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in slovenia

mangart

mangart, at 2679 meters is the 4th highest peak in slovenia – and our first attempt at some serious hiking with our friends sara & gandalf. mangart has the highest road in slovenia, just over 2000 meters, so you get to drive almost to the top, and hike the rest of the way. we didn’t hike it all the way to the top though, but instead took it easy and enjoyed every minute of it… until the wind became too strong and cold and we had to come back in a run. can you believe there was still a patch of snow up there!?
i’ll let the pictures do the talking, because words don’t do justice to this place. meet mangart:

from up there, you can pretty much see the whole world:


or at least a good portion of slovenia, italy and austria. you can sit and relax while below you the world goes on and fluffly little clouds pass by, floating over the top of the mountain to the other side. it’s really precious – and probably our new favourite place. :)



we’ll definitely go back again – preferably on time to see the autumn foliage, which i am currently obsessing over! if it wasn’t for all the rain currently falling on slovenia… the country has been hit with heavy floods in the last few days. we’re safe & sound, but worried with the local tv reports showing serious damage in places we’ve recently been to. they say the worst is yet to come, so we’re crossing our fingers and staying indoors for now. stay safe.

Categories
in slovenia

tromeja = 3 borders

yesterday we joined the ics club on a hike to tromeja, which is a special hill on top of which the borders of slovenia, austria and italy meet. it was in this hill that in may 2004, officers from the 3 countries shook hands to welcome slovenia into the european union.

sunday was the perfect day for hiking, with blue skies and gentle breeze – a day just begging to be spent outdoors, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. the hike started in rateče, which is a small lovely town in itself. we’d been in the area a few times to see the ski jumping competitions, but never thought of turning right instead of left! the town is so picturesque, it’s almost postcard perfect. like my dad would say, “sometimes i feel like i’m inside ‘the sound of music'”. :)

there are two ways to the top of tromeja: quick & steep, or slow & easy. we picked the latter for the ascent, and took our time in the two-hour climb, stopping now and then to enjoy the view of the meadows and the alps.
the summit was crowded with people, since it was the day to celebrate the friendship between the three countries. the views were breathtaking and stretched as far as villach and klagenfurt on the austrian side, and planica valley on the slovenian side. there was live music, people in costumes, donkeys (!) and plenty of local delicacies from all the countries.


on the way down, we took the steeper slope, and shaved off a bit of time… though not so much, as we stopped frequently for pictures and stretched on the grass at the lower hut to recharge energies…
all in all, pretty much a perfect day :)

Categories
foooood in the netherlands

Patat with mayonnaise

there’s something so simple and right about this… the netherlands might be the land of snacks & small pleasures :)

Categories
foooood in the netherlands

stroopwafles!


how can one come to the netherlands and resist the omnipresent stroopwafle? it would be like going to belgium and not eating chocolate…
the sweet smell coming from a tent on the alkmaar fair was enough to stop us on our tracks and grab a couple of them. these thin slices of warm waffle, stuck together with syrup are a divine dutch treat. yum!



Categories
foooood in the netherlands

next, hagelslag!

hagelslag (blowing hail?) are dutch chocolate sprinkles – invented in 1936 by mr. de vries, in reply to a child who wrote him asking for a chocolate topping to put on his bread.
to use them, spread some butter on a piece of bread and sprinkle them on top. allow me to illustrate:



the butter is optional, but it helps them stick better. more than the different flavours, i think what makes hagelslag special is the texture – it’s just nice to bite the tiny crunchy pieces of chocolate, and let them slowly melt in your mouth…

they have a special kind of sprinkles called muisjes (little mice) that are spread on round rusks when a baby is born, and offered to friends or family. they’re either pink or blue, according to the sex of the newborn. isn’t that a nice tradition? :)