Summer vacation part 5, Lake Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled in Slovenia's Julian alps is a little piece of heaven on earth. Slovenia was quite different from the other former Yugoslavian countries that we visited on our Summer trip.  It has been in the European community the longest and it's location close to the alps near Austria certainly makes it feel like the most Western of the 4 former Yugoslavian countries we visited on the trip.  Lake Bled is a picture perfect lake in the mountains near the Austrian border.  It features a fairy tale like castle on the top of a steep cliff as well as a little island in the center of the lake complete with an old church.  During our brief stay here we hiked around the lake to the castle and rented a row boat to get to the little island in the center of the lake.  Our children had fun taking some chairlifts up the mountain in order to bobsled in tracks down to the bottom.  The views, peaceful nature and clean mountain air made this a perfect respite from the busy cities we had already visited.  We only spent around 24 hours in Lake Bled, but it was totally worth the visit and highly recommended should you decide to visit Slovenia yourself.  Lake Bled is around a one hour train ride to Slovenia's capital Ljubjana.

Summer vacation part 4, Plitvice National park in Croatia

After visiting various old towns, monuments and touristic cities in Croatia we were ready for the nature portion of our vacation.  We had been very excited about visiting this park in Croatia which had been on our target list for a long time.  Plitvice National park is a UNESCO world heritage site which features a large network of gorgeous lakes and waterfalls in the North Central part of Croatia.  Words don't do justice to describe such a beautiful place, so I will attach some photos we took from the hike.  Our family hiked 8km (5miles) through the park and followed a route which 4-6 hours of time is recommended.  The middle of the hike featured a boat ride which took us across one major lake and to another next set of smaller lakes.  The hike was literally a network of lakes and waterfalls surrounded by lush greenery.  The turquoise blue water of the lakes was stunning and the water was so pure an unpolluted as they do not allow anyone to swim or fish in the area.  If you ever decide to plan a vacation to Croatia, I highly recommend a stop in this wonderful place. It is easily reachable by car or bus from the coastal city of Split.  It is also fairly close to the capital of Zagreb. Our family made the drive by rental car from Split which made it easy and flexible to get to the park and nearby hotels.  Plitvice National park is truly one of Croatia's greatest treasures and a place everyone should get a chance to visit.

Summer vacation part 3, side trip to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzgovinia

Perhaps the most interesting side trip and most unique place we visited during our entire vacation was the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  This interesting country has a very complicated history and was  involved in a bitter war in the mid 1990s.  The country is actually divided into 3 distinct areas, The republic of Srpska (Serbia), Bosnia and lastly Herzegovina.  The geographic area we visited was west Herzegovina. The city of Mostar is the main city in the republic of Herzgovina.  Mostar was known as one of the major campaigns in the brutal war which rocked this area for several years. The war is now over but the psychical and mental scars of the city and people remain.  The damage was apparent as we noticed many buildings with large bullet holes which had been shelled during the war.  The highlight of the trip was a visit to the famous Mostar bridge which divides the city in half.  This 500 year old bridge was completely destroyed in the war in 1993, but now it is beautifully reconstructed to it's original dimensions.  The bridge is a tourist magnet today and many young locals stand on the bridge collecting money and later when they have collected a total of 25 euros will jump into the icy river below.  It is a thrilling and scary plunge of 24 meters (80 feet).  Bridge diving has been a tradition of Mostar for hundreds of years.  The old city was very interesting and featured cobblestone streets and vendors selling local goods everywhere.  Mostar has many different ethnic groups and religions now attempting to live together and there is even a strong Muslim presence with minarets and Turkish mosques in the city.  The old town itself is relatively small and can be covered in a day on foot.  Mostar has only been on the tourist path for about a decade and is still relatively cheap. Mostar has had a painful history and the local economy is still hurting, but you can see change happening as the locals are proud of their city and background.   We really enjoyed the day trip into this historical old city situated beautifully on a river.  I would suggest it for any adventurous traveler who is considering a trip to the former Yugoslavia.

Mostar

Mostar bridge

War torn past

Summer vacation part 2, side trip to Montenegro

Have you even heard of Montenegro?  You might not have because this tiny nation just South of Croatia recently  received it's independence from Yugoslavia (Serbia) in 2006.  Montenegro means "black mountains" and it is apparent when you see the mountains from above almost spill into the sea.  At one point you might think you were exploring a fjord in Norway, however that is not the case as they are coastal mountains. Montenegro is currently known as the newest country in Europe.  Our family did a day trip from Dubrovnik, Croatia to explore the Montenegrin coastal cities of Perast, Kotor and Budva.  The views were absolutely stunning on the Southern Dalmatian coast and through the Bay of Kotor to our first stop in Perast.  In Perast we took a small ferry to visit the man made rock islet containing the "Our lady of the rocks" church.  Rumor has it that an icon of lady Madonna was found at this site and then sailors laid rocks down in the Bay over many years until finally an islet was formed. The island featured an interesting chapel and museum.  Soon we ventured back to our bus and traveled to our next stop which was the old city of Kotor.  Kotor is unique walled city quite similar to Dubrovnik, but a bit smaller and even older.  We walked around the old city while fighting the cruise ship passengers at the same time since their cruise ship was docked in the harbor.  After a tasty lunch and stroll around the cobbled old town we made our way to our final destination in Montenegro.  The last stop was a city called Budva.  Budva is more touristic than Kotor and also featured a small old town surrounded by a medieval wall.  All of these little coastal cities were scenic and unique in their own rights and definitely worth a visit should you have a chance to get down here.  Tourism is starting to pour into little Montenegro and it should be positive for the people and the economy.  I know we enjoyed our visit and would hope for more time in the future for a longer stay.

Inside "Our Lady of the rocks" church museum

City of Perast in Kotor Bay

Church of "Our lady of the rocks"

Kotor Bay

Back streets of Kotor

Summer vacation part 1, Dubrovnik, Croatia

My family recently completed a nearly three week tour of Eastern Europe.  We spent the largest percentage of our time in Croatia, which included an entire week in Dubrovnik.  Dubrovnik is sometimes called the pearl of the Adriatic and it features a beautifully preserved city with medieval walls built along the seashore.  We stayed in a wonderful villa just outside the downtown (Lapad district) with my extended family.  Old town Dubrovnik is relatively small and can be explored in one day, however the Southern Dalmatian coast is very scenic and stretches a long distance and can take several days to see. The prices were cheaper than Finland and central Europe, but not as cheap as you might expect considering it is the former Yugoslavia and suffered a major war just over 20 years ago.  During the week in Croatia we relaxed around the pool and beach most of the time, although we did a few day trip excursions to both Mostar in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and a trip to a few beautiful coastal cities in the small country of Montenegro.  We had a wonderful stay in Dubrovnik and enjoyed several trips to the medieval walled city soaking in the gorgeous seaside views and spending equal time relaxing by both the villa's swimming pool and nearby beach.   Capitalism has hit this area hard since the war tragically rocked the city in the early 90s.  68% of the city was destroyed, but it has been beautifully restored now. Now you can expect fairly expensive cab fares, souvenirs on every corner and vendors ready to sell you a trip to a nearby Island or day excursion to a neighboring country.  However, relatively speaking Croatia is still much cheaper than Finland, but you probably already knew that.  :)   Stay tuned for more blog posts from Eastern Europe.

Finnish honesty

A social experiment in the form of a  "wallet test" was recently performed in several major cities around the world.  The idea was to leave a wallet with cash and credit cards therein within a public place and then see how many wallets were returned versus taken. Helsinki ranked #1 in this test with the return of 11 out of 12 wallets. The worst was Lisbon, Portugal were only one wallet was returned out of 12, and the people who returned it were not even from Portugal.  I find it amazing how high Finland ranked, but after living here for almost 3 years I understand why.

Two separate recent personal incidents at the local swimming hall have helped cement my understanding of the honesty of the Finnish people.  Several months ago I was working out in the swimming hall's gym and was listening to music with somewhat expensive head phones.  Later into the work out, I placed the headphones back in their case, put them in my pocket and continued to work out. Following the work out, I headed back downstairs to use the shower and sauna.  As I was getting dressed I realized the headphones were missing.  I was pretty bummed after scouring the gym and not being able to locate them.  They must have fallen out of my pocket while exercising. I figured someone must have taken them since I was just there 30 minutes ago and they were no where to be found.  Then I thought I would give it one more chance by asking the front desk if maybe someone had returned them.  As soon as I asked the lady, she went back to get them and handed them over to me no questions asked.  So someone not only found them, but promptly returned them to the front desk.  Not sure if that would go over as smooth in the States.

My second incident also occurred at the swimming hall.  This time I was working out in the gym and had a loose car key in my pocket.  I guess I didn't learn how to secure items in my pocket the first time around. :)  Again, I finished my work out and went back downstairs to the gym and sauna.  As I was getting dressed I realized my car key was missing.  How would I get home, what was I going to do?  However, this time I didn't panic, I went calmly upstairs and searched the gym again, but it was not there.  Then I walked back over to the front desk and asked, and yet again, the lady returned the key to me.  So, someone in the gym had found it and promptly returned it to the "lost and found" at the front desk.  I went home later that evening with a smile on my face.

Finns should be really proud of themselves for living in a society which instills these values on it citizens. It makes for a happier society when people can trust their neighbors and officials.  I guess this golden virtue of honesty this might explain why Finns are not the best at Marketing and Sales jobs.  :)

You can read more about the social experiment test here: http://www.rd.com/slideshows/most-honest-cities-lost-wallet-test/#slideshow=slide1.

Easter break in Holland and Belgium

In Finland we are given both Friday and Monday off from work for the Easter holiday weekend. We took advantage of this long weekend and spent our holiday in Holland and Belgium en route from Germany.  We hadn't left Finland for quite some time and wanted to see the famous tulip fields, visit the Anne Frank house and see a number of other interesting cities and sites.  We flew into the Dusseldorf (Germany) airport and rented a car in order to drive directly to Amsterdam.

The nice thing about this part of Europe is that many countries are relatively small and getting from point A to point B doesn't take that long.  I had visited the Anne Frank house 20 years ago and have read the famous diary when I was younger and now my daughter had done the same, so the family was interested to see this famous landmark and piece of history.  We waited in line for one hour and finally entered the home, which includes the clandestine upstairs annex where Anne lived secretly for two years with other members of her family while the Nazis were patrolling around the streets of Amsterdam.  I could only imagine the fear that they felt as they were forced to live like prisoners while hiding just because they were Jewish.  This was a very emotional experience for me and the family. The museum has become much more popular in the last 20 years and now gets roughly 1.3 million visitors per year.  Later we strolled around the famous streets which are surrounded by canals.  Amsterdam is a world famous city known for their architecture as well as their liberal attitudes towards sex and marijuana.  Strolling through some of the seedier sections of the city I could picture in my head how very different things are here than parts of the Bible belt in America.  I am socially liberal, but would say Amsterdam's progressive social values are probably even a bit much for myself.  :)

The next morning was spent in the world famous Keukenhof gardens in Lisse.  This was the highlight of the trip to Holland.  This park is known as the Disneyland of flowers.  It was an amazing sight to see; fields and fields of tulips and other flowers everywhere you looked.  The endless and colorful rows of perfectly planted flowers were a sight to behold and something that I have never seen anywhere else before.  Anyone with a camera could be a professional photographer in this park because all you had to do was point and shoot and the colorful flowers dominated the lens. I hope you enjoy some of the photos we took.

After seeing a bit more of Amsterdam, we headed off toward Bruges, Belgium making a few quick stops along the way.  We first stopped in Rotterdam, Holland where we visited one museum and then strolled along a canal and visited an old windmill which is still being used today as a grain mill.  My daughter and I climbed the steep stairs to the top of the windmill while my wife purchased some pancake mix inside.  Rotterdam is a university town and the second largest city in Holland after Amsterdam.   Rotterdam is also the largest port city in Europe and one of the largest port cities in the entire world.  After that, we headed back on our journey making a final pit stop in Antwerp, Belgium.  Besides being Dutch speaking and a large diamond city, I really didn't know much about this city in Flanders.  Antwerp is actually a very pleasant city with a bustling outdoor European cafe culture.  Here we grabbed some of our Belgian favorite treats, including waffles and frites (Belgian french fries).  Belgium is known for some food specialties which include their famous chocolate, waffles and Belgian style french fries.  

Late in the afternoon we arrived at our destination of  Bruges, Belgium.  Bruges is a wonderfully preserved medieval city and also in the Dutch speaking Flanders part of the country.  The country is actually bi-lingual, with Dutch and French as official languages, though most people also seem to have a good command of English.  I really enjoyed this city when I first visited it as a backpacker 20 years prior.  It is still a very nice city, but I noticed things had changed a bit since my last visit.  Many of the streets were now lined with high class designer retail shops.  Also, the center had a cheesy traveling carnival and there were hordes of people in every direction.  My daughter and I wanted to climb the famous Bell tower in the center and had to wait approximately 45 minutes in line just to get to the entrance.  There was a movie with Colin Farrell called "In Bruges" which came out about 6 years ago and it seems that movie might have pushed Bruges over the top as a prime tourist destination.  I still really like this city, but it seems a shame that it might have lost some of it's personal charm with the massive amounts of people.  Our hotel, which was just a 5 minute walk outside of the old town, was absolutely wonderful.  We had a large quiet room and the hotel also featured a pool which was great for the children.

For our final day on the trip, we would make a few more pit stops on the way to our departure city of Dusseldorf, Germany.  We made a stop in the capital of Belgium, Brussels, for lunch.  Brussels is a large city and also the capital city of the European Community.  The main reason we wanted to visit Brussels was to see the Grand Square which is considered one of the finest in Europe.  It is an impressive square with very picturesque buildings on all sides.  Brussels is also famous for a little statue of a boy peeing, called the Manneken Pis. We found the little statue which had a large crowd gathering around it. I couldn't believe it, all this fuss about this statue and it is so small.  I guess they built up some legend about this little statue and feature it in their tourist information, but really it is just a tiny statue of a boy peeing into a fountain.  Brussels isn't known for having so many touristic areas and we were satisfied just seeing the center.  Our final stop on the way back to the airport was Cologne, Germany where we wanted to see the great Cologne Cathedral.  My daughter and I climbed up the 500+ steps to the top of the tower where we enjoyed some of the views from the top.  The Cologne cathedral is a neat, Gothic style church in which construction started in 1248 and didn't complete till 1880.  It is a massive church and one of the largest in Europe.  

In just 5 days we covered a large area of this region and definitely saw some of  best the highlights of Holland and Dutch speaking Belgium (Flanders).  This is a pretty and cultural area of Europe and definitely worth a visit in the Spring.  I think the highlight of the trip were the amazing tulip fields of Lisse in Holland.  I have never seen anything quite like it before.  Tulip fields, canals, Belgian waffles, fries and some of the finest beer will make your taste buds and other senses work overtime.