Life & Adventure Journal
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 "Sightseeing Prizren"
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.
Continue Reading "Looking back on December: From Zagreb to Amsterdam into a New Year"
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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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 "Into the White"
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.
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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 in Paklenica NP"
“I am dancing with my true love – a memory of her. A smiling, blond-haired woman enters who wishes to take the flower of love – but it won’t allow itself
Continue Reading "Dance of Life"
Surprised I looked around the room: a bed nicely made up, with a small pile of towels and a face cloth at the foot of the bed. A bedside table with a bedside lamp and a small vase with flowers from the garden. An own sink, a private
Continue Reading "A lot of shit is compost for the future!"
I call her “my oldest and longest friend”, but she’s not the longest or oldest among my friends. We have known each other since kindergarten; I know her as long as I can remember. We have learned
Continue Reading "Ode to friendship"
I am not the only one, but will we work it
Continue Reading "“I would like to mount my immunity.”"
Two days after writing my first blog, I ended up giving well-meant advice myself. It is good to be a listener and to be sympathetic, but on the other hand, you’d want to help someone. That shows that you actually care about someone. It shows you believe in them.
Continue Reading "Full fear ahead!"
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.
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…
Continue Reading "Balkan mini Roadtrip: Cetinje – Durmitor – Sarajevo"
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.
Continue Reading "Slovenia mini Roadtrip: Ljubljana – Triglav – Ljubljana"
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
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 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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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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