The day has finally come my brothers and sisters. 😭 The final part of my study visit is here. And honestly, I cannot help but feel melancholy.
Like I said in the previous part I doubt I will post here for a while still. I rarely travel and this was the perfect opportunity to be a part of this community that I've always looked at from afar. 😁
I'd like to thank the pineapple community for the warm welcome. It is very much appreciated. Truly. I wish you all the best in your endeavors! 🍍
So for the last time! Let's gooooooooo! 🚀
🔶 WAREHOUSES 🔶
We woke up bright and early to head to the DHMZ Warehouses/Laboratories. Yesterday, we visited their headquarters (in a chocolate factory). And now it was time actually to see what they do with all that mullllaaahhh. 🤑😛
INTERESTING FACTOID: The place where these facilities are located was once the boat/shipyard of Yugoslavia. Around 50-60 years back. Now? It serves as a warehouse where state-of-the-art lab equipment is stored.
Again, I have to commend my fellow Croatians for being excellent hosts. They explained what they had to do and didn't linger on the unneeded.
The tour lasted for about an hour+ during which we traveled throughout this massive section of land. If the labs ever shut down for whatever reason, they could still use the area as a recreational park. 😛
As we moved between the various buildings I took notice of just how clean everything was. 😁 You would think such a massive endeavor would have some leaks, literal and figurative. But nah, they take care of everything. Kudos.
All good things come to an end. And our amazing hosts arranged for taxis to carry us to our next destination. The Croatian Medical Institute. 🚕
🔶 THE INSTITUTE 🔶
This was a rather long drive, about 30, to 40 minutes. 😅 Me and my colleagues got really existential during this particular ride. It gave me high school vibes when we used to go on excursions with the class. Good time.
We soon arrived! A little lost, but as always the Croatians proved amazing caretakers as one of the lab workers found us and ushered us inside.
**BUT FIRST! Look at this handsome devil. 😈 That's me! I know I rarely put pictures of myself in these, so I reckoned why not. 😁
We got inside and I'll tell you this lab was super impressive.
It was once self-funded, but due to its exceptional research, the government started subsiding its research. The dream!
Everyone was super attentive here. It was something about the instructors, they were like those favorite teachers you had in school. 😅 You just had to listen to them.
And for those legal experts out there afraid I'm leaking some tech that I shouldn't, I signed no NDA. We were specifically instructed to take pictures and share them. It's like free marketing for them. Smart.
If you ever happen to find yourself in the Balkans the numbers above are the standard emergency numbers across all countries. 💯
After about another 1.5h It was time to head back to Hotel Manda for some rest before we headed out again for our final night out! But first - lunch!
I've shared my fast-food lunch in every post. Had to do it for the finale. 😇 I've also heard a lot about Surf n' Fries and wanted to try them out since we don't have this franchise in Macedonia. They weren't bad!
🔶 LAST NIGHT OUT 🔶
Tomorrow we fly back, so we had to go out and take a final look around town. It was time to explore! (and as an RPG-game lover you know I'm all about that exploring) 😉
First I wanna talk about these balls all across town. You see, these aren't balls, these are planets! The entire solar system is mapped out in Zagfreb! And they are all proportional - that's so cool! 😎 Like, you see how big Jupiter is? Well, Pluto is the size of a tennis ball and it's glued to a building. Didn't take a picture of it, unfortunately. But such a cool and novel idea.
A fancy hotel we passed. 😮
We got Pizza! 🍕 Because of course we did! 😁 I made mine extra spicy. I would regret it the morning after. But at the time if was scrumptious! 🤤
After we ate we went to get some drinks! Responsible drinks, of course. 🍹 And look at this amazing shot I took of two of my beautiful colleagues.
Everyone was good and happy when the night ended. Nice and tired to sleep as much as we wanted fir the next day, and our trip back!
🔶 GOODBYE, ZAGREB! 🔶
This is technically cheating, but I had to cover our trip back. And I certainly wasn't gonna make a new post just for this section. 😀
We woke up, ate, and the taxis were outside ready to take us to the airport. 🛬
One last shot of beautiful Zagfreb before we go...
Bags: checking. Zagreb airport? Awesomrino. //Just roll with it
I really liked the design of the airport. But we can't just stand around and admire the architecture! Gotta get on the plane yo!
I actually slept through the entire flight. 😅 Seeing how last time I was hyper-aware during the whole thing,l I was so pleasantly surprised when I heard the captain through the speaker - saying we've arrived in Skopje!
Transportation was waiting to take us home. And that was that... 😭
This trip was amazing, and I really miss being there with my coworkers. But like we said earlier, all good things must come to an end!
Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe, possibly, roll) 👏👏👏
Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
Wanna see the rest of my adventure? Well, ask no more fellow internet users!
BEHOLD: DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | YOU ARE READING DAY 5
I must say this was a transformative experience. Zagreb and its people were a treat. On several occasions, I thought about moving there. But that's an endeavor of its own. I would 💯 go back if I had the chance. I miss it already. 😢
I hope everyone had as much fun reading this series as I had writing it! Again, I'd like to thank the wonderful people of this community for allowing me into your midst. It was an absolute pleasure and I can't wait to post here again. 😇
Peace. Love. Happiness. Be good, and I'll see you next time. 👋
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Hope that everyone has an amazing start to their weekend! 🙌