From March 21st to 24th the MYP students went on a four-day field trip to Italy and Switzerland. During our four-day field trip we visited the Parco Natura Viva, the towns of Milan, Como and Verona in Italy and the town of Lugano in Switzerland. We were accommodated in Milan.

On the first day we visited the Parco Natura Viva. This park is home to 1500 animals of 280 different species. It is divided into two parts: safari park that we toured by bus and the fauna park that we walked through. During the safari, we saw many animals. One of the giraffes actually came up to our bus and passed right next to it!

The Cathedral of Milan is said to have more statues than any other building in the world, and many of these are on the roof. There are thousands of statues and other figures, as well as 135 spires. We reached the rooftop by the elevator. We explored the whole of the roof, with corridors and wide-open spaces. The whole area is paved with marble, surrounded by carved stone, spires, and marble statues. It was a magnificent sight, but also a breath-taking view of the city of Milan. After the rooftop we explored the interior of the Cathedral where we saw impressive statues and impressive stained glass.

In the Morando Palace we admired the paintings depicting historic views of Milan, and the costume and fashion collection. The city of Milan is the fashion capital because of its prominence in the “prêt-à-porter” category of fashion, often known as “ready to wear”. Milan is the home of some of the most famous fashion brands in the world – Armani, Versace, Prada….

Leonardo da Vinci spent some of his most productive years in Milan, and his influence on the city is significant. We visited the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology where numerous rooms and engaging interactive workshops are dedicated to the genius Leonardo. We explored interactive 3D machines on displays, physical reproductions of Leonardo’s machines, digital restorations and reconstructions of his famous works and paintings, including ‘The Last Supper’.

This fashion capital also serves as the home of Inter and A.C. Milan. We visited the San Siro Stadium and admired its unique architectural design, discovered the 'behind the scenes' of the stadium, explored the selection of jerseys worn by some of the leading players of the Milanese teams, entered the A.C. Milan and Inter’s locker rooms, walked the players’ tunnel and enjoyed the enchanting view of the San Siro field, the greatest thrill for every football fan.

On the third day we visited the town of Como. We took a boat tour on Como Lake. Como Lake is the most ‘James Bond’ of the Italian lakes. It is famous for the natural beauty of its setting and for the handsome villas on its shores. Many movies were filmed here like Casino Royale, Star Wars, Ocean’s Twelve and many others. After the boat ride we rode up by funicular to the village of Brunate and enjoyed a spectacular view of the city.

After lunch we visited the town of Lugano. It is the largest town of the Italian speaking canton Ticino of Switzerland. We explored its cultural-historical sights and enjoyed a wonderful view of the Lugano Lake and surrounding mountains from the Civico Park.

On the fourth day we visited the town of Verona. While we were sightseeing the Roman amphitheatre and Old Town we realised that Verona earned the nickname ‘the little Rome’ for good reason. Verona enchanted us with its architecture and history. We visited the Juliet’s house to pay our respects to the timeless love story. Many legends surround this house and its connection to Shakespeare’s famous tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’. In the garden we saw the statue of Juliet as well as the walls covered with graffiti and love letters. Inside the house we had a chance to enter Juliet’s bedroom, pose on her balcony and write a letter :-)

After four intense and wonderful days we came back to Zagreb full of vivid impressions and cherished memories. It was a beautiful experience to unwind the culture and food of Italy and to visit so many breathtaking places!