Category: Slovenia
A city a day keeps the wanderlust at bay...
20 DAYS. 20 CITIES. 6 COUNTRIES.
AUSTRIA • SLOVENIA • BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA • CROATIA • MONTENEGRO • ITALY
PART 3, DAY 5: THE SERENE SPIRITUALITY OF LAKE BLED AND SLOVENIA’S ONLY NATURAL ISLAND
On my 2nd and last day in Slovenia, I woke up in Ljubljana with a feeling of missed opportunity: for I had failed to capture the capital city's vibrant nightlife, which came as a surprise to me given the tranquil and traditional nature of its charming cobblestoned Old Town. Those close to me *does the Mockingjay salute to my long-suffering friends and family* know that my need to be aware of every detail of my travels borders on the obsessive (some would say I'm a control freak, I prefer the phrase 'detail-oriented'). Having found myself unprepared for the dark side of Ljubljana's moon, I drove to the most famous destination in the town of Bled praying that I had done my homework, and that Lake Bled would be as breathtaking as I had hoped it to be.
Once again, I discovered that nothing could've prepared me for what I was about to see...
September 28, 2017
A city a day keeps the wanderlust at bay...
20 DAYS. 20 CITIES. 6 COUNTRIES.
AUSTRIA • SLOVENIA • BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA • CROATIA • MONTENEGRO • ITALY
PART 2, DAY 4: THE LAID BACK CHARM OF LJUBLJANA AND MARIBOR, SLOVENIA
After acclimatising myself with 3 indulgent days in the opulent city of Vienna, Austria; I felt ready (or so I thought) to throw myself into my whistle stop tour of the Balkans. From this point onward, my 20 Days Across 20 Cities in 6 Countries would be a true road trip: crossing borders by land and spending as little as a few hours in each city as I traversed Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe before rounding up my trip in the Mediterranean. It was time to hit the ground running and burn some rubber, baby. So began the 4 hour drive through the rolling Austrian countryside, to the Slovenia capital of Ljubljana via its second largest city - Maribor...
September 25, 2017
20 days of summer. 6 European countries. 15 cities and towns (19 if I visit all 5 towns in Cinque Terre). Inspired by this month's travel linkup - in which we writing wanderlusters discuss destinations as a starter (short haul), mains (a looong trip) and pudding (a destination that leaves a lasting impression) - today I share the itinerary for my upcoming trip: My 15-Course Travel ‘Tasting Menu’ across Austria, the Balkans, and Italy.
Ya'll should know by now that I am super extra. Like, "consolidate my 'save for later' online shopping purchases into a master Excel spreadsheet and picture collage" extra. Extra, extra! Read all about it! So when I picked up the updated edition of Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography I naturally devoured the book in 4 days. Then I re-read the Joe Sacco graphic novel The Fixer: A Story From Sarajevo. Curious to fill in the hole that is my lack of understanding on world history (thanks a lot, Malaysian Sejarah syllabus. What were we taught about WWII? Literally only: the Japanese f*cked up our sh*t and then the Americans f*cked up their sh*t. The end. Whut) I did what any lazy person would - learn about it on YouTube. So after watching Feature History - Fall of Yugoslavia, I wound the clock back a World War and discovered that Franz Ferdinand is more than just an excellent rock band from Glasgow.
Thanks to this information black hole I've now got the Balkans on my mind. How does one go forward? The only way is Essex Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Oh, and throw in a bit of Austria and Italy too for good measure, why not? This summer I'm spending just under 3 weeks touring *deep breath* Vienna, Maribor, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Plitvice, Trogir, Split, Sarajevo, Mostar, Kotor, Budva, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Pisa. Here is the Itinerary for My Balkans 'Tasting Menu' ft. Austria and Italy.
August 01, 2017
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