Decorating the Tree

In Croatia it is tradition to decorate the tree Christmas Eve so that's what my Host Mom and I did.

The tree all decked out with a small Nativity Scene below.

From a different angle.

Nativity scene below the tree. I don't know why but my Host Mom puts allot of sheep in her Nativity Scene. She also has an elephant. (Back right)

In the dark

Top half of the tree. All the decorations on our tree are red.

Licitar Dough decorations. Traditional tree ornaments for Croatia.

Another Licitar Dough ornament.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

Well I helped with my first project in Interact Club.

Each year the Interact club at my school does a little project around Christmas time. This year the Interact club and my Rotary club put together gifts and necessities for two less fortunate families. Interact was in charge of putting together gift bags for the children of the families. My friend Tamara (Interact President) and I went shopping with the the Interact Rotary Sponsor.

Stuff for the bags.

There were 8 children in the one family and 6 children in the other. The ages ranged from 3 to 18.

Tamara and I went with the Rotary Club President and a few members to deliver the gifts. We gave the gifts along with what Rotary had supplied. (Shoes, clothes, toys, and bathroom supplies) It was very heartwarming to deliver the gifts to the families and help make their Christmas a little more special. Doing this also helped me to get involved in something in the community.

Pictures with Santa

Here are pictures of pictures with Santa.

Me, Santa, and Tamara

Santa and I

A Winter Evening

The other day (the 23rd) my friend Tamara, her little sister Edita, and I visited Santa. After getting pictures with Santa we walked around town to take a few pictures of the lights. Here's Varaždin all lit up!

Trees draped in lights in one of the parks.

Booths selling Christmas lights and ornaments.

Tamara and I Tamara and her sister Edita

One of the shopping streets with lights hung above to street.

Edita and I holding one of the bells

Edita

The main square all lit up.

City Hall.

The giant Christmas tree.

Decorations on the giant Christmas tree.

Tamara and I dropped Edita off at her Ballet class then we went out for cakes. We went to Kavana Grofica Marica which opened a few weeks ago. It is a very elegant place.

The Menu. They offer a variety of drinks, sweets and meals.

We ordered two cakes to share. DELICIOUS! I will definitely be going back there sometime soon.

All done!

Lost and Recovered!

I thought that the first few pictures I snapped of Croatia were gone forever. After only taking a few, there were complications with the memory card. Several techniques to recover the photos didn't work so I went out and bought a new card. The other day I had troubles with my other memory card. Again I thought I had lost the images. I found this photo recovery program and I was able to recover the photos from both cards! I am very glad that the images are not lost forever. Here are the first pictures I took in Croatia.

At the Vancouver Airport checking and weighing my luggage.

In the city center on the night I arrived.

Each year there is a festival of the city in Varaždin called Špancirfest. When I arrived there were only two days left of the festival. The night I arrived my host parents took me to the town center. I was tired, jet lagged and a bit dazed but I still enjoyed myself. This festival is over a week long and is filled with performers from around the world, presentations of old crafts, street performances, comedies, children's shows, vendors and much more. Unfortunately I was only able to take in two evenings of the festival but at least I got to experience some of it.

The weekend after I arrived I went to my YEO's (Youth Exchange Officer) house for lunch. Afterwards we drove out of town to a restaurant atop a hill (Hotel La'Gus) for ice cream. Here are some views of Varaždin from afar.

We also visited this place called Aqua City. It's a man made lake and sports center that is a popular destination during the summer months.

Tiss the Season

Christmas is fast approaching and the city of Varaždin is all decorated for the season. Here are some pictures from around town.

The giant Christmas tree in the Main Square. Right now all the cobblestones are dug up so its not as nice as it usually is. Since its been raining it has also become somewhat of a muddy mess.

Christmas tree with City Hall in the background.

City Halls' front entrance.

Christmas bells like this are hung throughout the city.

Mini market.

Christmas swing for little children.

Presents in front of a pottery stall.

Giant advent candle-wreath surrounding the fountain.

Mini children's village.

Trees in the park decorated for the holidays.

Booths selling Christmas stuff. Mostly lights and decorations.

Tree branches on metal frames to form small Christmas trees.