I am so hot today, literally :). Many of my fellow Europeans know what I mean. So, no big words from me right now. I am in the mood to swim, dive, immerse myself into the water. So, out of all the photos Nikica took during our past trips here are my ten favorite places to cool down on this hot Summer day. Come reminisce with me and see if we can forget the heat at least for awhile.

Makarska, Croatia

My favorite of all times and it’s not going to change. The place where my hubby grew up and were we met many years ago.

It is full of beautiful secluded beaches, if you just take time to find them. Yes, it is tremendously busy during the Summer, hence why we are not there at the moment.

Nothing beats it in the beginning of September or in the end of June – almost empty beaches, warm days and nights, clear blues sea with small pebble beaches and incredible sunsets.

 

Lake Bohinj, Slovenia

A place my soul goes to rest. It is just so handsomely rugged, wild and a pure rush.

Sure, it gets crowded in the Summer, but still everyone can find a piece of it and claim it for themselves.

Lake Bled, which is nearby is picture perfect. You can’t ask for more with an island in the middle. It’s like cherry on top of a great ice cream.

But lake Bohinj still hides parts which are unspoiled and I can feel myself diving into its always a bit cool waters just now.

River Soca, Slovenia

You haven’t seen emerald green until you’ve seen this amazing wild river. It’s as if you took it out of a Lord of the Rings movie and they actually shot a few scenes of Chronicles of Narnia there.

I’ve never actually swam there as it is always way too cold but I did have my fun rafting on it. And that truly is an experience I won’t forget. The river offerers a whole range of adrenaline attractions on top of being truly magnificent to look at.

Plitvice waterfalls, Croatia

You can’t actually swim here any longer but if you could what a treat that would be. I’ve been to Plitvice, which is in my opinion a must if you live in the vicinity or if you are visiting Croatia. It amazed me, all the water in different shapes and sizes, as if Heaven on Earth. But I was a kid then and you know how as a child a lot of things blow your mind, so to speak and then as an adult you look at those same things and see nothing special in them. Well, in the end of June as we were coming home from Makarska we stopped for a short break in Plitvice. And I was amazed all over again, being grander than I remembered. It’s just pure and simple magic. How there can be such beauty is beyond me.

Pineda de mar, Spain –We’ve went to Spain in October and it happened to still be really warm and sunny, while the beaches and hordes of tourists were gone. We had the whole place mostly to ourselves and it was great. Sandy beach for Stela to play and warm inviting sea for Nikica and me. At that time I was pregnant with Tesa and let me tell you nothing felt better than floating with my belly up (even though it still wasn’t big then). We had a whole week of activities planned (like Pyrenees) and we only managed to get to Barcelona a few times, all the rest of our time was spent sun bathing. Talk about the backup plan :).

Loch Ness, Scotland –

Well, I don’t know about swimming even though I would swim anywhere just about now. Still maybe the drop of temperatures once I got there could just keep me on its shores brooding and contemplating :). I can do a lot of that and if it’s all cloudy and windy on a moody day, what better place to do it at. Of course, you can try to figure out all about Nessy and strain your eyes as I did (with no apparent luck). But its deep dark waters beckon for time out from the daily hassles and enjoying the mystery of life.

A fjord in Norway

 

I know, I am being very specific :). Like I would like to hide this location from you. Then I wouldn’t tell you any of this. But trust me I really don’t remember where exactly this was taken. We were definitely in Norway, and going from Oslo to Bergen and somewhere along the road this is what made us stop and dip our feet in the really ice cool waters. It was unusually hot that week in Norway. I remember even the newspapers reported the high temperatures and sunshines. Along with the never ending daylight and really toe freezing waters it was a special summer all around.

Lakes in Sweden 

Again with me telling you exactly where you should go and it’s not like Sweden has two lakes and you have a 50 % chance to guess the right one. Yes, Sweden has many lakes and sue me but I can’t remember the name of this one. It was just outside Gothenburg with a lovely campsite right next to it. The lake was actually warm enough to swim in, if you did it really fast and kept moving the whole time. But right now, if I could, I would so trade my shower for that lake.

We had a great time in Sweden and we’ve done some lovely camping. Would repeat this trip when the girls grow up a bit and show them how much fun it is pitching a tent.

Downhill, Castlerock, Northeren Ireland

I have to finish with a place dear to my heart just like I started.  Nikica and I took the trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2007. It was our postponed honeymoon as I started work immediately after the wedding and we had to wait. But it was well worth it as the week was awesome. We rented a car and drove around the entire island, we made a whole circle from Dublin to Cork, Galway, Sligo, Belfast and back to Dublin and we saw beautiful landscapes, amazing nature, met friendly people and tasted Sweet Onion for the very first time.

To this day it remains our mutual favorite sandwich topping. But seriously this beach is where we spent our last night and we promised ourselves that on our next trip we wouldn’t just rush trying to see it all but pick a place and enjoy it. That came true when we got Stela and we were forced to slow down and “take time to smell the roses”. Still on that beach we took time and I guess if we were there now we’d take a swim as well.