Sparking sunshine welcomed the future participants of the European Volunteering Project “Spice up your life” . Volunteers from Turkey, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Finland and Bulgaria, accompanied by their coordinators, have come to get familiar with the scenery where they are going to spend one month spicing up Zagorje’s and its inhabitants’ life.

Entering town the carnival vibes instantly carried us away (at least in thought as we did not join any celebrations at that point): locals dressed up in colourful costumes, restaurant guests playing some traditional music. “Wow, these folks are definitely of the fun-loving type. We are at the right place!”

After having had a super-size me lunch at Kum, all our previous dietary worries have dispersed. Zagorje is certainly not a place where we are going to starve. When it was time to meet up as a whole group, most of us seemed to be trying to distinguish the participants from the coordinators, but then again, who cares? Everybody here looks pretty cool and cheerful.

I can say that we all hit it off instantly. After a short walk filled up with some small talk from the hostel, we finally caught sight of the Youth center. “ It’s a bit ugly on the outside but it’s all the lovelier inside” said our temporary Zagorje guide, Tjasa. And damn, she was right. A cozy, hip and colourful place where youngsters have left their footprints.