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Greetings to Danila Kumar from Matija Gubec :)

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Greetings to Danila Kumar from Matija Gubec :)

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Dear Danila Kumar Students and Teachers, we hope you are all well and safe. Thank you for inviting us to explore virtually this wonderful destination. We admit that real field trips are more fun, but given our current circumstances we are pleasantly surprised at how entertaining and educational virtual field trips can be. Here you can see some of our work and reflections. We sincerely hope we will see each other next year on a real field trip in Croatia. We will pick a nice destination for you as you have done for us! Stay well and healthy, Matija Gubec MYP Students and Teachers

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1. Write three facts you have learnt

The people in Bela Krajina paint their eggs with wax. Natura 2000 is a network which protects nature in Europe. Jurjevanje a festival in Slovenia and it is the oldest folklore festival in Slovenia.

2. Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge

Črnomelj was first mentioned in written documents in 1228.

3. Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip

Interesting, amusing, relaxing and fascinating.

4. Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?

In these circumstances I would definitely recommend my friends this virtual trip even though I would prefer a real-life experience. But as I said before, in these circumstances the virtual trip will take your mind off all the work and stress.

5. Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...

I would like to know more Črnomelj, because it seems as a nice, quite and restful city to know more about.

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1) Write three facts you have learnt.

I learned about Črnomelj, Lahinja Nature Park and White Carniola Cultural Heritage. I learned that White Carniola it is known for its vines and food. I learned that there is a specific way of how they decorate their Easter eggs and that they call them “pisanice”.

2) Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge.

I’ve heard about Slovenia’s rich cultural heritage but I’ve never heard about the place White Carniola. I didn’t know anything about it. After going on this Virtual Field trip I learned some important things about this place.

3) Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip.

This virtual field trip was very fun and interesting. It was also educative and informative.

4) Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?

I would recommend this trip to my friends because it was very fun and I learned a lot about White Carniola.

5) Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...

I was wondering how and why this place got the name of White Carniola (Bela Krajina).

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¹. Write three facts you have learnt:
White Carniola or Bela Krajina is a region in south eastern Slovenia. Many Croats settled in White Carniola in the 16th century when migrating from the Ottomans. Črnomelj is Bela Krajina’s biggest town.

2. Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge
In Slovenia there are karst caves. I have heard about the Postojna cave which is one of the top turistic attractions in Slovenia.

3. Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip

Green – two nature reserves, beautiful hills covered with forests

Misterious – jama Zjot, karst cave and underground lake

Refreshing – Rivers Dobličica and Lahinja, Vinica-Benetičev slap, Damelj-naravno kopališće

Amazing – the way the old town is surrended by rivers Dobličica and Lahinja in a form of letter U

4. Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?

I would recomend this trip to my friends because of the beautiful nature. There is a possibility to take a light walk in Lahinja nature park. There is the Karst cave Zjot with an underground lake, they can visit a mill, a typicall church and a traditional farmhouse.

5. Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...
I would like to learn more about the the special decorating techniques of painting Easter eggs. How do they prepare the eggs (clean the inside part) and how do they paint them?

Facts:
White Carniola is a region in south eastern Slovenia. The biggest town is Črnomelj. It has a population just ovet 5000. It is built on Dobličica river which enters into Lahinja river. Lahinja Nature park is an interesting destination. There are seven natural monuments, two nature reserves and six cultural monuments. There is the Karst cave Zjot with an underground lake, a mill, a sawmill, a church and a traditional farmhouse.

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1) Three facts that I have learnt about Bela Krajina is that it is a land of unique folklore, crafts and delicious dishes, Jurjevanje is the oldest folklore festival in Slovenia, and that there is a Nature park called Lahinja Nature park which its surface area is 2.6 km2.

2) One thing that was connected to my previous knowledge was the Lahinja Nature park.

3) It was really interesting and fascinating to take part in this virtual field trip. I am really happy and glad that I learned more stuff about Bela Krajina.

4) I would recommend this trip to my friends because they could learn new things about this region Bela Krajina.

5) I would like to know more about the history of this region Bela Krajina.

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I have learnt that White Canola is a region is south-east Slovenia. Črnomelj is the biggest town. I learnt that in White Canola there is a lso a beautiful natural park called Lahinja. I didn’t know much about Slovenia before this activity, and that is why I am very happy that I had the opportunity to learn more about the beautiful country of Slovenia and its beauties.

Four adjectives that I would describe this trip...

- educational- because during this work I learnt a lot about the country
- fun- because I could find out about interesting things and also learn a few things that I didn’t know.
- interesting- because I hadn't had a chance to have anything like this before and I actually liked the activity. -motivational - because this activity motivates me to learn about new cultures and new places around the world.

I would recommend this trip to my friends because...

- this seems like a great experience and I would love to visit it myself and to see how it looks in real life because the experience looks amazing in the photos.

I would like to learn more about...
- the culture and the history of their culture, because that was one of the things that I would really like to know something about.

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Reflection:

I have learned about the culture, food and drinks, nature and surrounding of the Bela Krajina and many other wonderful things. Belokranjske pisanice are connected to my previous knowledge. These are 4 adjectives I would describe our virtual field trip: magical, enjoyable, beautiful, fun. I would recommend this trip to my friends because the nature is really beautiful and there is so much things to explore, the culture is wonderful, food seems delicious and there are so many fun activities to do like hiking, canoeing, and so on.

Task 1 Črnomelj:

Črnomelj was first mentioned in written sources in 1228 as Schirnomel. Less than 50 years later, the settlement which had formed around the castle, was promoted to market town status. I would like to visit Vinica – Benetičev waterfall, the church St. Petra, and Nature park Lahinja.

Task 2 Lahinja Nature Park:

Nature 2000 is a centrepiece of EU nature & biodiversity policy. If I was a tourist guide, I would like my tourists to explore the whole Nature park and also to get and enjoy every part of surroundings and nature, I would show them the aquatic and riparian animals, plant species, I would recommend them to see the European pond turtle, birds, the Lahinja river also recommend them canoeing on the Lahinja river, the Župančić trail and recommend hiking through the Župančić trail because I think it’s a wonderful and magical experience, also visit characteristic houses and crafts shops, and get to know the past, show them all prehistorical settlements, and  last but least the Kolpa Nature park because I wouldn’t want them to miss the heart of the Bela Krajina with many interesting things to see, also to see the warmest river and many other things in Kolpa.

Task 3 Cultural Heritage:

Easter eggs – Belokranjske pisanice, the Easter eggs are called Belokranjske pisanice because they are painted in a traditional way, Easter eggs decorated using special techniques. These are some traditional food and vine, a leavened flatbread sprinkled with caraway and coarse salt, rolled filo pastry with a curd cheese and cream filling, mince and bread patties, bread, eggs and ham stuffing in a casing, a vegetable and bacon stew, cereal sausage (made with millet and pork), mutton and cabbage stew, pasta dumplings filled with bread and calf’s lung,  and vines, Metliška Črnina and Belokranjec are classified as PDO that means protected designation of the origin and also a leavened flatbread sprinkled with caraway and coarse salt, is classified as TSG that means a traditional specialty guaranteed.

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1)      Črnomelj is the biggest city in white Carniola. Lahinja Nature Park’s surface area is 2.6 km2. It’s situated in the heart of Bela krajina.

2)      Bela Krajina is a land of unique folklore, crafts and delicious dishes

3)      This virtual field trip is awesome, interesting, brief and good.

4)      I would recommend it to my friends because I think it’s a very interesting destination where we can learn a lot about the cultural heritage.

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The biggest town in White Carniola is Črnomelj. In Lahinja nature park you can find seven natural monuments, two nature reserves and six cultural monuments. The cultural heritage is different and interesting.

I knew White Carniola was in the south-eastern part of Slovenia.

I would describe this virtual trip as informative, beautiful, well-organised and interesting.

I would recommend this to my friends since it is very informative and fun at the same time. It is also not too long so the viewers won't get bored.

I would like to know even more about the Lahinja Nature Park since I can see it is beautiful.

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I learned that Bela Krajina (White Carniola) has very developed homemade production and cultural wisdom production, and one of those homemade cultural products is some recipes for cooking. The main basic thing they make is homemade linen with typical embroidered patterns. Also in this part of Slovenia you will discover Easter eggs which are decorated with some special techniques.

In Bela krajina, you can taste a variety of excellent dishes, including traditional Belokranjska pogača, povitica and žlinkrofi. This reminded me of a bread which was shown in a movie scene, which was called “Orient Express” that we have recently watched during quarantine.

I would describe this as dreamy, joyful and virtual field trip. I would recommend these great and interesting places where we would go if there would be field trip.

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1. Write three facts you have learnt
A)   The Lahinja Nature Park is situated in the heart of Bela krajina,

B)   Bela Krajina is a land of unique folklore, crafts and delicious dishes,

C)  Črnomelj is the biggest ‘city’ in this area

2. Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge
White Carniola (Slovene: Bela krajina) is a predominantly Karst region in south eastern Slovenia located between Gorjanci, the Kocevski rog plateau and the river Kolpa

3. Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip
Educational, Fun, Enjoyable, Well planned

4. Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?
I would recommend this trip to my friends because, even though we didn’t actually go anywhere, it was very educational and enjoyable. As I said earlier, this was very well planned.

5. Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...
I would like to know more about the history of the area.

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1.       Write three facts you have learnt

I have learnt that White Canola is a region in south-east Slovenia, Črnomelj is its biggest town and that in White Canola there is a nature park called Lahinja.

2.  Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge

I actually had no previous knowledge about Slovenia at all, so I am very happy that I learned something about their nature parks, their culture and their geography.

3.  Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip

I would describe this trip as educational, interesting, fun and impressive.

4.  Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?

I would recommend this trip to my friends because if they go on this trip, they would learn something new and have fun at the same time so that is a perfect combination.

5.  Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...

I would like to know a bit more about St. George in Slovenia and why is he the folk dancing character.

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I learnt about Lahinja nature park, some traditional foods and about some monuments. Belokrajinske pisanice are connected to my previous knowledge because I knew about pisanice. Four adjectives describing the trip: fun, interesting, beautiful and nice. I would recommend this trip to my friends because it is fun and interesting, and they could learn something new.

Črnomelj
Črnomelj was fist mentioned in written documents in 1228 as Schirnomel. A reason for people to build a city there is because it promoted to market town status.

I would visit the Church of st. Petra, the museum, and the nature park Lahinja.

Natura 2000  is a centerpiece of European nature and biodiversity policy.

If I was a tourist guide, I would show my tourist group every part of the nature park. I would take them to the Lahinj River for a canoe ride and to the Klepec’s mill. I would also let them enjoy the surroundings of the nature. After that I would take them to the tourist shop.

Cultural heritage

The Easter eggs distinctive to Bela Krajina region are called belokrajinske pisanice. Visitors usually try belokranjska pogača, belokranjska povitica, belokranjska cvrtje and belokranjski nadev. People in Bela Krajina have a great quality in their wines. Metliška Črnina and Belokranjec are classified as PDO – Protected Designation of Origin.

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Write three facts you have learnt

Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas. Črnomelj was first mentioned in 1228. Easter eggs in Bela Krajina region are called “belokranjske pisanice”.

Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge

I knew who the Zeleni Jurij - St. George folklore character was and looked like.

Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip

Interesting, fascinating, enjoyable, and fun.

Imagine your day as a tour guide in Lahinja Nature Park. Make a list or write a short paragraph on what you would show or recommend for tourists to do or see in the park.
As much as I saw, I would recommend the following places to my tourists: Church of All Saints, Lahinja river, Pusti Gradec, and Klepcev mill and sawmill

Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?

I would recommend it to my friends, because you can learn new things and discover, by just sitting down. It fills your day and brings you some activities to take your time away.

Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...

I would like to find more about the Lahinja Nature Park, as it looks nice and has beautiful views. And because it got me the most interested.

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In the center, the Lahinja River flows, as well as forests, marshes and wetland pastures are present. The trip offers many surprises. In the park, you can visit a mill, a sawmill, a typical church and a traditional farmhouse. It is a beautiful thing to see. The main natural point of interest is the river Lahinja, with its source just below Knežina village. From the cultural perspective, the village Gradec, where the river Lahinja changes directions, that’s where a rare uninhabited prehistoric settlement is.

1) Write three facts you have learnt
I learned that Crnomelj has a population just over 5000. I also learned that the surface area of Lahinja Nature Park is 2.6 km2. Furthermore, I learned that Bela Krajina is a land of unique folklore and delicious dishes

2) Write one thing that is connected to your previous knowledge
The ability to analyze information.

3) Write four adjectives to describe this virtual trip
fun, interesting, educational, amazing

4) Would you recommend this trip to your friends? Why?
Yes, I would recommend this trip to my friends. This is because it is interesting to see new places and
learn about new places. Also, the place looks beautiful and I think it would be nice to see it.

5) Write one thing that you would like to know more about or had a question about...
I would like to learn more about Lahinja Nature Park. Why is Lahinja Nature Park liked by tourists so much, what do they like it most in the park.

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Imagine your day as a tour guide in Lahinja Nature Park. Make a list or write a short paragraph on what you would show or recommend for tourists to do or see in the park.

I recommend this park for all nature lovers. It is protected by the EU for a good reason. I recommend you see the two nature reserves with a river basin that is decorated with natural and cultural monuments. You can go canoeing along the river too. There are many forests, and meadows were you can see endangered plants and animals.

You can explore the Karst region and get to know the past at the same time. The park lies in an area of prehistorical settlements with Early Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age monuments. You can hike through all of these areas and  in August also take part in Industrial Hemp and Buckwheat Days.

You can can see a 200-year-old Klepčev mill, a Venetian sawmill and the Church of All Saints with a bell tower of open dormers in Pusti Gradec. Also you should go to Veliki Nerajec, where Mrs Vera Vardjan will kindly show you a gallery of handicraft, and you can see an ancient house, a speciality of Bela Krajina’s architecture.

I have learned that White Carniola is an area in Slovenia. Črnomelj is the biggest town in this area. The nature park called Lahinja has seven natural monuments, two nature reserves and six cultural monuments. I knew that Slovenia has lots of areas that are like this, but I didn't know about this particular one. Slovenia looks like the slides in the presentation to me. Four adjectives that I would describe this trip would be nature, old, cultural, interesting. I would recommend this trip to my friends and family because it is a great way to spend a day in nature. I like the green environment and all the culture because it is similar to Croatian. I would like to know how old the monuments and structures are. I would like to know how many people live in this area and if they have different customs that they only have in this White Carniola. Also I would like to know if it has seasonal activities or it is  same all year through.