TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

There is a café in the middle of busy Amsterdam Centrum that will give you rooftop views of the city. Right in the smack of good old Amsterdam on Kalverstraat. I have been here before many moons ago, although the cafe may have a different name back then. It was precisely 13 years ago when I came here with the Dutch mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. I was visiting the Netherlands (this was a year before a moved to the country) and they treated me to a girly shopping day outing in Amsterdam. I did not remember much of the lunch except that the café was on top of a shopping centre, has views of the city and the younger sister-in-law slightly reprimanded a tourist who didn’t queue up and tried to steal our table. The Dutch are very straightforward people and will correct mistakes of others openly. The secret is to not take these things personally because the Dutch tend to see things practically. They also like working with a system in place. Anyway, Bru and I had a late spring c...

There is really no best time to visit Lake Bled because each season offers a different scenery of the lake. Although I think that the best hours to visit would be when the sun is positioned at the other side of the lake (by the entrance to the lake from the highway), then you can clearly see the lagoon and the little island. Simply breahtaking is it not? I was in Bled early in the afternoon and when I stood there at the foot of the lake I saw a sheer silhouette of the breathtaking place. There is something about the smoky and voluminous white sheath covering the whole lake. The scenery is stunning. It looked a bit surreal though, as if the whole set was staged theatrically. Perhaps enchanting is the right word to describe? As I only have a pocket camera (an old Sony Cybershot), I was worried about how my pictures will turn out. Luckily they came out just fine. My pictures were dreamlike =) Lake Bled is located in the Julian Alps, in the northern part of Slovenia near the Au...

I guess that is the word that best describes how I felt when I first set foot at the old centrum of Ljubljana on Preseren Square near the The Triple Bridge: MAGICAL This is the Preseren Square. The Triple Bridge. The old city is nestled at the foot of the Ljubljana Castle, it is quite compact and the core areas are concentrated along the Ljubljanica River that flows through the centre of town. The river embankments are an important aspect in the lifestyle department of the city. Outdoor restaurants and cafes adorn the river edges and locals love to gather here. There is a light-hearted alfresco living room ambiance, especially in the evenings when it gets really busy and lively here. Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings decorate the old centre as well which makes the city fascinating. The Central Market is also located along the river which brings energy to the atmosphere during the day. When you combine the historical architecture and the water setting, it spells magical ...