look forward to the most with vacations is spending quality time alone with Jude. Something I really miss since adding Maeve to the fam and him starting school. While Nana and Pops took Maeve on a walk through the valley, Jude and I stayed behind and just played in nature. Can't beat it.

Jude found rocks and proclaimed they were our family. Then he proceeded to build us a home, garden, furniture, roof, ect. with twigs, flowers, leaves, sticks and cut grass. I love his imagination. 

We walked up in the foothills to collect some sticks.

Maeve woke up and joined us, collecting rocks, her favorite. 

   

In the afternoon, we drove as far West as you can get past Lake Bohijn before being overtaken with mountains. We took turns hiking up to the waterfall and chilling in the charming lodge.

 

Our friends lent us their carrier for the trip and we are converts!

The "throw the leaves (and some small pebbles) at your sister game"

 

"Have you seen these pebbles?!"

Kids play area in the lodge by the fire

We were treated to an amazing sunset as we were grilling and playing in our backyard. We loved the view of the mountains!

Yeah, you're alright, Slovenia. Let's see what else you've got! 

The Start of Nana and Pops' October Visit

Nana and Pops arrived two Fridays ago, just as Pete was leaving to attend the wedding of his college friend, Andrew, back in the States. In fact, both of their flights transferred through Lisbon and they got to see each other briefly and exchange some euro for USD! This will be their longest visit as Pete had two weddings he wanted to attend 4 weekends apart and I kindly asked my parents if they would stay on to help :) 

They arrived just in time for ISA's trunk or treating. I missed the event last year to stay home with baby Maeve and was so happy to get to partake in the excitement. A really wonderful halloween event organized by the American ISA community. Jude got to debut his Knight costume. The downside of the event being more than 2 weeks before actual Halloween was that I didn't get to Maeve's costume in time. So she got to be a bunny (Jude's costume from 2 years ago) and was super cute. She took charge walking through the event, stopping to shake her bunny tail when she heard music. Jude had no fear approaching each trunk with his polite "trick or treat." 

Trying out their costumes in front of our house. 

Candy was given out from car trunks and bakfiets- All creatively decorated

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Jude and his admireres

Jude and Norah

Saturday afternoon we visited the pumpkin patch and pick your own flower farm along the Amstel. Maeve came down with something and eating handfuls of farm grown cherry tomatoes did not help. So my attempts at cute photos of her were futile (see below). Jude got a great pumpkin and I picked some lovely dalias and other fall varieties. 

Saturday evening, we went into the city to see the Amsterdam Funk Orchestra's album release party at the Sugar Factory. I became acquainted with one of their trumpet players through the Bowdoin Club of Europe. Abriel grew up in the Netherlands and attended Bowdoin (many years after us). We have yet to meet in person, but were very impressed with her solo! 

Meanwhile, Pete was enjoying the weekend in New Hampshire with his Bowdoin friends celebrating Andrew and Kinza. Enjoying the fall colors and lots of male bonding. All on very little sleep!

Bowdoin run ins continued on Tuesday when one of my sophomore roommates, Sarah, was in Amsterdam at the end of a euro tour and we met for dinner and drinks. And then on Thursday, when I met an American living in Amsterdam, also Erin, who is a friend of one of our Bowdoin friends. We enjoyed the afternoon of our Mamadag with lunch at MiniMarkt and a stroll through Oud Zuid complete with Dunkin Donuts (store opened a little while ago and Maeve is a fan).

Octoberfest beers and pretzel at Cafe Brecht

Maeve at MiniMarkt

 I had lots of ideas for things to do with Nana and Pops and a long list of home repairs we wanted their help with. But then we were all feeling run down, Pops got sick, Maeve was sick and I took the opportunity to catch up on my sleep. I'm glad we'll have another full week in Amstelveen to make up for the first week!

On Thursday, Nana and Pops flew to Venice for a short trip before meeting us Sunday in Slovenia. Pete and I rounded out the week with trip prep, end of week dinner out and hosting friends Saturday night. Friday was the last day of Book Week and all of the kids are encouraged to dress as a book character. Well, this on top of halloween is always a bit much, so we reused the bunny costume again for the "Runaway Bunny."

Costume is getting a little small

Happy Kiddos and Daddy that Fall Break is here!