Last but not least I’m hiking Maglić peak, the grand finale of the White Trail in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the official Via Dinarica Trail goes to Trnovačko jezero before it climbs up to the peak, I choose an alternate route: the adventurous approach from Prijevor directly to Maglić.
Continue Reading "Hiking Maglić peak, Via Dinarica VLOG #4"
In this video I’m hiking Lelija and Zelengora mountain, the second to last section of the Via Dinarica White Trail in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From Kamp Lalović in Jelašca (near Kalinovik) I crossed Zelengora all the way to Sutjeska National Park, to Kovačev Panj. A perfect combination of crazy green wilderness, white karst, cold lakes and endlessly wide views.
Continue Reading "Hiking Lelija and Zelengora mountain, Via Dinarica VLOG #3"
In this video I’m hiking from mountain hut Jezerce on Prenj via Boračko jezero to Lukomir. A trip down memory lane through Bjelašnica’s crazy green wilderness and the unapproachable Rakitnica canyon.
Continue Reading "Hiking the Rakitnica canyon to Lukomir, Via Dinarica VLOG #2"
It’s been a while, but I’m back on the Via Dinarica. I’m section hiking the parts I loved the most when I was out there in 2016, new routes that will be included in the near future and peaks I skipped because of bad weather.
Continue Reading "Hiking from Mostar to Prenj, Via Dinarica VLOG #1"
After almost three months in North Macedonia it was time to leave the country. Literary, because my tourist visa would expire after ninety days. I choose to head towards Kosovo, partly because I wanted to leave the option open to go for a hike in Prokletije, but mostly because I wanted to ride through Durmitor National Park. Although I was still far from light weight packed, I felt ready to give the mountains another chance while biking from Skopje to Mostar.
Continue Reading "Biking from Skopje to Mostar via Durmitor National Park"
The 5th of May I arrived in Mavrovi Anovi, at Ski Hut Gorica to be precise. This mountain lodge has been my home base for May, June and July. In the first place I helped out with the usual things like cleaning and making the beds, helping guests to find their way around and providing them with information to have them explore Mavrovo National Park. But there were also quite a bunch of other jobs such as painting furniture, building lockers and gardening for example. And if a good weather window opened, I couldn’t resist running off into the mountains. So, yeah, no reason to be bored.
Continue Reading "Work Away at Ski Hut Gorica, how I spent my time"
Left Sarajevo in the rain, woke up in snow. It’s May, but in the mountains it feels like Spring is still asleep. Alright, then I have another excuse to find myself an easier road. Not that I don’t like mountains, I love them, but it’s damn though and I’m not properly equipped. Or actually, I’m over-equipped with non-biking related equipment. I’m heavy and slow and a tiny little bit in a hurry, because the second week of May I hope to be able to help my friends in Mavrovi Anovi by looking after their house while they’re gone. And thus, I tried to find a relatively easy, but still very scenic route from Sarajevo to Mavrovo.
Continue Reading "Biking from Sarajevo to Mavrovo, cruising canyons"
Hey there, it’s adventure time. I’m biking from Zagreb to Sarajevo and further on to Macedonia, Skihut Gorica in Mavrovi Anovi to be precise. This year I’ll travel to only a few locations in the Balkans, because I’d like to spend more time in one place. Visit friends, pick up rock climbing and write. But I also want to learn about organic farming and fishing, do volunteer work and learn to speak the language like I did in Zagreb. As long as the weather allows I’ll use my bike as transport. I sort have a route, but I have no idea what I’m capable off. Guess I’ll find out along the way.
Continue Reading "Biking from Zagreb to Sarajevo, I choose rivers"
In class we had to write an “essay” about our favourite, or best, weekend. Although it’s not even 150 words, it is my first story in Croatian. Thought it would be fun to share.
Continue Reading "Moj najbolji vikend"
At the end of the month I’d like to look back on what I’ve done, on how I felt and what was on my mind. While scrolling through the photos, I immediately got a smile on my face. I like Zagreb. It’s been almost two months since I left the Netherlands and although I thought I didn’t do much, except for learning Croatian, it turned out that I explored quite a bit. So, here’s a photo journal about my life in Zagreb and an unorganized list of things to do in and around Zagreb.
Continue Reading "Life in Zagreb, two months in Croatia’s capital city"