Travel Photo Blogging

Mobile report from a ski day trip

2012-01-26T12:38:00.014+01:00

This post is mostly about trying new things, so if you are curious what's new with me, you should keep reading.

Those of you who regularly follow this blog have probably noticed a lack of live reporting. Hopefully this has come to an end. Well, at least I can't blame the lack of technical equipment for not publishing live anymore.
Until just recently this excuse was OK due to an outdated mobile phone I had been using. Since it has started to show signs of mutiny I have been thinking about giving in and retiring it.
The same day I got a replacement, the old phone's charger went to phone heaven - talk about perfect timing... Lucky me, I guess.

So this is a test post using my new Android gadget from snow covered slopes of Slovenia. I know it is a bit late for ski season opening, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I chose one of nearby Slovenian ski resorts for this event and since it was an ordinary work day, slopes were relatively empty.
The weather was nice and in the end it was a great day altogether. Check out the photo if you won't take my word for it.

With the ski season officially opened, it is now time to get ready for our annual ski holiday in Italian Dolomites. I can hardly wait!

Google celebrates Plečnik's 140th birthday

2012-01-23T16:48:00.000+01:00

As you probably know, Google occasionally changes the logo on their webpage (www.google.com). These logos celebrating various important events are also known as Google Doodles. Recently there was an interesting one named "Blacked out logo" - Google's way of protesting against SOPA.

Global issues are usually addressed on their main site but logos of local (national) Google pages also change from time to time. Today for the first time a Slovenian Doodle was published. It celebrates the 140th birthday of Jože Plečnik an architect famous for completing many architectural projects in Vienna, Prague and Ljubljana (the place of his birth).

Today's Google Doodle represents his work in the city center of Ljubljana - The Triple Bridge. If you have seen it, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you do it before tourists flood this charming city completely.

To see the doodle on Google site you will probably have to open the page www.google.si instead of your local version (or be physically located in Slovenia).
As you have probably guessed, the .si stands for Slovenia.

Dreaming of a Summer Vacation

2012-01-16T18:18:00.001+01:00

In central Europe this is a season for winter sports. I am actually going skiing in a couple of weeks, but this still doesn't keep me from planning my summer vacation.

Summer might still be quite a few months away, but as I am always on a lookout for good deals on travel tickets, this is just the right time to plan it. One can usually get the best deals on flight tickets about half a year in advance. Sometimes it is hard to plan in advance, but in the end it is always worth it - the less you spend on a travel ticket, the longer you can enjoy your vacation.

A friend's travel stories reminded me of a great time we had in Istanbul (Turkey) a couple of years ago. When I was there I promised myself I would definitely go back one day.
Since Turkey is a large and diverse country it is quite hard to choose one destination within the whole country. If you are looking to spend a week or two by the sea you can easily reserve a direct flight to one of many seaside destinations. For instance you can check out flights to Bodrum to get a feel for the price range. Bodrum is a famous tourist destination that also has loads of historic sites nearby well worth checking out.
Other Turkish seaside cities famous for great beaches also worth checking out are: Fethiye, Antalya, Alanya, Dalyan, Ephesus and many more.

Even though these places definitely have a special appeal, I would probably go for a bit different option. I think the best way to truly get to know Turkey is to fly directly into Istanbul and spend a few days there. In this bustling city you can literally get a little bit of everything - for a really good price.
After a dew days in Istanbul I would try to arrange a local transportation to the eastern part of the country. I guess this should not present a problem, since there are good flight connections from Istanbul to other larger cities within the country.

From what I have heard one has to travel further inland to see the unspoiled parts of Turkey. The further to the east - the better.

The most convenient means of transport to cover shorter distances are definitely buses. Turkey has a good short- and long-distance bus network with air-conditioned buses, possibility of seat reservation and generally good-quality service.

All this said, I hope someone finds it useful. As I have just found out chances of a long vacation this summer are looking really slim for me. I still hope things will work out somehow. Keep your fingers crossed!

A day in the city

2011-12-22T23:09:00.001+01:00

This is another post about the Slovenian capital - the city of Ljubljana. A fellow photographer (Pavel Gregorič) has recently completed a really cool Time-lapse photo project titled: Time lapse - A day in the city.

Let me explain this technique in case some of you are not familiar with it...
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique where the frequency at which individual film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster - we could say it appears to be lapsing.
It is just the opposite of high speed photography with which in photo sequence time appears to be moving slower when it is played at normal speed.

There were almost half a million photos taken during the whole length of the project (7850 of them were used in this film). Some photos have obviously been post processed and effects as tilt shifting have been used for the best effect.
Some photo sequences were even taken from a hot-air balloon, which definitely adds to the overall effect.

If you are out of ideas for your next photo project, you better take a look at this video. Also if you are searching for your next vacation destination or a weekend getaway - this presentation alone might just be enough to make Ljubljana (and Slovenia) the destination of your choice.

I hope you enjoy the video. Since this is just a short promo I suggest you stay tuned for the real thing when it is published.

Lyrical Minutes in the City of Ljubljana

2011-11-30T06:57:00.002+01:00

As I have already mentioned in my previous post, according to Lonely Planet Slovenia was voted amongst top 10 world travel destinations for the upcoming year.

If you are still wondering how this small European country could be on such a list, you might get a hint from this video. Locals are really trying hard to promote this country and lots of travellers appreciate the effort.
If you have a personal experience from a trip to Slovenia, please share your thoughts. I always find it interesting to read about how visitors from abroad see my home country.

Recently I have stumbled upon a video of a summer surprise event in the Slovenian capital - city of Ljubljana. It is one of those videos that make you wish you were there to see it in person.

I must say every year there are more events and festivals worth attending in Slovenia. Most of those still happen in Ljubljana during the summer months but there are quite a few also elsewhere and during other seasons.

Slovenia voted top 8 travel destination

2011-11-25T13:25:00.004+01:00

At the end of every year Lonely Planet's top destinations for the coming year are published. A few weeks ago they announced their top picks for 2012. This year Reykjavik was voted the most popular city and Iceland the most popular country in the world. Since those two places got by far the most votes, it might be the right time to tweak my travel list a bit.

I was surprised (and pleased at the same time) to also find Slovenia in the Readers’ Choice: Top 10 countries category. With 6% of all votes my home country took 8th place. Both USA and Mexico were behind.

I think this is a great result and hope it will help promoting this great country. In my opinion it has been off the average traveller's radar for too long.

If you want to read the whole article, it is available on the Lonely Planet website.

Wordless Wednesday: Bell Tower of Agios Markos

2011-11-16T07:23:00.002+01:00

How to find a typical old village on Corfu?

2011-11-14T07:13:00.005+01:00

No matter where I go, I always enjoy visiting typical local villages. That is easily achieved in some countries and can be quite a challenge in others. Since Greece is a country where you can literary stumble upon history on every step you take, I was expecting to find numerous nicely preserved, traditional old villages also on the island of Corfu.

I was surprised to find every coastal town and village turned into a place suitable only for mass tourism. Unfortunately this means those places were robbed of any charm long time ago. This new architecture has little or no regard for the old beauty and historical value of the area. It seems like the only two aims were to build fast and to build cheap.

The only exception among coastal town I saw, was the protected centre of Corfu city (Kerkyra).

Even though I didn't like this fact one bit, I didn't give up. Soon I figured out all I needed to do was stop concentrating on coastal towns and look inland instead.
I didn't need to look far, since the nearest such town was just a short ride from the town of Ipsos into the hills. This old town is called Agios Markos. Actually it is a small mountain village of some 30 buildings - one of them being a small church with a separate bell tower.

However charming the village might look, quite a few of the buildings have been deserted a while ago and are already falling apart.

So if you are looking for an old picturesque village on the island of Corfu - take a random mountain road and your chances for finding one are quite good.
I guess roads ending in the middle of nowhere, near a small mountain village are the best choice.

Stunning Beaches of Corfu

2011-11-07T07:09:00.010+01:00

Greece is known to have some of the prettiest beaches in Europe. With countless islands (actually there are more then 6.000 islands and islets in Greece) it should not be a surprise at all...

Corfu is known as the greenest Greek island and not as the one with the prettiest beaches - the nearby Zakynthos, Cephalonia and Lefkada are usually mentioned in this context. I was visiting Corfu for the first time and I was expecting to see at least some nice beaches. Let me just say I was not disappointed with what I saw.

Since we were stationed in the town of Ipsos (North-Eastern part of the island) and renting scooters, we mainly concentrated on the northern part of the island.

We tried to visit a different beach every day. There are quite a few to choose from...

I particularly enjoyed Logas Beach near the village of Peroulades. There is even a cute café/restaurant (7th Heaven Café) at the top of the cliff overlooking the beach.
However I have to point out that when we were there a strong wind started blowing in the afternoon and high tide literary flooded those few meters of this cute sandy beach under high cliffs. I am not sure if this is something that happens there every day, but could be quite inconvenient getting there just to find a flooded beach. If you find yourself in a situation like that, I suggest to take it easy and order a cocktail or two at the panoramic bar on the top of the cliff. I am sure you'll feel much better afterwards.

A bit harder to get to is Myrtiotissa beach, located nearby the much more popular and usually overrun with tourists - Glyfada beach. The road leading to this beach is quite narrow and steep. There is a beautiful Monastery of Virgin Mary Myrtiotissa located just above the beach.
It is quite isolated, unorganized, pretty much unspoiled and unofficially nudist. You can easily find your almost private spot behind one of many large boulders scattered on the whole length of this beach.

Another beach worth mentioning is Sidari Beach with the famous coves of Canal d'Amour located to the west of the town of Sidari. The main part of the beach can get quite busy and loud. If you walk to the cliffs on the western part of the beach, chances are you will find a place to enjoy by yourself. However getting there will probably include following a path through some bushes and jumping off a cliff to get to the sea. For me this was just perfect.

There are also many other popular beaches we didn't visit on purpose. We tried to avoid the most popular and crowded ones. If those are the ones you are after, you should definitely visit the above mentioned Glyfada (large surface of fine sand, surrounded by tree-covered cliffs), Paleokastritsa (surrounded by green cliffs and many sea caves that can be visited by boat) and Agios Gordios beach (a sandy beach, surrounded by impressive rock formations, greenery and tourist facilities).

Since these are just some of the beaches on the northern part of Corfu island it is obvious the island is well worth visiting it even if beautiful beaches are all you are after.

Diving trip to Egypt postponed

2011-10-28T16:44:00.004+02:00

I have had a wish to learn diving and to acquire a PADI licence for many years now. If I took a PADI OWD course here in Slovenia it would mostly take place in a swimming pool. The only exception is usually the final dive, which takes place in the Adriatic Sea - somewhere on Slovenian or Croatian coast.

I am a big fan of Adriatic sea, but its underwater life can hardly be compared to some place with coral reefs and countless colourful fish. It is also not all that warm during this time of year...

I guess the closest such place to Europe is the Red Sea in Egypt. Since I visited Egypt back in 2007 I can't get this thing out of my head. My diving experience from that trip is from Dahab (days 13 and 14 of our Egyptian adventure).

Another thing is that such courses usually take quite some time, often stretching over two or even more months. In tourist places like Dahab or Sharm el Sheikh such courses are adapted to match usual holiday durations. This means one can acquire a diving licence in under a week.
However I would suggest not to hurry things more then necessary. You should always keep in mind that the purpose of such courses is to learn to dive independently. If at the end of such course you do not feel confident to face possibly dangerous underwater situations alone, you should definitely reconsider diving alone. A mistake in underwater environment can cost you your life!

Since better prices for diving courses can often be negotiated on the site, I am not going to suggest an online booking.
Instead I suggest you only book your Dahab or Sharm el Sheikh holidays from one of many options available online.
There are also other popular diving locations available in Egypt. You should choose the one that suits you best. Some locations offer ship-wreck site diving, other have superb coral reef formations, etc.

As the title of this post suggests, things have lately simply not been good for taking a trip like this. I will just have to wait a bit longer to do it, but this thing will definitely stay high on my travel list.

Wordless Wednesday: Boat put to rest

2011-10-26T07:19:00.002+02:00

From Summer to Winter in a Flash

2011-10-24T06:34:00.007+02:00

This year summer just did not want to end here in Slovenia. I liked this fact very much and tried to take it in as much as possible.
I was still swimming in the Adriatic Sea at the beginning of October and had a great warm weekend on Slovenian coast. The initial plan was to visit Skocjan Caves - an UNESCO heritage site, but since weather was simply too perfect to spend the day underground, M. and I unanimously decided to head for the charming Slovenian coast town of Piran. We figured any of the gloomy winter days will be just fine for exploring the caves.
In the end we had a great day enjoying the warm sun and fresh local sea food.

Both of the places mentioned Piran and Skocjan Caves are well worth visiting and deserve a separate post each.

We were glad we decided the way we did. Even more so after a few days, when temperatures dropped for 15 degrees in one afternoon. Another few days later snow covered most mountains higher than 1.000 meters above sea level.

Now every morning temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius and winter is definitely knocking on the doors, or as my favourite author keeps saying - Winter is coming. Well actually at the end of last week, it looked as if it has arrived already - there was snow everywhere.

The interesting thing is, even nature looks like it didn't realise this yet. Leaves are still green on most of trees. Last week's snow was breaking trees all over the place because leaves didn't even turn to autumn colours, let alone started to fall off.
If we weren't picking apples just the other day, I would think autumn is an imaginary time of year that happens only in fairytales.

Arriving to Corfu

2011-10-20T06:24:00.008+02:00

Corfu - the northernmost of the six main Ionian islands is also supposed to be the greenest of them all. It has been a crossroad where many different nations and cultures have been mixing for centuries. It is still a bit like that today.

We had arranged a reservation of an apartment in the town of Pirgi which is inseparably connected to a bit more famous party town of Ipsos. This town is actually a Greek version of Ibiza. If you are wondering what is the cheapest way to get to Corfu, you should check out one of my previous posts, but if you still prefer Spain, there are always many cheap flights to Ibiza available from many destinations around Europe.

This time our chosen mean of transport was a ferry from Venice to the town of Corfu (Kerkyra). Pirgi (or Pyrgi) is located 15 kilometres north of this largest town on the island of Corfu.

From the first look of the island I did not know what exactly to think of it - it was dark when we arrived. I guess this might be the main reason we were quite impressed with our apartments when we saw them. There was a nicely lit pool in front of the house with a well stocked bar standing right next to it.

Even in the morning apartments with a rather fancy pool looked quite nice - from afar that is.
When I took a closer look it was evident everything was put together with little attention to detail. Tiles around the pool were not put in place very accurately and quite a few of them were already broken (laying on a pile in a corner). There was also a new LED lighting installed on the rail around the pool which might have even looked nice in dark, but in daylight all the wiring was visible and everything was attached with large silicone blobs. It also did not look very rain resistant - luckily it does not rain all that often in Greece...

This trend could be noticed with most of the places lined up by the main road across from the beach in the towns of Pyrgi and Ypsos. However I am pretty sure many of the visitors do not even notice this. Most of those places were empty throughout the day and filled up well after dusk when such "details" are less obvious.

Since we were usually exploring the island during the day, we did not mind those things all that much. However if we wanted to do the exploring, we had to rent some kind of transport - we opted for a couple of scooters.
We visited some really nice places and idyllic beaches, but more on that in another post...

Ferry deck passenger tips

2011-10-17T06:36:00.002+02:00

Travelling as a deck passenger on a ferry is one of the cheapest ways of travel. Many people try to avoid it because they are afraid it would be too uncomfortable and rent a cabin instead. I think everyone who tried camping before, should be just fine as a deck passenger.

Those on a tight budget have another option: "Airtype Economy Seats". Those seats look like airplane seats put in a large room (hence the name) - usually with air conditioning turned to maximum.
Those seats might seem quite comfortable at first, but trying to get a good night sleep in one of them is a whole different thing - usually they can not be put into a horizontal position. That is why I prefer to use my sleeping bag on the floor and travel as a deck passenger - it can be quite comfortable and is definitely the cheapest way of travelling long distances with a ferry.

However if you do not have a problem with the things mentioned and don't like the wind in your hair while sleeping on the open deck, those seats might be a very affordable option.

There are a few things you should keep in mind while traveling as a deck passenger on a ferry:

Try to board the ferry amongst the first to be able to reserve a good spot for spending the night. Keep in mind the sun, wind and engine noise.

Pack a sleeping bag to keep you warm during the night and a sleeping bag pad (those self inflatable ones are the best choice) for making the hard deck a bit softer.

A hammock can be a useful alternative to a sleeping bag pad. Keep in mind there are usually not many suitable places for tying it up on a ferry.

The crew will let you sleep on the floor of inside corridors in case of bad weather. Otherwise there are only a few places available inside - depends on crew tolerance.

It can get windy and cold even during summer months in the middle of the Mediterranean. Pack a windjacket or some other warm alternative.

Food and drinks on a ferry can be quite expensive for what you get. Buy at least some of your own supplies before boarding.

Pack something to keep you occupied during the trip (e.g. a good book, card or board games). Do not count on internet or mobile phone network connections.

If you are traveling as a large group, it might be smart to consider renting a small cabin together. You can all store your luggage there and use the shower and toilet if you feel the need.

Need another tip on how to get the lowest possible price for a cabin? Check out the link to one of my previous posts.

The cheapest way to get to Greece

2011-10-11T08:42:00.002+02:00

As I have already mentioned in one of my previous posts, I was lucky enough to take part in a prize trip to Corfu.
Since transport to the location was not a part of the deal and this was a more or less a last minute trip, I had to do some research to find the most affordable mean of transport from Slovenia to the Greek island of Corfu.

Flights from nearby airports (e.g. Ljubljana, Venice) were either full or too expensive, so I had to search for alternatives. I found out literary the only alternative was a ferry. There were a few options, but Venice seemed the most reasonable - it is the closest to Slovenia. You can expect a lower price if you book way ahead of time and if you can afford adapting your schedule for a day or two. We had to settle for the prices on the date of our scheduled departure.
Generally there are two ferry companies you should check out when traveling from Italy to Greece: Minoan Lines and Anek Lines.

For a moment we were even thinking of taking a car with us on the ferry. We saw many German and Italian cars on Corfu so I guess this is also a thing to consider. We decided to rent a vehicle when we get there.
We opted to travel as deck passengers, which is the cheapest option. If you are thinking of renting a cabin you can get a really good offer (substantially lower, compared to web prices) when the ferry is already on the way. Use your haggling skills to your advantage. However there is a risk involved when traveling in high season - there might be no room left by the time ship sets sail.
Usually there are also "Airtype Economy Seats" available, but in my opinion those are much more uncomfortable compared to simply sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor.
In the end we were happy with our choice - we really enjoyed sleeping under the stars with a light sea breeze in our hair.

There is also a free bonus when taking a ferry from Venice. Even if you don't get to stroll through the streets of this charming Italian city, you get a great view from the deck of your ferry. To my surprise the ferry passed right by the famous Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square). We got another chance to take beautiful photos on our way back.

Even though this may be the cheapest way to get to Greece from northern Italy, one should be aware this type of transport takes quite some time. It took us 26 hours to get from Venice to Corfu. Since Corfu is the northernmost Greek island, you can expect the travel to other Greek islands to last even longer (e.g. it takes more then a day and a half to get from Venice to Crete and it also includes switching ferries).

We did not mind the long journey. We simply tried to have fun from the first minute on the road and I think we did a great job. When you are travelling with the right group of people, you can always count on having a great time.

Wordless Wednesday: Venice from the Sea

2011-10-05T05:57:00.004+02:00

Back from Corfu

2011-09-08T07:31:00.006+02:00

We have just returned from a too short trip to the island of Corfu. We spent only a week on this green Greek island and another couple of days on a ferry ride there and back.

We visited beautiful beaches, enjoyed great food and of course partied as much as we could. I will try to put my observations and some useful tips in a following series of posts.

As always, I also took some nice photos you can look forward to. The one above is just a taste of things to come. It features a charming beach near the village of Peroulades. The beach is called Logas Beach.

Move, Eat, Learn

2011-08-23T07:25:00.003+02:00

Have you lately felt like the effects of a travel bug bite might be wearing off? I haven't, but if you have, you should relax for a moment, take a deep breath, make yourself comfortable and watch this short film (part one of a series of three).

I am pretty sure, when you are done, you will feel the urge to pack your bags and go somewhere... and I don't mean the toilet!

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

A few words about this project from the authors:

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....

= a trip of a lifetime.

move, eat, learn

These films were commissioned by STA Travel Australia and all music is composed and performed by Kelsey James. The Soundtrack is available on iTunes.
I am pretty sure the author can expect a bunch of downloads!

Wordless Wednesday: London Tower Bridge at Dusk

2011-08-17T13:18:00.004+02:00

Prize trip to Corfu

2011-08-15T06:47:00.004+02:00

Even though it was one of the top picks for our summer holiday destination last year, I definitely did not plan to visit Greece this summer. As lady luck would have it, I am going there anyway...

One of my friends won a free apartment on the Greek island of Corfu and since this did not comply with her plans, me and M. were more then glad to jump in. An additional surprise was, that it was actually a 6 person prize apartment. After some consultation we are going as a group of friends, simply hoping to have a great time there.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a free lunch... As we found out we will have to cover transport expenses by ourselves. The whole thing still seems quite cheap, so this is not a problem.

We have been looking at Greece as our potential vacation destination for some time now. Other islands seemed more suited for us (for instance Kefalonia or Zakynthos), but we just could not afford to skip this chance.

The island of Corfu is one of the most popular European student destinations and partying and clubbing are main events on this island during the summer months.

Usually Spain and Greece are top contestants for this kind of party trips.
From the Spanish seaside destinations Ibiza seems to be the most popular. One of the most common ways to visit is by choosing an arrangement from one of many travel agencies (like this offer of budget holidays to Ibiza). The advantage of these kinds of arrangements is that one can spend most of the available budget directly at parties (the plane and accommodation package is usually really cheap).
Greek party destinations of choice are islands of Crete, Mykonos, Corfu and Ios. There are also many travel agencies offering really affordable deals for Greece. The one we are going with is definitely one of them, but is targeting only Slovenian customers.

The last time I was on such a trip it was a trip to Crete. It was a while ago, but we had a great time. I am really curious how it will work out this time. If nothing else now we are a decade older.

Despite everything I am sure we will enjoy the trip to the fullest. You can hope for a bunch of photos and an interesting story or two. Let's get the party started!

Will UK riots affect tourism?

2011-08-12T10:10:00.014+02:00

I have watched latest UK events in shock. My primary information sources have been: the riots incident map, live blog from The Guardian and a number of independent bloggers and tweeters (like The West Londoner and a Bristol tweeting cyclist).
Events like these seemed unthinkable during my visit to London a couple of months ago. But it has happened anyway and now we will have to deal with it.

Fortunately things seem to be calming down but a strange feeling of something lurking in the dark may still stick around for a while. The question is will this affect tourism and the upcoming London Olympics?
There will definitely be some effect - a number of cancellations have already been noted, but experts do not see a large-scale drop of tourist visits as a likely consequence. The UK's tourism body VisitBritain stressed that London's violence was taking place away from key visitor attractions, and that transport links were running as normal.
Also "British people won’t be put off from visiting the Olympics in Stratford because a year earlier shop windows were broken in Hackney," said Tom Jenkins, executive director of the ETOA (The European Tour Operators Association). I guess this also applies to foreign visitors - people tend to forget quickly (sometimes even too quickly).

Some UK government responses during these days seemed necessary and other are dangerously close to usual Chinese and Middle Eastern leaders' decisions. I believe David Cameron's latest statement also falls into that category:
"We are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality," said the UK prime minister.

What is your opinion on this? Do you think the government should have the right to decide about who can use Facebook and Tweeter? Can current circumstances be an excuse to pass something similar to the well known USA Patriot act also in the UK?

I've been thinking lately about the journalist terminology used during latest events in different parts of the World... Can anyone please explain the difference between a Libyan rebel, Syrian protester and a British rioter?

I hope this didn't turn out like another political post. I meant to simply address the link between tourism and latest UK events, but got astray somewhere on the way.
Please forgive me for this... I promise this won't happen... too often.

Visiting London Hyde Park

2011-08-11T07:09:00.003+02:00

One of the most popular parks in London is Hyde park. It is one of eight Royal Parks of London.

There are also other things one can do besides walking around and relaxing in the green environment of Hyde park. Many frequent joggers use it as their training grounds. Spread on 142 hectares (350 acres) it offers plenty of space even for the fittest.
There are many organized running events organized within the park with participants coming from all over the world. For instance there was a triathlon (with no entrance fee) held there on 6th and 7th August.

If you are not a sports type of person, you can also use the park to simply enjoy the sun. Whether you do it on a deck chair or on a chosen patch of well kept green grass, is up to you.

For those who enjoy great views there is a chance to do it from a 60 metre Giant Observation Wheel at the Bandstand in Serpentine Road. It offers great views of Hyde park and nearby city areas.

If you feel like debating with strangers about topics that interest you or just want to scream at the whole wide world, you should probably stop at the Speakers Corner (located in the north-east corner of the park - on the corner of Park Lane and Cumberland Gate, opposite Marble Arch tube).

If you walk north of the park there is a popular area of Notting Hill worth checking out. It was made even more popular by the 1999 film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.
An upcoming event definitely worth visiting in this area is also an annual event called the Notting Hill Carnival, this year taking place on August 28th and 29th.

For those looking for different kinds of challenges, there is also a chance to take part in some casino games nearby. The Grosvenor Victoria Casino (also known as Vic Casino) is located on Edgware Road just north of Hyde Park.
This casino is literary a historical landmark for poker players. Almost every top poker professional in the UK has found their way there.

To us the park served as a meeting point with some old friends living nearby. We entered the park on the exact opposite side of our meeting point on purpose. This allowed us to enjoy a walk through the entire park, relax, take some photos and watch people walk by. It was fun and would strongly recommend it as a convenient getaway from the city's hustle and bustle.
We will definitely visit it again - if possible we will try to adjust our visit to one of the frequent sports events held there. Can hardly wait to do it.

I just hope these recent horrible events in London do not last much longer. It is frightening to watch the devastation on the news every day.

London Parks

2011-08-08T06:43:00.010+02:00

According to Wikipedia The Greater London Urban Area is the second largest in the EU with a population of over 8 million, while London's metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with an estimated total population of between 12 and 14 million.
For a city of this size, London has a surprisingly large amount of green areas. Most of them belong to many parks.

The largest group of London parks is The Royal Parks, this year celebrating 160 years of existence.
There are 8 parks included in this largest group, together covering almost 2,000 hectares of ground. The Royal Parks of London are lands originally owned by the UK monarchy. They used them for recreation (mostly hunting) of the royal family. There are public rights of way across the land but public access still depends on the grace and favour of the Crown. A typical British concept, if you ask me.

Royal Parks of London include the following 8 parks:

Bushy Park,

Green Park,

Greenwich Park,

Hyde Park,

Kensington Gardens,

Regent's Park,

Richmond Park,

St. James's Park.

Each one of the listed parks has something special to offer. Let me mention just a few highlights:

Hyde Park seems to be the most popular due to its location and many events taking place there,

Green Park can also get pretty crowded due to the vicinity of Buckingham Palace,

the north side of Regent's Park is where the London Zoo is located,

Richmond Park is so huge there are deer roaming around free.

Apart from those mentioned above there are also many other parks and green spaces located in the London area. Many are well worth visiting, so I suggest you do your research while planning your trip to London.

During a recent visit to London I had time to visit a few of the mentioned parks. Additional information regarding the most prominent and famous of London parks - London Hyde Park and its surroundings will be introduced in one of my upcoming posts.

Google+ invites available

2011-08-04T07:44:00.015+02:00

I have recently tried out a new communication channel provided by Google. It also provides support for mobile devices, allowing you to stay in touch with your social circles at all times. It is quite a useful tool for travellers like me, being on the road a lot.
You have probably heard at least something about it - everybody is talking about this new social network. Google+ is Google's latest attempt to face-off Facebook. Company's other recent tries in this field have been only partially successful.
gTalk was widely accepted as a part of Gmail, but has never grown into a serious competition for Skype.
Google Buzz (and Google Wave before it) was also announced as a revolutionary communication platform, but has never really picked up.

With Google+ Google is trying to finally make a breakthrough in the field of social networks. It is still too early to predict their success but the introduction phase of the product was done brilliantly. In just under 3 weeks Google+ adopted over 10 million users - at the moment there are already more then 20 million. That definitely is something worth bragging about, but it is still not all that much compared to Facebook's 750 million current users.

However stunning this might be, it is still just the first battle won in a long war against Facebook.
Will this prove to be the Facebook killer Google is looking for? I think it is still early in the game to say something like that... in my opinion Facebook is not leaving anytime soon.

If you haven't tried it out yet, all this hype should be a reason for at least some curiosity. If you are looking for an invite for Google+ it is your lucky day!

Invites are reserved for my readers only. If you haven't done it already, you should join other followers of Travel Photo Blogging through Google Friend Connect (slide to the bottom of page) or follow us using your favourite social network (top right).
After you have done that, you simply leave a comment to this post and I will send you an invite as soon as possible.

A free bonus after receiving an invite from me is that you can also add me to one of your social circles and we can test this thing together.

British Museum eyeOpener Tours

2011-08-01T06:49:00.001+02:00

British museum is one of many London museums with free admission. It would be worth visiting it even if it wasn't free of charge.

It houses artefacts from all periods and from all over the world. Even if you think of its collection as a heap of stolen goods by the British empire, it is still worth taking a peek.

The museum holds a total of around 6,000,000 artefacts. This is a number hard to imagine, but when you spend a day or two in this institution and fruitlessly try to see everything on display you begin to understand the scale of things... there are less then one percent of artefacts on display at any given moment!

If this is not enough to convince you into visiting, there is more free stuff to make you change your mind.
There are short eyeOpener tours introducing different areas of the Museum's collection, led by volunteer guides. No booking is required. You can read more about it here.
I took advantage of this and really enjoyed seeing a couple of sections with a super nice and knowledgeable guide. I highly recommend you take advantage of this.

In addition to all that you can also take part in Hands on sessions, where you can take a close look and even touch some of the ancient artefacts. This was a first time for me to actually hold a real stone arrowhead in my hand.
Things presented were not just some copies but real stuff! How cool is that? I guess you have to be a bit of a history buff to really appreciate this, but along with great explanation from the staff this was a really great experience.

So do yourself a favour and reserve at least an afternoon within your London trip for a visit to this gem of a museum.