Hey! 👋 I'm Duarte, and on this webpage, you can explore my experience with the Erasmus+ project in Levice, Slovakia! 🇸🇰✨ But before that, let me introduce myself!

I'm 16 years old, 🇵🇹 Portuguese, and currently studying at Secundária de Loulé. 📚 I'm in the 11th grade, enrolled in the coding course 💻.

I'm excited for this new experience in a country with a completely different culture and climate! 🌍❄️ Can't wait to share my experience with you! 🚀

By the time all of this was over, it was already around 4:30 PM . We finally managed to grab an Uber 🚖 and headed back to the motel to freshen up and get ready for the evening. ✨ About 30 minutes later, we were back out, looking for a place to grab a snack 🍕🌮—because adventure is always better on a full stomach! 😆🔥🌍

When we finally got home 🏠, everyone started doing some work before going to bed—like literally EVERYONE 😮💻. I was honestly impressed, not gonna lie! But yeah, we all got productive before going to sleep.  :p

After finishing breakfast, we headed out into the streets and started exploring the surrounding area. 🏙️🚶‍♂️✨

We stumbled upon a local market with traditional food 🥖🧀🍯—it had such a nice vibe! 😍 Everything looked amazing, but I didn’t try anything since most of it was a bit too expensive for me. 😅💰 Maybe next time! 🤷‍♂️

We went to check out a tower that was kind of like the church bell tower 🔔🏰. Fun fact: the original bell was still there! 😲

It was a little broken, but still standing strong after all this time. 🏗️💪 Pretty cool to see a piece of history up close! 🤩✨

We went to a restaurant/bar and got pizza 🍕—it was huge, like 1.5-2kg! 😱 It was super tasty and filling! I also tried a garlic soup 🧄🍲, and let me tell you, it was sooo good! A little intense, but still delicious! 😋 The best part? They served it in a bread bowl 🥖—they cut open the bread and poured the soup inside. It was such a cool and tasty twist! 😍

We went to see more landmarks and important buildings, like the Parliament 🏛️. It really reminded me of Buckingham Palace in London 🇬🇧—such an exquisite place! 😍 After soaking in all the beauty, we headed back to the hostel because it started raining 🌧️. Timing, right? 😅

After we got to the hostel, I went straight to my PC to get some work done 💻. But around 6, Martim, Raul, Leandro, and I decided to head downstairs to the bar 🍻 because we wanted to play some matrecos (foosball) ⚽. It was a blast! Afterward, we just chilled in the room, relaxing and enjoying the vibes. 😌✨

So, around 9 PM, we went out to grab some food 🍔. Me, Martin, Raul, and Leandro decided to try McDonald's, but it wasn't the best experience 😅. They were having technical issues, and the communication wasn't great. At least they were nice about it! 🙏 By the time we got our food, Leandro and Martin were already done eating, while Raul and I were still waiting 🍟⏳. But in the end, everything worked out, and we got our food and headed back to the hostel. 🏠🍔

Well, it was the last night sharing the room with almost everyone 😔, but we didn't do much since we had to pack up our stuff 🧳. Plus, we were going to lose 1 hour because the time was jumping from 1 AM to 2 AM ⏰, so we were all a bit bummed about that! 😓 Still, it was a good last night together, even if it was a little bittersweet. 😅

After lunch, we headed to the train station 🚉 to finally make our way to Levice. After about 2 hours on the train, we finally arrived and were welcomed by the teachers of the school where we’d be interning 🏫👩‍🏫. After a short 15-minute walk, we reached our new home—at least for the next 3 and a half weeks! 🏠😊

The bedroom was quite exquisite 🛏️✨, and this time it was just the two of us—Tomas and me. We unpacked everything, I took a shower 🚿, and then we headed to the kitchen to pack the treats we had brought from Portugal 🇵🇹🍪. It was a chill and cozy evening! 😊

Afterward, we headed out for dinner at an old-fashioned restaurant 🍽️ with lots of traditional Slovak food 🇸🇰. They had bryndza both with and without paprika 🧀🌶️, along with other delicious local dishes. It was a great way to experience the local flavors! 😋✨

So Tomás and I woke up around 6:45 AM ⏰ and got ready to head out by 7:25. We went to Lidl 🛒 to check out what they had—it was actually a lot of stuff! But sadly, I couldn’t find what I was looking for, which was some shampoo and shower gel 😔🧴.

So at 8:15 AM, Professor Peter was waiting at the hotel doorstep to take us to the school 👨‍🏫🏨. We went on a 10-minute walk 🚶‍♂️, and once we arrived at the school… something incredible happened! 😲✨

The students and teachers had prepared a surprise "Welcome Party" for us! 🎉🥳 After enjoying a beautiful traditional folk dance performance 💃🕺, we headed to the city hall 🏛️ to continue the day. It was such a warm and memorable start! 😊

We visited the City Hall 🏛️, where the Vice President welcomed us warmly 🤝. To our surprise, he was accompanied by a Portuguese speaker—Professor Dr. Nuno Figueiredo, a music teacher 🎶🇵🇹. He kindly invited me to join him on Friday for a music lesson, and of course, I happily agreed! 🎵😄

This building was originally a synagogue 🕍 back in the day, but it has since been transformed into a museum 🏛️. It's amazing to see how places can be given new life ❤️.

At night, we ate for the first time at Baran, where we’d be having dinner for the rest of the month (except Sundays). 🍽️ The food was amazing! It didn’t really remind me of Slovak food, though—it actually reminded me more of the food from home, like "panados" (breaded meat cutlets). 😋 It felt like a little taste of home!❤️

So, this was our first day of work! 👨‍🏫✨ We all went to the school and split into two different classes to give a presentation about Portugal 🇵🇹. But we quickly noticed the kids weren’t really into it 😅, so we decided to switch things up and try a more interactive approach.

Instead of standing and talking at them, we sat at the front while the students asked us questions and interacted with us directly 🗣️👥. It turned into a much more fun and engaging experience for everyone! 🙌

Also, I have no idea why, but every single kid seemed to gather around Raul 😂—he was definitely the main atraction!!

Today, as usual, we started our meal with soup 🍲. Afterward, we moved on to the main dish. Fun fact: on Tuesdays, it's "sweet day," so the main course is a sweet dish. Today's was Šúľance—a traditional Slovak rolled pasta, often served with sweet toppings like ground poppy seeds or nuts and cherrys on top. However, my colleagues and I didn't enjoy it much, as sweet main dishes are quite uncommon in Portugal. 😅 

So for dinner tonight, we had pasta carbonara 🍝—and I’ve gotta say, it was absolutely delicious! 🤤 Honestly, one of the best carbonaras I’ve had in my whole life. I don’t know why, but it was just that good! 😍👏

So today we went back to the school 🏫, but this time we gave a different presentation—we did one about LEGO Spike! 🧱🤖 We even showed up an hour earlier just to make sure everything was prepared on time ⏰💪.

But of course, bad luck struck again 😩—the boxes were all disorganized, so we had to completely switch up our presentation on the spot. Still, everything turned out okay in the end, and everyone loved it—at least the ones who were actually trying! 😅🙌

For lunch, we had soup (of course 😄), followed by the main dish—rice and meat 🍚🍖. Simple, but really nice in my opinion! 😋✨

Today for dinner, we had chicken schnitzel, known as rezeň in Slovak . It was really nice, and those potatoes were sooooooo good! 🥔🤤 Honestly, comfort food at its finest! 😍👌

So today, we went to the primary school to catch a ride to the secondary school 🚗. When we arrived, we met the English teachers who would be accompanying us, as well as the school principal 👩‍🏫.

We gave our presentation about Portugal 🇵🇹, and afterward, we got to see some amazing student projects. One of them was a robot 🤖 that could pick up blocks of different colors and place them into separate containers—it was so cool! 😲 There was also a prototype for a smart house 🏠💡, which was absolutely awesome! 😍

After we finished at the secondary school, we went back to the primary school and had lunch 🍽️. The lunch was some kind of meet with pasta and sauce and it was really good for me at least. Afterwards, we headed back home 🏠 to relax and unwind from the busy morning. 😊

So we tried to work, but the Wi-Fi wasn’t helping at all 😅. So, we decided to head to a nearby café, Omega Café ☕, and had some drinks while working there. It was really nice—the drinks were great, the view was amazing, and the Wi-Fi was so much better than the one at the hotel! 😆📶

So today, we had soup because Leandro said we needed to eat something healthy 🥣, but it actually turned out to be really nice! It was bean soup, and we also had some appetizers—bread with cheese 🧀🍞. It was really good, in my opinion! 😋

In the morning, we went to school and did a total of 2 presentations and 4 talks. So, basically, from 8 AM to 1 PM, it was a bit tiring 😅, but it was really nice talking with the little kids 👦. They were so full of energy and curiosity! 😊

After we finished with the presentations, we went to the canteen and had lunch 🍽️. The meal was some kind of fried cabbage—a bit unusual, but oh well 🤷‍♂️. Afterward, we headed back home 🏠 to relax and unwind from the busy morning. Much needed! 😊🛋️

So, Arturo and I went to Tesco, which was about a 20-minute walk from the school 🚶‍♂️🛒. And wow—it was massive, seriously just massive 😲. I saw a ton of different things, including like 10 different KitKat flavors 🍫🤯! But I didn’t buy any... gotta control myself 😅💪.

So after Tesco, I got invited by Professor Nuno Figueiredo to join him for a music class 🎶. Of course, I said yes—and I absolutely loved it! We played some well-known songs like "My Way", "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley, and even the iconic James Bond theme 🎵. We even had some exchange students from Germany who sang "Can't Help Falling in Love" with us! It was truly one of the best musical experiences I've ever had! 😍👏

So after that, we went to watch the basketball game 🏀🔥—of course, we were cheering for the Levice team! With the power of friendship (and maybe some loud cheering 😄), Levice won by 12 points! 🥳💪 Fun fact: one of the players was massive—like 2.16 meters tall! 😳⛹️‍♂️

So today, we planned a trip to Nitra, so we had to wake up at 4:45 AM to be at the station by around 6:12 AM ⏰. We got there at about 5:55 AM, but of course, the train was delayed by about 30 minutes 🚉. Fun fact: we almost missed the second train because of that! 

After a long walk, we finally made it to the main attraction—the castle 🏰! We got our tickets and entered at 11 AM. We started by visiting the tower with a guide, where we watched a short video explaining everything about the location 📽️. Of course, we took lots of photos 📸 and walked around for a bit before heading to lunch 🍽️.

Afterward, we headed out for lunch at an all-you-can-eat restaurant 🍽️. It was about 7,50€ per person, and the food was really good! 😋👍

After lunch, we went to a cat café 🐱☕ because most of us wanted to check it out. I was just too tired, though, and ended up falling asleep 😴. By the time I woke up, it was already time to head out! 😅

We had dinner at McDonald's 🍔🍟, and we all basically ordered the same meal— 😎 Big Mac + fries + drink — the holy trinity of fast food. 

So for lunch, we used an app to order some food 📱🍽️. We did get our food… but it took 2 whole hours to arrive 😩⏳. And to make things worse, it was full of chili—even though we specifically asked for no chili… or so we thought 😅🌶️❌.

Turns out Martin misread it and accidentally picked the "with chili" option 💀🌶️.
RIP lunch… our mouths are still recovering 😔🔥

So for dinner, we once again went with delivery 🍕📱. This time, we ordered pizza, and they said it would take an hour—which it did! ⏰👏 Great start!

Also, their English was really good, which made the whole process smoother 😄🗣️. And finally, we got to eat something decent at last 🙌. I went with a classic pepperoni pizza, and it was sooo worth it! 🍕🔥

So once again, we went to the school at around 7:45 AM, and from there we got a ride to the secondary school, where we were going to stay for the morning. 🚗🏫

Everything went smoothly, and we were ready for another day of fun and learning! 😊✨

So we had a class about Micro:bit, which is a tiny microcomputer 💻. I created a project that included both a program and a hardware component—it basically counts the number of visitors! 🧠🔧 I think it turned out pretty nice, honestly. 😄 

So for lunch, we had meatballs with beans 🍽️. I only had the beans, though 😅. For dessert, we had these waffle-like cookies, and they were really nice! 🍪✨ 

So in the afternoon, Raul and I went to the laboratory to get some work done, since we needed good Wi-Fi—and luckily, the school had a great connection! 💻📶 

So after a day of work, we went for dinner and—surprise, surprise—it was fish! 🐟 I was actually kind of happy to finally eat something that wasn’t meat. Overall, it was a nice meal, and as always, the potatoes were really good! 🥔😋

So today, as always, it was Sweet Tuesday 🍽️🍫, which means the main dish was a sweet one. It was something like a dough with chocolate on top and inside. I didn’t try it because my tummy wasn’t feeling so well 😔. 

After lunch, I went to the computer lab to get a little work done 💻. Right after, Paula picked me up from school, and then we stopped by the hotel to pick up the rest of the group 🏨. Finally, we arrived at the same school where I had my music class 🎶. We had a workshop there and then headed back to the hotel. 

So for dinner, we had chicken schnitzel, and as always, it was really nice 😋. But this time, we actually had a side of cucumber and a big bowl of ketchup and another big bowl of mayo, which was a really nice touch! 🥒🍗🍅🧴

So today we went to school at 8:50 🕣—finally, some time to sleep in 😴. When we arrived, there were two technicians who taught us how to dismantle and clone HDDs into SSDs 💻🔧. There was a small problem at the start because the SSDs were smaller than the HDDs, but everything turned out okay in the end 👍.

We dismantled all the PCs—17 in total—and cloned 18 SSDs (one was extra for the next room we'll work on). After finishing that part, we started organizing some LEGO boxes 🧱 for Friday’s workshop. Busy but productive day! 💪✨

So today we had some chicken with rice and fries 🍗🍚🍟—it was really nice, probably one of the best lunches we’ve had in the past few days 😋👏. Simple meal, but super tasty!

So after lunch we went to the animal shelter 🐶🏡 and it was really nice to make the dogs feel a little more free—walking them or even running around! 🐾💨 For example, I picked one and he was so excited that I ended up running with him 🏃‍♂️🐕. Of course, I was always being careful, but it was such a heartwarming experience ❤️.

So today we ate fried cheese 🧀🍽️ and it was actually pretty nice! I’m not really a cheese person, but it was good—and really cheesy 😅. Not to mention, it’s a traditional Slovak dish 🇸🇰! Usually, it's made with goat cheese, but this time we had mozzarella instead. Definitely an interesting experience and something new to try! 😋✨

So, in the morning we went to school at around 7:15. When we arrived, we saw some kids that were selling flowers at the entrance because it was the National Day of Fighting Cancer 🌸🎗️. People buy these flowers to support the cause. Anyway, once we arrived, we went straight to the bus, and our day had officially begun! 🚌

Our first visit was to Pixel Federation, a mobile video game development company. They’ve developed several popular games such as Diggy’s Adventure, Puzzle Adventure, and their top title — the Train Station series. 🚂🎮

The company has three floors, each designed with a unique theme, almost like stepping into a different game world! We got to visit two of them, and one of the highlights was seeing a detailed model of one of the regions from the Train Station game — it was super cool!

For lunch, we went to a nearby shopping center. Since we didn’t have much time, I just grabbed a burger, fries, and a drink from KFC 🍔🍟🥤. After finishing, I rushed to get to the meeting spot, and then we headed off to visit the university 🎓. 

When we arrived at the university, we waited a little bit, then passed through security and headed straight to the tech department. We visited a total of four labs. The first lab had three small projects, including an assembly line simulation. 🏭 The second lab featured a car that could follow a line. 🚗 The third project was the most impressive and complex—it was an AI that could process and generate images for us. 🤖 It wasn’t a video generator but rather a proper AI image model. 🎨

Afterward, we went into a classroom where we saw even more advanced assembly lines. Apparently, to put everything together, they use a software called TIA Portal, which allows for both graphical and code-based programming using languages like C/C++ or Python. 💻

Later, we went to the underground floor, where we saw robotic arms performing various tasks—opening bottles, carrying car parts, and even a sensitive robotic arm designed to detect and avoid human contact, making it safer for use in factories with limited space. 🤖💡 Finally, we visited a room dedicated to robots that could move anything with wheels. 🚀 We even got to control one of them using an Xbox controller—it was seriously awesome! 🎮

So, we went to Podhájska, and in this village, there are thermal waters, so we spent the rest of the afternoon there. It was a great and relaxing experience — there was a spa, outdoor pools, ice baths, and even massages, not to mention the pool bar! 🍹💆‍♂️💦 

So, finally, we arrived at our hotel, but before going in, we grabbed our dinner because our beloved Peter teacher asked the equally beloved restaurant staff to stay a little longer just so we could have our meal. 😊 It was really nice of them! The dinner was some rice with chicken meat—nothing too special, but it was full of love and tasted great. 🍚🍗❤️

So for lunch today we had soup 🥣 — it was like a really pasty kind of soup, but not bad at all. For the main meal, we had a plate of fish 🐟, in this case, salmon, served with mashed potatoes 🥔 and veggies on the side 🥦🥕. Definitely better than the one at our school, at least for me 😄👌.

So today we had another LEGO workshop 🧱✨, but this time it was for teachers — showing them how they can use LEGO Spike to teach their students! 👩‍🏫👨‍🏫 I started by talking about LEGO Spike and the differences between Prime and Essentials 🔍. Afterwards, we talked a bit about the programming side 💻 and finally, we started guiding them on how they can actually teach and get the most out of LEGO Spike in the classroom 🚀📚.

So for dinner today we had pizza 🍕— it was a plain one with some corn on top 🌽 (I didn’t like the corn that much, but oh well). It was really nice, especially since I hadn’t eaten pizza in a while, so yeah, definitely a nice surprise! 😋✨

So today at around 10 AM we went to the place where Raul trains volleyball 🏐 because there was a really important match happening. It was a big deal — Levice was in 3rd place in their group, and if they won, they'd move up to 2nd place and qualify for the nationals! 😲🔥

And guess what? They won! 🏆🎉 The final score was 6–0, and I actually have photos of every score and even the last point of the first part 📸. Everyone played really well — it was so nice to see the intensity and team spirit on the court. It made the whole experience super exciting and memorable! 🙌💪

So finally, after the game ended, we went to McKebab 2 to get ourselves some food 🥙😋 — and this time, the food was bussin.

Unlike last time (where they basically dumped like 1kg of chili on mine 🌶️🔥😭), this time they got it just right — flavorful, warm, and without burning my soul. Big win for my taste buds today! 🙌

So after lunch, we went back home 🏠 and chilled for a bit, then around 5:30 PM we headed out again to watch Levice play basketball 🏀🔥. And as always — they won! 🎉 The final score was 97-71 (I think), so they totally crushed it with a huge difference 💪💥.

They were sooo close to hitting 100 points though… but nope, didn’t happen 😔 just 3 points away! Still, the energy was amazing and the whole match was super fun to watch.

Also, during the break we played Kahoot 🎮📱 and that was a blast too — gotta love a little friendly competition 🙌💛

So today for dinner 🍽️ we had pasta 🍝— but this time it had corn 🌽 in it, and honestly… most of us weren’t really feeling it 😅. Because of that, we decided to play a game called “0 ou 1” ✌️🤚. Basically, everyone picks either 0 or 1, and:

• If there are more 1s ➡️ the 0s are out

• If there are more 0s ➡️ the 1s are out

• If it’s a tie ➡️ we redo the round

Anyway, Lara lost the game 😆, so we made her go tell the manager that we didn’t like the corn that much 💀. She came back and said the manager’s expression was like that of someone who wants to kill you 😬.

Let’s just say... corn might not be on the menu next time 😅.

So today we really didn’t do much 😅, and for both lunch and dinner we just went to Lidl and grabbed some lasagna 🍝. I had the same thing for both meals — not complaining though, because lasagna is totally top-tier food 🔝❤️.

Fun fact: in Slovakia, you can find both beef and pork lasagna 🐄🐖, but in Portugal, I’ve only ever seen the pork one 🤔. It’s kind of part of my childhood at this point, so eating it brought back some nostalgic vibes ✨.

So we arrived at around 8:00 AM, I think 😅, and we started off with a presentation about the GOAT of the countries — aka Portugal 🇵🇹🐐. We actually did two of these presentations, and each one came with a fun Kahoot at the end to keep everyone engaged 🎉📱.

Afterwards, we had some chill conversations with the students 🗣️. We talked about life, the differences in language, culture, and just how things vary from place to place — it was super interesting 🌍✨.

We also got to check out the whole school 🏫. It had big classrooms (or “salons”), a huge restaurant area 🍽️, and they're even building a whole 4th floor which is currently underway 🔨🏗️.

So today’s lunch was kinda funny 😆 — we had these giant slices of pickle 🥒, and since I didn’t really like them (just like almost everyone else), I ended up putting mine on Raul’s plate. And I wasn’t the only one… so eventually, his plate turned into a full-on pickle mountain 🏔️😂.

We forgot to take a photo 📸, but trust me, it was legendary. We even gave it an official name: PickleMount. Truly a culinary landmark 😂💚.

So me and Lara had dinner a bit earlier today 🍽️ since we had a meeting :p. We ate this dish with pork meat and these little round pasta balls — apparently that’s how they do it here! 😄 It was kind of funny and a bit strange for me, but honestly, not bad at all.

After that, we both got a bit of a sweet tooth 🍫😋, so I ordered a brownie and Lara got a crepe with Nutella. And OMG — both were really good. Definitely a sweet ending to the meal! 🍰✨

So today we went back to the same school as yesterday 🏫 and we started off with some of our group presenting their PAP — which is their final project. I didn’t present since I’m only in the 11th grade 😅.

After that, we moved on to another class where we introduced them to the concept of a portfolio — what I like to call the “online résumé” 💻. It’s something programmers use to show who they are, the projects they've worked on, and share their contact info and more. The idea was to get them to try building one for themselves. Some were excited and got into it, but others weren’t too keen since they hadn’t touched HTML in forever 🫠.

Then we split up. Four of us — me, Raul, Martim, and Leandro — went to a classroom to have a chat with other students like we did yesterday 👥, while the rest of the group went to a different class to do the same.

Also, fun fact — all the classes we visited were from the graphic design course except the one we went to discuss with 😄.

So I already had a mini portfolio 💻✨(I made it for a fictional Character), so I went ahead and showed it to everyone so they could get an idea of what they could do too! 📁💡 It was a nice way to give them a visual example and maybe inspire some creativity.

So for lunch today, me, Lara, and Teacher Peter ordered some food 🍔🍟.    I went with the Decelius Double Texas Burger — and omg it was so good 😋🔥. It came with a side of fries, too, which made it even better! The only downside was that there was a lot of sauce, so it got kinda drippy and messy 😅.

Meanwhile, Lara and Teacher Peter both had a tofu bowl 🥗✨ — healthy vibes over there haha. Overall, it was a pretty solid lunch!

So we went to Baran a little before dinner 🍹 — me, Lara, and Sara got some Kofola, which honestly tastes like Coke mixed with cherry lollipop flavor 😂🍒🥤. And Raul… well, he just sipped on a tiny peach iced tea 😆🧊🍵.

So I got a little late for dinner 😅 but luckily the food was still warm 🍽️! I had my delicious chicken schnitzel 🍗 and it was really nice — especially with that tartar sauce 😋👌.

So the workshop started with Teacher Peter talking about STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math 🔬💻⚙️🎨➗. After that, we finally kicked off our workshop! I spoke about LEGO Spike — both Prime and Essentials — 🧱🤖 explaining what they have in common, what makes them different, and the components each box comes with.

Around 11:00 🕚, a reporter suddenly showed up and started recording us while we were working 🎥😂. It was super funny because we could barely understand anything they were saying! Later on, they even interviewed me and Lara 🎤😄 — probably because our English is a bit better than most of our colleagues’. So yeah, definitely a fun and unexpected twist to the day! 🙌✨

So for lunch we had pasta 🍝 with some chicken meat 🍗 and this really tasty sauce — it was actually super good! There was also soup 🥣, but I wasn’t that hungry so I skipped it 😅.

After eating, we headed back to the labs to finish updating the remaining PCs to Windows 11 💻⚙️. Once we got that done, we got the chance to try out some next-gen VR — in this case, the Meta Quest 2 🥽🔥.

So for dinner we had carbonara 🍝 — but this time the pasta was different… it was like green? 💚😂 I’m not exactly sure what it was, but honestly, it was really good! Even better than the last one, so I’m giving it a solid 10/10 meal 😄👌✨

So in the morning, I spent most of my time just catching up on sleep 😴 since I hadn’t really had an 8+ hour sleep in a while, and it felt amazing! After getting out of bed, I got ready to head out but stayed in the hotel room for a little bit to get some work done 💻. After that, I finally went for lunch, which was a garlic soup as a starter and for the main dish it was

So after lunch, we had a trip planned to a mountain 🏔️ — and from up there, you could see the entire city of Levice 🏙️ which was super cool! The view was amazing 😍. There was also a monument from World War II — it’s called Siklos , and it’s apparently one of those places that everyone visits at least once in their life.

The hike itself was around 6 km each way, so a total of 12 km 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️💨. It took us about 5 hours, counting the walking, chatting, and taking breaks to relax. Definitely a long journey, but 100% worth it for the view and the vibes! 💪✨🌄

So after we arrived from the  hike we went straight up for dinner witch was Kebab meat fries and rice i have ate kebab more them 1 time back in portugal but never just the meat so this was interasting and also this one made me really full.

So I think for the first time, I finally had breakfast at the hotel 🍽️😄 — guess I was actually hungry this morning! And my breakfast was none other than this beauty right here: the one and only cookie cereal 🍪🥣. Honestly, a legendary choice if you ask me 😋🙌. 

So for lunch we whipped up some penne pasta with bacon and sausage 🍝🥓🌭 — and it was so nice! I grabbed the ingredients from the shop, and Lara did the cooking, so I’d say that’s a fair team effort 😄👏

While we were cooking, we played the classic "0 or 1" game to decide who had to clean the frying pan — because of course, everyone was claiming they didn’t use it 😂🔢🧽. Good food and good vibes all around!

P.S. We actually had the same thing for dinner too — it was just that good 😋🔥

So I woke up at around 5:00 AM ⏰, took a shower 🚿, and headed downstairs to meet up with the rest of the group — because TODAY WE WERE GOING TO BB (Banská Bystrica)!! 🎉🚌

At around 6:10, we arrived at the train station 🚉, but surprise… we actually got on a bus instead 😅. After that, we hopped on two "train buses" (yup, that’s what they call them 😂) to continue the trip. The journey had already started and it was kinda wild but fun!

So for breakfast we tried walking around a bit, but everything was kinda meh 😕… so we ended up going to Tesco Express 🛒. I grabbed a chicken sandwich 🥪 and two chocolate napolitanas 🍫🥐— solid picks if you ask me! And for the drink, I went with a Lipton green tea 🍵, which turned out to be quite exquisite,👌.

So after lunch, we headed to the castle 🏰— which, surprise surprise, wasn’t your typical “single building” kind of castle! Instead, it was more like a whole complex of structures 🏘️, almost like a mini village with around 10 different buildings. That was super interesting, especially since I had never seen a castle like that before 🤯. Definitely a cool and unique place to visit!!!

So after that, we tried to go to a cat café 🐱☕ — but turns out you actually needed a reservation 😿. So we thought, "Are there any museums open nearby?" and lucky for us, there was one! We ended up going to the Slovak Central Museum 🏛️✨.

The museum had a bunch of cool artifacts and focused a lot on the mining history of Banská Bystrica ⛏️⛰️. There was even a cave-like section with some medieval torture instruments from the 14th/15th century (yikes 😬🔗), plus a video that explained more about that time period.

All in all, it was a pretty nice and interesting experience — definitely worth the visit! 🙌📚

So for dinner we had fried cheese 🧀 — which I actually gave away since I wasn’t that hungry 😅 — with fries on the side 🍟 and, of course, the legendary tartar sauce 😍.

Honestly, I still don’t know why it’s so good… but it just is. Like, where has this sauce been all my life?? In my 16 years of existence, I had never tried it — and now I realize I’ve been missing out on some serious flavor 😭👏. Total game changer!

So in the morning we got ready to head out to Pukanec, which is this small, charming village 🏡✨. We left around 11:15 AM by bus 🚌, and honestly, the ride was super chill — it only took like 40 minutes, so we got there pretty fast! 😄🌄

So after we arrived, we went to visit a beautiful Gothic church ⛪✨. Fun fact — it’s actually a Gothic-style church! It had some really old and stunning altars, along with a gorgeous pipe organ 🎹. One of the most interesting things was that it had what they called "the grave" of Jesus, which made the whole experience feel even more meaningful 🙏. The decoration on the altars and the altars themselves were centuries old, and honestly, it was really nice to see all that history up close 🕊️🪔.

So right after we arrived, we headed straight to lunch 😋🍽️ — and for lunch, we had Párance, which is a traditional pasta dish from Pukanec🍝. Honestly, despite its looks and the super simple vibe, it was really nice! Sometimes the most humble dishes surprise you the most 😄👏💛.

So in the afternoon, we got hands-on and did some experiments with clay 🎨👐 — we tried to make pottery with it, and honestly, it was such a nice and chill experience! I ended up making something like a little peanut jar 🥜😂. Sadly, I totally forgot to take any photos… so you'll just have to take my word for it 😅📷.

So after that, we headed out for some ice cream 🍦— and I was like Oh My Gaah it was sooo nice and super cheap!! Only 1€ per scoop 😍💸, so obviously we were all in. Martim and Leandro went a little too hard though and dropped like 8€ each on ice cream 😂🍨… but hey, if there’s ever a time to treat yourself, this was it! Total sweet tooth moment 🍬✨.

So after we had our ice cream, we wandered into a small Easter fair 🎉🐣 and it was actually really cute! There was this little booth where an elderly lady 👵 was teaching us how to make these traditional braided sticks — they're used the day after Easter to gently "hit" girls you like as a fun way to show affection 💐😂 . 

So after we got back from Pukanec, it was dinner time 🍽️ — and guess what? I made lasagna! 🧀 It turned out really nice (not to brag or anything 😏 but I might just be the best lasagna microwave chef out there 🔥👨‍🍳).

Buuut let’s be real — this blog already has enough lasagna pics 😅, so instead… here’s a snap of the guys from last night 📸✨.
Good vibes, good food, great company — what more could you ask for? 🙌💯

So finally, after everything being closed and having nowhere to go, we FINALLY went to see the Levice Castle/Museum 🏰🎨. And let me tell you, it was actually pretty cool! There were loads of artifacts on display, which was super interesting, but the highlight for me was the old pharmacy from the year 1823! 🧪⏳ It was incredible to see how things were back then. Definitely worth the visit! 🙌✨

Also, since it was Easter, there was a Slovak traditional egg exhibition, and we took a photo with the author who has been mastering that art for 27 years.

So for dinner, Lara made some doradinhos 🐟🍽️ — but that wasn’t quite enough to fill us up 😅. So I jumped in and made (you guessed it)... lasagna again! 🧀🔥

And yeah, no fancy food pics this time — just a shot of the aftermath: empty plates of doradinhos and lasagna. I guess that’s proof that we are great cooks.😎📸 

Soo I may have slept a bit longer than I should’ve... 😅
I woke up around 11 AM, so I basically went straight to lunch. We headed to Baran since it was open — honestly, it’s a really nice restaurant in my opinion, so no complaints there 🙌. It was just me, Raul, and Leandro this time.

We started off with a warm soup 🥣, then had a delicious pizza with ham 🍕🥓, and to top it all off… these beautiful crepes absolutely stuffed with Nutella 😍🥞. No joke, they were filled to the brim — pure chocolatey heaven.

Spent most of the day just chilling 😌
Honestly, I really needed it — sometimes you just gotta take a break. I barely left my room except to eat dinner… but let me tell you, it was so worth it 👀🍽️

Dinner was this amazing chicken breast with ham and cheese on top🐔🧀🥓, with rice on the side 🍚. Absolute comfort food. And the best part? Everyone came down for dinner, so it was way more lively and fun fianly they went out for once 🙌✨

This morning we went to the Business School 🏫💼
We did a few different activities, but the most fun one was creating our own toy for kids. The rules? Two Portuguese + two Slovakians per group — and from there, it was all creativity.

Now, in our group, one of the guys joked that he was addicted to gambling 😂 — and we were like, “Wait… what if we made a toy based on that?” And so "Yummy Gamble" was born 🎲🍬.

It was basically a plastic cup completely covered so you couldn’t see what was inside. Inside the cup? Candy! 🍭 BUT — here’s the catch — you never know how much candy you’re getting. Sometimes a lot, sometimes barely anything. That’s the gamble. It’s chaotic, risky, and perfect for hooking entertaining kids 😅🙈

Surprisingly… we won second place! 🏆 So yeah, pretty proud of that moment 😎👏

After that, we did some programming with Scratch, and then it was time for lunch.

So when we arrived, the first thing we did was get lunch 🍽️ — and wow, it really reminded me of the most average lunch or dinner back in Portugal. It honestly felt like I was back home… except for the sauce.

Because that sauce? Yeah, we definitely don’t have that in Portugal — and it was amazing 😍🔥. It went well with everything and just brought the whole meal to the next level. Unexpected, but super tasty surprise! 

So for dinner we had the famous Cordon Bleu — a French dish (I think? 😅) that’s basically meat (don’t ask me what kind exactly 😂) stuffed with ham and cheese 🧀🥩.

On the side, we had that legendary tartar sauce again 😍 — I swear it makes everything better — and of course, some classic French fries 🍟, just because we can. 

So in the morning, we did some more presentations 🗣️✨ to the classes we hadn’t visited yet 📚👩‍🏫. Later on, we got “interviewed” 🎤😄 — and there were like two full classes of students watching us 👀😳 while we answered questions from the 9th graders 👨‍🎓👩‍🎓. 

So today we had something kinda fancy for lunch 🍽️✨ — mashed potatoes 🥔 with chicken breast 🍗 and shredded cheese on top 🧀. And idk why, but the thing I remember the most is the cheese 😩💛. Like, when you mixed it all together, the cheese would just melt and turn into something fire 🔥.

Well, tonight’s dinner was something special 🍽️✨ because we had it with the teachers! 👩‍🏫👨‍🏫 We invited Teacher Miriam, Teacher Mariana, Teacher Peter, and even the head teacher to join us 🥹❤️. It felt like a really special dinner for all of us — sharing a meal together, laughing, and just enjoying the moment 🌟 

So, just like yesterday, we did some presentations 🗣️✨ to 5th to 7th graders 📚👦👧 — basically a pretty average morning at this point 😌. Also, Sara was working with Nao on the school “opening” ceremony 🎉🏫 — it’s like an event where parents and kids come to check out the school’s conditions and get a feel for everything 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👀. 

For lunch, we had pasta 🍝 and chicken 🍗 with some bread on the side 🥖. It was nicceee 😋 — I mean, the color was a little too orange for me 🧡😂, but the sauce (which was the orange part) was Soooo good 🤤✨ idk why! Honestly, I think I’m sad that when I go back to Portugal, I’ll have to eat at my school’s cantine again 😩🍽️ 

So for dinner, me, Raul, and Leandro went to Baran for a last dinner 🍽️✨. I had these delicious gratinated chicken breasts 🐔🧀 with some white rice 🍚 and salad 🥗 on the side. Raul went for some chicken stuff with cheese 🧀 and ham 🍖 — and it was nicce, at least that’s what he said 😄. Leandro loved so much the fried cheese that he even asked for a gourmet version of it and yeah, he was totally addicted  🤤🧀! 

We woke up around 5 AM ⏰🌅 to catch the train to Bratislava 🚆🇸🇰. The teachers — Mariana, Miriam, and Peter — were so nice 💖 that they came to the hotel around 5:50 🕔 just to say goodbye 👋 and help us carry our bags to the train station 🎒🚉. We also gave them little gift bags 🎁 with a photo, chocolate 🍫, and an envelope ✉️ each because we’re so grateful 🙏 for everything they did for us. We’ll miss them a lot 🥲❤️, and this way, they can remember us whenever they see those gifts. 

So we met up with the teacher at the train station 🚉👋, and then it was bus to train to bus and bla bla bla bla bla until we finally got to Vienna🎉! 

So after we arrived, we went straight to the hotel 🏨 and left our things in a small room they had 🧳. Just like we did in Bratislava, but this time, instead of leaving, we were arriving 🚪➡️🏠!

So we went straight from the hotel to the cathedral ⛪️ by the underground 🚇. It was pretty fun because most of us had never used the underground before — their eyes were literally shining with excitement ✨👀! 

So for lunch, almost all my colleagues wanted to go to BK (Burger King) 🍔🍟, so we went. The burgers weren’t much — kinda tasteless, honestly 😕🍔. But what shocked me the most was the PRICES 😳💸! I paid €17.50 for just one menu 😱… so yeah, you can see the prices are really cheap (cough cough).

After lunch, we did some more sightseeing 🏙️👀 and even spotted an F1 car in a shop — that was super nicce! 🏎️🔥 Then we checked out places to visit the next day 📅✨. Around 4 PM, we headed to the amusement park 🎢🎡 .

So we went to the theme park 🎢🎡 by metro 🚇, and when we finally arrived, me, Leandro, and Tomás were ready to ride almost anything that looked even a little bit radical 😎🔥! But… we didn’t have a big budget 💸😅, so we had to skip some of the rides 😔. Still, we made the most of it and went on the wildest ones we could! 🙌🎠🎉