Malta in May – day 5 (Gozo)

We talked about Malta and Comino and on day 5 we visited the third island – Gozo! 🙂

You get on ferry from Il Ćirkewa and the ticket cost 4, 65 € both was – there are some differences if you travel at night-time, if you have a car/a bike … The problem is that all the buses on Gozo drives once an hour and it all takes you back to its capital – Rabat/Victoria, where you can catch another. Again – we walked a lot! 🙂

Here are some highlights of our trip:

Ex Azure window (it crashed a few months ago 🙂

mushroom island

This is all in Dwejra bay. 🙂 From there we went to Ramla bay – one of island most favourite beaches with red/oker sand.

Ramla bay

And from there we went for a really long hike – WARNING – paths are misleading. It looks like there is a path even application “Maps.me” (it’s navigation where you don’t need internet connection – great app for all the travellers!) says so. You can walk up to several kilometers when the path ends or it is full of rocks, thorns and other difficulties. But it was a great adventure! 😀

Salt pans

And for the end… we found one of the buses from the past. 🙂 They are quite famous. 🙂

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Malta in May – day 4 (Comino)

There are 3 different islands in “Malta”: Malta, Gozo and Comino – the last one is the smallest with only a few residents. It has an amazing beach called Blue lagoon and some amazing cliffs. We went for a hike around the island (3 hours) and here are the photos. 🙂

Blue lagoon ❤

You can get to the island with small boats – we gave 10 € per person (both ways). 🙂

Cliffs, caves, beaches … 🙂

Land…

& some facts … 🙂

Comino

Situated between Malta and Gozo, the smaller island of Comino is a paradise for snorkelers, divers, windsurfers and ramblers.

Only 3.5 square kilometers, Comino is car-free and apart from one hotel, is virtually uninhabited.

The island’s main attraction is the Blue Lagoon. In summer, this sheltered inlet of shimmering aquamarine water over white sand is very popular with day-trippers. Other beaches on the island include Santa Marija Bay and San Niklaw Bay.

Comino is also worth a visit in winter, and is ideal for walkers and photographers. With no urban areas or cars on the island, one can easily smell the scent of wild thyme and other herbs.

Comino was inhabited in the Roman period, but did not have much significance until the Knights arrived. It then had a dual role: hunting grounds and a staging post in the defence of the Maltese Islands against the Ottoman Turks.

The island had proved a useful base for pirates operating in the central Mediterranean and, though stark and barren today, it was home to wild boar and hares when the Knights arrived in 1530. The Grandmasters went to great lengths to ensure that their game on Comino was protected: anyone found breaking the embargo on hunting could expect to serve three years rowing on a galley.

After WWII, Comino remained a backwater until its fortunes revived with tourism in the mid-1960s.

Where to Stay

Comino has one resort hotel, which is ideal for those looking for a tranquil getaway.

(http://www.visitmalta.com/en/island-of-comino)

 

Malta in May – day 3 (Valetta, Blue Grotto …)

1. Valetta

The third day we spontaneously end up in Valetta in the morning. 🙂 Cute city at the seaside – it is totally different from our capital city in Slovenia.

 

2. Blue Grotto

10 € for a beautiful boat ride. It lasted around 20 minutes and we went into some caves – Blue grotto is the one with amazingly blue coloured water. They believed that the caves are homes for some mermaids. 🙂 We didn’t see any, but the water and light are really playing some magical games with each other. 🙂

3. Anchor bay with Popeye village

We didn’t enter the village because there was a lot of people, so we decided to take a hike from anchor bay to Golden bay. 🙂 We walked for two hours and the views were amazing.

 4. Hike from Anchor bay to Golden bay

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Malta in May – Day 2 (Mdina, catacombs, Dingli cliffs, nightlife)

1. Mdina

So, this was our day two on Malta. With bumpy rides we arrived in Mdina early in the morning. 🙂 This was the capital of Malta in history so it is very nice – besides there was something going on there. As we found out later it was “Medina medieval festival” wich happens once a year.

Mdina Medieval festival – Two days of re-enactments and pageantry that evoke Malta’s late medieval period (1200 – 1500 AD)

It was amazing – no words can describe that so here are photographs! 🙂

First, the city itself:

And than the amazing event:

2. Lunch – typical Maltese pastizzis

After the event we went to get something to eat – we tried typical food like always when we travel. We tried pastizzi: one filled with ricotta cheese, one with chicken and the last with peas in it. It is very good and it only cost 30 cents! 🙂

3. Saint Paul’s catacombs in Rabat

Near Mdina there is a city called Rabat and we gave 5 € each to enter St. Paul’s catacombs  – wow ! Scary, but so interesting. People of all religions buried their loved once under the ground. The graves and worship rooms are all parts of giant underground labyrinth of death.

4. Dingli cliffs

Amazing nature strikes again! 🙂 No words needed. 🙂

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5. Nightlife: St. Julian’s

Our Maltese scout friend named Gail said we have to meet for a drink in Saint Julian’s. This is the real party side – 3 streets full of clubs, bars etc. 🙂 We tried great local beer – Cisk. 🙂 And than? We called it a day.

 

Bobovek lakes (Slovenia)

Hi, guys! Yesterday we went for a walk around 3 Bobovek lakes, near the city Kranj in Slovenia. It is a nice, peaceful walk. 🙂 At the end, the rain caught us so we headed back home, but we manage to take a few photos before. Enjoy! 🙂

Verona – Florence – Pisa – Cinque Terre (Italy)

Today we found photos from last year trip to Florence. And off-course, we couldn’t stay in the same place for 5 days if so many beautiful things were out there to see, so close and so amazing. We walked for hours, exploring, searching, having fun. We slept later, when we got home. 😛

1. First stop: Verona

Amazing city with so much history! Here are some photos of Colosseum Verona, great Roman architecture. I sat there thinking about all the gladiators who died there, all the slaves who were sitting at the back, all the “big fishes” in front …

Colloseum Verona

Juliet’s house

They say, Verona is one of the most romantic cities in Italy, because of Juliet .. And her Romeo. 🙂 A lot of couples locked their lock of love there. 🙂

2. Florence

There were our hotel – usually we go to camps and hostels, but I got this trip as a birthday present – so we were there in a luxury. 🙂

Ponte Vecchio

This is an amazing bridge, with really wonderful jewelry workshops, but it is expensive. And the ice cream? The best on the world! But a piece of advice – don’t buy it ON Ponte Vecchio – it is 8 € one, so we gave 16 € for two ice creams. But it was worth it. 😉

Palazzo Vecchio

… with the death mask of Dante Alighieri. 🙂 And everything else of course! We met a lady from Boston and she was really big fan of Dan Brown’s inferno book, so she was in heaven when she saw the mask. I must admit, it was amazing.

Pisa

Torre di Pisa, leaning tower of Pisa – one of the seven world wonders. 🙂

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Cinque terre – best for last

I loved those small cities, i loved the views, the beaches the paths … I want to g back sometime to hike all those paths between – we traveled by train because we didn’t have enough time for hiking.

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So nice to look back on those memories. 🙂 I am really greatful to be there, feel a bit of Italian culture and met a great woman from Boston who told us about livin in America. 🙂

Hiking: Pristovški Storžič / Kaerntner Storschitz – Austria

Today, we went for another hike. 🙂 The path starts just a minute away from Slovenian – Austria border (crossing Jezersko).

The path is really beautiful. I would say it has 3 parts – the first one is calm, not very steep. The path is leading true the forest, with the great smell, the birds singing and so on. 🙂 The second part is the part with a constant great view, because you’re walking on the edge of the forest – so there are breathtaking mountains all around you and the sun was shining all the way.

Than, it comes my favourite – third part with rocks, steep terrain and wire rope to hold on. This part is short, just for the taste of a real mountain, so it’s really not hard to get to the top. And then? The view is amazing, the sun was warm and our souls in peace. ❤ Lovely!

We went down on the other side of the mountain – this path was still very snowy at the top so we were laughing and smiling all the way down because there was always someone on their ass, there was funny noises and screams when your leg just fell into the deep snow … But it wasn’t dangerous because it’s not so stiff and there are no cliffs around. The path is longer than the first one so we were hungry and thirsty in the end. We went for lunch across the border to Slovenia … more in next post. 🙂

Mount St. Ursula (Slovenia) – Uršlja gora

Yesterday morning we went for a hike, here in Slovenia. 🙂 Mount St. Ursula or in Slovene: Uršlja gora.  The mountain is 1699 meters high and there are several paths that leads to the top, to the gothic church called St. Ursula (the highest laying curch in Slovenia).  The mountain lies between the towns of Slovenj Gradec and Črna na Koroškem.

The trail is not hard to walk – you have harder and easier ones. We went up from “Naravske ledine” this time and it is an hour and a half to the top if you walk slowly. We were on top in 55 minutes. 🙂

The view is amazing, the weather was fantastic and the smell of spring in the air! I love hikers, they are all so friendly, optimistic, nice and they always wear a smile! 😉

Short trip to Zbilje lake (Slovenia)

After a long day at work, we went to Zbilje lake for some vitamin D. Love the spring sunshine!🌅

You can rent a boat there, go for a walk, have a picnic, drink your coffe, have lunch or amazing fruit desserts. 😊 

This is house salad with veggies, grilled chicken and tatar souce. Mmm😊

On the way back home we stopped to take a photo of this great view of a small Saint Jakobs curch bellow Kamnik – Savinja Alps (in the village names Hraše). And that is it for today! Can’t wait for the weekend to explore some more. 😊

Short trip to Austria (Afritzer see)

1. AFRITZER SEE

Weekends off are great for a little road trip. 🙂 We went to the Afritzer see in Austria.

You can find some info about the lake  HERE. We walked around it  and find a geocatch (geocaching is worldwide game – finding treasures. It’s so much fun! If you like the idea you can read more about it HERE).

2. Hochosterwitz castle /grad Ojstrovica

Heading back home to Slovenia, we found this amazing castle. It looks great – I could see the stories going on there decades ago. I felt magical! You can read more about it HERE