Springtime!

Springtime in the foothills of the Julian Alps has been an absolute revelation.  Beautiful bright blue skies, warm sunshine, and views of the spectacular mountains that ring lovely Ljubljana.  I know I've posted it before, but this is the view from my office window today:

Here's the view from my bike ride in this morning:

When it is clear the Alps just pop up down streets, around corners, and on the highway.  At the very end of this street a snowy peak is poking out:

With the weather nicer Bobo and I have returned to the koseški bajer so he can swim after a tennis ball and I can lay in the sun.  Here he is way off in the distance, swimming his heart out, and just about to reach the ball:

And here's a bonus picture of baby ducks swimming right next to us:

(Bobo left them alone, just in case you were worried!) 

So yes, springtime has been glorious, and especially so because the Fall was so incredibly gray and gloomy.  Seriously, I looked back at the archives and my first post complaining about the weather was in September! 

It's actually been one of the nice things about being here for a year.  If I had come in the Fall and Winter I would have thought Ljubljana was a lovely city with incredibly horrible weather.  From September to December I gritted my teeth and biked to work every day, frequently in a gray, driving rain or fog, and almost never in sun. 

If I had come only in Spring I would have wondered why anyone ever complains.  Ljubljana appears lush, warm, green, and sunny these days. 

It's also nice to close strong.  My classes are done and we're heading home in mid-July.  The nice weather and a bunch of impending visitors have put us all in a festive mood.  I think we're going to hit the sweet spot. We will certainly be very happy to be home (the girls and I have promised to "kiss the tarmac" when we land in the great U.S. of A.).  But we will also be forever changed by the experience, having learned a lot AND enjoyed it along the way.  That result would have been hard to believe at times this Fall.