Adventure Travel Photography Blog
Ernest Hemingway described Kobarid as “a little white town with a campanile in a valley”. The small village is now home to the Kobarid Museum, the Italian Mausoleum, and several surrounding area hikes including those mentioned below as well as the long Walk of Peace journey and the short Great Kozjak Waterfall hike. Continue reading “Things to Do In and Around Kobarid, Slovenia”
Lake Bled is Slovenia’s leading mountain resort and deserves at minimum a day trip visit from Ljubljana. Nature lover and hikers, however, would enjoy at least a three day stay if not longer. A whole day can be spent just around the area and many side trip excursions are sublime. If visiting Slovenia, this area should not be missed! Continue reading “Top Things to Do In and Around Lake Bled”
Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital with a population of 270,000, seems smaller than its actual size. Its central walking zone is compact and nearby the Ljubljanica River that bisects the city. Many bridges cross the river while cafes line its banks.
We were only in Ljubljana for a half-day, and it definitely deserves a whole one or more. But we were able to see several of the sights on our short walking tour before we relaxed at a riverside café. Continue reading “Things to Do In and Around Ljubljana, Slovenia”
Motovun is an Istrian hill town home to just over 500 locals and dramatically located 1,000 feet above vineyards and forest. Parking is located atop the steep, twisty road, though to reach Old Town, visitors must take a steep 10-minute walk uphill. Continue reading “Top Things to Do in Motovun, Croatia”
Rovinj is a lovely coastal town in Istria, Croatia with a strong Venetian influence as it was part of the Republic of Venice from the 13th-18th century. In fact, all the town signs are written in Croatian and Italian.
While the Venetians had somewhat neglected Istria, upon being seized by Napoleon and becoming part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the town flourished. The Austrians brought the railroad, gas lights, and a huge tobacco factory to the area. Along with cigarette making, Rovinj’s industries include fishing and tourism.
Once an island, the town was protected by a double wall, but now is a peninsula, the walls were converted into houses! Continue reading “Top Things to Do In and Around Rovinj, Croatia”
Our nine-day tour with Mt. Travel Sobek began this morning at 9am. We met our wonderful guides, Stasa who speaks five languages and loves to travel and Domen who holds an MA in Ethnology and Cultural anthropology and is also an adventurer.
Our group included two sets of friends (including me and Page), four couples and representative from Mt. Travel Sobek’s California office. Four of the group were meeting us later due to flight delays and other plans. As such, nine of us loaded into our two vans with our guides who drove us three hours in the rain past agricultural fields and through mountains to Bale in Istria, Croatia. Istria, located in the northwest corner of Croatia is known for its olive oil, wine and truffles. We are looking forward to our hiking and culinary tour! Continue reading “Top Things to Do in Bale, Croatia”
After a nightmare powder test on my Tailwind supplement which tested positive for an explosive, I finally boarded the plane and eventually made it to Zagreb, Croatia via Munich and an Über ride for 110 Kunas (much cheaper than a taxi) uneventfully.
Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia and is home to one out of every six Croatians with a population of 790,000. Zagreb is the result of a merger in 1850 of two medieval towns, Gradec and Kaptol as Croatia struggled under control of several foreign powers including Budapest, Vienna, Berlin and Belgrade. Continue reading “36 Hours in Zagreb, Croatia”
After yesterday’s tour with the masses, I found myself thankful we didn’t go to the Hermitage. I recognize it is St. Petersburg #1 attraction, but I heard it was worse than the palace we visited in terms of mobs of people and it was difficult to even enjoy the art. Perhaps I will have to return in the off-season and suffer through the cold to enjoy a few of the attractions peacefully along with the ballet that we had to forego in order to go to the evening reception at Catherine’s Palace last night. Those that know me are probably saying, “yeah, right…she doesn’t even like Denver’s winter.” Yep, I may not ever make it back, especially with all the other places to see in the world, but who knows. At least I got a taste of tourism in Russia. Continue reading “Through the Eyes of the Russian People”
We arrived at St. Petersburg early Tuesday morning as we passed by industrial docks ladened in a dump yard of discarded metal as well as piers of churches adorned in gold. We signed up for a full day tour called “Imperial St. Petersburg”. Choosing a tour option provided by the cruise ship eliminated the need for us to personally apply for a Visa. This was handled for us. I suppose the negative to this choice was that we were limited to going on land unless we were with a tour, but at the same time I read in a travel book that tours are the best option as taxi driver’s don’t speak English. Continue reading “Imperial St. Petersburg”
Tallinn, the capital and largest city of Estonia was quite enjoyable. It may have been our favorite city on the tour thus far. Perhaps it was a pleasant surprise because we hardly knew anything about Estonia or this medieval city whose old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Continue reading “Loved Tallinn, Estonia!”