Home sweet home

Last weekend I spent at home, after 7 months I was again in Slovenia. I know, way too long. Now I decided to go home more often! I believe everyone who has been living abroad for a longer time, knows this feeling when you cross the border and hear your language again. But this time I fell in love with our country on a totally different level. I was impressed by literally everything :) Drinking coffe on a cosy balcony of my friend vith the view on the church and forest (I think I mentioned 3 times what an idyll they have :)-take a look at the picture below and you will know what I am talking about, cycling on my dear tracks, looking at all the forests and hills on the way. I said to my mother, how much life our street at home has. She asked: "How do you mean it?" I responded: all of these animals around, not only our dog, but also anmals from our neighbours, everything is so green and cozy." Hiking with the girls an a saturday morning and cycling to the next place near my hometown in the afternoon. On the way meeting a guy for a drink and realize how relaxed and funny slovenian guys are! I think that guys in my region were just borned with this attitude :D Like, everyone is relaxed and funny. If I would have to describe slovenian guys, I would mention this. And that they are extremely sporty, of course :) In the nord everyone is hiking and in the south everyone is cycling, including me :)

Sunday idyll

I am currently located in Munich, before that I lived in Ingolstadt. I said that life in Bavaria can be nice and cosy (they claim that it is the best place in the whole country to live :D ). But Slovenia is in my opinion the definition of cosiness and beauty. Couple of times I was asked in Germany, if I am thinking about moving back to Slovenia someday. I replied that this is not the plan, so probably not, but also that you should never say never. When you have a partner somewhere else, of course you are not thinking about going back. You are thinking about staying with him there. Well, now I also changed my mind about this. Now I know that I am a person for cosy places, so Slovenia is a perfect place. And if happens that I get a nice job at home someday or love brings me home, who knows how I would decide and what I would do :)

My passion, cycling <3

I also understand now better people, who say that they don´t wanna move to some other city because of a job. Being flexible has its price. The last 2 years I was really flexible, in Austria and Germany. But also this can change by time.
Three days always go by too fast. Driving back to Munich I mentioned my impressions. We were all Slovenians, living in Munich. The driver said: "Well, you are the first one after a long time, who is saying something positive about our country." 
They don´t say Home sweet home for no reason, right? :) Place where you are again you :)

The feelings and relationships nowadays

The events in the last time and life in general made me think again. We live in the time of the so called crisis of values. Also when it comes to relationships. So many of them fall apart, because people just give up. Furthermore, I really think that every human being should have a basic knowledge about psychology! Because people nowadays so often complicate and destroy beautiful relationships just because they are not able to express and talk about their feelings. I had luck, I have to say. At the colledge I chose psychology as a subject. It was not just a subject, I am convinced I had one of the best professors in the world. She did not only had a PhD in  Law, but also a PhD in psychology. She could gave us an example from a real life for literally every sentence she mentioned. (if anyone is still doubting about the level of the slovenian colledges-let me tell you, they are on a high level!) And somehow I still have a feeling that I studied psychology and not law actually :) I remember, that I held a speech about feelings and this topic to some of my former boyfriends. And they have always listened to me with an interest :D

What is sad nowadays in my opinion is, that (so many) people are emotionally illiterate. By this I mean, that they do not know or are not able to express their feelings. People simply don´t know, that they will not feel the butterflies, or in other words-be on a honeymoon for their whole life. No, you for sure will not be! The first phase of a relationship is called infatuation. It is a short feeling, which normally lasts about 1,5 years and is very intense. After that, people develop the "real" feeling, which is called love. This phase is not intense anymore, because you see the other one through the "real" glasses and lasts long(er). This means, that some people think they don´t love their partner anymore, because the butterflies are gone. Yeah right! If it would have been so, then every couple would break up after the honeymoon phase! So, it is just the matter of if one is able to develop real feelings or not. This can happen after 1,5 years or after 25 years of marriage. It is sad in every case. Imagine a family with 3 children (more or less already adults), when all of a sudden the man decides that this is not love anymore. Like out of nowhere. Though you have 4 people, who would be prepared to discuss the situation, talk about it and nevertheless suggest and try to find solutions. But one is out of some reason just not prepared or even worse, able to talk about it. We are talking about people and relations here, not about things! And when it comes to problems and crisis, people just give up. Because it´s easy to give up. But they are not aware that crisis are only an opportunity to come stronger out of them. An opportunity to take things to a higher level! There are people, who, after facing some crisis, found out, that this is a relationship of their lives!!
Even harder, when one has knowledge about the topic and is willing to do his best, but there is just no feedback on the other side. And also the most beautiful fairytales in this world fall apart. Just like this, from today to tomorrow.
I read somewhere the following quote: "People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used." Maybe not exactly used, but really far away from it is not.
More readiness for a constructive discussion, please. We only have this one life, which is short!

The best years

As long as I remember, I believed that the 20s are the best years in ones life. Parties, studying, no real obligations. This definitely changed this year. To be more particular, in June/July, soon after my 30th birthday. I somehow got a new perspective of life. Things, that were fuzzy not long ago, suddenly became clear. My perception of life changed, I know exactly what I want in life and what is really important.
Probably also living abroad since 2 years contributed a lot to this state of mind. In fact, all the experiences, people, challenges that life put on my way. All the job interviews, difficulties when trying to speak german on a level of your mother tounge. Not easy, especially when you have to talk to the professionals about the specific topics.
A feeling that you have never been stronger in your life and that you could survive anything. Literally. Abroad you are on your own, there are no "connections" or B Vitamin which is extremely popular in Slovenia. You have to be a fighter. And work hard. Work hard for things that were self-evident at home, which you reached easily. Like someone said already: you feel like a child, who is learning again how to express himself. And when already finding your way home in a new city is a challenge! New city, new country, hard language. Maybe even 2 new cities, because it can happen that your partner lives in another city. And again you have to coordinate, organise your life in a new dimension.

You get aware of your own value. The way you have gone. All the ups and downs. Life would for sure have been easier by staying in a comfort zone. I guess.
You are more than ever interested in the intelligent conversations. Conversations with the depth, about life, psychology, philosophy. Conversations that fulfill you.
You realize that your job is just a job. A duty, which you have to do on a daily basis to be able to survive. To be honest, I feel sorry for people whose sense of life is work. Shortly before dying, nobody regreted that they didn´t have a good house or car. People regreted that they worked too much and didn´t enjoy life and spend enough time with their beloved ones.
Family: when the visits reduce to 1 or 2 times per year, you see them differenlty. Seeing them is a special occasion, an extraordinary weekend, which always goes by too fast. Seeing your sister after almost one year for 24 hours makes you realize what a wise woman she became. And you talk til 1 a.m. because you have to discuss all the wisdom of the world :) You realize that family is the only constant which will always be there, though the members can be located in 3 countries. When things are not self-evident, you start to really value them.
You feel that you have stories to tell, lessons to forward on someone. Maybe on your (future) kids.
It all starts and ends with the family and with the feeling of coming home. Of being arrived. And if on the way you meet the guy of your life, you have everything. <3

Just some thoughts about homeland

The last 15 months I have (more or less) spent abroad, to be more concrete: in Austria and Germany. Two days ago I came home after 3 months. Driving to Munich I talked with a guy from Germany and as I mentioned that I come from Slovenia, he said: "It must be beautiful there, right?" "Yes, it is. Have you ever been there?" "No, I just drove through Slovenia on my way to Croatia." This is actually the most frequent answer I have heard so far from Germans. On the other Hand I met many People from other parts of the world, who said: "Yes, I have been there, it´s an amazing Country." Funny Thing :D
These days I had time to check some interesting stuff online, whatever caught my eye: "Best Pictures of Slovenia in 2015 from different authors, a new article with the title "Is Slovenia really the most underrated Country in the EU?",.. In this article the author wrote, that being at the Lake Bohinj, surrounded by ist mountains, was the most amazing Thing she has seen. She also posted a Picture of her, Standing at the lake. This reminded me of me, being at the Lake Achensee in Austria, which is also surrounded by mountains. Like her, I was thrilled with the lake. And seeing these professional photos, I think to myself: "Waw, what an incredible Beauty!"

Bled

So, like I already read some Quote, living abroad sharpens your sense of seing the Beauty of your Homeland. It makes colours more intense. Something like this :D It happened to me this autumn, when I went with my mum to the forest to pick up chestnuts. As we drove back home, it crossed my mind: "Amazing, how much forest! And all These small hills." Though I have drove there several times before. (By the way, did you know, that Slovenia is one of the most wooded countries in the EU? 60 % of its territory is covered by forest).
Or Ljubljana. I was never actually a fan of this City. Now I think it is a really cosy and cute City.
Mountains. When I lived in Austria, I was fascinated by them, but we also have them -almost in front of our nose :D I even climbed the mountain in Innsbruck, but have never been on Triglav (our highest mountain).
And Lakes. Being fascinated by them abroad, forgetting what pearls we have at home. In my opinion, the Lake Bled is a worldwide masterpiece! :)
So, yes-being abroad changes your mind. And in the next year I will try to explore more amazing places at home. Which should not be to hard, since we live in a small Country.
P.S. And I can´t wait for the Ski jumping to start tomorrow! I know it is out of the context, but I just had to write it :)

Finding new friends

Living abroad means that sooner or later you will have to find new friends. People to go cycling with, for a coffee, in other words: to hang out together. And somewhere you have to start.

One of the easiest ways to do this  nowadays is probably social media. First I checked the Events near the City on Couchsurfing. I found nothing relevant. So, I posted my own post called "Ich suche neue Freunde" (the title was "a Little for fun, a Little for serious" we would say in Slovenia) with a short description, that I would like to meet People to go cycling, inline Skating with. To be honest, I expected that maybe 3 or 5 People would write me. So, the Feedback really surprised me. About 30 People wrote me that they would like to meet, wether they commented the post or sent me private Messages. Guys and Girls.Writing me: welcome in the City, some recommendations what is cool to do in the City and of course, that they would like to meet. Really cool! (: Then I got an idea that it would be nice to meet all of them and so I created the Event. 9 People came (10 including me). I also created a Group on Facebook and that was it. Let the hanging out begin! (:




The place where we met

Already at home, before going there, I had a feeling that it will be fun. Especially because People in the couchsurfing community have this open-minded Spirit and are communicative. And exactly that is how it was, speaking 3 languages(: One guy even said that he has a friend from Slovenia here and will introduce us! (: We met at the City beach, where we chilled in the deckchairs and then later went to some Biergarten and Bürgerfest.

Some of them wrote me, that they can`t come to our Meeting, but would like to meet some other time. So, it Looks like it`s really easy to find new People/friends. And I´m really looking Forward to meet them! (: Or how Taylor Swift said: "I love making new friends and I respect them for a lot of different reasons."

Let's talk about...women

This is a theme that I had in my thoughts for a longer time, I just never took the time to write about it. Then I saw at the Sophia Bush's Instagram (one of the women I adore, by the way) a quote which I wanted to include in this writing. "Other women are not my competition, I stand with them, not against them." A philosophy that I can relate to. If I'm honest, if I had to choose, I prefer men against women. Why? Because men are simple, there are no dramas. Women on the other side can be good actors and they can pretend very good. A lot of them. You can be the most friendly and helpful person and yes-women Will not like you. The reason? Competition.

Long time ago I saw somewhere a thought, which goes like this: "If men like you, women Will hate you." A very simple thought, which in my opinion expresses the point. And there are people, that we didn't actually choose to be friends with but happens that we somehow have some connection with them. Friends, roommates from our partners. I remember my ex boyfriend once told me how his best female friend is jealous of me. I was Quite surprised and asked: "How do you know that?" He said: "She told me." Yes, women often decide that they simply don't like other women .More often that men would thought. Co-workers are a special category, about which I Will not write :D

Recently I watched an interesting show on the televison. It was an experiment, where they at work (or was it a job interview, I don't remember) they confronted 3 women who didn't know each other before. Theye were waiting for someone to come and tell them what to do next. While one of them, the one that arrived as the third one, was shortly away, the person came and gave them some instructions. This person also asked these 2 to tell that also to the third one who was not in the room at that moment. When this third woman came back, the other two intentionally (!) didn't tell her about this information. The same experiment they did with men. What happened there? The 2 men, who got the information, immediately told about it to the third men when he came back. Furtermore, the studies showed, that 2 women create an union,into which other women can not enter. It doesn't matter who she is, how she looks, how she behaves. Men on the other side accept every new member and make a connection with each of them. Interesting, I have to say.

So, yes..it's not easy to find (true) friends among women. That's why I'm happy when I meet a genuine woman, with whom I get a good feeling. But to be honest, they are rather rare. But that is why I appreciate them even more. (:

Why living in Innsbruck is cool (even if you are not a winter sports freak:)

Last year I decided to spend the autumn and winter in Innsbruck. Because I believed it would be cool. Actually I didn't really move, but rather my last visit turned into a loong staying here. Totally spontaneously :D Though I'm not a winter sports freak, but a total summer person (or Sommermensch in German :D). But living in city, where other people go for a vacation, can be really cool. So, here are my favourites:

1. MOUNTAINS: it can happen that you will end up living in a house, directly next to mountains, which means that you have the view on them from every corner of it. Since they are all over the place, the city for sure has some charm. I know, we also have mountains in Slovenia, but I have never lived next to them. I remember I once told someone that we live under the mountain and he asked: "What, how did you mean that? Underground?" That was funny :D But when you look at the picture below, you will know what I'm talking about (:

View from the house

2. MUNICH: this amazing city is just 160 km away from Innsbruck, how cool is that? (: Besides that, the rides (I'm talking about car sharing) are really frequent (a lot of students go home for the weekend) and  acceptable (if not even cheap). So, in November I spent every weekend in Munich. 160 km, about 1 hour and 40 minutes of driving and unforgettable memories. (: It's hard to imagine to do this when living in Ljubljana!

Sunday walk in Munich.

3. CHRISTMAS MARKET: Christmas Market in Innsbruck really is something special. And as I saw on some chart, it was actually listed as the cutest one in Europe. It starts quite early (on 15.11.) and ends in the first week of January. So, no surprise Glühwein was my favourite drink this winter.

Visiting the Christmas Market with my mother.

4. AIR + STYLE: this event is really popular here and I can say it was one of the best things I've seen so far. A snowboarding competition at the Bergisel, amazing music and atmosphere (although it was snowing the whole time) and besides that also Cro, whose concert was on my to do list, was performing here! (: 

One word: amazing (:

5. COOL POSITION: in other words-everything is quite close, also Switzerland. 290 km to Zurich means that you also have to go there (: But one more cool place I would recommend to see, while being here: Achensee, the biggest lake in Tyrol. Seeing the picture of it, I wanted to go there right away. I also visited Rattenberg, the smallest municipality in Austria (only 400 people live there-a bit of geography:). Though in winter, it was totally worth it! (:

At the Achensee, last weekend.

To conclude: if I had to describe my life in the last 3 months living here, it would be: I enjoyed life to the fullest! Or how Germans would say it: Ich habe das Leben voll genossen! (: