Catez, Slovenia

This was our final trip in Europe before packing up our household goods and moving back to America. I still can't believe we had the opportunity to travel so much in the last three years which had not only given us amazing memories but also shaped us and opened our eyes to new places, people, and intricate details of just a fraction of the world. I had high hopes that our last trip would be somewhere incredible to top off those three years but let me tell you, we were burnt out. We honestly had no desire to go anywhere else and were so focused on a smooth pack-out of our things and getting everything logistically ready to move back to America, I didn't have much more energy to plan an elaborate trip. Alex had one last work trip to Catez, Slovenia and would be spending three weeks there. He was staying at a nice hotel that had an indoor waterpark attached to it so we thought Brecken would absolutely love it. So that's that. The little guy and I would be flying solo into Zagreb, Croatia to meet Daddy and get a week break before the chaos of an overseas PCS move would be upon us.

Alex picked us up in his sporty Mercedes sedan rental car and we drove 25 minutes to where he had been staying for work, Hotel Terme. This was a clean hotel with an extremely dated interior. The lobby and restaurant of the hotel screamed 1970's but we found it to be neat, it was as if we were traveling in time! During the weekdays of our visit, Alex would leave early for work and Brecken and I would slow roll it to our buffet breakfast and either go to the waterpark or waste a few hours in the hotel room playing games and watching shows until Daddy was released from teaching his seminars in the early afternoon. When the three of us went to the waterpark together, it was probably one of the most fun times we've had as a family. Alex and I love waterslides.. LOVE them. These slides were super fast and after gaining some confidence, Brecken worked up enough courage to slide down alone. One time was all it took for him to be sold on the experience. Over and over again we went, getting faster with each run! It was hours of enjoyment and laughter. Other fun times from this trip was a night out in Ljubljana for Arabian food and a day trip to Samobor Croatia to walk around an easter market in the square. Slovenia and Croatia have been two of our favorite lesser traveled destinations in Europe. The countrysides are quiet and really lend a feeling of times past. It's very inexpensive to travel here and worth considering if you want a lesser traveled destination in Europe that fits a tighter budget.