Photos from Lake Bled, Slovenia

On the last day of our trip to Slovenia, we drove to the picturesque Lake Bled.  We went up to the castle where we found a middle-ages festival, which the kids thought was great because they had just finished learning about the middle-ages in school.  

It was great to see all the actors wearing the old-style clothing, and they had dancing and sword fights.  The kids were able to see how the printing press worked, how coins were made, try on some armor, and play old fashioned kid games.

After visiting the castle, which was up on the hill, we went down to swim in the lake and cool off.

The last thing we did in Bled was to ride the sled track.  These summer sledding tracks seem to be everywhere in Europe, and this one was pretty cool because the chair lift to the top gave us some really fantastic views of the lake (and some sheep!).

I can't say enough good things about our trip to Slovenia.  I am so grateful that our friends invited us to their home and showed us around their beautiful country.

Photos from Ljubljana, Slovenia

The city of Ljubljana (pronounced Loo-blee-yah-nah) is the capitol of Slovenia, with a population of approximately 280,00 people.  We visited on a hot Friday in the beginning of June, and we were thrilled to have our wonderful friends as our tour guides.

Preseren Square 

 The city has a wonderful vibe, with tons of young people and families out enjoying the city.  There is a river that runs through the heart of the city, called the Ljubljanica River, and there are many beautiful bridges to stroll from one side to the other.  The most famous is the Triple Bridge, which is a span of three bridges very close together adjacent to the city's main square.

Triple Bridge

Dancing marionettes along the river

We stopped by a food market in the afternoon for a bite to eat and a glass of wine.  The food market takes place every Friday, with many local restaurants serving up a variety of dishes from falafel and burgers, to Asian noodles and traditional Slovenian dishes.  We sampled a Slovenian pork dish, risotto with asparagus, and my husband found a burger made with lamb meat that was so good my son asked for one, too.    

Friday food market

We then headed up to the castle to get  a good view of the city.  The kids were excited when we came across a man doing calligraphy in the chapel and he made the kids each a bookmark with their names.

Chapel in the Ljubljana Castle

After stopping at a playground to let the kids burn off some energy (it amazes me how after walking around a city all day the kids can find hidden reserves of energy as soon as they see a playground), we headed to a cafe for another glass of wine and a coffee before heading back to our friends house for a BBQ dinner.

Tables full of used books were set up all over the city, and were so inviting to stop and browse at the books in Slovenian.

Ice cream break!

I would go back to Ljubljana in a heartbeat, and it seemed to be a city with a lot to offer it's people.  The people there seemed so friendly compared to other places we have visited, and everyone was happy to speak English with us.  If we had not been with our Slovenian friends, I know I would have had a lot of stress with sightseeing around the city, but it seems hard to imagine being stressed in such a beautiful, laid back city.

My son Ryan and his good friend Val

Beautiful Slovenia

Predjama Castle

Our favorite thing about living in Germany is all of the amazing friends we have made here.  Since our kids attend an International School, we have met people and made friends from all around the world.

Swimming in the Adriatic Sea

We were so excited when our good friends from Slovenia invited us to come visit them at their house outside Ljubljana.  We  visited in the beginning of June, when the kids had a few days off from school, and it took us about six hours to get there from Ulm.

Heaven can be found under a beach umbrella!

To be honest, when I first met this family last year, I had to look on a map to find out where Slovenia is located!  For those who also don't know, it is at the top of the Adriatic Sea, nestled between Italy, Austria, and Croatia.

View from the dock in Piran

What was especially great about this trip, is that it was stress-free since we had locals showing us around.  We didn't have to worry about pulling out the map every two minutes to make sure we weren't lost or spending an hour on TripAdvisor just to find a good restaurant.  In between activities we could hang out at their house while the kids played.

Postojna Cave

Slovenia may be a small country, but there is quite a lot to see and do there.  We spent a great day touring the impressive Postojna Cave, followed by some swimming in the Adriatic, and a seafood dinner in the coastal town of Piran.  I was quite warm while we were there, so swimming and laying on the beach was perfect.

Sunset over Piran

We also enjoyed a day in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and a trip up to Lake Bled, which I will make separate posts about so I can share more photos.

We loved Ljubljana!

I was so impressed at how friendly the people were in Slovenia, and it seemed that almost everyone spoke English.  The kids were really sad to leave on Sunday, and we all agreed that we would love to go back and visit Slovenia if we have another opportunity.

  

Back to Paris

Notre Dame

Lucky for us that we live so 'close' to Paris!  Shortly after moving to Germany, we made our first trip to Paris, and at the time we promised the kids that we would go back again soon.  Well, it took us a year and a half, but we finally made it back!

The Louvre

On our last trip we were able to go with my Mom, and so we decided that it would be great to have my husband's mother, Theresa, join us this time.  Hopefully taking our mothers to Paris will make up for all the naughty things we did as children.

The kids getting crepes from a crepe cart.

Unfortunately, the weather was not what we were hoping for considering it was the middle of May, and we had to make do with cold drizzly days.  I never seem to pack appropriately for anything, and we had to stop into Zara and buy the kids sweatshirts.  At least a rainy day in Paris is better than a rainy day anywhere else.

Arc de Triomphe

In order to see as much as we could in the two days we had, we decided to use the hop-on-hop-off bus.  Despite shivering on the open-top bus, it was really a great way to see all the sights.

We were freezing in May!!

Of course, our favorite thing to do in Paris is eat!  We had so much delicious food, and I am starting to drool just thinking about it again.

Everyone loves the Eiffel Tower!

When we were in Paris the first time, we were unable to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower due to windy conditions.  I had learned my lesson and also bought the tickets online this time.  Amazingly, as we headed up the tower, the sun finally came out for the first time in two days and gave us great views of the city.  We were all pretty ecstatic to be able to get to the top.

Happy Birthday to me!

 Our trip was in between Mother's Day and my birthday, so we made a stop into the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs Elysees and I picked out a bag that I have had my eye on for awhile.  Needless to say, my bag and I have been inseparable ever since.

Yummy macarons by the Seine River

Parisians have such a bad reputation for being snooty and obnoxious, but we found the exact opposite.  Everywhere we went we found a welcoming reception, even with having our kids along.  The kids love Paris and French food, and they are already asking when we can go back.  Hopefully it won't be another 18 months!

Spring in Sevilla

Sevilla!!

Sorry for the big glaring typo in my last post title!  Clearly we were on 'Spring Break' and not 'Sprink Break'!  Needless to say, I was completely embarrassed and fixed it ASAP.  Forgive my horrible grammar and lazy proofreading, dear friends!

Gorgeous patios are all over the city

Sevilla is in the south of Spain, and is such a romantic city.  Our hotel was in the old part of the city, with crazy winding streets, hidden patio gardens, and orange trees everywhere.  We were lucky enough to be there while the orange trees were blossoming, and the scent throughout the city was divine. 

Me and my favorite girl at the Alcazar 

I can still smell the orange blossoms! 

We took the high-speed train from Barcelona on the Saturday before Easter, and I had read in the travel guides that Sevilla would be really crowded due to the Holy Week festivities.  We headed out of our hotel in time to watch some of the parade, and were amazed by the thousands of people lining the streets. 

Semana Santa parade float

The floats tell the story of Jesus's death and resurrection, followed by marching bands playing somber music, and hooded and robed penitents carrying candles.  It was such a treat to see this special tradition of the Easter celebration in Seville.  It occurred to me that such a religious parade would probably not happen in the USA, where parades are very secular events.

Plaza de Easpana

We did all the typical tourist things, such as visit the Cathedral, wander around the Alcazar (which was a royal palace) and Plaza de Espana (where parts of Star Wars II was filmed), tour the bullfight ring and museum, and go to a flamenco show.  I really loved the flamenco show, and the kids agreed it was great, but after ten minutes into the hour-long show, they started to ask when it would be over.

Just because we are smiling doesn't mean we endorse
animal cruelty. 

We were grateful that the city was a lot less crowded after the Easter holiday, and we had a chance to relax and wander at our leisure through the city.  The waiters in the restaurants were also a bit friendlier after the crowds left.

View from the Cathedral tower

We such a fantastic trip to Spain, and it was a good balance of activities and relaxation.  I really laughed when I read my son's school essay about his spring break where he wrote that he did all these fun activities, but had to go on really boring tours of the bull-ring and church!  I suppose that it is normal that he was a bit bored, after all, I do get bored sitting at playgrounds all the time.    

Spring Break in Spain!

Barceloneta beach

 

We just got back from a ten day trip to Spain, where we enjoyed the sights, sunshine, sand-and let's be honest- I drank a lot of sangria!

 

 

My husband gets to travel to northern Spain a couple of times a year for work, but it had been 15 years since I had last visited!  My sister studied for a year in Madrid, and I knew after visiting her back then that a vacation in Spain would definitely be in our travel plans while we get to live in Europe.  My husband was also looking forward to seeing Spain from a tourist's perspective instead of as a business traveler (he usually only gets to see airports and factories when he travels for work).

in the Gothic Quarter

We decided to spend half our time in Barcelona, and the other half in Sevilla.  Of course, these two cities are quite far from each other, so we took the high-speed train to get back and forth.  Since moving to Germany, we have been a little intimidated by the train system, but it is something we would like to take advantage of since we don't have the opportunity in the USA.  Taking the train was great, and a much better experience than flying in an airplane.  It gave us the opportunity to see a lot of the countryside, which we would have missed if we had travelled by plane.

Bike tour

Bike tour stop at an old bull fighting ring

On our first day we took a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours, which was a great way to see all the main sights and get some information about the city.  For some reason, we don't often go on tours when we travel, but whenever we do, we always have a great time.  

While in Barcelona, we also visited the amazing La Sagrada Familia church, Parc Guell, wandered around the gothic quarter, played at the beach, went to the Picasso Museum, and ate a lot of tapas.  Luckily, the weather was wonderful while we were in Spain, with highs between 60-70F, and barely a drop of rain to be seen.

Checking out Gaudi architecture

I think we all agreed that our favorite thing we did was sit on the beach a couple of times.  The kids did so great on this trip, with all the walking and sightseeing, and it was great when we could let them run around and just play.  It wasn't quite warm enough to be perfect beach weather, but that didn't slow them down a bit.   

Parc Guell

I was really nervous about this trip, and I can't believe how much research I did to prepare. 
I took three years of Spanish in high school, but 20 years later I have seemingly retained none of it!  Luckily, almost everyone in Barcelona spoke English, but we struggled much more in Sevilla, where hardly anyone spoke English.  I actually realized how much German I have learned in the last 18 months, because every time I tried to say something in Spanish, it came out in German.

Since this post is running long, I will share more photos from Sevilla in the next post...