Mountains don’t know borders
The flow took me to Prilep, a town in South Macedonia. Prilep is known for its tobacco and beer and for the boulders. Although I already had an idea what awaited me because I watched the 2014 Petzl Roc Trip video about bouldering in Prilep, but these mountains, these rocks, they left me speechless.
Continue Reading "Bouldering in Prilep, Macedonia"
Now I’m in Ohrid I of course want to do some sightseeing. I want to, but at the same time I don’t. I find it hard to switch. It’s almost stressful. I probably do it all wrong, I just walk and walk and and then discover that I missed the most popular sight.
Continue Reading "Outdoorfun around lake Ohrid"
Shar mountain (Shara, Šar, Sharr, Sharri) has been on my list for years. Ever since I first read about the First Macedonian Transversal (Transferzala), a hiking trail that crosses the entire Shar mountain range, I had the wish to explore Shar mountain. I could try to describe what it looks like, but I suck at that. I don’t have the vocabulary and the words I make up probably won’t be much of a help. I’ll stick to sharing my personal experience and add a whole lot of photos to give you an impression. So here we go, here’s my “Exploring Shar Mountain Photo Story”.
Continue Reading "Exploring Shar Mountain, a photo story"
First time I was in Prizren I wrote this: Prizren is definitely worth a visit. It’s a beautiful, old, vivacious town with mountains all around. I’ll definitely come back to be a real tourist, but for now hiking is on my mind.
Continue Reading "Pretty Prizren Photo Story"
It’s the fifth time that I’m in Sarajevo. I’ve seen pretty much every season, from bloody, bloody hot to freeeezing cold, I only did not see any snow. Until two weeks ago. Caroline, a friend who came to visit me, saw it first. ˝I see something falling from the sky..˝ I got out of bed to check, but couldn’t really see anything. ˝Well, I think it’s the reflection of the light on the dirty windows.˝ The next morning everything was white. No dirty windows, (hmm well also dirty windows) Caroline was right. Snooooow in Sarajevo!
Continue Reading "Snooooow (and other stuff) in Sarajevo!"
What to do with Christmas and New Year Eve… Same question every year.. Well, since I’m not home or walking home for Christmas, I thought it would be best to escape the city and plan a little trip to the mountains. Apparently I’m not the only one who liked the idea of getting away, my oldest friend from Amsterdam, Caroline, flew to Sarajevo and accompanied me on this beautiful, but freezing cold winter holiday in the Bosnian mountains. The great thing about Sarajevo is that within thirty minutes you’re in a complete different world. Vukov Konak, a traditional Bosnian Mountain Inn, was the destination.
Continue Reading "Sarajevo City Escape: Into the White Bosnian Mountains"
Warm autumn colors, short October days and a dear friend from The Netherlands. The grey rainy sky gives us a beautiful nostalgic feeling. Ljubljana is one of my favorite Middle European cities. It’s small, it’s sweet and even in Autumn it’s full of life.
Continue Reading "Ljubljana full of Life"
Now I’m finished with the Croatian part of the Via Dinarica White Trail and looking back on the (almost) two months I spend in this beautiful country, I realize that Velebit made a huge impression in me. I can’t really explain why, so that’s why I will make a photo essay before I try to write about it…
Continue Reading "Velebitski Planinarski Put"
Happy again
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares – Petula Clark
Jeej, I got company! No, she is not really an hiker or outdoorsie type, but she is my oldest friend… Why is everybody asking? When are you a hiker? What is a real hiker? Are there any rules? Hmm, I think I actually don’t really care. After almost 900K of solo-hiking, my BFF Caroline joined me in Starigrad, super exiting. New company, new spirit, new challenges. New ADVENTURE. Paklenica, here we come!
Continue Reading "4 Days Hiking in Paklenica National Park"
Prenj is absolutely one of my favorites along the Via Dinarica White Trail. Not just because of its ridiculously beautiful vistas and views, mostly because Prenj was a place where I had a good dose of fun. With two guys from Tuzla who I met on Boračko campsite, I hiked from Boračko Jezero up to the mountain hut Jezerce. A great new hut on a fantastic location. Perfect place to spend the night. Or two. I really enjoyed the company of the Tuzla-boyz and the weather was extremely good. There was not really a reason to rush on, so I decided to join them on a day-hike to Zelena Glava and stay an extra night at PD Jezerce before I went further on my own.
Continue Reading "Planet Prenj"
August 2015, One week with two friends in the Balkans. After being on the bike for almost seven weeks, I managed to meet two friends in Cetinje, Montenegro. If my bike and its wheels, all the packs and I would fit in the car, I could join them on their roadtrip to Sarajevo. If not, I had ten days to get myself back to Amsterdam. Although it was strange to have my bike sitting next to me, it was exactly what I needed. Being on…Continue Reading “Balkan mini Roadtrip”
It’s Friday afternoon, I’m waiting for a good friend who’s visiting me in Ljubljana for the weekend. A short break from biking to visit the city and the surroundings. I’m excited, impatient and a bit nervous. This summer holiday has been a strange mixture of biking, hiking, city and road tripping. A combination of solo-traveling and unexpected encounters with friends. It requires some dedicated planning which is quite a challenge for me as a ‘logistics-fearing&avoiding-adventurer’… But when trekking and camping becomes a new routine, it’s…Continue Reading “Slovenia mini Roadtrip”
Summer 2014, I decided to give climbing another chance. Don’t get me wrong, I looooove climbing and I looooove mountains and I even looooove climbing mountains, but there is an undeniable downside. The danger. For I while I thought I was not brave enough and not skilled enough. Perhaps both are true, but I think it’s not just about that. We talk about MOUNTAINS and nature here! I couldn’t help thinking “who am I to climb these giants?” So many people take such big risks…Continue Reading “Alpine Adventures”
Although I would love to hike the complete Alta Via Dolomiti, I knew that I could never convince my friend to join me on a trip like that. Every year we plan a little trip together. Do something memorable. 4 hours, 4 days or 2 weeks, it doesn’t matter. We know each other since we are four or five years old, it’s a beautiful thing to have a history with someone that goes back that far. Even more beautiful when it’s a history full of…Continue Reading “4 Days hiking on the Alta Via Dolomiti”
Summer 2013, hiking the Pyrenees from East to West. My brain had been working literally all the time and my body was getting fed up with that. For weeks, maybe months, I had been feeling tense, but the night before I left I was getting genuinely nervous. I packed way too much stuff and my plans were very ambitious. I had two months to tackle the ‘Haute Route Pyrénées’, without GPS, since that would have been too expensive. Two months to tackle my inner demons….Continue Reading “Hiking the Pyrenees”
July 2012, Meeting ˝Miss Adventure is my Middlename˝ in Budapest! Already on my way back from the Black Sea, miss “Adventure is my middle name” decided to pay me visit and bought a last minute ticket to Budapest. Due to her superb planning and organizational skills, we managed to explore the city ánd its surroundings in only three days time. Spending time city-tripping with a close friend was a welcome change after being on the road for almost four months. Spending time with a close…Continue Reading “Meeting Miss “Adventure is my Middlename” in Budapest”