An Afternoon in Idstein, Germany

If you remember, a couple of months ago, I shared here on the blog what I did during my 10-hour layover in Frankfurt and one of the things I did after exploring the city a little bit was to meet with my German friend Claudia. She lives in the cutest little town that is very close to Frankfurt. This place is called Idstein and she had the amazing idea of taking me there during my layover. 

We went there by car and it took us a little bit more than 30 minutes to get there. I was super excited about meeting her again after many months and catching up. The plan was very simple: walking around her town, having an ice cream or a cup of coffee and then also visiting her house. 

Also, she was the one that suggested to me go to Idstein because she wanted me to see a typical German town and I'm so thankful to her because I completely fell in love with this place. 

There is something about this traditional German architecture that I found so beautiful and very much fairy-tale like, I'm sure all of you will agree when you see the pictures. In addition, this is a small town (it has 25000 inhabitants) so, there was a very relaxing vibe there that I really appreciated. 

Anyway, once we arrived, we walk around the streets in the pedestrian zone to the Old Town, which is extremely well preserved,  and I literally wanted to take a picture of every single house because they are oh-so-pretty! Most of the houses had the loveliest flowers in their balconies and everything looked so cute and sweet. 

I don't really like to compare cities and places but I have to admit that I really liked Idstein over Frankfurt but I think it is because I prefer smaller towns and I also feel like this place was a lot more special and unique. 

We ended up going for the ice cream because it was a hot day, took a few more pictures while we were walking and catching up. After that, I visited her place, met her pets, talked a little bit more and then was time to go back to the airport but I was feeling super happy for seeing my friend again and also for being able to visit such a beautiful place. 

I really hope I can go back someday to visit her again and maybe stay for a few days to enjoy more of the area. Let me know what do you think about this place? Have you heard about Idstein before? Do you prefer small towns or big cities? I hope you like the pictures!! :)

Exploring the Colorful Rovinj

I think I have already mentioned this in a previous post, where I talk about my trip to Pula, but one of the things I love the most about Istria region is that it has a very particular mix between Croatian and Italian culture, which makes it super interesting to visit. 
Each city in this region will have this characteristic, you will feel like you are being part of two countries at the same time and you will find this Italian influence in the architecture, in the road signs and, of course, in the food as well. So, if you are also looking to enjoy a delightful culinary experience this is definitely a region to consider for your trip.

In my particular case, I have decided to go back to Istria because I was very impressed with what I have seen in Pula, that stunning Roman architecture stole my heart and I was looking forward to discovering more of this region, especially a city which I have seen all over Instagram: Rovinj.

The pictures I saw of Rovinj reminded me a lot of Venice for some reason and when I was finally able to visit this city that impression was even stronger! Rovinj is a city full of colors, full of details and full of incredibly enchanting streets perfect to get lost. The Old Town is practically right by the sea so maybe this was what made me think of Venice, even though it doesn't have canals, the water is very present in this city. 

I have decided to do a day trip to Rovinj because I was staying in Rijeka, so I took the bus and in around two hours I was right there! The bus station in Rovinj is very close to the Old Town so I just walked by the coast and found it without any problems. I have to confess that I didn't have much information about what to see and do in the city but sometimes I enjoy doing this kind of trips because in this way I can be surprised by the destination. And this is exactly what happened to me with Rovinj, without even looking for them, I was able to find all the main spots and I also enjoyed getting lost in its streets. 

Firstly, I walked by the coast which is very nice because it's full of pretty restaurants where you can enjoy a delicious meal and also the lovely view of the Adriatic sea and the boats peacefully moving in the water. Then, I was able to find the city's open market, the perfect place to buy fresh fruits, some souvenirs, and many other things. I stopped right here to have lunch and, as I was in Istria, I decided to order a pizza, which was just perfect!

After lunch, I continued walking into the old town and I fell in love with all the beautiful balconies with flowers I was seeing in every single house. Also, I was able to find that cute little spot by the water that I used to see all the time on Instagram. I wished I would have been able to get a picture of myself sitting at that lovely table but there was a lady there, I think she was the owner of the store, and she was enjoying a coffee so I didn't want to disturb her. 

The most iconic Instagram postcard of Rovinj 

I continued my way up to find the Church of St. Euphemia, which has that tall tower you can see in all the pictures of the Old Town. The Church looked lovely and it's totally worth the visit. Also, you can get a very nice sea view from there because this part is a little bit higher than the rest of the city. 

Then I was able to find a few beaches, where there were people swimming and enjoying the sea. I didn't have a swim because I didn't have my towel that day, so I skipped the beach but I don't regret it because it allowed me to have more time to explore the city. I walked a little bit more on the seaside and I found more beautiful cafés and restaurants right by the water, which looked like the perfect place to have some drinks and enjoy the sunset view. 

Around 7 pm I had to go back to Rijeka but I was extremely happy that I was able to visit this incredibly beautiful city! You can see in this post that I went a bit mad and I took a lot of pictures because there were so many lovely details that I just couldn't stop! 
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my day trip to Rovinj and I hope you have found some inspiration for your future trips! I'm sure this would be a lovely place to visit during the Spring months, don't you think? 

Winter in Croatia and Slovenia Second Video!!

El mes pasado, les compartí mi primer video del viaje que hice a Croacia el pasado febrero y como realmente tuve oportunidad de grabar muchos videos durante esos días, decidí dividir todo este contenido en dos videos más cortitos para hacerlo más divertido y dinámico.
En el primer video se pueden ver algunas imágenes del centro de Zagreb, el parque Maksimir, la ciudad de Varazdin y el castillo de Trakoscan, y se veía todo muy nublado y frío pero les había avisado que no se preocuparan que no todos los días habían sido así. Por suerte pude disfrutar de muchos días hermosos y soleados, los cuales compilé en este segundo video!
Acá van a poder encontrar un montón de imágenes de la hermosa ciudad de Zadar, que incluyen algunas calles del centro histórico, el Foro de Zadar y, por supuesto, el Órgano del Mar y el Saludo al Sol. También incluí un par de videos de mi día en Eslovenia junto con algunas imágenes de la ciudad de Samobor (ya voy a escribir un post sobre este lugar). Por último pero no menos importante, agregué las imágenes del Festival de Las Luces de Zagreb, que consistió en unos shows de luces muy interesantes durante 4 días en lugares clave de la ciudad. Me encantó realmente como quedaron estos videos así que espero que les guste mucho esta pequeña compilacion de mi viaje! :)

Last month I posted the first video of my trip to Croatia back in February and as I really recorded a lot of videos during those days, I decided to split it into two short videos to make it more fun and dynamic. 
The first one featured some images of Zagreb, Maksmir Park, Varazdin and Trakoscan Castle and it looked super cloudy and cold but I have advised you not to worry because my winter days back in Croatia weren't all like that. Thankfully there were a lot of beautiful sunny days that I was able to enjoy and I have put them all together in this second video! 
Here you can find a lot of images of the beautiful city of Zadar, some streets in the old town, the Zadar Forum and, of course, the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun. Also, I have included a couple of images from my day trip to Slovenia as well as some cute videos from Samobor (I will be writing a post on this city soon). Last but not the least, there are some images of the Festival of Lights in Zagreb, which consisted of some cool light shows during 4 days in key spots in the city. I really love how these videos came out so I really hope you enjoy this little recap of my trip! :)

Coffee stories in Croatia

Croatians love coffee. That's one of the first things you may notice when you visit one of its cities. You can find many beautiful coffee shops in every street and all of them have people drinking at all times. I have heard one time that many people when they visit Zagreb for the first time, they think is a holiday because there are people sitting at cafes not only in the morning but all day long. It happened to me as well, I remember I couldn't understand what was the working schedule there, I thought: when do these people work? But after living there for more than a month I was able to understand better the Croatian coffee culture and also I started to embrace it. I could also say that it's one of the things I miss the most about being in Croatia so that's why I want to share with you in this post my little coffee story travelling through the country.  
As I said in the beginning, Croatians love coffee, they drink coffee many times in the day, two, three or even four times. It's not that they just drink it but they also have like this amazing ritual in which they just meet with someone to chat and sit at the coffee shop for hours. And this could be at any time during the day, the time when both of the participants are available because they are going to stay at the cafe for a couple of hours, just relaxing, talking and sipping the coffee very slowly, alowing the time to just pass by.
It's the perfect moment to discuss ideas, to seal deals, to catch up with a good friend, to tell important news, to reflect about life, the talk around a cup of coffee can lead to any topic. It's also the perfect place to see and be seen.
Even though I was travelling alone, I ended up adapting this ritual for myself too. Everyday after having lunch I would go to the city center to have a cup of coffee in one of the many beautiful terraces that you can find in Zagreb streets. Not only all of the coffees I have tried were so good and delicious but also I enjoyed a lot sitting there with no worries in my mind, just watching all the people pass by and absorbing the vibe and energy of this city. Also whenever I went to a new city, after a little walk around I always ended up looking for the perfect place to enjoy my coffee of the day. I tried to take pictures of all the coffees I had during my days in Croatia and put them all together in this post to show you my trip from a different perspective. It's a different kind of travel post but I hope you like it :)

Oops! I forgot to take the picture before finishing the coffee and the cake :P 

Best terrace in town: Crafter's Lav Zagreb 

 A place inspired by Nikola Tesla

Coffee tme at the Main Square 

This place has the most delicious cakes: Magnolia's Cake Boutique 

If my Croatian language skills are correct, this says: "Life is more beautiful with a warm cup in your hands" 

This place was one of my favourites: Mala Kavana 

 Coffee with a declicious coconut cake

Coffee with a typical Croatian cake: Kremšnita (I can't explain how delicious it is) 

Another great spot: My Way

I love the designs in these cups 

Original Kremšnita from Samobor 

Coffee with a view at Zadar Forum