Day 5 - Goodbye Graz, Hello Maribor
Sunday June 21 - Goodbye Graz, Hello Slovenia
We were up bright and early to say our goodbyes to our extended family. A few tears, but not as many, for we are all excited to be reunited in about 3 weeks! HIB School Choir sang to us, and surprised us with a sachet decorated as an elf of Fall scents, a mixture of lavender, peppermint, lemon grass, and spelt, a gift representing Austria and to remind us of them. "Today we had to leave our Austrian homestays. We were really sad to leave but excited to meet our new Slovenian homestays," says Lucy Dunn. "Our last night, we went to a BBQ and met an exchange student from Indiana. We had a lot of fun just hanging out," says Genevieve. Carmen was "super sad to leave Graz for the 2nd time. It was especially hard because I
stayed with the same homestays last time." Nora says, "My last night in Graz was so nice. After going into town, my homestay and I went back to her house and just talked. She even played her harp for us. When her parents came home, they gave us a traditional Austrian meal. I asked what time it was and we had been talking for 5 hours! I really hope I can go back!" We hopped on the bus and Maria and Günter took us on two more amazing adventures, first stopping off at Grüner See, this amazing green lake in Styria got its name because of the natural emerald-green color. This lake is fresh water run-off from the surrounding mountains. The clarity of the water was so clear that you could see individual pebbles at the bottom of the lake! We walked around the entire lake, and stopped for a few moments of silence to take in the sounds of nature. The birds chirping, ducks swimming, and then all of a sudden, the choir singing Ave Maria. It echoed beautifully through the trees, and ended in complete silence, to the sounds of the birds, ducks, and light splashes in the lake. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grüner_See_(Styria)
After making our way around the lake, we were back on the bus, eating our lunches that the homestays packed, and off to Lurgrotte Caves. These cold caves were huge, containing many stalagmites (rock formations from the bottom of caves) and stalactites (rock formations from the top of the caves). The caves were first discovered by an Italian caver in 1894. The temperature in the caves is always at 10 degrees celsius during the summer months and winter months, so it was a bit chilly while we were down there.
There were many different sections to this cave with many rock formations looking like certain figures, one they claimed to look like a witch, another resembling Jesus, there was one they called Romeo and Juliet because the stalagmites and stalactites were only millimeters from touching each other, and then the thickest hanging stalactite in the world, a 40 ton giant! The kids pretty much sang their way through the caves. As Lucy reported, "The cave was SO cool and we even got to sing in the Big Cavern, which had fabulous acoustics!" This big cavern is quite large, and concerts are occasionally held in there. Apparently Bobby McFarrin performed in there! The tour guide gave us a little light show, showing off the beauty of certain parts of the cave to some classical music. Lots of fun for sure!
Once we made our way out of the cave, we were back on the bus, back to the HIB school to get our luggage and then onto another bus to head to Slovenia. This ride was nice and quiet, for Bob demanded mandatory nap time. An hour of peace and quiet was appreciated by all! We made it to the place where Carmina Slovenica was there to meet us, and the kids went off with their homestays, to be back at the river by 6:00 for a night of good food, singing, and celebration welcoming the summer solstice. Hannah Williams commented on how "Slovenia is so gorgeous! The trees are so green and my homestay lives in a small town with a wonderful view of the hills. My homestays have 3 dogs and one is a thee month old puppy! I thought I would totally miss the beauty of Austria, yet the gorgeous views here make me so happy!"
The choirs got together by the river, playing games and sharing laughter and stories. A large mandala was passed around for everyone to write a wish on, sharing something the would like to have happen together in the coming days. Little did we know that this was going to be a part of our show later that evening! Everyone enjoyed a delicious plate full of meat! We had sausages, chicken skewers, some pork, and bell peppers, tomatoes and onions. There was a large array of different desserts that the kids, AND adults, weren't shy about! After dinner, as the sun was beginning to set, Carmina Slovenica surprised us in traditional white outfits with red sashes or necklaces, and began their tiki lit performance, welcoming the Summer Solstice. Traditional songs and dances were shared, and it is also tradition to end the celebration with a rather large bonfire. The audience followed the singers as they took the mandala with all our combined wishes, and placed it in the bonfire, sending all the wishes up, hoping they will come true! Many of the wishes were about creating lasting friendships and making beautiful music together, which was very nice. Little sparklers were then handed out to everyone and we all had fun waving those around! No need to worry, not a single hair, or piece of clothing was set on fire! Safety first, for sure!!
Needless to say, it was a fantastic day and a great welcome to Slovenia, our home for the next few days. As for us bloggers, it is nearly 1:00 AM, and we are about ready for bed! Thanks for reading and can't wait to see what is to come tomorrow!!
Click through the slideshow below to view some highlights from today:
