Trieste

Hi all

I ended up taking an unexpected trip to Trieste Italy today. I have to go to either Trieste or Zagreb for my temporary residency however today I was woken up by a text from a friend of mine wanting to know if I would like to go to Trieste today, seeing as I had no other real plans my answer was a lively YES I WOULD LOVE TO GO!!! One hour later I found myself on the way to Italy (which was slightly amazing as I had no plans and then all of a sudden I find myself on the way to another country (and Italy at that)). The trip down was very uneventful except for the fact that this friend of mine is German so we were doing about 180 - 190 on the highway (the usual 1.5 hour trip was over in less then a hour), direct quote from the driver "these roads are much too nice to go the posted limit of 130 I don't even know why they bother posting speed limits at all".

The city was beautiful and there were so many things to see and do, I am afraid that my pictures do not do this beautiful city justice. Of course the first thing that we had to do after arriving was go for a coffee as it was already 10 and we had not even had our first coffee (a crime in Slovenia). Plus Trieste produces 40% of the coffee that Italy drinks so we had to try it. We ambled towards the this town square (the bottom photo) where we sat in the sun and enjoyed an Cappuccino and the pigeons, it is a little strange there were so many pigeons around and no one really seemed to care.

After we had our coffee we headed out to look around and do a little shopping however we found out that the stores were open from 9:30 until 13:30 then closed until 15:30 and were opened until 21:30 so as a result we ended up just wandering around. Also interestingly the streets were pretty empty for most of the day however after 17:30 the city really came alive and there were tones of people around shopping, going for coffee and just hanging out. I wish that I would have been able to take a picture however by that point my camera's batteries had already died

You are never really able to entirely capture the moment with a camera but in the case of the picture with the pillars this could not be more true. Picture this organ music coming from a little church that was behind us, the smell of the sea wafting up towards us and the warm sunshine raining down on us. Really there is nothing that can capture that.

Trieste only has a population of a little over 200000 people but it is built on a hill so you spend much of your time climbing hills and there are lots of little narrow ally ways it is really a remarkable city and I can't wait to return and explore it some more.

Night view from the Castle overlooking the city

Hi all

I apologize for the quality of these photos, I am still not very good with the camera and I don't have a tripod so these turned out a little blurry. I will attempt to make it up to the castle during the day to take some day photos plus take some photos in the castle as there are a lot of things to see and do.

Random wanderings along Lushnje hills

Hey family!!!

Here are some pictures of my random wanderings and animals that we see lots!!!!

University of Ljubljana

Hi All

As per request here are some pictures of my facility. The university here in Ljubljana is not set up like a normal university, all the facilities are not located in the same area they area actually located all over the city. These are pictures of the Economics facility. I apologize as I am still not very good at taking pictures so I have not really been able to do justice to the facility but at least this gives you an idea.

Hot Choco/coffee madness

Wes - the pictures look great - you've got some large mountains over there in Slovenia! Is that a river or a canal we're looking at? Have you added some shots of the University - if so, which ones are they? It would be great to see you in some of the shots too - is that a possibility?

hekebeR (the REALLY correct spelling!) I can understand your jealousy about the REAL hot chocolate that big brother is enjoying - that sounds wonderful (and probably tastes even better!) - must be nice to have the REAL stuff - wish we had that in S.K.!!

Your parents are doing well - we miss going out for coffee - we're just too busy with our lesson preparation and marking - its part of the culture here - plus, there are too few good coffeee shop alternatives here at Handong (a total of 3 on the whole campus - let alone the surrounding area!). Oh well, such is life! Speaking of lesson preps., its time to get going again!

Take care, fellow roamers!!!!

It's off to Seoul on the weekend

Goodmorning fellow travellers. Your father and I are off to Seoul this weekend for an ESL conference. We are looking forward to seeing the big city again. On Friday at precisely 3:00pm we will be in the car and driving to Daegu where we will take the fast train to Seoul. I will try to remember to take the camera this time so that I can take some pictures to add here. The conference runs from Saturday morning to Sunday late afternoon. The main speaker is David Nunan. Dad and I used one of his books in the past which we really liked. I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

Speaking of books - anyone reading an interesting book. I'm reading one on marriage - The Mystery of Marriage. Really good. Someday after you are all married, I suggest that you read it with your spouse.

Have yourselves a good day.
MOM

If anyone believes that biochemists/microbiologists have no sense of humour, then they don't know the ridiculous names they chose for proteins. For example, have you had problems with your Boss? your Boss gene of course. This gene is important for the development of the fruit fly eye, and it is actually an acronym (they all are) for "bride of sevenless", and if you happen to marry the 'bride' then you will probably have the sos gene, the"son of sevenless". Fruit fly researchers appear to be slightly crazy, as they have a wonderful habit of strange names for the genes and their subsequent mutations: ex. Thick veins mutants have defects in their gut, wings and eyes (I wonder if their 'bride' or 'sons' were eating too much fast food). Or you could have a saxophone mutant, which has defects in its back, and nothing to do with its musical ability. My favorite gene so far is the mad gene, which when mutated corrects the Thick veins and saxophone mutant (not too sure how it does it, but it does). These two mutations are linked to a gene called the decapentaplegic gene (ah latin, you gottta love it). So what does the mad acronym stand for . . ."mothers against decapentaplegic" of course (no jokes, that's what it stands for) . . . SIGH, sometimes I think that researches have way too much time on their hands to think up these stupid names . . . at least I'll be able to remember these names better than the ActRII, ActRIIB genes which should not be confused with ActRI which can also be called ALK4. SIGH.

Jealous and Busy in Manitoberr

I am so jealous Wes!!! Real hot chocolate, I mean REAL hot CHOCOLATE!!!! Wow (SIGH)!! Here I am stuck in Manitoberrr with stupid powdery non-real hot Chocolate, with no castles of any kind (at least not yet . . . no snow just rain!), AND I happen to be the most busy van Bruggen, since obviously Wes is just going out for coffee (and we all thought you were going for your masters), Lynne is . . . actually I'm not sure what Lynne is doing since she NEVER emails me (except to ask for stuff) and Mom and Dad, well they're just teaching english (nuff said). I on the other hand, have labs, lab preparation, classes, four midterms in just over a week and work!!! Not to mention everything else that I have to do for my wandering family members!!!! (No No I'm not bitter . . . . ok maybe just a little). Actually, everything is going OK here, (even without the Real hot chocolate and castles).

Real Hot Chocolate

I know that this is my second post for the day but I have to tell you about this hot chocolate that I just had (sorry no pic this time but maybe next time). So I spent all afternoon having coffee with my mystery friend then when I got back I was home for only about 20 minutes before my phone rang (stupid cell phones) and it was my tutor who was wanting to know if I wanted to go for coffee. Instead of coffee I opted for the hot chocolate and boy was I ever surprised, it was actually a cup of melted chocolate mixed with a little cream. Yes you heard me right here in Slovenia hot chocolate is actually hot chocolate, not some powdered mix with milk (if you are luck) or hot water but actual hot chocolate. So good but I can honestly say that I will not make it a habit. Also to make things even better my tutor treated. Man I love this country!

Also here are some more pics of Slovenia that I didn't post the first time.

Mystery Coffee

Hi All

What happened to me today is a perfect example why I really like Europe. Two days ago I received a text message on my phone which was intended for someone else, being a true Canadian I was concerned that the person who did the texting know that they had the wrong number so they would not feel slighted when the other person did not respond. So I texted back (yes that is right I am getting into this texting thing and I even enjoy it) letting them know that I was not in fact the person that they were looking for. After I sent the text message I received another message asking me who I was so I explained that I was a Canadian studying in Slovenia and gave my name. Then this person texted me to let me know that if I were interested in coffee they would be happy to chat a bit about Slovenia and give me some helpful hints. In the spirit of being in Europe I agreed and we met today for coffee, they are seriously big on their coffee here honestly not a day has gone by where I have not gone for coffee at least once. The guy (I had no idea if it were a guy or girl) turned out to be really cool and was pursuing a masters in international business so we talked about business a bit and he gave me lots of helpful suggestions on places that I should visit while I am here (he even brought a map to give me) and even offered to set me up with a friend of his who speaks french if I were interested in learning. We ended up talking for 3 hours and I left with his email address and a promise that I would email him so we could get together this winter for some snowboarding. This is why I love this country seriously people are so friendly and interested in everything that you have to say.

Also while I was waiting to meet this guy for coffee I snapped some more pics of town town Ljubljana. Note the mountains and castle in the backgrounds.

Glad to see that everyone has posted

Hi All

I am super glad to see that everyone has posted. Netty those castle photos look great. By the way what is the temp there? And Becky I am sorry to hear that the weather sucks, if it makes you feel better the weather here has been a little chilly since the beginning of the week because there is now snow on the mountains and I am told that this is causing a cooling effect on the city. I hopefully be able to take pics tomorrow. Tonight I was able to feel like a true European enjoying a pub and some football (soccer for you North Americans). I am sorry I don't have any pics I didn't feel that it was appropriate.

While Manitoba thaws from the latest blizzard (sorry no pics), the rest of my family is traipsing around the globe, in far warmer climes. At least now the interior temperature is warmer than the exterior temperature, thanks to the furnace maintenance guy! I love the idea of a blog!! Thanks Wes for starting it up. I love the pics!!

So far, so good, gang. Thanks for posting those pictures of the castle Nettie - they look cool! How far away was the fortress? We'd already seen some of Wes' Slovenia shots but are hoping to see many more soon - hint, hint! May this serve as extra incentive to all of us to keep our cameras handy - Becky, what about some pictures of the last Manitoburrrr blizzard!?!? Let's keep the momentum going!!!

Musings from the East

Thanks Wes for getting this going. I am looking forward to reading and seeing more about the adventures of this family. Hopefully this will be the incentive we all need to REMEMBER the cameras. I'm afraid that forgetting the camera is a disfunctional genetic trait that runs rampart in this family. It must be mastered and not be allowed to control our roamings.

Hope to hear from Rebekah assuming that she is not suffering too badly from frost bite. We are sending you all our warmest thoughts and hoping that they will keep you warm while you wait for the furnace man to arrive. This is a good time to gather the room mates around and do some quality bonding time. Break out the blankets and fire up the popcorn machine for a sleep out in the living room. Sorry that it happened now but I guess if there has to be a positive side to this, it is better now than in the middle of January.

this is the dungeon



This is me on top of a really old Muslim prayer tower.

Ok, so the next photo is of the old part of Berat built into the countryside!

This is a photo of the world's smallest turn about!

This is Tracey and my photo.... close... a little TOO close!

the old city of Berat

Hey Everyone!!!

Thanks for getting this started Wes!

On Sunday after church 3 of us from my team (myself, Tracy and Erna) along with Erna's niece went to the beautiful city of Berat and to the old walls of a former castle. Here are some of the pictures of the scenery and the buildings there.

Getting the ball rolling

I know that Becky already has a blog and was very diligent in posting but this blog is for everyone. I figured that I would get the ball rolling and post my Slovenian pics.

The Van Bruggens are out

Hi

This is the first posting to the roaming Van Bruggen blog. The purpose of this blog is to give all members of the Van Bruggen family a forum to post their travel pictures and experiences. Just a little background on the family, originated from Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada and has since started to leave our little frozen heaven in search of greater adventure. Currently we have spread out to Slovenia (Wes), Albania (Lynnette), South Korea (George (dad) and Judy (mom)), and right now Winnipeg (Rebekah) but I am sure that it will only be a matter of time before she leaves as well. Since we are all traveling around and all own digital cameras (some of us even own multiple digital cameras) this gives us a chance to post our experiences and keeps us all connected.