Looking back on February: Crazy early spring & a microadventure

Categories 2019, Looking Back
BLOG Looking back on February | Early Spring

At the end of the month I like to look back on where I’ve been and what I’ve done. On how I felt and what was on my mind. I could have posted these photos on Instagram, but I didn’t. Now they’re in February’s photo diary where I leave snowy Sarajevo for The Netherlands. Usually February is a bit of a difficult month, it’s not green yet, it’s still cold and the sunrise I terribly late. This year was different though. No, not the sunrise, no. But it was warm and sunny. There were blue skies, nature started to wake up. I even saw little lambs. This crazy early spring arrived almost at the same time as I did. Lucky me!

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Trebević Tales #1 “The Wild One & Me”

Categories 2019, Sarajevo & Surroundings, Updates, WoRkAwAy
Hiking on Trebević mountain, Bosnia and Herzegovina

“What are you doing for Christmas? Where will you be at New Year’s Eve? Do you have plans for your birthday?” Same questions every year. More or less same answer every year. “Don’t know, I’ll see.” For me the holidays aren’t anything special. I’d be totally fine hanging out in a hut, shovelling snow, making fire, walk a little, read a little. But to be honest this year I did feel like spending time with friends. Maybe I could do this walking, fire- making and snow shovelling stuff wíth friends?

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Hiking from Sarajevo to Jure Franko WINTERVLOG #1

Categories 2019, Sarajevo & Surroundings, VLOG, WoRkAwAy
Hiking video | Outdoor vlog | EVAdinarica Project

In Sarajevo I met up with Sabina, a sweet sweet friend ánd crazy-cool outdoor buddy I met three years ago. We stayed in touch and try to meet at least twice a year. Whenever we see eachother we go for a hike. Mostly in the mountains. This time Sabina took me to Trebević, thé mountain above Sarajevo. We made our way up from old town to mountain hut Jure Franko. Although Sarajevo is one of my favourite cities, I prefer breathing fresh mountain air. Especially during the winter Sarajevo is extremely polluted. Unfortunately.

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Looking back on December: From Zagreb to Amsterdam into a New Year

Categories Looking Back
book delivery team Rosa and Eva

Standing still. Looking back. At the end of the month I like to look back on what I’ve done and where I’ve been. On how I felt and what was on my mind. It turned out that my Instagram pictures actually give a pretty good impression. So, I decided to put them together in a blog post. December has been a busy month. Not because of the holidays, but because I went back to The Netherlands to empty my apartment. I got rid of almost all my stuff. Oeff. Unfortunately I didn’t post much on Instagram. Therefore, I’ll add some non-Instagram-photos in this overview to give you an idea what I have been up to. Ok, here I go, looking back on December 2017. 

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Snooooow (and other stuff) in Sarajevo!

Categories Photo Diary, Sarajevo & Surroundings, Travel
sightseeing_sarajevo_citytrip_bosnia_and_herzegovina

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!

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Sarajevo City Escape: Into the White Bosnian Mountains

Categories Micro Adventures, Photo Diary, Sarajevo & Surroundings
winter_wonder_walk_vukov_konak_bosnia_herzegovina

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.

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4 Days Hiking in Paklenica National Park

Categories Croatia, Micro Adventures, Photo Diary, Via Dinarica 2016, White Trail

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!

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Biking from Amsterdam to the Balkans

Categories Before the Blog, Grand Adventures
BLOG | Biking from Amsterdam to the Balkans

I had two months off, two months to bike. What shall I do? Where shall I go? One thing I knew for sure, I wouldn’t follow rivers, this time. Neither would I be heading towards a sea… I’ve always wanted to go to Istanbul, but I never succeeded. Would I, could I this time? From Amsterdam to Istanbul, biking the highest route through the mountains. In two months… UP&down, UP&down. The game was on, just like the sun. Bikini biking. Bikram biking. UP&down, UP&down. Biking the HIGH route from Amsterdam to Istanbul the Balkans.

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Balkan mini Roadtrip: Cetinje – Durmitor – Sarajevo

Categories Before the Blog, Micro Adventures, Photo Diary, Travel
BLOG | Balkan mini Roadtrip: Cetinje - Durmitor - Sarajevo

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…

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Slovenia mini Roadtrip: Ljubljana – Triglav – Ljubljana

Categories Before the Blog, Micro Adventures, Photo Diary, Travel
BLOG | Slovenia 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 good to have a friend in a beautiful dress with a roller case to pull you out that comfort-zone and drag you along in her adventure.

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Alpine Adventures

Categories Before the Blog, CLIMBING, Photo Diary
BLOG | Alpine Adventures

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 just to get to a top. But hey, it’s not the mountain you conquer, but yourself… – Edmund Hillary

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4 Days hiking on the Alta Via Dolomiti

Categories Micro Adventures, Photo Diary
BLOG | 4 Days hiking on the Alta Via Dolomiti

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 adventure. We are dreaming of spending the winter on Gran Canaria for ages (and it probably will be), but we can still do that when we are old. So this year it would be a trekking through the mountains, the Italian Dolomites! Hiking the Alta Via Dolomiti. The first trekking together and Caroline’s first trekking ever. Let the adventure begin!!

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Meeting Miss “Adventure is my Middlename” in Budapest

Categories Before the Blog, Photo Diary, Travel
BLOG | Meeting Miss "Adventure is my Middlename" in Budapest

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 friend who’s always up for an adventure was absolutely the best present I could get!

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