Exploring the beautiful Soča Valley

A few months ago I somehow came across a short blog post about a hiking trail along the Soča river in Slovenia. It’s my home country, so I was surprised I never heard about the Soča Trail (Soška pot), which is actually part of a longer trailed called Alpe-Adria trail, that starts in The Alps in Austria and finishes at the Adriatic Sea. So I made a bit of a research and realized the Soča Trail is about 20km long (actually it’s more about 30km long) and goes along the river all the time, from the spring of the river to Bovec.

My mind was set on this trail the moment I heard about it and I decided this summer I’ll walk this path. So, to finish this summer the way I wanted, two of my friends and me decided to do it, to hike this path. Saturday, early morning, we started to drive towards Bovec, where we left our car. We took a bus from Bovec to the starting point. Around 10:20 am we were at the spring of Soča river and started to walk the trail – a bit later than we thought we will, but oh well, at least we started.

Obviously, at that time we were all still all full of energy, optimistic, positive and determined we will finish the trail. It’s a shame, but none of us were familiar with this area, we drove through it or been to parts of it before, but never really took time to explore this beautiful part of our country. The path mostly goes through the forest, sometimes through more open fields, but it’s easy to walk and absolutely lovely. There are few short hikes uphill now and then, but nothing dramatic, everybody can do it. Along the way, all the sweat is rewarded with stunning views of the mountains, Julian Alps, and views on the clear emerald water of the river. I’ve seen a lot of places around the world, but I must say, this was one of the best views ever.

We were making short stops about every hour, none of us is particularly fit, so we needed a break now and then. Around 3:30 pm we decided to stop for a bit longer, especially because Maja’s shoes were not as comfortable as she expected, so her feet hurt like hell. Nina had some troubles with her shoes too. I guess I was the lucky one, with comfortable shoes and still loads of energy left. So we just sat down on some rocks by the river, ate some snacks and enjoyed the view. The two of them decided this was the end of the trail for them and they would catch a bus back to the town. However, I was still full of energy and excited about the whole trail, so I decided to continue the path on my own.

Honestly, I loved this part of the trail the most. I love my friends and it was so much fun to walk, talk and laugh together – I’m a very extroverted person – but as soon as I started walking on my own a whole new experience opened up for me. Peace, quiet, nature, it was all so relaxing, gave me time to clear my mind and just be. It’s probably a bit weird, but instead of getting tired I just got even more energized. From time to time I was even running few hundred meters, and I usually never run! Definitely a whole new experience for me. I kept going for about four more hours, but then the sun was going down a bit too fast for me and I had to give up. My soul was saying to keep going, but common sense said it’s probably a good idea to stop where I am and call my friends to come pick me up. I believe I still had about 7km to walk to reach Bovec. I still walked about 23km, so I’m proud of myself, it was an absolutely amazing experience. But now I’m determined that I’ll walk this path again and next time, I’ll be prepared and start earlier. 🙂

Surprisingly, after a whole day of walking, I was all bubbly and full of energy even in the evening and I didn’t feel like going to sleep yet. In the morning I was up at 7 am and couldn’t wait for more adventures. 😀 I’m definitely one of those people that get all powered up by adventures… 😀

The fellowship of the “bitches be crazy”! 😀

The gate to the fantasy world…

Massive rock in the middle of the river.

Beautiful paths through the forests… Like a fairy tale.

Along the way you keep crossing cute bridges like this one.

Girls day out!

More beautiful views on clear waters…

Maja posing on one of the bridges. 🙂

Nina posing on one of the bridges. 🙂

Water flowing through the rocks.

Emerald water flowing through the canyon.

Tiny waterfall falling into the canyon.

It’s definitely a sight like from a movie…

These paths are absolutely fantastic and so much fun to walk!

Oh the emerald beauty, absolutely fantastic view!

Italy – Traveling back in time around Naples

Hello again! This is another pretty late post, but oh well, better late than never I guess. So I had a short vacation at home and before joining my new ship I decided to go on a small adventure to my neighboring country for few days, Italy. I’ve seen some of the more northern parts already, but the area around Naples was always high up on my bucket list. Since I had a friend there, even better! You can find photos on the bottom of the post.

Caserta Palace

One of the spots I visited was Caserta Palace, a bit north of Naples. It’s a magnificent palace, beautiful, full of amazing artworks, covered with so much marble that you can’t believe it. Seriously, I can’t imagine how much all that marble cost at one point. I’m always somehow shocked and disappointed how aristocrats often didn’t (still don’t) care how much money is spent on ridiculous things. But yes, I admit, the end result is impressive. In the rooms, you get the glimpse of a life of kings and queens, since you can see their bedrooms, study rooms, throne room with an actual throne and even the toilet. And it’s not just the rooms and regular objects that are interesting. In this palace, you need to pay attention to small details. The chandeliers, the paintings, the statues and all the tiny things that we sometimes don’t even notice – they’re all amazing artworks.

The thing is, the palace is so massive that it’s not fully renovated. Part of it is open to public (and it’s still massive), a big part is still under renovation. Hopefully one day everything will be restored to its former glory and we’ll be able to see every secret corner of this gorgeous building. I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the inside (and honestly, I just wanted to enjoy the place without taking photos), so I don’t have much there… Since we arrived a bit late we didn’t have a chance to visit the gardens too, but I’d say if you ever pass the area, this is a spot worth visiting.

Naples

Let me say few things about Naples as well. Honestly, I expected much more of this city. We heard on the news this city has trouble with garbage, but I’m an optimistic person and I always think things can’t be that bad. Trust me in this case – it’s bad. I get there are nasty areas around the world, but I always considered Europe to be quite clean since my country is super clean… Well, that’s not the case in this part of Italy. I’ve seen people actually stopping the car on the SOS stop on a highway to put out on the side of the street a plastic bag full of trash. What the hell is wrong with people and this place?! So yes, for my standards, this place was quite dirty. Also, I thought it would be more interesting for a tourist, more to see, more to do… Well honestly, I was disappointed.

Walking around Naples is a bit tricky. Some parts of the city are really boring, gray, ugly and you get the feeling somebody will come around the corner to rob you. I felt a bit uncomfortable even if I wasn’t walking around alone. If you stick to the touristy streets and roads it feels better, but it’s easy to get off the beaten path. The main streets are actually really interesting, full of cute shops, souvenirs, and small restaurants. There is one main touristy route through the city that takes to all main locations, like the main square Plazza del Plebiscito with the Royal Palace and a church, then through the old town and all the way to the old city gate. Even though these are the main tourist areas I was quite surprised they were still very dirty. Trash was lying around the streets and there was a sad view of a lot of beggars and immigrants trying to illegally sell some souvenirs. I don’t mind the beggars and immigrants, don’t get me wrong, I just think it’s sad to see that and it makes you think what we all can do to help the world. I won’t get into politics here, let’s leave that maybe for some other post…

Castello del Ovo

I went to see the Ovo Castle, which is at the edge of the city, guarding the bay. It’s a nice castle, it’s quite well preserved and renovated and I love how it looks like a really strong medieval fortress that you wouldn’t want to mess around with. I always like to imagine going back in time, how it looked like in all its glory… I liked it. But I must say, I was a bit disappointed once I reached the inside of the castle. The exterior is nice, the walls, the walk up, the canons… But that’s about it. There is not much more to see there. Maybe I’ve seen too many castles and fortresses and I’m not that easy to impress anymore, but I really expected to see a bit more than just some cannons and blank walls.

National Archeological Museum

The place that impressed me was National Archeological Museum in Naples. Since I’m a huge history and art buff this was definitely one of the most exciting things for me. The building is home to so many statues and objects from different parts of the world, even some Egyptian art, mummies and scripts. Really cool. But the main thing that I came to see was ancient Roman art and objects from the city of Pompeii. There are so many massive statues from the Roman times that you can’t count them. Some of them used to decorate private homes, others were part of public buildings, but all of them are absolutely beautiful. The size of some of them is gigantic – I didn’t expect that!

Then there is one area of the museum that is dedicated only to the objects from Pompeii, and that’s more or less what I really came to see. They have an original bed, mosaics, tables, pottery and so many tiny objects that got “frozen” in time because of the eruption of Vesuvius. What I thought was absolutely hilarious was “the dicks of Pompeii”. I’ve heard of them before, my awesome professor of Art History even mentioned them to us once, but I never found much information about this. So that was also the reason I wanted to see it “with my own eyes”. So let me explain just a bit of history here. Ancient Roman times were very open minded and a lot of things that are a taboo these days were quite acceptable back then. They had a lot of brothels and obviously, sex was a big business (well, in a way that is still the case in modern times). So around the cities, there were a lot of “dick” signs to use as direction sign to the nearby brothel. Some signs were just as drawings on the wall, others were big (and hard) statues built in the wall. Walls of brothels were decorated with frescoes that usually had sexual scenes. There were all kinds of sexual positions, orgies and even some weird things they did with animals. Yes, those ancient times were quite crazy! So this kind of stuff is all represented in this museum and when you look at it, you’re not sure if you should laugh or not since it wasn’t really meant to be funny, but it somehow is… I don’t know, it seemed like I was the only one really enjoying this part of the exhibition, I couldn’t stop smiling, while others looked a little disapproving. =D

Well, let’s leave this sex topic now because I don’t want to get you all too excited. =)

Pompeii

Now let’s finally come to the highlight and the thing I was waiting to see almost all my life – Pompeii. Since I was a kid I used to read about this city that literally died in few hours. When I saw the walls I was probably the happiest person that day, it was like a dream come true for me. If I could travel in time, that’s the era I’d go to. The city is so well preserved, so many walls still high up, you can tell where were the doors, where the windows, you can see some frescoes, statues, and mosaics… There are some amazing remains of insulas (Roman houses) where you can see the floorplan and how on the lower level there was some sort of a shop or a craft and upper levels were used as an apartment. It’s so interesting to see massive built-in amphoras (huge vases or bowls) that were used to serve street food. I loved that most of the buildings had some sort of signs explaining their function. Then the villas on the outskirts of Pompeii, near the city walls. You can visit their amazing gardens with flowers and fountains and with a little bit of imagination you can see yourself there in some toga sitting on a bench enjoying Roman wine… Absolutely amazing.

Visiting the old theater was one of the best things because in a way I was hoping actors would come on stage and play some amazing act. It’s beautiful. And if you’re on the top of the main theater you have a really good view of the city as well. Underneath you can also see a smaller theater and a large sports court that was beside competitions also used for training purposes. Apparently smaller rooms next to the training court were used as rooms for gladiators.

And that leads us to the amphitheater on the outside of the city walls. It’s pretty large and it’s quite well preserved. When you walk inside you can imagine the crowd screaming, shouting… You walk around wondering how much blood was spilled on the spot you’re standing. Brutal, I know, but it is part of the history… Then next to the arena there is another massive sports court where there is part of the exhibition of interesting findings from the city. There is a lot of food that is still preserved from the day of the eruption. It is somehow trapped in time and just got black because of the heat, but that’s why it’s still preserved. So you can actually see some ancient bread, fruits and other things that would otherwise be long gone. As sad as the story of this city is, in a way we can be thankful that the disaster allowed us to be part of it all two millenniums later.

I know a lot of visitors come to see Pompeii because of the dead bodies. I know, totally creepy, but it’s true, there were people in the city that turned “to stone” because of the ash and heat. Those bodies are preserved to this day and they were found in few different areas of the city. There are still some visible on their original spots, but they are actually replicas. Originals are now stored in a museum (which I sadly didn’t get a chance to visit), so they won’t get damaged. But even if you know it’s a replica it’s still quite an emotional encounter, to see them lying there, probably praying for their lives, hoping God’s will have mercy…

Herculaneum

Now, this leads me to another city with a similar story as Pompeii. A bit less known, but also very impressive, Herculaneum. This place was closer to the sea at that time and a bit more west from Mount Vesuvius, so it got more ashes and less lava and massive stones falling down. That’s the reason why it’s more preserved than Pompeii. There are so many buildings with more than just the ground floor, you can see second floor, rooms, decorations on the walls and floors. It’s absolutely amazing. Some buildings even have wooden parts preserved, like wooden ceilings, floors and even doors and window shutters. The bottom level of the city is really impressive since that was actually the water level of the sea in those days. Down there you can see what used to be boat houses and a pier, which was one of the routes people of Herculaneum decided to use as their option to escape the tragedy. So there they lie, their skeletons, still holding on to each other and trying to protect the kids. It’s so sad to see that. And there they are now, a tourist attraction…

Mount Vesuvius

So to make the whole visit of this part of Italy complete, I had to visit the king of the disaster, the Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that killed thousands, destroyed cities and at the same time preserved all this for us to see so many years later. You can go quite high up the mountain with a car, then it’s up to you if you want to take a shuttle bus even higher up to the crater or you want to walk. We decided to walk, even though the path isn’t really meant for pedestrians at that part. But I wanted to enjoy the view, I wanted to take in as much as possible. So we walked… Once you get closer to the top you can see the different soil, smell the different air and eventually see the crater. In some areas, there is still smoke coming out, just enough of it to make you think that one day this thing will erupt again. It’s just sitting there, waiting, looking down at large and very populated area of Naples… I really hope it doesn’t create the same “Pompeii tragedy” again. But yes, when you think about it and that you’re standing on all this majestic power, you feel helpless. We came so far as human race, but on the other hand, when nature decides it’s time, we can’t really do much about it, except evacuate. The power of nature…

 

Visiting the Naples area truly was an interesting adventure for me, touristy and emotionally. This was probably emotionally the most fascinating place I ever visited, just because of the Pompeii, Herculaneum and the sad history written by the volcano. When I was leaving Naples with an airplane it was towards evening and for the goodbye, I got a magnificent view out of the plane window, down on a majestic volcano with sunset. That was the best ending of this trip, I couldn’t ask for a better view.

So if you ever go on a similar road trip, travel or adventure, try to take it all in. Try to think about history here, about the events that happened and try to imagine it all, put yourself in those times… It’s so much better. =)

Caserta Palace

Caserta Palace

Inside Caserta Palace

Inside Caserta Palace

Capri island and the sea

Pompeii

Wall in Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Streets of Pompeii

Gym in Pompeii

Theatre seats in Pompeii

Ancient theatre in Pompeii

Sports training area in Pompeii

Ancient pillars in Pompeii

Courtyard and rooms of gladiators in Pompeii

Modern statues as part of old Pompeii

Rocky stairs in Pompeii

Insulas in Pompeii

Side city gate in Pompeii

New inhabitants of the ruined city

Rocky walls in Pompeii

Seems like time stopped here…

Red walls inside the house in Pompeii

Walls and floors, still beautiful…

Ancient Pompeiians really liked sex scenes =)

Ancient restaurant with built-in amphoras for the food

Abandoned street in Pompeii

Garden shrine in the garden of one of the villas in Pompeii

I had to take a selfie with this famous Venus in a shell fresco!

Beautiful gardens of rich Pompeiians

Amphitheatre of Pompeii

This is the view gladiators once had… Last time seeing this?

And the seats are now empty…

Beautiful walls in Pompeii

Forgotten footprints in Pompeii

Ever saw a two millenniums old bread?

Gardens of an amazing villa, home of rich Pompeiians

Forgotten streets of Pompeii

It’s like somebody just stopped all the work in the vineyards

Sadly, their life ended here…

The king of disasters, Vesuvius, is still looking at the ruins of Pompeii

Beautiful ceiling of ancient terms, still perfectly preserved!

Inside the terms of Pompeii

Hypocaust, the ancient floor heating system.

Walls, pillars, shadows…

Trying to protect the face before dying…

Walls in Pompeii

Modern statue, looking towards brighter future…

Old map of Pompeii

Entrance to Herculaneum

Overlooking the Herculaneum

Hidden…

Herculaneum

Garden in Herculaneum

Dead city with tourists… Herculaneum

Where the grass is, there was the ocean once…

Beautiful indoors in Herculaneum

Changing room of the terms in Herculaneum

One of the main streets in Herculaneum

Street in Herculaneum

Upper level, once a home to somebody…

Ancient wood, still there…

Ancient wooden shutters in Herculaneum

It looks like it was yesterday… Ancient home

Inside one of the insulas in Herculaneum

The walls, the floors, still beautiful…

And the pillars are still standing in Herculaneum

This way to the garden…

Tourists looking at the bodies in Herculaneum

Once people, now a tourist attraction…

They just wanted to live…

Herculaneum

I thought it would be cool… Not sure if it worked. =)

The map, the city and Mount Vesuvius, the master of disaster…

Boats in Naples

Streets of Naples

Streets of Naples

Old arch in Naples

Ovo castle in Naples

Canons at Ovo castle in Naples

Dramatic sea hitting the walls of the fortress

Old fortress still standing, Castello del Ovo.

Church and statue at the Plazzo del Plebiscito in Naples

Balconies in Naples

National Archaeological Muesum in Naples

National Archaeological Muesum in Naples

National Archaeological Muesum in Naples

One of the famous and most well preserved frescoes from Pompeii

When having sex with a goat was apparently acceptable… Ancient Pompeii

The Flying Dicks of Pompeii… Yes, this is seriously ancient art. =D

Oh look, we came into ancient brothel! Sex anyone? =D

Oh, so this is how you know where the brothel is? =) Ancient Pompeii sure was a fun city!

National Archaeological Muesum in Naples

City gates in Naples

View down on Naples from the Mount Vesuvius

The smoke is still coming out of Mount Vesuvius

The crater of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius

Still active volcano, Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius looking down at bay of Naples

Volcanic rocks of Mount Vesuvius

Goodbye magnificent volcano, you look like Mordor in this light, but in your own way you are like Mount Doom. Mount Vesuvius.

My “ship life” adventure of year 2015

It’s been a long time since my last blog post, more than one year. I guess this confirms that year 2015 was totally crazy and busy year for me – luckily in a good way!

This blog post is more or less a sum up of most of the year, or at least the part that includes the whole “ship life” experience. Soon after I joined I started making selfies on every location I visited. It started just as photos to send to my family to show them I’m fine, but then I came up with an idea to make a “selfie album”. So that’s why this post is not about great photography but about my crazy adventure.

As I already mentioned in posts before, I got a job as a videographer on a cruise ship. It all happened really fast. I had a Skype interview on Friday, in the end of the interview I was given a weekend to think about it, Friday after that I already had to fly and join the ship. It was my first time to travel totally by myself, so it was one of a kind experience full of emotions and second thoughts. I always wanted to travel, I always wanted to work abroad, but when it all started happening I just couldn’t believe it I was so lucky.

 

I joined a ship Fred Olsen Braemar on one of the Canary Islands named La Palma. We cruised to Cape Verde, then back to Canary Islands. Last day of year 2014 we were in Tenerife, we waited to see the fireworks and soon after that we set sail across the Atlantic Ocean. It’s such a magnificent feeling crossing the ocean. I felt a bit like explorers once and when you look around and all you can see is ocean, you feel the wind in your hair… I went on top deck in the middle of a night when we were really somewhere half way across the ocean and it was full moon, clear sky and nobody else outside on the deck. I just lied down on one of the recliners and enjoyed the peace and I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I said to myself that the only thing missing now is a shooting star and boom, there it was! Truly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced.

Then I had the best time ever when we had two months cruising around Caribbean islands! I never imagined I’ll see these exotic tropical islands, but now I had two months of sunshine, palm trees, warm ocean, sandy beaches and amazing company all the time. One day we were in Antigua, then Aruba, Curacao, Saint Marteen, British Virgin Islands, we even visited Colombia and Panama. I couldn’t believe I was able to see the Panama Canal, then Panama City and I actually went on a historic train ride from Atlantic to Pacific coast! We also visited Havana and Santiago de Cuba where I visited so many historic places and I experienced my own version of the movie Dirty Dancing! I got a chance to swim with the dolphins at St. Kitts, let air planes fly really just few meters above my head at Maho Beach on St. Maarten (you gotta check my video!), drank crazy style at Boatyard on Barbados… (Check my other “Caribbean fun” video!)

Then we crossed the Atlantic Ocean again, made a short stop on Azores, then in Dover in UK, then we were off to the north. From hot summer weather to cold winter days in Norway in about a week… Our first cruise in these parts was probably the most unique one, because we went all the way up to Tromso where we even managed to see the northern lights, then we watched the total solar eclipse, amazing fjords, waterfalls and beautiful mountains. We actually had quite few cruises around Scandinavia, so I managed to see truly magnificent nature and cities. I’ve done some cool tours like the very steep Flam railway, I’ve seen the oldest wooden church in the world, I’ve seen so many Viking stuff I can’t even remember them all, houses with grass roofs, waterfalls, flowers, glaciers and even a small snow avalanche!

So all together in Europe I think we visited Norway, Finland, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Germany, Saint Petersburg in Russia (but I couldn’t get off because I didn’t have a proper Seaman’s book – but I went on a pier just to say I stood on Russian ground! Ha!), then Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Ireland and UK. I think these are all… I liked so many places but I think on top of my list I would put Spain. Maybe because I visited Alhambra and Alcazar palaces which were on my bucketlist and they are truly so impressive. I’m a big Game of Thrones fan, so I was so excited to realize that some scenes were shot in Alcazar palace and I’ve also seen one of the castles in Ireland that they used for Iron Islands.

 

Now I know all this travel sounds really good and that’s why so many people tell me I didn’t really worked, I just enjoyed… Well no. I actually worked a lot! I had to film passengers getting on board on their first day, some sail-away and sail-in scenes, all the locations we visited and tours I went on, different shows on board and special events. When necessary I had to be a photographer as well, shooting portraits on gala/formal nights, I’ve done all the video editing myself as well, then we had to sell our products at the photo gallery… So actually sometimes I worked more than 10 hours every day, sometimes I was lucky and maybe I worked only about 6 hours in one day… Rarely did it happen that I worked even less. But in general it really depended from cruise to cruise. It’s a stressful job because you need to film so many things, then you edit, then it all needs to be done by the last day of the cruise, so the passengers can collect the DVD’s of their cruise…

On Braemar we were only a team of three – Photo Manager, Photographer and me, Videographer. After Caribbean our team got new Photo Manager and there were quite a lot of changes. I don’t mind changes, but after a while I realized most of these changes were not good. Maybe the sales were better, but the team spirit went down and my energy and motivation got really low. So I managed to get the issue solved by requesting to be transferred and so I ended up joining Fred Olsen Balmoral. We were team of four there and my energy got restored, team spirit was great and I managed to meet more amazing people.

 

Let me tell you a little bit about life on board. We eat at the crew mess (or some of us had the privilege to eat in officers mess or in one of the passenger restaurants too), food is different than the one we eat at home so it takes a while to get used to it, we have crew areas where we can hang out, we had some movie nights, karaoke nights, bingo nights and of course we had crew parties. Well we didn’t have parties too often, but without them most of the crew would go crazy, because you can’t just work all the time. That’s probably also the reason why crew parties are the most awesome parties you can ever go to, because basically everybody is your friend and once you get to know enough people and you truly relax you have the best time, you get amazing friends and you easily fall in love…

We had our cabins (rooms) below sea level and there is not a lot of space. Most of us shared our cabin with another cabin mate, some guys had cabin for four, so it’s very important to get along with more or less everybody, because you’re more or less stuck with these people for few months. But I was always lucky to have the best cabin mates and we became good friends. Also there were the water-tight doors that have this annoying sound when they close or open (which is when we arrive or depart from port), then some of us had cabins above the engine room so the whole room is noisy and keeps shaking, then some had cabin above the water tank and you can hear it splashing… Also you shouldn’t think about the ocean just behind the wall… Oh and I forgot to mention that crew wi-fi is expensive and very slow, so it’s good if you’re not too home sick. But that’s why we usually search good wi-fi spots when we reach the ports…

And beside all this, there are also passenger and crew drills, where every crew member has an emergency station and everybody knows where they’re supposed to go in a case of emergency. Every person on board has designated life boat or life raft, everybody has their role. Crew drills were once a week, but if you went on a tour or you were working you were allowed to be excused sometimes. So no joking around – ship life is a serious thing!

People ask me which ship I preferred working on and I can’t really say, because both of them had good and bad moments, but mostly it all depends what kind of people surround you. Now that I look back I can only say that the whole experience was amazing and priceless.

 

I returned back home in August, so I’ve been on board the ships for a bit longer than 8 months. At first I enjoyed some rest, free time and doing absolutely nothing. I had to get used to sunlight waking me up, hearing birds outside, and seeing the same view every day… Funny, but all these normal things become unusual when you come back from the ship. I’ve been posting quite a lot on Facebook to keep my family and friends a bit up to date where I am and what’s going on with me, but when I got home I couldn’t believe how many people wanted me to describe my experience and show some photos. I still can’t really believe this adventure happened to me, but when I see reactions of others I truly start to appreciate that this is really not something everybody experiences. I guess I dreamt for so long about traveling and working abroad that sooner or later it had to happen. It might sound cheesy, but now I really believe dreams come true. =)

There is so much more I could tell, but I think this post is already really long, but you’re more than welcome to ask me if you’d like to know more. =) Thanks a lot for reading!

Lusterfjord, Norway

Vintage camper car, Oslo, Norway

Old timer convertible car ride to National hotel, Havana, Cuba

Flensburg, Germany

Mount Storsteinen, Tromso, Norway

Crossing the Arctic circle, Norway

Historical Panama Canal Railway, Panama

Balmoral in Falmouth, United Kingdom

Panama City, Panama

Kristiansand, Norway

Wind and Surf Beach, Bonaire, Caribbean

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, United Kingdom

Vizcaya bridge, Getxo, Spain

Crossing through the locks of Kiel Canal, Germany

Helsinki, Finland

Olden, Norway

Nantes, France

Briskdalen glacier, Norway

Stockholm, Sweden

Volcanic activity, St. Lucia, Caribbean

Lock Ness and Urquhart Castle, Scotland, United Kingdom

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

Cathedral, Copenhagen, Denmark

Bergenhus Fortress, Bergen, Norway

Enjoying at Boatyard, Barbados, Caribbean

Helsinki, Finland

UNESCO site, Bergen, Norway

Near Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

San Pedro de la Roca castle, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

Santa Barbara castle, Alicante, Spain

Tvindefossen, Voss, Norway

Tayrona National Park, Colombia

Bro Church, Gotland, Sweden

Antigua, Caribbean

Drinking Finlandia vodka in Ice Bar, Helsinki, Finland

Antwerp, Beligum

Polaria, Tromso, Norway

Cartagena, Columbia

Brimstone hill fortress, St. Kitts, Caribbean

Jet ski ride, Coconut Grove, Antigua, Caribbean

Filming from the bridge in Norwegian fjords

Oslo, Norway

Alcazar palace (Game of Thrones set for Dorne), Seville, Spain

Maho Beach, St. Maarten, Caribbean

Stavander, Spain

Photo team on Christmas Eve

Shooting from the ship’s bridge in Spain

Wiliemstad, Curacao, Caribbean

Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

Time off at Seville, Spain

Flam, Norway

Christmas day on board

Port of St. Petersburg, Russia

Saint Emilion Village, France

Ride with troll car, Briksdalen glacier, Norway

Let’s go for a jet ski ride, Coconut Grove, Antigua, Caribbean

Urnes Stave church, Norway

Little Mermaid, Copenhagen, Denmark

Seven Sisters Mountain Range, Norway

Semi-subway ride, Curacao, Caribbean

Bergen, Norway

My shoppie friend and me in Havana, Cuba

Royal Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark

Riding on a double decker convertible bus in Copenhagen, Denmark

Swimming with dolphins, St. Kitts, Caribbean

Dominica, Caribbean

Turku, Finland

Aarhus, Denmark

Holding a starfish & kayaking in Antigua, Caribbean

Alesund, Norway

Viking burial site, Aalborg, Denmark

Emergency drill

Our little group at Maho Beach, St. Maarten, Caribbean

Filming the total solar eclipse somewhere in Norwegian sea

Standing on Russian ground at St. Petersburg

Kastellet, Copenhagen, Denmark

Alhambra palace, Grenada, Spain

Nigardsbreen glacier center, Norway

Grand Turk, Caribbean

Blackhouse, Arnol, Isle of Lewis, United Kingdom

Hanging out at the bar, Boatyard, Barbados, Caribbean

Code Red on board, let’s clean!

Coconut Grove, Antigua, Caribbean

Sola Ruinkyrkje, Stavanger, Norway

Snorkling and swimming above sting ray (on the right side), Antigua, Caribbean

Flam Railway tour, Norway

Planes above me, Maho Beach, St. Maarten, Caribbean

Revolution square, Havana, Cuba

Southampton, United Kingdom

Nigardsbreen glacier, Norway

Lisbon, Portugal

Callanish Stones, Isle of Lewis, United Kingdom

Sahara sand, Sao Vincente, Cape Verde

Living a dream, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Catamaran ride near Pitons, St. Lucia, Caribbean

Swords in Rock, Stavanger, Norway

Geo spot at the volcano, La Palma, Spain

Drinks at Castries, St. Lucia, Caribbean

Amsterdam, Netherlands

La Rochelle, France

Photo girls, Olden, Norway

Hamburg, Germany

Stavanger, Norway

Stockholm, Sweden

4 B’s – Four Fred Olsen ships get together for 200 year company anniversary in Bergen, Norway

Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Crater lakes), Azores, Portugal

Moose, Kristiansand, Norway

Oranjestad, Aruba, Caribbean

Viking Museum, Skavander, Norway

Godoya lighthouse near Alesund, Norway

Dangerous Maho Beach, St. Maarten, Caribbean

Leknes, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Alicante, Spain

Waterfall, St. Lucia, Caribbean

Olden, Norway

Santa Marta, Columbia

Visby, Gotland, Sweden

Beach day at Grand Turk, Caribbean

Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Spain

Alhambra palace, Grenada, Spain

Alhambra palace, Grenada, Spain

Photo team and friends at Nantes, France

Eagle Beach, Aruba, Caribbean

Lofoten Islands, Norway

Swimming with dolphins, St. Kitts, Caribbean

54th October Salon in Belgrade, Serbia

As I said in my previous blog post, I’ve been very busy lately. One of the things that occupied me the most, was a video project curated by Red Min(e)d group. I was invited to make a video documentation of some events and debates during the first few days after opening of 54th October Salon, a modern art exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia.
At first I was a bit scared, because I always have this feeling that I’m not up to the task, I see what could go wrong, I see so many reasons why I shouldn’t accept the offer and so on. But then I realized that I already did this sort of job for the same group last year and obviously they liked what I did, otherwise they wouldn’t ask me to do this one more time. So yes, I accepted the offer, because I knew this is a great opportunity and also it was quite a big step for me, because this is the first project out of school, that wasn’t in Slovenia. It is one step closer to my dream – have a job that allows you to travel, see new places and meet new people. And that is exactly what it was.
I was in Belgrade for only four days (actually it was more like three full days) and I was very busy most of the time, so I didn’t have much time for sightseeing, but I didn’t mind. I loved the feeling of being in some large city for the first time, seeing new streets and buildings just by passing by while going to the location of exhibition, having contact with local people… But what gave me even more inspiration was meeting all these international artist, just listening to their stories, about their art works and even to actually talk with some of them. It really inspired me and made me want to create more art, to dare more…
So yes, I’m very grateful for this opportunity. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it, because this experience really was priceless.
You can check a playlist of videos I made there.

Main hall of the building with exhibition

Free time spent cycling along Sava river in Belgrade