Oslo!

"Good Lord, one can't do anything better than to play in this blessed world." (Henrik Ibsen)

Oslo has been on my to-visit list for a while now. During my year in Copenhagen I only visited Sweden among Scandinavian countries, but it is never too late and here I am, in the country of Ibsen, fjords and beautiful nature. Can't wait to explore it further!

Oslo sem si že nekaj časa želela obiskati. Tekom leta v Kopenhagnu sem med skandinavskimi državami obiskala samo Švedsko, a nikoli ni prepozno in zdaj sem tu, v deželi Ibsna, fjordov in čudovite narave. Komaj čakam, da raziščem vse kotičke mesta!

Spring = Stress? - Pomlad = Stres?

happy |ˈhapē|
adjective (happier, happiest)
feeling or showing pleasure or contentment

If I was to sum up my past month with one word, it would be “happy”. It was busy, at times stressful, with lots of deadlines, but all in all I kept the smile on my face and enjoyed almost every moment of it. Almost like the little boy crocodile on the photo above I finally managed to capture on a sunny day in Strasbourg.

At the end of March, the conference we have been working on for more than 10 months, finally happened. I spent a really nice but intense week in Strasbourg (I don’t exaggerate if I say that I spent almost all my days in the European Parliament, like literally), surrounded by motivated young Europeans and the best organisers team, wearing high heels, lipstick and dresses 24/7. As the Head of layout and design, the printer and my computer were never far from me, but apart from that I was passing the security check every morning, listening to German interpreter interpreting, running around and making sure everything went smoothly, laughing, not sleeping enough, and having the feeling of great satisfaction and happiness.

sréčen -čna -o
prid., sréčnejši tudi srečnéjši (ẹ́ ẹ̄)
ki je v razmeroma trajnem stanju velikega duševnega ugodja

Če bi morala svoj pretekli mesec povzeti z eno besedo, bi bil moj mesec srečen. Bil je zelo zaposlen, včasih stresen, z veliko roki, ampak ves čas sem uspela obdržati nasmeh na obrazu in uživati skoraj vsak trenutek. Skoraj tako kot mali fantek krokodil na zgornji fotki, ki mi jo je končno uspelo posneti na sončen dan v Strasbourgu.

Konec marca se je končno odvila konferenca, ki smo jo pripravljali več kot 10 mesecev. Preživela sem res simpatičen, a intenziven teden v Strasbourgu (ne pretiravam, če rečem, da sem skoraj vse svoje dneve preživela v Evropskem parlamentu, in to dobesedno), obkrožena z navdušenimi in motiviranimi mladimi Evropejci in najboljšo organizacijsko ekipo, v visokih petah, šminko in formalnih oblekah 24/7. Kot se spodobi za vodjo layout and design ekipe, sta bila tiskalnik in moj računalnik vedno v moji bližini, ampak poleg tega sem se vsako jutro počekirala na security checku, poslušala nemškega tolmača nemško tolmačenje v dvorani, skakala z enega konca na drugega in skrbela za to, da bo vse teklo, kot je treba, se smejala, premalo spala in imela ves čas občutek velikega zadovoljstva in sreče.

Coming back to Paris afterwards and catching up on everything I have missed at the university was also intense, but with great organisation and a bit of luck everything went smoothly.

Easter celebration turned out to be a double celebration this year – it was my birthday a week or so ago. Yey :) And then another big and motivating Zumba France event, another Creative Morning, another dose of happiness.

Intenziven je bil tudi prihod nazaj v Pariz, v kratkem času sem morala nadoknaditi vse, kar sem zamudila na faksu, ampak z dobro organizacijo in kančkom sreče se je vse izteklo super.

Velikonočno praznovanje je bilo letos dvojno praznovanje - teden dni nazaj sem imela rojstni dan. Jej :) Potem pa še en velik in motivacijski Zumba France dogodek, še en Creative Morning, še ena doza sreče.

And then final classes, final papers, final quizzes – my semester is almost done and I have been a busy bee those past weeks, but somehow I still manage to attend great events, spend some wonderful days with people I love, and enjoy my days, despite the rain and cold.

I am writing two last papers now and finish my exams in a week, and then I go to the North for a short while. Given the current Parisian weather I can’t say I need to cool down, but I will definitely spend some cool days there! :)

Potem pa še zadnja predavanja, zadnje seminarske, zadnji kolokviji - moj semester je skoraj pri koncu in te zadnje tedne sem bila busy bee, pa vendar mi še vendo uspeva iti na odlične dogodke, preživeti luštne dneve z ljudmi, ki jih cenim, ter hkrati uživati dneve kljub dežju in hladu.

Trenutno končujem zadnji dve seminarski nalogi in prihodnji teden končam z izpiti. Potem grem pa za kratek čas na Sever. Zaradi trenutnega kislega pariškega vremena se mi ni treba ohladiti, ampak severni zrak mi bo vsekakor super del! :)

Beautiful Evenings - Čudoviti večeri

Spring doesn't only bring beautiful days to Paris. Days get longer and the evenings are just beautiful. The sky is often so beautiful that no camera can really capture its changing colors.

I have been doing zumba quite a lot lately. The other day there was an amazing event organized by Zumba France at the Berges De Seine, just a few minutes from where I live. 2h of zumba, great instructors, cool music - it was just amazing. And my Sunday yoga classes now take place on the terrace outside, as the weather is so great.

The flower bulb which was still closed a week ago has now transformed into a beautiful purple flower. It smells nice and it brings spring in every corner of my little apartment.

There has been a lot going on, in a bit more than a month I am done with my semester and I only have exam period left. Oh, how time flies! :)

° ° ° ° °

Pomlad ne prinese samo čudovitih dnevov v Pariz. Dnevi se daljšajo in večeri so enostavno čudoviti. Nebo je pogosto tako lepo, da noben fotoaparat ne bi mogel zares ujeti vseh lepih spreminjajočih se barv.

Zadnje čase sem precej v zumba-vzdušju. Pred kratkim je Zumba France organizirala fantastičen dogodek na Berges De Seine, samo par minut stran od mojega stanovanja. 2 uri zumbe, odlični inštruktorji, super glasba - bilo je res neverjetno. In moja nedeljska joga se zdaj pogosto odvija zunaj na terasi, ker je vreme tako super.

Čebulica, ki je bila še kakšen teden nazaj zaprta, se je zdaj spremenila v čudovito vijolično rožo. Res lepo diši in prinese pomlad v vsak kotiček mojega mini stanovanja.

Precej se je dogajalo v zadnjem času, v mesecu dni bom končala semester in mi bodo ostali samo še izpiti. Oh, kako čas beži! :)

Just another cool Sunday - Še ena super nedelja

Mid-term exams are much funnier with the great weather in one and a delicious smoothie in another hand. Great atmosphere is all around. I started my Sunday with a short morning walk to the best boulangerie in the neighborhood (and one of the only ones open early on Sunday), I was wearing spring skirt, ballerinas and a new beautiful tote bag, out of which was on the way back peeking still warm baguette. It was a great Sunday! 

 ° ° ° ° ° 

Kolokviji so mnogo bolj zabavni s soncem v eni in mnjami smoothijem v drugi roki. Odlično vzdušje je vsepovsod. Nedeljo sem začela s kratkim sprehodom do najboljše pekarne v četrti (in ene izmed redkih, ki so odprte zgodaj v nedeljo), oblečena v pomladno krilce in balerinke, z novo čudovito tote bag, iz katere je na poti nazaj kukala še topla bageta. Super nedelja je bila!

Spring Atmosphere All Around - Pomladno vzdušje vsepovsod

After a really great spring preview with lots of sun, happy faces and positive vibes, I woke up into a rainy rainy morning today. Even though I like rain, I was really enjoying those sunny days. At several occasions I felt like in Copenhagen at the end of April, when everything moves to the streets, cycling becomes very much enjoyable again, and the idea of drinking a coffee or a mango smoothie outside on the sun actually seems amazing. Pastel colors of the shops look even better in the sunlight and you just can't stop smiling.

If I was in Copenhagen and the weather was as it was a few days ago in Paris, I would probably cycle to the lakes, sit in the Cafe 22 and drink a latte while observing people passing by and enjoying the reflection of the sun in the water. Instead I took a walk to Bastille and then continued along the Seine on the way back home from my yoga class. I stopped in the flower shop and bought myself a flower bulb that I now enjoy observing growing. I had one last year too when I wanted Spring to come earlier. It worked, I promise! :)

I have never seen so many French people walking, cycling, running or skating along the Seine. Everyone seemed happy, in love, full of energy. Street artists were at every step of the way, performing and creating a special atmosphere with their music. Oh, beautiful Spring!

I try to create the spring atmosphere even when I wake up into a rainy morning. Nice breakfast makes even rain seem nice at the end ;)

Po res čudovitem pomladnem "predogledu" z veliko sonca, veselih obrazov in pozitivnih vibracij sem se danes zbudila v res deževno jutro. Čeprav imam dež sicer rada, sem teh par sončnih in pomladnih dni res uživala. Večkrat sem se počutila kot v Kopenhagnu konec aprila, ko se vse preseli na ulice, kolesarjenje ponovno postane velik užitek in ko se kava ali mangov smoothie zunaj na soncu zdi najboljša ideja. Pastelne barve trgovin izgledajo še boljše v soju sončnih žarkov in kar ni se mogoče nehati smehljati.

Če bi bila v Kopenhagnu in bi bilo vreme tako, kot par dni nazaj v Parizu, bi najbrž odkolesarila do jezer, se usedla v Cafe 22 in spila latte, obenem pa opazovala mimoidoče ljudi in uživala ob lesketanju sonca v vodi. Namesto tega sem se sprehodila do Bastille in potem nadaljevala ob bregu Sene na poti nazaj domov z joge. Ustavila sem se v cvetličarni in si kupila čebulico rože, ki jo zdaj opazujem, ko se razvija v pravo rožo. Tudi lani sem imela eno, ko sem želela prehiteti pomlad. Delovalo je, obljubim! :)

Nikoli še nisem videla toliko Francozov, ki bi se sprehajali, kolesarili, tekli ali rolali vzdolž Sene. Vsi so se zdeli srečni, zaljubljeni, polni energije. Ulični umetniki so bili na vsakem koraku, s svojimi predstavami in glasbo pa so ustvarili res posebno vzdušje. Oh, čudovita pomlad!

Potrudim se, da si pomladno vzdušje pričaram tudi, kadar se zbudim v deževno jutro. Ob simpatičnem pomladnem zajtrku se še dež zdi simpatičen ;)

Love is in the air - Ljubezen je v zraku

It's the day for love, love of all kinds. It doesn't matter if you have already found your better half or not, and honestly, it doesn't matter if you like the holiday or not. It is all over the place (when did they hide the Christmas decorations??) and being in a bad mood for no real reason makes no sense. So let's enjoy the holiday. Here are some ideas for this special day.

Get some flowers.

Make a love card or write a short poem. For your loved one, a friend, or even for yourself.

Hide a small and cute message somewhere where the right person will find it. Use colors to make it nicer.

For a couple, an idea of an indoor picnic is still my favorite. Avoid restaurants and be romantic at home.

If you want to offer something, you can never go wrong with something nice to eat - chocolate, macaroons, cakes. But don't forget to make it a bit special. Wrap it up, put a small ribbon on it, write a name tag - be creative. It doesn't take much time but it changes the little gift completely.

But above all - enjoy the day of love. As all the others to come.

Dan ljubezni je, ljubezni vseh vrst. Ni važno, če ste že našli svoje boljše polovice ali ne, in iskreno rečeno - ni važno, če vam je praznik všeč ali ne. Valentinovo je vsepovsod (kdaj so uspeli skriti božične okraske??) in res nima smisla biti slabe volje brez pravega razloga. Naj bo torej lušten praznik. Tu je nekaj idej za ta poseben dan.

Ne pozabi na rože.

Izdelaj ljubezensko kartico ali napiši kratko pesem. Za svojo ljubezen, prijatelja ali celo zase.

Skrij mini in luštno sporočilce nekam, kjer ga bo prava oseba našla. Uporabi barve, da ga polepšaš.

Moja najljubša ideja za par je indoor picnic, piknik v dnevni sobi. Izognita se restavracijam in bodita romantična doma.

Če želiš podariti nekaj, je nekaj malega za pojesti vedno luštno - čokolada, makroni, tortica. Ampak ne pozabi zadeve malo polepšati. Zavij darilce, polepšaj s pentljico, napiši listek z imenom - ustvarjalnost nima meja. Ne vzame veliko časa, darilce pa popolnoma spremeni.

Predvsem pa - užijte dan ljubezni. Kot vse, ki bodo sledili.