Category Archives: Adriatic coast

Rising from the dead

or how I watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Honestly, I didn’t think it would be a movie that would spur me to write. But that’s the beauty of life, it surprises you. Well, it’s beauty if you like surprises. πŸ™‚ Which I do.

Which is also what happened yesterday (surprise). πŸ™‚ I heard about the movie some time ago and was very prejudiced (hehe) because I love that story and putting zombies into it did not seem like a good idea.

Boy was I wrong!

I’ve been promoting the movie to everyone ever since I watched it, and the question I get is whether it’s a parody. I have no idea what genre this movie is. πŸ˜€ Not a parody.

Now I’m wondering if anyone else has seen it and what do you think of it? And if you haven’t seen it, do you think you might? Please try. πŸ™‚

Btw, I actually thought when I wrote again it would be to show some summer/sea photos. I’ll just add some from this weekend now. πŸ˜‰

When you can’t run, walk

Or crawl as that was what I almost did this Saturday.

You all know how much I loved running and was a bit depressed upon learning that I couldn’t anymore. Well, it turns out there is this thing called trail running/trekking (I know it’s not exactly the same but as I walk in both cases it’s pretty much the same to me) which comes close to the same thing as running.

I decided to try trail running and see if my back could support it. So far I only did one training where I actually did some running, the rest was fast walking or just walking uphill.

Which brings me to last Saturday.

There was a B2B trail in Croatia and my company decided to participate, so 20 of us went to the island of Krk to try our best in trail running.

Not to keep you in suspense, I did no running at all. πŸ˜€ The path was rocky and steep and at one point I moved at a snail’s pace. I wanted to say literally at a snail’s pace but it wasn’t, turtle would be more appropriate. In my defense, it was extremely steep and everyone in my category of ‘only being able to walk’, was slow getting up that part.

It won’t be an exaggeration when I say this was one of the most difficult races I ever finished and I only walked. But getting up on a rocky mountain and then climbing down those steep hills is actually quite difficult. It’s a rather sharp uphill battle when you start climbing. Turns out getting down that kind of mountain is not as fast as one might think.

And since I made it in the time allotted I am very happy with myself. It is a bit painful walking these last two days but I don’t mind. It just means it will be less difficult next time. Although next time I’ll carefully checkΒ in advance what the trail looks like. πŸ˜‰

Saturday was an amazingly sunny and beautiful day so I’ll leave you with some of the pictures we took that day, and show off my colleagues that were as enthusiastic to participate as was I.

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P.S. Forgot to say. The air on Krk was amazingly fragrant! The spring was in the sea air.

Yoga retreat in Istria

For the May 1st weekend I decided to see what a yoga retreat looks like and went to one with a friend. It was organized by Slovenians who seem to have more free days around May 1st so the long weekend turned out to actually be 5 days.

And let me warn you for future reference – if you want to participate in a retreat organized by Slovenians, you better be in really good shape because they seem to be able to exercise all day long and continue that days on end (it turned out I can’t). πŸ™‚

The retreat we went to was an acro yoga retreat that Danijela (friend I went with) and I practice occasionally. I actually thought we were doing fine until this retreat. πŸ˜€ The people who came practice acro yoga for much longer (and most of them are actually yoga teachers who have daily practices) so it turned out us beginners had some problems following the more advanced poses. Still, we did our best and I’m quite happy with that.

Even though it was an acro yoga retreat, we would start each day with a yoga session – the sessions were organized by the elements so we went through earth, water, fire and air. I found it really interesting that the hardest one for me was water because when I look at my natal chart (astrological) water is the one element missing in it.

And as if yoga wasn’t enough, we did some rock climbing as well. πŸ™‚ Well, they did. πŸ˜€ I tried one day, realized it’s not the thing for me and when the next day they went for more, I enjoyed the sun and the beach and went for a really short swim (the sea is still very cold!).

To sum up my experience – I loved it! I ached all over for days but had the greatest time and met some wonderful people. I also realized I’m in terrible shape. πŸ˜€ At least compared to everyone else who was there. My body still feels weak, like all the energy went out of my muscles and is very slowly finding its way back. Still, wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Here are some pictures of what it all looked like:

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Did not climb far πŸ˜€

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One of the best Istrian sunsets

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What acro yoga looks like

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Swimming at 14 degrees Celsius (not for long though) πŸ˜‰

Summer vacation is over

And autumn seems to already be here…

When I looked back on my vacation, I realized I really did get enough rest and I enjoyed my time off. Even when the weather turned cold and windy. The books occupied my time while I waited for the sun’s return.

I’m not sure if you can see it in this picture, but the wind “bura” was blowing and there is a white fog over the sea.

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But then, when the wind and the rain stopped, it became possible to catch pictures of sun through the trees.DSC_0043

Most of my vacation was spent in Smokvica, we just traveledΒ for the last few days to southern Dalmatia to watch Β Maraton laΔ‘a – a famous event in that part of Croatia where teams compete on the river Neretva in rowing old-fashioned boats native to that region. For 22,5km! That is more than 2,5 hours of rowing.

But before the main event, we were lucky to have dinner at a place that features this sunset in front of it.Β DSC_0053

And views like this one:DSC_0056

In order to get to the start of the race boats are organized for tourists that first take you for a swim and a lunch and then to the start of the race.

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And here go the teams – there were 34 of them.DSC_0064

This is what cheering from the boat looks like. πŸ™‚

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And now I’m back in Zagreb, just so you don’t think my hair always looks that disheveled, I have a fresh hairstyle.

(that will probably be disheveled in 2 days time) πŸ˜€DSC_0078

Long time, no sea

Sorry, couldn’t help myself. πŸ™‚ It’s been a long time since I wrote anything, and well, this post will come with sea photos. πŸ˜‰ 

Yes, I’m on vacation. Finally.

I had (still have) time to think about what’s been going on in my life and pondering the reasons why I no longer have the time and/or energy to read and write. Honestly though, I haven’t come to any smart conclusions. Life takes you on a path and before you know it, all that once brought you pleasure as a hobby suddenly no longer fits into the hours in a day. I hate that.

So I spent my first week of vacation basically doing nothing. Just resting from the hectic pace my life is when I go to work. 

I sleep a lot, go for a swim, do some yoga and pilates and read. I’m just doing things I enjoy and that bring me relaxation and hopefully, one of these relaxed days I will have an epiphany and realize how to make time in my routine for things that make me happy and relaxed.
Because when I’m happy and relaxed, nice things happen to me. Like talking to a neighbor and discovering a new perfume gem I now covet. 

Cartier’s La Panthere. 

I was so surprised to find myself enjoying a perfume I thought was for older ladies. πŸ˜€ Oh, well, I’m the first to admit I’m prejudiced. 

Anyway, I hope to do a review sometime in the near future. So far, I can only say that after reading the notes, I am no longer surprised I fell for it. There is gardenia hidden in its heart. πŸ™‚ 

And to leave you now with typical Smokvica sights:

Vacation, part 2 – Rovinj

It took much longer than I expected to get this post published. Ever since I got back from vacation, life was hectic and time to spare wasn’t to be found anywhere.Β Rovinj is beautiful. I kept taking photos from every possible side (they are not all here). πŸ™‚

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View from the St. Euphemia church

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Steps in St. Euphemia church if you decide to climb the bell tower

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The bell tower

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How small streets end in Rovinj, straight in the sea

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At the beach (=rocks around the town)

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Walking around (the view)

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Sunset

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Houses of Rovinj

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One of the many pics of Rovinj I took

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One from a boat

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How it looks from the island of St. Catherine

Vacation time!

I feel really bad for neglecting my blog and the only thing I can post at the moment are some pics from vacation.
Some from Senj, some from Smokvica and hopefully more to follow after visits to some other places. πŸ™‚

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Senj at night

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Senj at night

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Selfie at the beach πŸ˜‰

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Sorry for the finger! Fortress Nehaj

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View from Nehaj

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Nehaj in the background

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Smokvica

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Beach selfie

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Smokvica today

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