Easter holidays

We  are back from our Easter holidays and we had 24 hours to adjust to a daily routine in England before school and work started again. For children that’s not a big deal but, if I’m honest, for me it is. It takes a few days to get our house back into order again; do all the washing and return our suitcases back in a storage.

At the moment Maribor is “the only ” Easter holiday destination for our family. Grandparents and the rest of the family are not the sole reason why we travel to Slovenia every April; good food, lovely atmosphere, old memories and photos, and of course our dear friends just make every Easter unforgettable. It seems that’s the way it has to be for now that our children are growing up.

What about the city itself?

Maribor is the European Capital of Culture in 2012 and I was bitterly disappointed how this lovely city can’t make the best of it. The city hasn’t done enough to show the tourists what exactly it has to offer. Just a few posters and arguably weird signposts confuse wandering tourists who would generally just like to get more information about the numerous hidden events. Milan and I were observing all this with pain in our hearts and “curse and swear” about incompetence of the city’s leadership. Yes, we live in difficult times, but that’s a lousy excuse for missing such a great opportunity to position Maribor on the map of Europe.

But anyway, if you travel to Slovenia or to its neighbouring countries, make a short trip to this lovely city. It truly is beautiful and worth a visit.

Seven more days

Seven more days and we are off to Maribor (Slovenia) again. It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen our family and friends.  I would lie if I said we are not excited. But the most “impatient” (in a good way though) for sure is Marusa who has started counting hours, not just days, until our departure. Staying at the airport has been the most exciting part of any holidays for her.  Even now, when she is approaching her teens she starts jumping and screaming whenever we get to the airport. She knows every single corner, running like a headless chicken, and she would probably get lost in a matter of seconds if I wouldn’t hold her back.

Oliver is  still too young for all this excitement, but next year he  will probably run up and down the airport and make me and my husband even more nervous. Ah well, the joy of being a parent…

I will updates you about our holidays in Slovenia, but just for information, here are a few photos from our previous holidays in Maribor.

Going away is a good thing for all of us

We’ve been in the middle of our holidays and I’ve hardly been using my “lazy” brain for writing. We have made a total break in our daily routine. No cooking, no washing, nothing else but enjoying every single moment. Walking around the city, discovering new places, restaurants, cafes and spending time with our friends and family.

So where are we spending our holidays? Maribor is our home town and the second largest city in Slovenia, the place where we spent our childhood and where our family and some of the closest friends live.

Despite the fact that Oliver is still a baby, we have arrived to Maribor by car again. The whole journey from England to Slovenia is always great fun. A short two-day stay in Germany (Grossheubach on the Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail in Bavaria, to be precise) is just a cream on the top of this beautiful  journey. What really warms my heart is seeing our dear friends in Germany and they are one of the reasons for making summer trips to Slovenia. We’ve had so many memorable visits so my dear friends, we’re back next year with further updates 🙂

Driving through Austria was on a worrying side, to be honest! Temperature was around 9 degrees Celsius, which is  terribly cold for 24 July and I dreaded the thought of spending our holidays in winter jackets. My husband was just laughing and making jokes about my worries. He tried to calm me down telling me that we would bring good weather to Maribor. He was right, again!

First few days in Slovenia were quite rainy but all of this went away very soon and we’re into summer again. We’ve made a few trips around Slovenia, Hungary and to the spa in Zrece where Milan’s skin acquired a “lovely red” colour (don’t even ask…). In seven days we will be back  in our car travelling to England, but that is far away and there is still so much to see, try and taste.

Timber-framed houses in Miltenberg (Germany)

Balaton lake in Hungary

Cycling adventure in Maribor

Marusa's first tractor ride ever on my cousin's farm

Buffalo farm in Hungary

Buffalo farm in Hungary

Adventure park in Maribor

Famous Bled lake - Slovenia

Low cost train journeys in the UK

Train tickets in the UK are expensive, there is no doubt about it but there is a simple no pain way to reduce the bill. Let me show you what I really mean with the example of my recent journey from London (Euston Station) to Liverpool (Lime Street Station). The cheapest way buying two single tickets comes at £66.50 and the Anytime return ticket reaches sky-high £261. Alright, these prices give you flexibility as you may take any train but sorry, I am not willing to pay more than £200 just for having a few extra options. Come on, you can get a return flight ticket to almost every European destination with that money or invite your business partner for a truly spectacular meal in a Michelin star restaurant!

Here is what I did to shave these £200+ off my bill. First, some trains stop in Crewe, half an hour south of Liverpool. The cheapest ticket you can get from London Euston to Crewe with a 6:24am train comes at £19.50. Yes, you will get to Euston at around midnight but still, a journey of this kind takes all day anyway so if nothing else one may at least be able to reduce the bill! The morning train arrives in Crewe at 9:38am and the next train to Liverpool Lime Street station departs at 9:57am to arrive in Liverpool at 10:44am. The return ticket from Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street station is just £9.40 and the return train from Liverpool departs at 20:04pm arriving in Crewe at 20:45pm, which is more than enough to catch a 21:24pm train back to London Euston.  So, in summary:

Outward journey [£19.50]

London Euston (06:24am) – Crewe (09:38am)

Crewe (09:57am) – Liverpool Lime Street (10:44am)

Return journey [£9.40]

Liverpool Lime Street (20:04pm) – Crewe (20:45pm)

Crewe (21:24pm) – London Euston (23:56pm)

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TOTAL: £28.90 + £6 (postage)= £34.90

The total saving of £226.10 from Anytime day return and £31.60 from the cheapest direct train! Now, this might not be for everyone, waking up so early in the morning and arriving back in the middle of the night but let me tell you something, I rather do just that than pay £226.10 more for being just a little bit more flexible.

Have you got similar stories yourself? Let us know about this, let’s spread the word!

Summer holidays are over and Marusa is back to school

After 6 long weeks Marusa is back to school. I can’t believe it, our girl has already started Year 3.  She was really looking forward to go back. You know, the end of holidays, it can be quite boring. Well, this summer was very different from a typical summer known to her. Every year we travel to Slovenia and stay there for 4-5 weeks.  But this time round we didn’t go. My late pregnancy stopped us from doing anything exciting and adventurous. Imagine the intensive diplomacy to convince her everything will be as usual – all of us enjoying every moment together.

Spending every summer in our home town Maribor, in Slovenia (http://www.maribor-slovenia-travel-guide.com) means pure heaven to her.  She thinks it is a fairytale land actually! She has always great fun and we can do the most craziest things in a relatively short period of time.  Short trips to mountains, seaside splash, wonderful spas, adventure parks, the best ice cream, great friends  – just perfect summer holidays (photos above say it all).  Could we possibly wish for more??

OK, so let’s go back to the diplomacy I mentioned above. Yep, I was worried that she will be very unhappy because she’ll miss all the fun in Maribor. She proved me wrong,… AGAIN. OK, there were days when she was bored when the weather was a bit too “English” but we live in England after all and the weather here is usually really pleasant!

If we now look back at our “English” summer we can honestly say – brilliant because we enjoyed every single moment of it! Despite my huge bump, swollen legs and sleepless nights we made a few short trips to a beautiful English countryside, swimming in nearby aqua center,  managed regular visits to our fabulous neighborhood children playground, watched some wacky movies in cinema and spent some fun time with our friends. Although, we all agreed spending quality time together as a family was by far the best of all.

But, I have to say it straight, without our great friends here in England Marusa’s holidays would probably end up being boring. It never occurred to me till now how lucky we are to have them around. They have always been on hand to invite Marusa to play with their children, be it at home or away. So, my dear friends thank you again for all your kindness and for being always here when we need you.

Love Dominika