March’s Wish List

On By TanjaIn life10 Comments
Opatija
longing for spring and summer to come: this is Opatija in Croatia

What a dreary month. As I’m writing this I’m suffering from a cold but even worse my baby’s got it too! It breaks my heart to see him sick. So this is my March’s Wish List:

GOOD HEALTH I wish for the good health for my baby. It frightened me when I saw that he had high temperature. I know there are many children and babies out there with serious illnesses and I’m complaining here about a cold but my baby’s only four and half months old and this is the first time that he’s been sick.

SUNNY AND WARM DAYS It snowed here on 1st of March! Can you believe it?! And it’s still very cold. I wish for the spring to finally come.

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WPC: I’d rather be… somewhere warm

On By TanjaIn Travel10 Comments
Menton, France

It’s been a while since I participated in the Weekly Photo Challenge. This week’s theme is I’d rather be..  I’m really fed up with this freakish weather here. It’s either raining or it’s freezing. So, I’d rather be somewhere warm and sunny. Like in Australia. Since I haven’t been there I’m posting a photo from Menton, France because I miss my work trips to South of France..

Via Photo Challenge: I’d Rather Be…

 

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Imperial Carriage Museum Vienna

On By TanjaIn Austria19 Comments

Imperial Carriage Museum, Vienna

Imperial Carriage Museum is located in the park of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. If you have visited Schönbrunn Palace and have already eaten something at the Christmas market in front of the palace you can enjoy some peace and quiet in this museum. I visited Imperial Carriage Museum in December in 2015. Recently the museum has been renovated so there might be some changes and differences from the time of my visit. To find out more about the ticket prices and all the other vital information click here.

What can you see at the Imperial Carriage Museum?

Well, you can see beautiful carriages used by the Viennese court and the royal family (Habsurg). You can see the splendid coronation carriage and a black hearse used for the funerals of Emperor Franz Joseph (1916) and Empress Elisabeth (1898). There are also children’s carriages, sport, leisure and travel carriages. But that’s not all. There’s also Sissi’s path-a part of the museum dedicated to Sissi’s life and her travels.

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My English memories: Ipswich

On By TanjaIn England30 Comments
Ipswich, England
Ipswich

I have been feeling rather nostalgic lately. Maybe because it’s ten years since my work & life experience in England. During that time I explored as much as I could of East Anglia which is where I lived. Ipswich was one of the first cities I visited. I went there by train for a day trip without a fixed plan of what to do and see. After this first day trip I visited Ipswich again to meet up with some new acquaintances but I haven’t really been to any museums or done any proper sightseeing. What I have done actually was to shop at Primark 🙂 I know, I know, there are a lot of people who belittle this brand but I still have a top I bought for only 2£ ten years ago.

Ipswich is the biggest town in East Anglia and it’s situated on the estuary of the river Orwell. The first thing I noticed on my day trip to Ipswich when compared to other smaller towns in Suffolk was the number of people in the streets and a greater feel of cosmopolitanism. I came across the Ancient House with its beautiful pargeting  and the Town Hall. I liked the old houses on the high street and the choice of shops. I also saw Ipswich’s waterfront and the marina. It was a leisurely day trip for sure.

Ipswich
Ancient House

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Monthly blog overview: February 2018

On By TanjaIn Blog Awards & blogging12 Comments
Carnival in Rijeka 2018
Carnival in Rijeka, Croatia

February. I started off the month as a co-host for Monthly Travel Linkup run by Emma from Adventures of a London Kiwi, Angie from SilverSpoon London and Polly from Follow Your Sunshine. There’s a new topic and a different co-host every month. I’ve been a co-host once before already. You can check that post here. February’s theme was once in a lifetime experiences. It’s hard not to get jealous when you read about some of the experiences described in those posts. But it doesn’t mean that your experiences aren’t special enough if you haven’t seen the Northern Lights or had a close encounter with a lion. My favourite posts were:Why travelers need to quit the once in a lifetime mentality , Once in a lifetime wildlife destinations and My iconic travel moments. 

February was a fickle month here regarding the weather. It was unusually warm and then it snowed at the end of the month. Luckily, it was sunny and not too cold for the International Carnival Parade in Rijeka so we went with baby V. and saw a couple of masked groups. We didn’t do anything special for Valentine’s Day though. We just ordered in a pizza and gave our baby a bath. We’ve submitted in the papers for baby V.’s ID so we can travel 🙂 As soon as it’s finished we’re taking a day trip to Italy. A proper trip is still being planned, destinations and means of transport weighed in until I can make a final decision.

 What have you done in February?

 Published posts in  February

Once in a lifetime experiences #travellinkup

First Time Flyer? 4 Things You Need To Know

Travel Australia And New Zealand In Ultimate Luxury

Monthly blog overview: January 2018

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Carnival parade in Rijeka

On By TanjaIn Croatia42 Comments

carnivalrijeka2018c

Rijeka is the third biggest Croatian city and its main seaport. Rijeka has also been announced as European Capital of Culture for 2020. The craziest time of the year to visit Rijeka is during the carnival or the so-called fifth season. The International Carnival Parade had its humble beginnings back in 1982 when only three masked groups paraded through the city. Now, more than a hundred masked groups from Croatia and other countries entertain more than a 150 000 visitors with their colourful costumes. The tradition of wearing a mask in the period before Lent in this region of Croatia goes back centuries. The most traditional costume is that of Zvončari–men wear animal skins and horns and big bells to scare away the winter and welcome in the spring. Zvončari are on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. You can see how they look like here.

A month of carnival activities includes Rijeka Carnival Queen Pageant, a masked ball, carnival dances, children’s carnival parade and carnival snowboard session in the center of the town as well as a masked car rally. The culmination of all this is the International Carnival parade which begins at noon and lasts until the evening. This year it was held on 11 February. Since we went with our baby we didn’t stay long so I don’t have a lot of photos to share with you. Therefore, I’m posting also some photos from the carnival of 2015.

I’m sure you’ve heard about Venice Carnival and Rio de Janeiro Carnival but now you also know about Rijeka Carnival. What distinguishes this carnival from all the others is that groups mainly make their own costumes which can be inspired by tradition, popular books and movies and quite often by the current political situation. For the locals the procession of Zvončari around suburbs of Rijeka and nearby villages is more important than the more recent carnival events. However, the main event for the tourists is the International Carnival Parade.

Photos from 2018 International Carnival Parade

carnivalrijeka2018

rijekacarnival2018

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