blauboy’s posthaven

Just a few picture memories of another wonderful stay on the island of Crete. Or, as we tend to say: our second home - 'cause we are part time locals, that stay in Chania for two to four weeks every season, while the rest of the year we have to work for our living in Germany... (13 pictures).

Just a few impressions of the last glorious summer days 2016 in Ulm and its vicinity.

Although it's not an insiders' tip anymore, a trip to Loutro on the southern side of Crete is still a captivating experience. Only accessible by ferry, 30 minutes (or 6,10 Euro fee) west of Chora Sfakion, the cosy little village in the hidden bay welcomes its visitors with white house facades, turquoise sea and two small pebble beaches. Slow life here, perfect for relaxation! It was the fourth time within the last twelve years that we took a daytrip there and for sure we will come back another time one day! (13 pictures)

I found Atlantis!
I saw its vagabonded foundations, touched its old columns and I wandered its lost streets. The magic place is located on the peninsula Akrotiri, not too far away from the airport of Chania, between Chorafakia and Stavros. The huge areal spreads in the burning mediterrean sun over dozens of acres: abandonded, rotten, dirty, overgrown. But one can still see the structures of the bold idea, that was behind this compound: to build another waterpark like Limnoupolis on Crete, barely 30 kilometers away from the original.
The guy, who planed this waterpark "Atlantis", son of the owners of a nearby hotel in Chorafakia, wasted lots of time, effort and money from the bank to make his vision come true, but still failed: His waterpark never ran. That was about ten years ago. The ruins of his dreams may not last as long as the historical mansion, I explored last autumn. But long enough to witness this guy's personal Greek dilemma. (28 pictures)

Little excitement in (above?!) our small village: Two hot-air balloons lost height and the balloonists decided to land on a tiny grass verge near the federal highway. Wow!

Our last destination: Ljubljana. Immediately we fell in love with the vividness of Slovenia's capitol. Beautiful old houses, cosy streets, nice people, lots of pubs and cafeterias, great beer, a river that runs through the historic city, bright sunlight - all this creates an open, heartwarming atmosphere of the university town. We loved to just sit, sip and watch!

This Whitsun break we travelled to a European country, which hoisted four different banners within the last 100 years (Hungarian-Austrian, Italian, German, Yugoslawian) before it finally, just 25 years ago, became Slovenia. The "green heart of Europe" comes up with alpine mountains (Karavankas), sea (Adriatic Coast), downs, woodlands and karst.

Our fifth destination was Piran, the most beautiful village at the Slovenian Adriatic coast! Once part of the Venetian empire, the picture-perfect seaside settlement ist the most gorgious place for a day of recreation in one of its cafes at the central Tarini Square. Or you climb up those rotten stairs of the campanile (entrance: 1 Euro) - if you dare. The prospect up there is overwhelming! And dont't drop your mobile or your camera, when out of a sudden the giant bells right behind start to toll!

This Whitsun break we travelled to a European country, which hoisted four different banners within the last 100 years (Hungarian-Austrian, Italian, German, Yugoslawian) before it finally, just 25 years ago, became Slovenia. The "green heart of Europe" comes up with alpine mountains (Karavankas), sea (Adriatic Coast), downs, woodlands and karst.

Our next destination was supposed to be Bled, the "pearl of Slovenia". Unfortunately, we tried to get there on the weekend. Not a very good idea. So, after more than an hour stuck in traffic jam, we decided to skip the pittoresque sight of the ancient church on that island in the middle of the beautiful Bled lake - and visit the summer park Krvavec instead. We took the cable car up to Gospinca, 1480 meters high, enjoyed the hight, the fresh air and the gorgious view. And for the rest of the afternoon, we spent shouting with glee on the 100-metre tubing course (scroll down for a video of my ride!).

This Whitsun break we travelled to a European country, which hoisted four different banners within the last 100 years (Hungarian-Austrian, Italian, German, Yugoslawian) before it finally, just 25 years ago, became Slovenia. The "green heart of Europe" comes up with alpine mountains (Karavankas), sea (Adriatic Coast), downs, woodlands and karst.

Our third destination in Slowenia was the craddle of all Lipizzan horses in the world: Founded in 1580, the Stud Farm of Lipica is breeding and selecting pure horses for more than four centuries. Today, around 350 of those white beauties live in the shade of picturesque old linden trees and white fences and are visited by horse freaks (mainly very young females...) from all over the planet.

So this Whitsun break we travelled to a European country, which hoisted four different banners within the last 100 years (Hungarian-Austrian, Italian, German, Yugoslawian) before it finally, just 25 years ago, became Slovenia. The "green heart of Europe" comes up with alpine mountains (Karavankas), sea (Adriatic Coast), downs, woodlands and karst.

So this Whitsun break we travelled to a European country, which hoisted four different banners within the last 100 years (Hungarian-Austrian, Italian, German, Yugoslawian) before it finally, just 25 years ago, became Slovenia. The "green heart of Europe" comes up with alpine mountains (Karavankas), sea (Adriatic Coast), downs, woodlands and karst. All within just barely 7830 square miles!

Our second destination: the impressive mediaval Predjama Castle with its underground bat cave.