There will not be a typical day on this study abroad program, but here is a sense of what to expect. After morning individual and/or group metaphysical time, we will have classroom or excursion time. Coursework will involve reading and writing, experimenting with translation, and most importantly visits/interviews with writers and translators whose works we will be reading while in Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Students will learn the basics of the Slovene language through a brief course at the Center for Slovene Studies in Ljubljana. Day and afternoon trips to literary and culturally significant sites will include Kobarid, known for World War I and Ernest Hemingway; the Predjama castle in a cave; Lake Bled, a picturesque mountain lake with nearby waterfalls that have inspired poets and writers over the centuries; Celje and its castle; the Škocjan caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site; the coastal town of Piran; not to mention modern literary sites such as the Celica Hostel in the classic European capital city Ljubljana.
Our week-plus in Croatia includes four days in the capital, Zagreb, where we’ll meet with authors and translators; a morning at the waterfall-filled Plitvice Lakes National Park; two days in Zadar, where we hope to connect with some university students; and a night and day on the Isle of Rab, where one of the novels we read takes place. Tucked into the Croatia portion is a brief side trip to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we’ll see evidence of both the destruction of the war in the 1990s and the reconstruction of the 16th-century Ottoman bridge that had spanned the Neretva River for 427 years.
Each day will require a sense of adventure and flexibility as we embark on our scheduled activities.
| LOCATION | DAY | ITINERARY |
| WEEK 1 Ljubljana, Slovenia | Monday | Arrive in Ljubljana. Ljubljana orientation |
| Tuesday | Language Class #1 Tour of Ljubljana, including Baroque library Castle visit | |
| Wednesday | Škocjan Cave Vipava – Traditional music and dance, Predjama Grad–Castle in a cave Testimony meeting | |
| Thursday | Language Class #2 Marko Stabej, Center for Slovene as a Foreign Language – lecture and discussion at U of Ljubljana Dinner/discussion with author Erica Debeljak, and possible boat tour | |
| Friday | Homework/cafe time Ljubljana is Your Teacher Day Open kitchen | |
| Celje, Slovenia | Saturday | Travel to Celje Castle Pokrajniski Musej (Roman and Counts of Celje sections) Tree House at Celje City Forest |
| Sunday | Celje, continued Church with group Whitewater canoeing | |
| WEEK 2 Ljubljana, Slovenia | Monday | Travel to Ljubljana Prof. Jason Blake’s American Short Story class U of Ljubljana Faculty of Arts) Writer Andrej Blatnik—Lecture on publishing in Slovenia and discussion of his work (U of L Faculty of Arts) |
| Tuesday | Language Class #3 Translator chat at Slovene Writers’ Association (Urša Javorseč and Dušanka Zabukovec) | |
| Wednesday | Velika Planina/Kamnik Possibly Grad Strmol (castle setting of a novel we read) or Vrba (France Prešeren home) Testimony meeting | |
| Zagreb, Croatia | Thursday | Language Class #4 Travel to Zagreb Explore orientation walk/gelato |
| Friday | Literary Zagreb Tour Homework time Class time to prep for author meetings | |
| Saturday | Meetings with Ivana Bodrožić, author of Hotel Tito; and Ivan Sršen, author/translator/publisher | |
| Sunday | Church with group Free day/Homework (reading; writing) Festival of the European Short Story opening talk | |
| WEEK 3 Grabovac (Plitvice), Croatia | Monday | Classical Zagreb Tour with Andrea Pisac and Iva Travel to Plitvice Lakes National Park |
| Mostar, B-H | Tuesday | Morning at Plitvice Lakes National Park Travel to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Zadar, Croatia | Wednesday | Mostar City Tour Exploring on own Travel to Zadar Testimony meeting (Sunset, Sea Organ) |
| Thursday | Zadar City Tour Connect with U of Zadar professor Sanja Škifić | |
| Rab, Croatia | Friday | U of Zadar class, discuss university education in US and Croatia (Prof. Sanja Škifić) Travel to Rab Island (setting of a novel we read) |
| Nova Gorica, Slovenia | Saturday | Rab Island exploring Travel to Nova Gorica |
| Bled, Slovenia | Sunday | Travel to Kobarid and Bled Kobarid Outdoor Museum Hike Ridge of Kolovrat – Mt. Na Gradu tour Kobarid WWI Museum Vršič Pass (stop at top and cafe) Church |
| WEEK 4 | Monday | Lake Bled A day at the lake Potica baking workshop on the island |
| Tuesday | Vintgar Gorge Radovljica medieval town Vrba Grad Strmol (if not done earlier in program) | |
| Ljubljana, Slovenia | Wednesday | Testimony meeting Travel to Ljubljana |
| Thursday | Language Class #5 Celica Tour with Janko Rožić Evening Plečnik architecture tour with Janko | |
| Friday | Ljubljana-Piran – Sečovlje- Ljubljana (3/4 day trip) Sečovlje Salina Nature Park (Salt Flats) Piran (maybe tour) Return to Ljubljana Possible Slovene Writers’ Association meeting with Ifigenia Simonović Open kitchen | |
| Saturday | Work on final papers Slovene Writers’ Association Wreath of Sonnets Presentation at Pritličje, Ljubljana (moderated by Erica Johnson Debeljak) Farewell dinner | |
| Sunday | PROGRAM CONCLUDES IN LJUBLJANA |