Tag: Sea

Posted on

Croatian summer, yet again

Departure from Graz was not an easy one. Mr. Heinz, one of our neighbours, has crashed to the garage door and disabled anyone from leaving. So, I had to pick a hammer, a piece of wood and straighten the gate a bit. Then, with another neighbour we finally managed to pull it up and sneeze with the car underneath.     

This time it was Miska’s choice purely, although I was looking for a windsurfing destination as well.

The usual issue with week cycles in Croatia means, that it’s almost impossible to book a place for whole 2 weeks, so we needed to find 2 places and be able to jump from one to another…

Olive Garden in Jadrija surprised us a lot from the very beginning… Lush vegetation, peaceful atmosphere, lot of flowers mixed in olive alley. It did not look very traditional. The reason behind is very prosaic tough. Mr. Vinko, the owner of the park has married a Thai wife, and brought a couple of Thai people to Croatia. Thai massage, esoteric music and scent everywhere.

Honestly the beach was not very special, but having a windsurfing school, the spot has proved to be good. As the wind came with some waves, it was a bit harder to practise or to improve on a new – much smaller board. But then, not much more we wanted. Peace, relax and calm.

The only trip we have done, was a short visit to Sibenik. Short, as the town and its historical centre was really crowded and somehow stinky too.

On Saturday we moved only some 30km to north west to reach the island Murter and our second destination, called Cigrada bay. Lovely bay on the west side of the island having 2 restaurants and “our” beautiful little Sunset Villa.

This was an extraordinary place, due to its numerous large terraces, stretching from the top of the coast to its waters. So many possibilities to relax on the offer. So many places to run and hide for Berry! The lovely pine trees, which separated our house from the bay – being busy during days – was great and the view on the Sunset truly magnificent!

We did not need to go and see any other places, which says it all… Actually the only exception was a short break in our kitchen, on which we visited a restaurant in Betina.

All the other days and nights we spent in Cigrada and our wonderful gardens. Ahh, yeah I managed to fix the guy’s camera.

The last day of our summer vacation, before we hit the highway for the return, we spent on the supposingly most beautiful beach of the whole Murter island – Plaza Podvrske.

Posted on

Denmark, Skagen

When we got up in Kompas hotel of Aalborg, we knew exactly where we are going to. During the breakfast, we also decided to come back and oversleep in the same room. So, we just jumped into the car and drove away, as the Danish north awaited us.

In some half an hour, we made a first stop by Voergaard Castle – an art venue, renaissance manor house from 1481, which is surrounded by a water dike, and lovely old trees.

Back on the road again, the next break was to see the Tilsandede Kirke. As its name says, it’s sand-covered church. And we confirm, it’s already partially buried by the sand of the dunes. Only it’s Tower is still visible above the sand nowadays. Unexpectedly active bees chase as back to the car.

In few minutes afterwards, we reached Skagen. The northernmost town in Denmark, laying on east coast of Jutland, has a significant flair. That’s the reason, we spent some time in there, enjoying the walks in the centre, by the harbour and a delicious late lunch in Fiskerestaurant.

From Skagen it’s still few additional minutes to reach a parking-site by Grenen. But finally, Grenen (the Branch in English) is the northernmost point of Denmark, a very popular spot for tourists, where the Baltic Sea meets the North Sea. Spectacular show by nature!!

A bit late, we were heading backwards by the west coast. Somewhere there we stopped for a picture with a typical Danish windmill.  

Really late – btw., you know the sun goes down later in the north – we reached the parking place by the legendary Rubjerg Knude. This is an old lighthouse, on a massive sand dune, which has already been moved by 70 meters from the coast to keep it standing for next years. One of the most picturesque scenery, in Denmark definitely!! No wonder a group of young Germans dressed in costumes produce some clips there.  

The last stop of this valuable and in interesting day was a night walk in Lokken and its beachside. The last picture was taken at 23:22 and we surely arrived to Aalborg after the midnight.

Posted on

From Caorle to Milan

Based on the previous very positive experience of an early Italian summer escape, we visited another Venetian coastal resort.

On 30th of May we arrived to Caorle, the oldest villages on the coast near by Venezia. Hotel Excelsior with a sea-view room, directly on the promenade was a decent choice for a reasonable price. The resort itself features old cathedral, Church of the Angel on the sea and the Casoni houses – favourite spot of Ernest Hemingway among the attractions. And of course, avoiding the omission, there is a beautiful several km long sandy beach too 😉

However, lying on a sunbed by the sea was not our ultimate goal for the Italian visit. Instead, we did a little bit of road trip and travelled across north Italy to Milan on 2nd of June.

The Royal Garden hotel situated on the outskirt of the city was convenient thanks to its secured parking and an underground station within a short walk. In Milan we visited some of the famous landmarks including the Duomo, La Scala, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Sforzesco Castle, Brera Art Galery, Santa Maria delle Grazie church and many more. Cherry on the pie was the awaited concert of Lana Del Rey at Hippodrome San Siro on 4th of June. Being the headliner of the whole I-Days festival, with the attendance of more than 70.000 a new high was clearly set. Even though the organisation was a bit problematic, firstly the entrance was hard to find, then the unnecessary queuing, we were still happy we made it and on time.

Last day, Wednesday 5th of June was a travel day with a long journey from Milan back to Graz a head of us. Unfortunately we did not manage all the planned stops, but that gives us a good reason for a next trip 😉

Posted on

Kornati Yachting with Friends

Ready for another great adventure!? The dates were settled, destination and yacht chosen and Tomas prepared a wonderful Itinerary booklet!

At half past one, on 19th of August we all (Tomas+Lenka, Igor+Andrejka, captain Senko and us 2) met up in Sukosan – Marina Dalmacija – the greatest marina in Croatia.

Finishing the shopping procedures, checking in and on the boat, we were about to leave the place. However, as the marina was fully occupied and Senko needed to refresh his driving skills, we slightly hit a catamaran parked on the opposite pier 😱… Hopefully nothing got damaged!😇

Obviously, it took us some time to shake off the tense situation, but leaving the land in distance we just hop in the yachting joy.⛵ Saturday’s ride was reasonably a shorter one, but included a free program evening for the crew.😊

On Sunday we arrived to the snorkelling spot (potonuli brod S Michale) and then parked on a buoy near Veli Rat marina. For Monday we had the highest peak set for a goal. Although there is no track, not even a trace, we still managed to get some amazing views from the top of otok Katina. Later on, we visited the Telasica national park and its peaceful lake Mir.

On Tuesday we were up and sailing pretty early. Our first stop was Fort Tureta on otok Kornat with it’s ruins and picturesque little church. Then we managed to get a buoy in pretty crowded Levrnaka bay, just next to the fabulous Lojena beach, which we also enjoyed a bit. Afterwards, there was a party!!!  📣💃🎵

The next day we headed first to see the otok Lavsa and had a break in Konoba Larus. There, we decided to go and buy some more stuff in Piskera marina. For the evening we parked by uvala Korobacna, not the calmest one.

Sixth day on the sea we sailed along the east side of otok Kornat to the north. There we stopped for a lunch in a tiny bay, but continued further to ACI Marina Zut. Here I drank some water from the shower rooms and went off for the rest 🤢…  Unfortunately, cause Friday was a lovely day too. The highlight surely was otok Vrgada with its truly real sandy beaches. But the next stop was the unpopular one – petrol station. After an hour or so, we finally got what we needed and despite it was close, we did not crash. Furthermore, we came back to Dalmacija marina and parked the yacht in some great manners!

However, this was the last part of our great Kornati adventure. Thanks God! We all survived and even returned the yacht completely. Thank you, captains and the crew!🤗👍 Let’s repeat soon!

Posted on

Eine kurze Reise

Was für eine Reise!? Ja, ich weiß was ich brauche… no, I won’t continue in that, not yet at least 😊

The most important part in the planning of a trip as usual is the destination. And the pick I’ve made, turned out to be a good one.

As of a preparation I even managed to change the tyres, so on Wednesday evening, 17th of May we were heading to Italy full of expectations. Btw. it was approximately 1000 km, I’ve driven in 3 days from Monday to Wednesday. But we arrived to Jesolo – or as Miška correctly noticed – Lido di Jesolo well and still within a reasonable timing. (Not to forget the tunnels that were closed in Graz 😁

The welcoming in Mariver hotel couldn’t be any better! Well, yes originally Miška thought it could, but no, not really. We definitely got the best room in there! Remember, its room nr.: 409

So on Thursday tough, when I had to work, at least you could already relax 😉 Renting out the bikes later in the afternoon was a great idea. We easily get to know the area.

The long walks on the beach were those I desired. And when it came to run, something very special has happened. The priest blessed me directly on the beach! I want to remember and keep that forever. Pretty high in memories shall also be the Michelin restaurant, Michalka has chosen -> then I chose the meals based on their numbers (but that’s a different story)… And then yes, another thing to remember.. its called Iper (iper tosano), the greatest groceries we’ve ever seen.

So after all, Ich weiß was ich brauche… eine kurze Pause, das ist was ich brauche… paar Tage am Meer.

Posted on

Korcula with friends

Maybe because we had so much time and there was still a plenty of accommodation to choose from due to the restrictions… from 30th of August to 9th of September we chose a place at Picena bay 😊 A place from which we had to run away in kind of emergency, on the very first night.

Afterwards, Miska found a remote house in Crnja Luka (Blato), which turned out to be our destination. Having our own house with direct access to sea and some nice terraces with great sea views, hot water and the gas- operating kitchen didn’t bother. With Tomas and Lenka willing to get on a boat we made two one day trips round the coast. Firstly, taking a boat from Vela Luka we explored western area and the island of Proizd. Latter we rented a boat in Prizba and cruised along the south coast.  Looking for paddle boarding and windsurfing eventually, we also made some car trips. Our favourite place turned out to be Pupnatska Luka.

For the way back, we decided to split the long route and stop by in Zadar. Zadar has a nice historical town centre with many fancy bars, unfortunately not open at night during the restrictions. The very last day, when Kiss family was already reaching home, we still went for some swimming and sunbathing at Kraljicina beach, by Nin. Croatia rules! 😊

Posted on

Vacation in Cala d’Or, Mallorca

Lately we were very satisfied with our choices of Mallorca. This year, in between 18th and 26th of August we decided for Cala d’Or and a hotel carrying on the same name. While the place was interesting, with its deep bays (Cala) it offers nice walks and has a variety of restaurant concentrated in the centre, for the hotel we better skip the comments.

Having get used to Cala d’Or and the popular biting fishes of it, we borrowed a great Seat Ateca to visit some neighbouring places.

First trip we made, was to Platja de Cala Agulla – nice natural beach near by Es Pelats (Capdepera), where we got some tasty pizza and continued further to Cala Torta. That’s quite remote beautiful beach with lovely views. For the evening walk, we stopped by in old town called Arta.

The next day we completely devoted to Parc Mondrago a beautiful natural park. On the 3rd day, we went for Calo del Moro, but unfortunately didn’t get any swimming there, as the queue waiting for it was considerably long. Instead, we end up on very long white sandy beach called Platja des Trenc.

Additionally, we manged to visit Platja S’Armarador, Parc Mondrago again and the town of Santanyi (+ Cala Santanyi) before leaving the island.

Posted on

Sorrento, Italy

In between of 23rd and 30th of May, this was finally some attractive home-office week!! As it was so much well-earned Miska’s vacation, she took care of all the planning. At the end she’s the one to take rest and relax, I only changed the premisses 😉

Upon the arrival to Roma CIA Airport, we picked up our Lancia Ypsilon and decided to drive it off the highway towards south. Slowly approaching Napoli, streets got more ruined, narrow and dirtier. The hell of a road connecting Sorrento peninsula with Napoli was remarkable. I lost my half year old beard completely! Next morning, we changed the noisy hotel for a remote appartement near Nerano, hopping to get more peace. Unfortunately, the nearby houses were under reconstructions. Considering the ultimate sea views and stone throw beach, it was still a fair deal. Better than any ordinary office.  

From here we explored beautiful, picturesque places like Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Then, for the last 2 days we moved to Oasi Olimpia Relais villa. This wonderful 5 star hilltop place, made our trip bit more special. Well known island Capri was the last delicacy on our tasty Italian menu.

Posted on

Vacation in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca

After those sporty days and adventure in Premantura, we simply deserved few more days, just to lay down and relax in peace. And the town of Santa Ponsa has such a place, which meets these requirements pretty well.

In between 11th and 18th of August we were guests to the wonderful Punta Del Mar hotel. The personnel took care of us, so we took care very little, almost not at all. After having a full range of tasty breakfast and some glass of champagne, we needed to take a rest before approaching the pool facilities. By playing some games of domino and having few more drinks, we relaxed changing between the sea and pool water throughout the day.

Few times we did even go to the great public beach. And not to forget, we did also manage to walk down the Santa Ponsa streets on few occasions. But mainly, we did focus on pure relax and delightful joy.

Posted on

Premantura, Istria

As a yearly tradition of our summer holidays, we went to Croatian coast again. Looking for a good windsurfing spot in a convenient distance from home, the selection fall on Istrian treasure Kamenjak. For our 10 nights stay ( from 29.7th until 8.8th) we found an apartment in Premantura, which is a gate to nature park Kamenjak, at the very south piece = the end of Istrian Peninsula.

The nature park offers variety of beaches in small bays different west to east. While the east side has wider, shallower beaches (e.g. our windsurfing spot Uvala Skokovica 🙂 the opposite coast is rocky with hush pine-tree vegetation, featuring beautiful sea sunsets places like Uvala Toreta and Uvala Radovica. Being there, we could not miss the great Safari Bar with its hidden corners and fun attractions.

Posted on

Vacation in Paguera, Mallorca

And the long awaited days are finally here. From 31.7. to 7.8. we decided to go for a vacation on Mallorca. Of course, these days everyone goes there, why shouldn’t we? But that was certainly not the reason. On the other hand with so many tourists heading there, we paid special attention to pick up the right place. And we found it! Small town of Paguera without the rush of Palma suburbs, gave us all long restful days full of happiness and joy. In a combination with excellent services of the hotel Coronada, we couldn’t dream more!