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.

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