Ana Pogačar

Views from Stari grad on a windy January afternoon

2012-01-15T16:20:00.004+01:00

I climbed Stari grad above Kamnik yesterday after a long abstinence from any hiking. It felt so good! Due to the cold and windy weather my fingers almost froze off while I was taking photos at the top, but the views made up for it.

Is this winter?? Where is the snow? Come on, it's the middle of January. I want snow!

This is the view from the top towards the Kamnik Alps:

Kamnik:

You can sort of see my house from here. :)

My favorite "training" hill, Kamniški vrh, was glowing red in the late afternoon light:

Mt. Brana and Mt. Planjava, as well as the clouds, turned orange-pink as the sunset was approaching.

Then the sun was almost gone:

Mt. Triglav and the Julian Alps in the distance:

Stari grad castle ruins and the after sunset sky:

Even after running all the way down the steep trail back to Kamnik my fingers didn't thaw. I really need to bring my gloves next time. :)

Oh, and all these photos were taken with my new compact camera, Canon Powershot S100, fitted with a polarizing filter. Around 200 grams altogether, heh. It was strange to go on a hike with so little weight. :)

Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-31T17:15:00.004+01:00

Still alive and kicking, just busy as hell! :)

Wishing you all the best possible New Year's celebration (without firecrackers and a hangover) and a wonderful 2012! And lots of gorgeous photos to all my photoblogging friends!

Frosty trees at the Vršič pass

2011-12-01T12:42:00.004+01:00

Two weekends ago I hiked from the Erjavčeva hut to the top of the Vršič pass and back. The moisture and cold temperatures caused frost to form on everything and it didn't melt even after several hours of sunny weather. The sight was magical!

Escaping the fog again

2011-11-22T17:53:00.003+01:00

Looking at my photos I see that central Slovenia has been covered with a layer of fog for three weeks! A bit of fog is fine and I love fog photos, but it gets old after a week. And with the days being so short now (sunset at 4.20 pm) it's hard to organize one's day to include an escape to higher altitudes.

I did escape the fog on Sunday. Kamniški vrh hill again, of course. It's close, it's high enough, it has beautiful views, and the 700-meter climb makes for some nice exercise.

And two days later the fog still persists. This is seriously depressing especially if you work the whole day and finish right when the night falls. :(

Fall colors around Kamnik II.

2011-11-11T21:41:00.003+01:00

Finally, some sun! After work I packed my gear into a brand new camera backpack and headed out. On foot. First I climbed the Zaprice hill to take a few photos of Kamnik in the late afternoon sun.

The sun was already very low when I walked towards the Stari grad hill and took a few more photos of the colorful trees.

Fall colors around Kamnik

2011-11-10T09:50:00.003+01:00

This year's fall colors arrived late. There was the Indian summer that we had, and then in mid-October, the temperatures plummeted to around zero and turned rain into snow. Snow on trees that were still green and hadn't even turned colors yet! Now the colors appeared in a matter of days and the leaves are already falling off. I was waiting for some nice sunny weather, but it has been foggy and cloudy, so I had to forget about nice vivid foliage in the sun.

I climbed the Stari grad hill above Kamnik twice this week. Here are a few photos from the top when the sun even managed to peak from behind the clouds for five seconds:

I stopped several times on the way to the top the second time:

It was getting dark and I was on my way back down when I saw these two horses:

I am still hoping to get some more fall photos this year! :)

Above the clouds

2011-11-04T10:14:00.005+01:00

The weather has been depressing this week. A fog layer that covered the valleys was thick and humid and dark, and I wanted to see some sun! So on November 1 I packed my camera bag after work at 3 p.m. and rushed to the foot of Mt. Kamniški vrh. The days have been getting shorter and the sunset is at 4.45 already, so I didn't have much time. I broke the cloud cover at about 900 meters above sea level and was actually able to take some fall photos - finally! The foliage is still not fully autumnal, but it was nice to see at least some yellow and orange and red leaves. The sun was low above the horizon and the whole grassy slope glowed red as I was making my way up.

Going down a mountain in the dark is something I'm used to. But going down a mountain in the dark AND the fog is terrible - everything is blurry, you can't focus your eyes, and the whole thing is harder on your brain than it is on your legs. :)

Opening of the World Cup alpine skiing season in Soelden

2011-10-28T20:36:00.003+02:00

Traditionally the World Cup races in alpine skiing started in Sölden, Austria in late October, and traditionally we were there again. Apart from following the women's and men's giant slalom races we had time to ski, take photos and enjoy the gorgeous, sunny weather in the Alps.

Early in the morning, on the road leading up to the Rettenbach glacier:

At the top, looking back into the valley:

A newly built reservoir for snow making:

Friday was skiing just for fun, but on Saturday and Sunday it was all (ok, mostly) about the races.

More photos can be found here.

Photos from my Sölden trips in 2008 and 2009.

Sunset on Kamniški vrh

2011-10-25T17:59:00.004+02:00

A quick climb to Mt. Kamniški vrh a couple of weeks ago was my first since the beginning of the summer. Scandalous! I was late and missed the sunset at the top by a few minutes, but the light was still good.

First snow on Mt. Brana.

The moon in pink light above Velika planina.

I got back to the car when it was already completely dark. And I only met a couple of people on the way up. :)

Two days of hiking around Mt. Krn

2011-10-12T23:03:00.005+02:00

Our photo club organized (Jaka, to be exact) a two-day hike to Mt. Krn in the Julian Alps. Seven of us drove to the Lepena valley on a Friday afternoon and hiked to the hut at the Krn Lake. We just caught the last sun rays on Mr. Krn.

The light was much better in the morning.

Mt. Krn was basking in the sun while we were still in the shade.

When we finally left the lake after more than an hour of shooting, the sun almost reached it.

The trail ascends to a small plateau and then starts up a scree slope.

After less than 2 hours Klemen and I were close to the top.

Views over the Julian Alps from the top of Mt. Krn (2244 meters above sea level). Mt. Triglav in the distance, and Krn Lake down below.

Layers of smog and Mt. Snežnik in the distance.

At the top from the left: Jaka, Aleš, Bine, Klemen, Maja, Brane.

Aleš was the only one with a bright T-shirt which made for a nice foreground. :P

The Soča valley to the north-west.

It was unusually warm for October 1 and on the way down we suffered great thirst...

...and we couldn't wait to take off our hiking shoes and soak our feet in the cold lake. And drink some beer. :)

One more look toward the lake and off we went back to the valley.

Other club members took photos, too. Surprising since we are from a photo club, right? :) Have a look at the photos by Jaka and... wait, nobody else processed them yet. :P

Skiing and hiking around Zermatt

2011-10-05T22:48:00.008+02:00

Skiing in early September, yeah baby! Admittedly, that was a first for me. Usually I wait with the skiing season until late October. :) But this year I found myself on a short, three-day trip to Zermatt, Switzerland. After driving through the night for 8 hours we arrived at Täsch, a small town 6 km from Zermatt, at 5 a.m. As Zermatt is a car-free town, you need to leave your car in Täsch and take a train - yes, with all your luggage and skis and ski boots and everything.
We wanted to go skiing right away, but the cable car wasn't running due to strong winds, and the weather prevented me from taking lots of photos that day, too. Some people spend a week in Zermatt and never see the famous Mt. Matterhorn!

The following morning looked more promising.

Getting to the cable car station meant going down a steep path:

It's funny being dressed in your skiing clothes, carrying your skis on your shoulder, when the grass around you is so green. :) Not to mention it was very warm. But - the cable car takes you to almost 4000 meters above sea level.

I was busy taking photos through the glass of the cable car:

From the top Mt. Matterhorn looks completely different.

The couple of ski runs that were open were full of alpine skiing teams from various countries training for the coming season.

Me and Ivica Kostelić, the best alpine skier in the world. :)

Did I mention that skiing at the altitude of 4000 meters leaves you breathless after a couple of turns? Oh boy, I felt like I had asthma!

By 1.30 p.m. the snow was so soft it was better to call it a day. On the way back to the valley I had to take more photos:

After a hearty lunch back in Zermatt I walked around town a bit. Electric cars, narrow roads, picturesque houses. :)

The third day was a perfect cloudless day from the beginning. Well, a few puffy clouds would actually be nice.

This was my hiking day. I took an underground funicular and a cable car up a mountain on the other side of the valley from Mt. Matterhorn. The views of the surrounding mountains in the morning were spectacular.

But my primary goal was Stellisee, a beautiful lake in an even more beautiful setting.

I hiked down the mountain past some more lakes and streams, with the omnipresent Matterhorn always in view.

Back in Zermatt, it was a 30-minute hike back uphill from the cable car station to the hotel.

As if the trip hadn't been gorgeous enough, I was met with great light on the drive back home.

More photos can be found here.

Sunset and star trails on Velika planina

2011-09-29T14:22:00.003+02:00

After a busy summer and hardly any time spent in the Slovenian mountains I hiked to Velika planina one Sunday afternoon after work. It was kind of late as I only made it to the chapel around 5.45, but the light was just getting warm. Almost all Sunday hikers had already left so I was pretty much alone.

Having photographed the ridge trail I climbed the chapel hill, waited for the sun to disappear behind the ridge and then wandered around a little, hoping for after sunset colors.

But then I saw amazing red misty light to the north, rising from the Kamniška Bistrica valley, so I practically ran to the other side of the plateau. Totally out of breath I made it to the top and caught the last 10 seconds of the sun before it set behind Mt. Krvavec.

I had a hunch the colors would only get better, so I found a nice cottage for the foreground, set up my tripod and waited.

I had my tripod, the moon was new, so it made sense to try and take some star trails shots. It was so dark I had huge problems composing and focusing. And fog was beginning to creep in from the valley.

It was the fog that made me give up. The lens was fogging up so badly I ended up with a bunch of useless shots. I did manage to get this:

And an ISO3200 shot of the Milky Way.

Sunset on Island Krk

2011-09-19T21:37:00.004+02:00

I had just returned from the US, overwhelmed by the experience and the number of photos I took, and before I could catch my breath, I was off to Zermatt, Switzerland for 4 days to do some skiing and hiking, and then the Croatian beach for 3 days to just lie on the beach. :) Processing photos had to wait. But before I start with too many blog posts about America, I'll quickly show a few photos I took one evening at the beach. The wispy clouds in the afternoon were a good indication the sunset would be spectacular. And it didn't disappoint!

And then it was all over.

America's national parks

2011-09-12T12:44:00.000+02:00

As some of you probably know, I spent three weeks in August in the USA. Partly for work - meeting my employers and coworkers at the SmugMug retreat in Jackson Hole - and partly for pleasure, the whole trip was all about photography and visiting (mostly) national parks. Starting in San Francisco, I made my way to Yosemite and then across Nevada to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where I spent a week working and sightseeing Grant Teton and Yellowstone national parks. The last 9 days were a crazy landscape photography tour of Washington and Oregon states with my friend Ron. Check out his gorgeous photos! More about the crazy adventures with him - like getting up at ungodly hours for the sunrise every single day AND being rewarded with great light - in the next posts. :)

While I'm far from having my photos selected and post-processed, here are a few teasers:

Sunrise in the Grand Teton NP:

Rolling hils of the Palouse:

The Palouse:

Reflection of Mt. Rainier in Tipsoo Lake at sunrise:

Mt. Rainier and wild flowers:

Crazy sunset colors at Ruby Beach:

Be patient! Or check my galleries occasionally to see if there are any new uploads. ;)

Piran

2011-08-07T18:13:00.003+02:00

After a busy month of remodeling our living room and barely sweeping away all the dust that covered the whole house, I've spent this Sunday afternoon packing for my trip to the USA tomorrow. It's only three weeks, so don't get too excited. :)
In the mean time, there are a few photos from May that I still haven't posted: a day in Piran, a beautiful town on the Adriatic coast, running from the rain and only partly succeeding. At least the sky was dramatic. :) But in the end we got totally soaked.

Ljubljana at 10 mm

2011-07-18T18:14:00.003+02:00

Not a city shooter at all, but I love wide angle photography as you probably noticed. :) Here are a few photos of Ljubljana, mostly at 10 mm.

OK, this one is not at 10 mm, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway. :) The "Slovenian plate" was a nice conclusion to the afternoon stroll around Ljubljana.

Savica waterfall and Lake Bohinj

2011-07-12T18:58:00.004+02:00

Lake Bohinj - always a great destination! This time I hiked to the Savica waterfall, too. I had realized I didn't have any digital photos of it at all. It was a Sunday and I had to wait for a few tourists to get out of the way so I could set up my tripod. :) There aren't many places to shoot from, just a narrow path long the rock wall.

The view from the Savica waterfall back towards Lake Bohinj.

I stopped at several places along the shore, hiked around and took photos.

On the way back late afternoon light was becoming really nice so we drove to the top of the Šmarjetna gora hill to take a couple of photos just before the sun set.

Sunrise mists over Ljubljana Marshes

2011-06-21T20:12:00.003+02:00

It was time to get up in the middle of the night and take some sunrise photos again. And the Sv. Ana hill above the Ljubljana Marshes is one of my favorite spots to do just that. Alex, Debbie, Luka and I drove through the night and climbed the hill a bit after 4 a.m. Not an easy task after only one hour of sleep! The sky above the horizon was already announcing the sunrise, and the mists we were all hoping for were hovering above the ground. Magical!

The Kamnik Alps in the background.

The famous Ljubljanica river bend.

Enthusiastic photographers. :)

This was the morning after the full moon and moon eclipse.

The Ljubljana Marshes panorama - it deserves to be viewed bigger, so click on it.

Ljubljana was waking up.

Fields, trees and mists.

The light was turning from bluish to soft pink and orange.

And then the sun appeared and poured bright orange light over the plains.

The nearby Sv. Lovrenc chapel below.

Play of light, mists and shadows.

Every hill in Slovenia has a church. :)

Sv. Ana church where we took pictures from.

More orange.

Orange hues didn't last long as the sun relentlessly rose above the horizon.

It is interesting to see how the light changed over Ljubljana in the course of 1 hour and 20 minutes.

The sunrise was over, but I just couldn't stop admiring the wisps of mist changing every minute.

Late spring and early summer months are the best to shoot the sunrise here. If the weather is nice, you are almost guaranteed to see mists. It's worth getting up for this! ;)

Walking along Strunjan coast

2011-05-04T21:19:00.004+02:00

One late April afternoon after work we drove to the Adriatic coast. We walked along the cliffs near Strunjan. I love that path. It goes through leafy bushes, high above the sea, and the views open up every now and then so you can admire the Piran church in the distance. And then pine trees and the famous cross. And the Moon Bay (Mesečev zaliv). And just as the light got sweeter and we descended down to the beach, the sun hid behind the clouds. Argh.

We waited for some time but it didn't look like the sun was coming back, so I took a couple of long-exposure shots - handheld! :)

And then we went back.

Eating ice-cream we sat on the beach for a while, and while cursing for not bringing my tripod with me I found a chair to put my camera on for these shots.

Crocuses on Velika planina

2011-04-24T16:13:00.005+02:00

Mt. Velika planina is known for crocuses in the spring. The whole plateau is one big violet carpet. This year the spring arrived early and I feared I was too late to catch this wonderfully scenic sight, so I took one afternoon off to head up the mountain.

The hike through the woods revealed a green forest floor while the trees hadn't even started to bud.

As soon as we reached the plateau and the Mala planina village, my heart skipped a beat. There were still lots of crocuses! :)

This photo may not show how violet it really was.

We hike to Velika planina often, but we don't always climb to the top itself. This time we did.

1666 meters (5,460 feet). The Kamnik Alps in the background.

Famous European ski resorts are not that far away. :)

The light was becoming sweeter and softer.

The chapel just before the sun hid behind a mountain ridge.

Velika planina chapel.

There was very little water in the waterhole considering the time of the year.

On the way back I wanted to get a better photo of Kamnik, but the air was full of smog. I could nevertheless almost see my house. :)

Looking back we bid farewell to Velika planina knowing we'd be back soon.

Mt. Ojstrica and the chapel.

I waited for the sun to get very low before I started taking shots of crocuses. Yes, I was lying on the ground for these photos. :)

The last few seconds before the sunset... the crocuses were already closed up, and we hurried back to the valley.

More photos here.

Oh, and Happy Easter! :)

Slovenia in a week

2011-04-20T22:58:00.004+02:00

It's not every day that you show off your beautiful country to tourists when torrential rain floods the capital and make you use an umbrella in an underground cave! Well, as luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened last September when I took Jami, Margaret and Kim on a tour around Slovenia. Trampling around Ljubljana in heavy rain, not being able to take photos at all even though that’s what we were there for, made us a little wet and cold (OK, very wet and cold), but a hearty mushroom soup and some Slovenian wine for dinner at the and of the day made up for all the misery during the day.

To escape flooded streets of Ljubljana we decided to explore the underworld. Mistake! While the Postojna Cave was impressive and all, it rained inside! The soil was so saturated with water that it dripped from the cave ceilings everywhere. However, we didn’t let the elements spoil our mood as we delved into the secret chambers of the Predjama Castle and sampled some local schnapps. Especially the latter lifted our spirit!

The third day marked the beginning of some splendid early fall weather. With Bled as our destination we were thrilled to be finally able to leave the rain gear in the car, stroll around and soak up some sun. A visit to the Bled Island is a must, particularly if you can make Jami run up and down those steps to the church a few times. In the boat on the way back we admired the oarsman’s strong bicepses and I almost made everybody believe me we would be climbing the cliff to the Bled Castle.

Sadly, Jami had to leave the following morning (thanks for drinking all that wine and being such a great sport, Jami, hehe), while Margaret, Kim and I visited the Vintgar Gorge. The river, usually green and peaceful, now roared through the narrow canyon. Of course Kim and I played with our tripods to get the milky water effect, and in the mean time Margaret simply used the rail as the support for her compact camera. Then the road across the plateau of Pokljuka through forests and past pastures took us to Lake Bohinj. The water was so still we could take perfect reflection photos!

On the fifth morning we made our way into the heart of the Julian Alps. Alpine valleys, spraying waterfalls and mountains passes with sheep took most of the day. I was hoping for some golden larches at the Vršič pass but we were a few weeks too early. In Bovec Luka surprised us and joined us on the star-trail expedition to the Mangart saddle in the afternoon. Oh, how we enjoyed the sweet sunset light in the mountains! OK, the chill that followed while we were waiting during the long exposures wasn’t all that enjoyable, but with the moon rising we got some pretty cool pictures of star trails and the moonlit landscape.

The area around Bovec offers so many things to see and do we had a hard time cramming them all in one day. We saw yet another waterfall, Kozjak near Kobarid, Kim’s favorite subject and Margaret’s not so favorite subject (because it involves quite a bit of waiting if you don’t take photos!). The afternoon was dedicated to two gorgeous valleys. In the Lepena valley it was interesting, and sad, to see the many abandoned and dilapidating houses set in such beautiful but remote environment. Climbing the banks of the Soča River canyons proved to be exhilarating, especially when we were on the verge of falling in a couple of times!

Landscape photography is a funny thing – you are totally dependent on the weather and light, and there are times when it is impossible to take one decent photo in a few weeks. But then sometimes you simply get lucky. And boy did we get lucky with the early morning mists in Bovec! Kim and I scrambled around looking for the best vantage point as the sun rose from behind the mountains and heated the ground. Then the mists slowly dissipated, offering us magical twenty minutes of magnificent mood. A red tractor under a tree was just a bonus.

The drive across the Predel pass offered perfect views of Mt. Mangart and Strmec, a village on a ridge, and we made the effort to climb to an old fort towering above the road.

A stroll to the shore of the serene Rabelj Lake on the Italian side was pleasant as always, and then we bid our farewell to the Julian Alps as we headed back to Ljubljana. Seeing it in completely different light on a warm and sunny afternoon we enjoyed a cup of coffee while people-watching along the Ljubljanica River, we found Julija’s window across the square from Prešeren’s statue and looked for examples of architecture by Plečnik. Kim and Margaret became quite expert at distinguishing his work from the work of others! The love locks on the Butcher Bridge were another great photo subject. As the dusk settled upon the city, we had our last dinner together.

One week flew by too quickly. Jami, Margaret, Kim, I will never forget the fun times with you guys. My stomach hurt from all the laughing! I truly hope Slovenia stays in your hearts. :)

Spring skiing on Rogla and Krvavec

2011-04-10T19:18:00.003+02:00

The abnormal temperatures in the past week have caused for the last snowy slopes to melt. Up to 26 degrees C at lower altitudes! I still tried my luck skiing, first on Rogla, and on Krvavec a few days later. The skiing was quite good on Rogla until 11 a.m., but Krvavec was already disastrous at 8 a.m. The snow, what was left of it, was so soft and slushy it was impossible to ski. Well, at least we got some fresh air. :)

Sunny slopes of Rogla:

Going up with the T-bar was ridiculous. :)

Krvavec last Friday:

The mountain is covered with hellebores. Spring is definitely here.

Views of the Ljubljana basin from Ambrož:

The skiing season may not be completely over for me though. :)

Rakov Škocjan and the Planina Cave

2011-03-31T20:59:00.005+02:00

Want some snowy photos? :) Here are some shots from a cold and dreary February day when Sebastian and I explored Slovenian Karst a little. The Big and Small Natural Bridges of Rakov Škocjan seemed like a good choice. There were no people around messing with my HDR shots, hehe.

In the afternoon, we met with Andrej, Luka and Neja at the entrance of the Planina Cave (Planinska jama). Žiga, the guide, took us into the underworld. First we rowed an inflatable boat upstream the underground river for over an hour (phew, it was hard!), and then spent the next three hours walking, climbing and crawling through very narrow passages to the end of the cave and back. We were completely dirty, muddy, even wet. But wow, what an exhilarating experience! Having carried all our photographic equipment with us, we set up our tripods in one of the caverns, ran around with lamps and flashes, and took a dozen photos.

Would I do it again? You bet! The whole excursion took about 6.5 hours, we were tired and covered in mud, but I can only highly recommend it to anybody who is reasonably fit and isn't claustrophobic. ;)

Secovlje salt pans at sunrise

2011-03-13T21:03:00.006+01:00

I had been stuck inside working for too long and I needed to go out and shoot some pics! So I got up at 4 a.m. and drove to the Slovenian coast with Črt and Luka. Luka wanted to do some bird-watching in the Sečovlje salt pans (Sečoveljske soline) while Črt and I were content to just stroll around, enjoy the fresh morning air and admire the serene surroundings.

We arrived just in time for the sunrise. After leaving the car at the entrance, we had to walk for about 3 km along a country road next to the abandoned salt pans which is now a bird sanctuary. And it was below zero - look at the frosty bench!

The northern part of the salt pans is still active with salt-making. However, we visited the southern part, called Fontanigge, which is full of large basins crisscrossed by the system of levees.

Along the wide channels, the former salt-pan houses are scattered, now in ruins.

The landscape was accentuated with frost on the ground.

The area is vast to walk around: The nature park encompassing the salt pans covers about 650 ha (1600 acres).

The driest salt pan.

At Fontanigge, salt-harvesting was abandoned in the 1960s, but the tradition of salt-making, which originates from the 14th century, is still practiced within the Museum of Salt-making.

Evaporation basins near the museum.

The Drnica stream is navigable by boats.

We returned to the car at about 9 a.m. One more look towards the salt pans and off we were - coffee time!

Portorož is probably the biggest tourist resort on the Slovenian coast; it's full of hotels and has an artificial sandy beach - not to my liking! But sitting in the sun and having some coffee after the cold morning felt good.

A pier for swimmers in the summer.

Portorož hotels.

We had some fun with the self-timer.

On the way back home we made a quick stop at Lipica, a stud farm and the origin of the famous Lipizzaner horses.

Two horses - one head?! :)

Ah, I need to get up early more often. ;)

Exploring Kamnik

2011-02-22T10:02:00.004+01:00

While my friend and now coworker Sebastian was visiting Slovenia, we took the opportunity to explore Kamnik a little. One morning we climbed the Stari grad hill (Old Castle) to admire the views. The castle was first mentioned in the 12th century, and after it was abandoned in the 16th century, it slowly fell into decay and is now in ruins. All that remains are a couple of walls.

Southern part of Kamnik.

We could even see Ljubljana in the distance. Can you spot the Ljubljana Castle?

Towards the north: my beautiful Kamnik Alps. :)

The Mekinje monastery.

Coming down from the hill we took some more photos of Kamnik church towers, red roofs and castles.

Then we climbed the smaller hill, Mali grad (Small Castle) with a chapel and an old watch tower.

This panorama should be viewed bigger. Click on it. ;)

Sebastian and jet trails.

One of the following mornings before work we did a quick visit to the nearby Zaprice Castle.
The main building now houses a museum. The castle was first built in the 14th century, then rebuilt a few times, and during one of the recent reconstructions remains of a wall and a few objects from the Roman times were found.

The castle has a wall and two watch towers. And a beaufitul view. :)

The inside of the watch tower has seen better days.

A window with a view.

From behind the wall.

Next to the castle there is an open-air museum with a couple of granaries that were used in the Kamnik area a few centuries ago.

I wish we had more time to explore the many attractions Kamnik and its surroundings have to offer, but there is always another time. :) Showing Sebastian around Kamnik was actually a welcome kick in the butt for me too, as I discovered I hardly have any photos of my own home town! Shame on me. :)
As usual, more photos here.

A grey and bleak day in Piran, Socerb and Škocjan

2011-02-15T19:38:00.003+01:00

My friend Sebastian and I explored Slovenian coast and Karst one bleak Sunday in February. First we went to Piran and climbed the hill with the town wall. Everything was grey and there was no distinction between the sea and the sky.

Always interesting narrow streets of Piran:

Then we quickly visited Socerb Castle.

The views towards the Adriatic Sea weren't exactly magnificent. :D

Our next destination was the Škocjan Cave. Photography is not allowed inside, but I took a few pics at the exit and from the viewpoint. The view from the viewpoint is actually very impressive, with Škocjan village on the other side of the collapsed valley and the Reka River flowing below.

The visit of the cave was a completely different story from many years ago when the Reka River was extremely polluted, dirty, smelly and covered in foam. Now it's clear and green, making the whole experience really memorable.
As I already mentioned, taking photos is not allowed and we could only take our cameras out near the exit. I could barely take one picture before our guide turned off the lights!

When outside, you have to take a path through another cave back to the entrance.

Bleak weather or not, this was a great day. :)

Frosty Mt. Slivnica

2011-02-01T18:34:00.002+01:00

It was a cold, grey and pretty miserable weekend. While trying to make the best of it, I went hiking to Mt. Slivnica and took some pictures. Frosty ones. :)

Ahhh, just getting some fresh air was worth it!

First snow back in October

2011-01-23T14:12:00.002+01:00

Yep, this post is only three months late. :) At least the photos didn't end up buried somewhere on my disk, with no selection and no post-processing.
Anyway, in mid October my friends Andrej, Črt, Luka, Michelle and I went exploring the west part of Gorenjska. The conditions were perfect - OK, different to say the least: the foliage was still bright colors, but it was covered with a thin layer of snow, and to top it off, the mountains were enveloped in mists.
First we drove to Zelenci, the source of the Sava Dolinka river. It was half-raining, half-snowing.

Then we hopped across the border into Italy to visit the always gorgeous Mangart Lakes. There was more snow here, and more mists.

Mt. Mangart was obscured by the clouds and fog.

Red leaves and snow.

After a hearty meal in Kranjska Gora we went exploring along a winding country road leading into the mountains above the town. Last year I photographed the same area even later, on November 1, but it was a perfect fall day, all sun and no snow. The ski pistes at Podkoren:

The higher we went, the more snowy it became.

From a nice lookout point the views of the valley opened up in front of us. The light around Mt. Špik was eerily blue.

There was an interesting blue cloud above Kranjska Gora, too.

By the time we left it got pretty dark.

The combination of fall foliage and snow is very picturesque. I'm glad we were lucky enough to capture it (and that we kicked our butts out of the house to see it in the first place!).
More photos here.

Kriska planina

2011-01-17T13:27:00.003+01:00

Hopefully my photographic black hole is coming to an end. Three months after my last photo outing I decided it was time to grab my camera and head for the mountains again. Leaving home at 2 p.m. we were late for any serious hiking, but I was hoping to at least get some fresh air and nice pictures.
The first part of our short walk was up a grassy slope with Mt. Krvavec in the background.

It was warm - too warm for mid-January!

At the top of Kriška planina, the T-bar lifts waited patiently for some snow. This is supposed to be the high season for skiing! I want some snow!

Views were a bit hazy but you could make out Kamnik, my hometown in the valley below.

Layers of hills, one of my favorite landscapes.

St. Primož chapel on another hill.

Soon the light started to turn warm yellow and orange.

We headed back towards our car.

Orange mists reaching out of the Ljubljana Basin all the way to the mountains.

A lone skydiver and Mt. Triglav in the background.

Fiery sky above the ski pistes of Stari vrh.

We waited for the sun to finally disappear behind the horizon, but as it is usually the case, the show was just beginning. First, everything was calm...

... and then the sky exploded into crazy pink and red colors.

And I didn't have my tripod with me!

Of course, it only lasted six minutes. Then the colors started to fade just as quickly as they appeared.

I was lucky! How many times have I waited for the sunset, equipped with everything from a tripod and a remote control to warm clothes and snacks, but ended up with a sorry excuse for a sunset or no sunset at all? This little hike definitely gave me motivation to start shooting more often again.

2011!

2010-12-31T12:47:00.003+01:00

I've been away from blogging for a while. Let's say I had good reasons: in November I bought a house and moved! :) That took quite a lot of my (free) time, and just as I settled in, a persistent and nasty cold wouldn't let me go out and shoot some pics. Anyway: hopefully 2011 will be full of photographic adventures for all of us! ;)

Climbing Mt. Prisojnik

2010-10-14T23:03:00.006+02:00

Prisojnik was one of the mountains in the Julian Alps that I hadn't conquered yet, so when I was deciding where to go on a warm October Saturday, it wasn't hard to choose. There are at least five trails leading to the top, most of them quite demanding, and to satisfy my climbing aspirations I chose the Kopiščar route (Kopiščarjeva pot). My friend Sandi had no objections to my selection and off we went.
Setting off from the Erjavec hut through a larch forest we approached the north face of Prisojnik.

Soon we reached the rock face and started to ascend quickly. The first difficult section was soon behind us.

And then we saw her. The pagan girl. Staring into the valley.

By that time the sun rose high enough to illuminate the peaks on the other side of Vršič pass: Mojstrovka.

Higher up there was another demanding stretch of the route, and a few mountaineers were already there.

Steel rope and lots of iron pegs helped us climb.
Iridescent clouds above us.

We changed places all the time to be able to shoot up and down.

Photo by Sandi Ražman

And then there it was, right above us - the mighty Front Window (haha, funny translation for Prednje okno).

One look back towards the valley before we began the last ascent to the big hole.

The narrow and very steep ravine was hard to negotiate but at least there wasn't any snow.

The very wide view from the bottom of the huge cavern.

Of course, the only way up and out is to climb. :)

And so we climbed.

And on the other side: the sun! Looking back into the hole we stripped one more layer of clothing.

The ridge trail to the top which looked deceptively close. Razor and Triglav in the background.

Jalovec and Mangart behind us.

And finally at the top of Prisojnik at 2547 meters! The views were fantastic: from Škrlatica to Triglav and beyond.

The Kamnik Alps in the distance.

Beautiful Jalovec.

Vršič.

Ah, the clouds...

Because Sandi had to be somewhere before dusk, we chose the fastest route to return to Vršič, the south trail. It was very warm and sunny and Razor was smiling at us the whole time.

Only a few larches were really yellow. The prime time is yet to come.

Prisojnik shows a completely different face from the south: friendlier and more approachable.

Back at the car we couldn't help but observe that some mountains look pretty much unconquerable from afar, for mortals anyway. Did we really climb that almost vertical rock wall? :)

As usual I took loads of photos and it's impossible to cram them all into one post. But if you're interested (or just bored/feeling masochistic :), look at them here. Or have a look at Sandi's photos.

In the mountains above Bohinj

2010-10-07T11:21:00.004+02:00

We'd been talking about organizing a multi-day hike into the mountains for some time in our photo club and finally, seven members spent a glorious weekend in the Julian Alps. Three of us hiked to Planina Viševnik on Saturday afternoon, just in time to catch the last sun rays illuminating the cabins.

Early next morning four more friends arrived from Planina Blato, and at the same time we could hear extremely loud and angry roaring ... by a bear! The beast was somewhere quite close! The views almost made me forget about it for a few seconds. ;)

The fog in the valley kept rising, but it never reached us.

Mountains to the east.

Triglav.

After a hearty breakfast we finally set off towards our goal of the day: Mala Tičarica.

The hike across the woods and pastures was very pleasant, especially when we didn't hear the bear's howling any more. :)

Planina Ovčarija.

At the foot of Mala Tičarica.

Mahavšček was enveloped in clouds.

Views from the top of Mala Tičarica (2071 meters) to the west. Double Triglav Lake below.

Views to the north: Veliko Špičje range, Triglav Lakes Valley, Zelnarica, Kanjavec.

Nice clouds!

We were too early for the truly golden larches, but that's just a convenient excuse to go back next weekend. :)
On Monday morning the weather turned sour, cold and windy with promises of rain, so we headed back to the valley. It was fun and hopefully it won't take another two years before we organize something like this again. ;)

More photos here.

In the woods

2010-09-30T23:33:00.000+02:00

No long story this time, just a few photos from yesterday's mushroom picking trek through the woods. :) Yes, we did get enough edible mushrooms for a few meals. Mushroom risotto was yummy today!

An afternoon hike to Velika planina

2010-09-26T22:36:00.005+02:00

After long four months of abstinence from one of my favorite places I climbed Velika planina again. It was just a quick afternoon hike from Kisovec to Zeleni rob, but it was invigorating! Most cattle had already been taken back to the valley, so no soured milk for us; however, crazily beautiful sky and clouds more than made up for the lack of the usual treat.

Mokrice Castle

2010-09-17T10:20:00.003+02:00

I don't go to southeastern Slovenia very often and when an opportunity presented itself, I gladly took it. We didn't have much spare time - the main reason for this trip was a business meeting - but we managed to see Mokrice Castle and have a stroll around the estate. We also found out that golf is not such an easy sport. A few attempts at swinging the club proved that the whole thing wasn't as simple as it looks on TV!

Two lakes

2010-09-11T19:30:00.004+02:00

I was hoping for some nice warm weather after returning from Asia, but late August was unusually cold and rainy and so was the beginning of September. When the skies finally cleared and the temperatures crawled over 20 degrees Celsius again two days ago, it was time to go exploring. I'd never been to Gradišče Lake (Gradiško jezero) near Lukovica before. It was too late in the afternoon for good pictures and the clouds obscured the sun most of the time, but we walked around it (4.2 km) anyway. I had no idea this was bear territory! An ideal place for jogging, too.

The following day we headed to Bled to climb Ojstrica and Osojnica above the lake.

More photos here.

Nomads in Tagong highlands

2010-08-31T22:52:00.002+02:00

Tagong, our next destination, is a small Tibetan town at the altitude of 3600 meters. It consists of one main street and a square and is surrounded by grassy hills. Again, we were lucky with the weather - after some heavy rains in the region (and landslides!) the skies cleared.

The main street with typical architecture: Tibetan stone houses with (mostly) flat roofs and decorated windows:

The monastery in town is circled by people everyday doing their kora. Prayer wheels practically never stop turning.

A local woman sewing prayer flags.

The weekend before our arrival a horse riding festival was held in Tagong attracting huge crowds of Tibetans who then set up camp on a hill above town. The area was full of tents, but as the festival was over, most people had already started to pack. Nevertheless, we were there early enough to enjoy the hospitality of a family who invited us in for a cup of tea and some pastry. Their little son wasn't too sure about posing though. :)

We hiked to a nearby village one afternoon where more of the typical Tibetan houses could be seen.

The main reason for our visit was the fact that the high plains in the vicinity of Tagong are populated by nomads living in black tents and herding yaks. We organized horses and a guide to get there and set off the following morning. After crossing a river and making our way along a valley we began to climb up a grassy hill. It was too steep to continue riding, so we dismounted and the guide led the horses to the top of the slope.

There were endless grassy plains around us. We passed a couple of uninhabited houses.

Our Tibetan guide with a cell phone.

After four hours of horseback riding we reached a plateau with gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. At that point a woman from the nomad camp we were headed to joined us.

Soon the first herd of yaks came into view, grazing lazily on the endless pasture.

Five hours since the beginning of our trek we reached the camp where we would spend the following night: a "village" 0f five black tents.

Some of the nomad families improve their income by allowing tourists to stay with them, offering them a tent, food and an opportunity to experience nomadic life on a high plateau. Our hostess Soku greeted us and immediately started to make lunch. The tent is a place to sleep, cook, eat and stay during bad weather, and it is also used as a shelter for baby yaks; they are too vulnerable to wolf attacks outside, so they are brought in at night. They sleep on one side of the tent and the people sleep on the other. In the middle, there is a fireplace, and during the day the roof of the tent is opened so that the smoke gets out. Most of it anyway. :)

Soku was making some sort of dumplings which were steamed instead of cooked in boiling water.

In general, she was very busy. When she wasn't cooking, she was preparing food, taking care of her three children, running around ...
... milking yaks ...

... while I was playing with her youngest, a cheeky 3-year-old boy.

His face was constantly dirty and his nose runny. High altitude and cold winds turned his cheeks red.

Not far away a couple of vultures were feasting on a yak head.

I was also invited into the neighbors' tent. Nobody spoke English but they were eager to communicate with me, and they offered me some food and yak butter tea. There were no objections to me taking photos, on the contrary, after a few shy moments everybody was proud to see themselves on my camera LCD. Even the grandmother, who was just feeding the baby.

Children grow up fast. This boy was already able to take care of all chores in the camp at the age of 12. Here he was showing me a cut on his finger.

The weather kept changing the whole afternoon. After a few overcast hours the sun broke through the clouds to produce this wonderful sight. It was raining at the same time and I was trying hard to prevent the lens from getting wet.

The sweet light was magical ...

... and when the sun was gone, the clouds were still illuminated from below creating a wonderful spectacle in the sky behind our "white" (i.e. tourist) tent.
There is much more to be said about the nomads and their way of life, and I will try to do so in one of the following posts.

Ganzi, West Sichuan

2010-08-20T12:23:00.006+02:00

Litang was already on our list of favorite towns, but Ganzi was just as terrific. The journey itself in a small minivan led from Litang through some of the most picturesque scenery one can imagine: rolling green hills, full of Tibetan villages and yak herds, with hairpin roads plunging into wooded valleys. Add mysterious morning mists and a driver willing to stop for pictures and you’ve got a photographer's dream.

Ganzi lies in a green valley at the altitude of 3400 meters, surrounded by green hills and high mountains. Exploring the streets took its toll on our lungs, especially when we reached the Tibetan part of town with a monastery up a steep hill. Oh, but what a view!

The town itself has a bit of a Wild West feel.

We checked ourselves into a fancy bright yellow hotel. Fancy, you ask? Compared to some other decrepit, pay-by-the-hour shit-holes, definitely yes!

The southern edge of town is flanked by a wide river which can only be crossed on foot ... and the mountains beyond, bathed in the late-afternoon sun, were reason enough for me to practically run across to capture the light before it was gone. Even a friendly monk couldn't stop me. ;)

There are many monasteries and stupas in and around Ganzi.

The biggest monastery, stretching over the hills above town is home to a number of monks. We caught them just as they were dismissed from the afternoon praying session.

At another, smaller monastery we were let in by an extremely accommodating monk who was ecstatic to see us and couldn't wait to show us around. I guess it must be pretty boring for him to sit around most of the day with nothing to do.

Spinning prayer wheels is part of Tibetan everyday life. Not just the small ones that can be held with one hand, but also the big variety.

These ladies were, like everybody else, extremely friendly, smiling and eager to pose.

When wandering about town you are approached by locals all the time. Despite the language barrier they just want to show hospitality, communicate with travelers, and have their picture taken! And who was I to deny them? :) Especially children - you can't imagine the joy on these girls' faces after I'd shown them their photos on my camera display.

Shy, mischievous or something else? :)

The weather was moody - sunny one moment and stormy the next. But we tried to make the most of it and didn't mind risking getting wet when we ventured into the countryside with no shelter in sight.

The surrounding hills offered great views. Dramatic clouds? You bet. It rained an hour later.

It seems I can't conclude a post without a picture of me eating. :) Sichuan cuisine is extremely spicy and here I'm trying not to burn my mouth with a delicious, but HOT Sichuan stew.

All photos of me taken by Dominika Osvald

From Ganzi we headed to the east, to the nomad country of Tagong. More about it in the next post.

Litang, Sichuan: the beginning of the Tibetan world

2010-07-12T09:14:00.004+02:00

West Sichuan was the unplanned part of the trip. When Dominika and I were in Shangrila discussing our limited options for the exploration of the northwestern tip of Yunnan as the main road is closed due to construction and immediately rejecting the idea of visiting Tibet (as much as we would have liked to go there, the trip is very expensive and it involves getting a permit and traveling in a tour group). An unexpected alternative presented itself when we discovered it was possible to enter West Sichuan, which is almost as Tibetan as Tibet, much cheaper and hassle-free.
Although the distances don't qualify as enormous, the bumpy winding and sometimes non-existent roads make traveling painfully slow, and in addition public transport is quite limited compared to other parts of the country. We had to break the journey in Xiangcheng, some eight butt-shaking hours north of Shangrila, after climbing over a pass enveloped in fog and plunging into a deep fertile valley full of yellow and green patches of fields and Tibetan villages.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the predominantly Chinese town and climbing the nearby hill with a gompa (Tibetan monastery) and great views over the valley.

Our lodging for the night was in a lavishly decorated guesthouse. This has to be one of the most colorful rooms I've even slept in!

Onward travel proved to be tricky. Nobody would sell us tickets to Litang; all we got from the people at the bus station was a cold stare and "mei you" (a phrase that one hears all the time andcan mean anything from "don't have" and "can't do" to "fuck off". Even Lonely Planet says foreigners regularly have a hard time getting a bus out of there. Well, on that particular day there were four foreigners in town, all eagerly waiting to head north, and we ended up crammed in a minivan at 5.30 a.m., paying an exaggerated price to spend the next five hours on a cold, all-windows-down but very scenic ride.
At the altitude of 4200 meters, Litang was exhilarating in several meanings of the word. Before coming here we had been hoping to see a sky burial, a Tibetan funeral in which the dead body is taken out to the grasslands where it is partly cut and left for the vultures to devour. And right upon arrival we were informed by the nice hotel owner that there was a sky burial scheduled in another hour and that she could take us there in a few minutes. We didn't hesitate; and for the next few hours we were completely fascinated by this primitive yet very logical, back-to-the nature ritual. No relatives were present, just a few friends and a so-called "cutter" who does the gruesome work of cutting the body and later crushing the bones so that nothing is left.

Practically speechless we returned to town and spent the rest of our stay there enjoying the fresh air, beautiful views from the gompa and, mostly, meeting and talking with the locals, Tibetans who against our expectations turned out to be the nicest, friendliest people so far. They do a kora every day, a clockwise walk around a sacred site, usually a monastery or stupa, spinning their prayer wheels. It was such a pleasant change to actually get smiles from people! They greeted us with "tashi delek" everywhere we turned, they were all smiling, and they were eager to have their photo taken. All that makes Litang one of my favorite places on this trip.

Photo by Dominika Osvald

But this was just the beginning...

West Yunnan: Dali, Lijiang, Shangrila

2010-07-05T07:54:00.006+02:00

I'm still alive, just running out of time to select photos, post-process them and write something here. :) The past several weeks have been busy, beautiful and adventurous, and this post was hastily composed, so excuse the poor writing and enjoy the photos.

From Kunming we headed west along the well-trodden tourist trail. It’s difficult not to follow it as it boasts some very interesting historic towns, such as Dali, our first stop. The old town full of traditional houses with grey roofs is surrounded by a wall with several gates. A few main streets are pedestrianized and lined with stores, restaurants and bars. Quite touristy, one might say. I was amazed at how many Chinese people travel: most places we’ve visited so far are full of Chinese tourists and there is only a handful of Westerners. Most attractions now charge an entrance fee in the range of 3-10 euro, which is not cheap at all.

In Dali we walked around old town, rented a bicycle to explore the surrounding area with rice fields and a lake, and ate at local restaurants advertising the food on stalls facing the street and you just pick the ingredients which are then prepared into a delicious meal.

Lijiang, some five hours from Dali (they tell you at the bus station it’s only a three-hour ride :), is another old town, a UNESCO Heritage Site. It’s a maze of narrow cobblestone alleys and canals and bridges. The down side is that it’s completely swamped with tourists, which means elbowing your way through the main streets. Once you delve into some of the side alleys, the stroll becomes more pleasant and you can actually observe the locals doing their everyday routine. I had caught a bad cold in Dali and came to Lijiang quite feverish so I spent two days in bed sweating. :(

Heading further to the northwest of Yunnan we arrived at Shangrila, a half-Chinese and half-Tibetan town at the altitude of 3200 meters. The old cobblestone center is turning into another Lijiang, sadly, but as of now it’s not overly commercialized yet. There is a lot to see and do in town and its vicinity. Locals perform a Tibetan dance on the main square every night at 8 am. During the day the square turns into a big eatery with stalls offering barbecued meat and vegetables on sticks.

Songzanlin Monastery some 5 kilometers out of town is home to about 600 monks and the structure itself is quite impressive. A bike trip to the yellow fields south of town was just as picturesque.

We changed our plan on the spur of the moment and instead of turning back south we hopped into Sichuan to visit the Tibetan part of the province. Couldn't have made a better decision! More about it when I get around to putting a post together. ;)

From China's karst to rice terraces

2010-06-15T13:11:00.006+02:00

A few days in Hong Kong was enough of big city, modern architecture for me. As impressed as I was by it, it was time to move on. My first port of call in "real" China was Nanning, a huge sprawling city in the province of Guangxi. And there the realization that nobody speaks English combined with the fact that everything, and I mean everything, was in Chinese characters, really hit me. Not being able to ask for directions from a passer-by is one thing, but I couldn’t even see what street I was on as all signs were in Chinese. So in the following few days I was forced to become really good at comparing Chinese letters in my guidebook maps with those on signs, stroke by stroke. :) Fun fun fun.

Nanning was just a stopover on my way to Detian Waterfall on the Chinese-Vietnamese border. From the pictures I had seen before it looked quite magnificent but this year the wet season was apparently a bit late and the water level was less than enchanting. That and the depressing grey weather left me a bit disappointed.

Yangshuo, a small yet increasingly touristy town in the heart of China’s karst region, offers a myriad things to do. The cloudy and occasionally rainy weather persevered, but that didn’t deter me from exploring the surrounding areas. The town itself is nestled among karst peaks and the buildings are crammed right to their base.

Almost five hours and a number of local buses away fantastic rice terraces are located, famous among tourists and photographers alike. The stunning transformation of countless hills into terraces is astounding. But as with many natural and historic sites in China, a relatively high entrance fee has been introduced, and as most if not all money goes to the government (and into pockets of some dirty officials, no doubt) instead of local communities, the farmers are already rebelling by not tending to the terraces as diligently as before and leaving them in a sorrow state, making the place less interesting and appealing to visitors. While I completely understand their plight, it is sad to see such a wonderful place slowly being left to decay. As for my experience, I was impressed. Having arrived at the end of the road by bus, I hiked up the slope to a hilltop village of Yao tribe (or the long hair tribe as women never cut their hair and wear it in a bun on their foreheads) where I spent the night. There are a couple of lookouts which offer great views; unfortunately though I wasn’t blessed with any sunlight and the pictures came out less than perfect. The following day I hiked to another village some four hours away through more picturesque scenery and stayed another night. Then it started to rain and there was no point in staying any longer: taking photos and hiking in pouring rain takes more intrepidity than I possess. :)

I loved the local delicacy, bamboo rice. A bamboo stick is filled with rice, bacon, mushrooms and vegetables (and sometimes other ingredients) and cooked over open fire. Then they crack it open for you to eat. Yummy!

The area close to Yangshuo offers endless sightseeing possibilities. I biked through the countryside, with the Yulong river on one side, rice paddies everywhere, ancient villages turning into modern-day settlements with concrete houses, but nevertheless the place is gorgeous, at least weekend tourists who spend a day on a bamboo raft slowly floating down the river seem to think so. To be honest, so do I.

I hiked along the Li river, passing several apparently deserted villages with only chickens roaming about.

In another village I caught an artist at work in his shop.

Some sights were really unforgettable, like a dentist working some poor man’s teeth in the middle of a dirty street.

An even more unforgettable sight (warning: sensitive readers, close the page immediately and do not read any further!) was that of slaughtered and disemboweled dogs in the market. And no, I haven’t tried dog meat. Yet.

In Yangshuo I met up with two friends of mine, Dominika and Igor, who have been traveling for over five years and had just flown into Asia after spending some time in South America. A few months ago we made a plan to meet here with Igor then staying in Yangshuo for two months while Dominika and I travel in Yunnan and Myanmar together.

After a few days of catching up and even doing some sightseeing, we girls left to Kunming by overnight train.

At the altitude of 1900 meters, Kunming offered a nicer climate and, for the first time since I got to China, blue skies and puffy white clouds! And even a sunset!

However, we didn’t linger around long. After applying for the Myanmar visa we headed straight to the south, to another region famed for its rice terraces. Seven hours of a bumpy bus ride just to see some more rice terraces? Hell, yes! The Yuanyang area is expansive: there are hills and valleys and slopes full of rice terraces for miles. Instead of staying in town we opted for a traditional village set right in the middle of the terraces. Which also meant roughing it, but the experience was well worth it. The village was relatively unspoilt, there are no hotels, just one very basic guesthouse, but all this is about to change. Extensive work is being done on viewpoints, restaurants and roads, and any day now an entrance fee is going to be enforced – ticket booths are already set up. We had just one spectacular sunrise, but just being there, exploring the villages and talking with the locals (well, gesturing and waving hands like a madman, actually) was something I would regret not experiencing. Most women still dress in traditional attire, covering their heads with blue scarves and sometimes hats.

One day we were walking down the main (and only) street of a village when a local woman sitting in front of her house gestured for us to stop and sit down with her. We did, and we all smiled and tried to communicate, but our five words of Chinese proved to be insufficient for any meaningful conversation. Nevertheless, the woman kindly invited us to eat with them as it was close to lunch time. We gladly accepted, and the lunch proved to be for a number of neighbors as well, turning the meal in a modest room into a real social event. Upon seeing two white faces at the table as they entered, the women giggled and looked questioningly at the hostess, but it took them all of six seconds to get used to us being there, and they almost competed in who was going to top up our bowls with various food faster.

After some more hiking around the area we left with memory cards full of photos and happy to have come here before it turned into a staged performance.

Now we're in Lijiang, but more about it in the next post. ;)

Hong Kong

2010-05-29T12:52:00.002+02:00

Greetings from Asia! I made it safely to Hong Kong, stayed there for four hot and humid days and took loads of photos. Currently I'm in China where access to blogspot is blocked, but thanks to my friend Andrej I'm able to log onto my blog and upload (albeit very slowly!) a few photos. The travel report is not written yet, but give me a yell if you want to receive it and I'll add you to my mailing list.

Hong Kong is huge. Countless skyscrapers everywhere you look. I didn't have time to venture far from the center as there is so much to explore here. Maybe these pictures will give you an idea.

Phew, uploading and posting these took forever. Keep your fingers crossed this gets easier (=faster).

Asia, here I come!

2010-05-14T19:30:00.004+02:00

I've been attacked by the travel bug again. Well, it's a chronic condition actually. :) I love the fact that I worked hard to have a very flexible job now which allows me to combine traveling and working. In a couple of days I'm leaving for Hong Kong, and then my travel destinations will include southwest China (7 weeks), Myanmar (4 weeks), and a bit of Thailand (2 weeks) at the end. The flight back from Bangkok will bring me home in mid August. Yes, I'll be gone for three full months! :)

Map: CIA

I'm going alone, leaving my significant other at home, but my good friends Dominika and Igor, whom I met five years ago in Iran, will be waiting for me in Yangshuo in early June, and from there on it's going to be girls' party! Igor will be staying in Yangshuo while Dominika and I are going to explore the area around Kunming and all the way up to Shangri-la and Deqin close to the Tibetan border. Then Myanmar, hopefully crossing the border overland, although that's not always feasible. One month in that wonderful country will take us to Mandalay, to the north and back down again sailing the Irrawaddy River with the locals, exploring magical Bagan and remote villages, possibly Ngapali beach on the western coast, weather permitting, and finally making it to Yangon, the capital, to fly to Bangkok. I'll be on my own again in Thailand, where I've been before, so my stay there will be mostly about diving, but I won't make steadfast plans yet - I'd also like to visit the far north. I'll see when I'm there.

Supposedly 'blogspot' is blocked in China, so I'm not sure how often, if at all, I will be able to post here. Myanmar is even worse as the internet is more or less an unknown term there. However, I'll try to email travel reports every two or three weeks, and if you'd like to receive them, drop me a line.

Three months seem like a lot, but with so many places to cover and one book to translate while I'm there chances are I'll run out of time! :)

Velika planina in crocuses

2010-05-13T18:53:00.003+02:00

Our mixed volleyball team spent a weekend in one of the huts on Velika planina on May 1st. We had a great time - mostly partying, yes ;) - but Jaka and I did manage to get up at 5.30 one morning to catch the sunrise. It wasn't as colorful as I had hoped but the patches of snow and crocuses made for nice photo ops.

The path from Zeleni rob was still very deep in snow.

Jaka in first sun rays.

Sweet morning light over Velika planina.

And crocuses everywhere! They were still closed after a cold night though.

I love the combination of snow patches and bright green grass.

Backlit trees.

Planjava and Ojstrica.

On the ridge.

A green path towards Ojstrica.

And then we were off to some more partying. ;)
More photos here.

Climbing Mrežce

2010-04-27T23:43:00.006+02:00

In early April I wanted to spend some more time on the snow before it was finally gone, so the decision was made: I was going to climb one of the peaks above Pokljuka. I left home relatively late, hoping to catch a nice sunset at the top. After leaving the car at Planina Javorniki at about 3 p.m. I hurried uphill to the Lipanca hut. I had been thinking of hiking to Debela peč for a few weeks but I changed my mind at the hut as I knew the views would be much better from Mrežce.

Lipanca hut with my final destination, Mrežce, looming over it.

From the hut up the trail wasn't well-trodden at all. I had to trudge through heavy snow and this was actually one of the few sections with footprints. Not that they helped. :)

This was great exercise! Sloshing through wet snow and having to lift your feet high with every step - yeah!

Soon I reached the ridge and caught the first glimpse of the mountains beyond.

The summit wasn't far, but I sank into the snow up to my butt quite a few times slowing my progress considerably. :)

Glorious views. From Mali Draški vrh and Veliki Draški vrh (left) to Triglav and Rž (right).

Ski tourers' trails.

In a matter of seconds the clouds turned dark.

... and a few minutes later, when I had a quick self-portrait photo session, the mood changed completely.

I was patient and I waited. Sure enough, 20 minutes later the sun peeked from behind the clouds again.

Triglav and sun rays.

My goal was to wait for the sunset as it looked it was going to be a nice one.

But more clouds came and it didn't seem they were going away any time soon. These were the last beams illuminating Planika hut before it got completely cloudy and I rushed back down.

One last look back to where I had been, and off I was.

More photos here.

Piran Aquarium

2010-04-14T14:03:00.003+02:00

I'd never been to the Piran Aquarium before and when my friend Kurty asked me to go there with him, I didn't hesitate. The place itself is small but packed with fish tanks and a plethora of aquatic animals. Shooting conditions were far from ideal with all the reflections in the glass, but with a bit of creativity the problems could be overcome.

The day was sunny and warm, albeit a bit windy. Throngs of tourists came to bask in the sun, especially at the seaside cafes and restaurants. We walked around a bit, hiked to the nearby bay of Fiesa and finally took a few pictures in the town center before heading back home.

More photos here.

Pokljuka

2010-03-29T14:52:00.003+02:00

Pokljuka is one of those places that I keep returning to regardless of the season and weather. Admittedly, these photos are a few months old, but they are still winter photos, taken on a particularly moody day: the sun, puffy clouds and an ominous dark mass obscuring the sky, all in a matter of hours. :)

In the morning, the sky was perfect blue with very picturesque puffy streaks.

From the south, though, layers of grey clouds started to hide the sun.

Soon there was drama in the sky! Perfect time for HDRs. ;)

The sun never reappeared that day.

Famous Pokljuka forests and some PS work. ;)

Spring skiing

2010-03-25T19:55:00.003+01:00

Being in a temporary photographic black hole I have to resort to posting snapshots from my skiing trips taken with a compact camera. :) These are from last week, too, but the weather wasn't as nice as two days later.

This was probably the last day with some snow left in the valley. Btw, the town in the background is Kranj.

Storžič, the Košuta range and Kočna.

Ominous clouds above Kočna and Grintovec.

Kriška planina.

Velika planina.

My favorite training hill, Kamniški vrh, from a different perspective! :)

The TV tower.

Above the sea of clouds

2010-03-17T21:43:00.003+01:00

With the weather forecast promising blue skies in the mountains there was only one thing to do: let's go skiing! I was a bit disappointed when I got up in the morning and the sky was overcast, but after checking the webcam on Krvavec we didn't hesitate. We drove to Kriška planina to avoid having to take the cable car, and we broke the layer of clouds at about 1100 meters. After that it was pure joy. The sun was shining, there was no wind and the pistes were to die for. They hadn't been groomed that well for quite a while, at least on all of my visits in the last few years.
As on most of my recent skiing trips I didn't lug my equipment with me, just a small compact camera. I think I'm getting lazy. :)

Skiing on Velika planina

2010-03-05T19:49:00.003+01:00

When I'm not in the mood for a long drive to a ski resort, I tend to choose Velika planina, like I did last Saturday. The weather couldn't be better: sunny and warm, but the snow stayed firm until 1 p.m., which made for great skiing, plus there were so few skiers I had to check again whether it was a weekend or a weekday. Long story short, I was more than happy at the end of the day.

Španov vrh

2010-03-01T23:34:00.002+01:00

After almost two weeks of a nasty cold I was in a state of bliss to be able to go out and get some fresh air. Finally! My friends decided to ski at Španov vrh for a few hours, but wanting different exercise I hiked to the top instead. The climb and the descent gave me enough opportunities to take photos, and surprisingly, the exertion and exhilaration of the hike were more important to me than pictures that day.

Pokljuka

2010-02-20T10:02:00.003+01:00

It was one of those days when the weather was impossible to predict, especially the fog. Heading to Pokljuka around noon, we first wanted to climb Mt. Viševnik, but seeing there would probably be no views from the top we opted for skiing on the nearby course. There are only two short ski lifts, but as the queues weren't long, it was actually possible to get some good exercise. The fog kept rolling in and out, luckily it only reached tree tops, and for a few fleeting moments we saw the sun, too.

After skiing we drove around Pokljuka for a while.

Planina Javornik was fighting the fog.

The road was snowy but quite passable.

One of the cabins on Pokljuka.

A cabin in an enchanted forest? ;)

The sweet light just before sunset on the hills around Šijec peat bog.

Sunlit tree tops.

A snowman was guarding the peat bog.

The sun set and the clouds turned orange.

One more look across the snowy marshes and off we went.

Driving home we stopped at Gorjuše to take the last few photos for the day.

More photos here.

Cave photography in Planina Cave

2010-02-09T17:04:00.005+01:00

Cave photography is demanding and quite time-consuming. What Luka, Andrej and I did last week can hardly qualify as true cave photography, but we got a glimpse into what is really involved and now we're determined to go back and shoot some more.
Planina Cave (Planinska jama) is located not far from Postojna, at the edge of Planinsko polje (Planina Karst Field). It is one of the longest Slovenian water caves at over 6 kms in length, representing the subterranean bed of the Unica River. About 500 meters from the entrance into the cave there is the confluence (the largest confluence of underground rivers in Europe) of two underground rivers, Pivka and Rak.
We only shot from three locations. Our goal was to try out different lighting and see the various effects. There weren't any tourists around as organized visits normally take place in the afternoon.

At some point a group of spelunkers emerged from the dark cavern. After a short chat they marched on towards the exit.

Luka ran to and fro with a flashlight a few times.

We didn't go any further into the cave as we ran out of time, but the experience was great and I'm pretty sure the cave will see us again soon.

Velika planina sunrise

2010-02-04T12:11:00.003+01:00

After spending a good portion of the night shooting star trails we had to get up early to catch the sunrise. Luckily, days are short and the sun doesn't come up until 7.30 in late January. :) But as nice as it was to have a clear sky for the night shooting, I would have liked a few clouds in the morning to add some drama to the sky.

Pink dawn.

First glimpses of the sun.

Soon the whole slope was orange.

The Kamnik Alps in fiery sunrise and the valley of Kamniška Bistrica below.

Kočna and Grintovec.

Planjava, Ojstrica and the village of Velika planina.

Snežnik in the distance (about 85 kms away).

Orange fog in the valley.

Domžalski dom is waking up.

Tired or blissfully happy? ;)

After breakfast we headed back. By then the sky was adorned with some lovely wispy clouds.

Črnuški dom.

An island? :)

Velika planina architecture is really something special.

Do we really have to go back to that fog?

More photos here.

Star trails on Velika planina

2010-01-25T20:35:00.004+01:00

I had wanted to do a serious star trail shooting for a while now and after carefully examining the weather forecast, Luka and I decided to head to Velika planina last week in hopes of getting some nice pictures. The afternoon light was nice enough and as the sunset approached, the snow turned orange and red! The blue hour in the snow-covered mountains was serene and peaceful, and after a hearty plate of jota it was time to get our tripods and remote releases ready! First we shot around the chapel with the Kamnik Alps as the backdrop, and later, when the moon had set, I wandered around Domžalski dom (Domžale hut) and took some more shots. We were lucky: the sky was clear, and the wind spared us as there was only a slight breeze, and even the breeze died down later. Satisfied with the results we slept for a few hours before getting up for the sunrise shots. But more about that in the next post. For now, afternoon and night piccies:

More photos here.

Decorated Ljubljana

2010-01-14T16:58:00.003+01:00

I had missed the Christmas decoration in Ljubljana for many years. I was determined to have a photo session in our capital this season, and hoping the lights were still there I chose one of the few clear days during the holidays, the first Sunday in January. Sure enough the decoration was still in place. I was early so I strolled around a little before the sun went down. Then the usual followed: trying to capture as many locations during those beautiful 20 minutes of blue hour. Afterwards, when the sky was already black, I wandered around anyway and took some more pictures. There weren't as many people in the streets as I had anticipated; I guess the holiday spirit had already passed.

More photos here.

Berlin - Day 2

2010-01-10T21:02:00.004+01:00

The second day of our stay in Berlin was quite busy. In the morning we explored the area around the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was badly damaged by bombing in 1943. The blue interior of the new part of the church reminded me of a church in Brasilia, Don Bosco.

It was still very cold, but at least it didn't snow. For a while I just walked around and took pictures.

In the afternoon it was time to see Alexanderplatz and the nearby sites. One of the most prominent things to see is definitely the 216-meter high television tower.

Berlin Cathedral.

I was lucky to see a (probably freezing) bride at the entrance to the cathedral.

The interior is, well... ornate. :)

But what I was really waiting for was, yes, you guessed it, blue hour. It's such a shame that it only lasts for about 20 minutes because its light is the best and it's simply impossible to be at different locations during those 20 minutes. I had to run around like crazy again. :)

Soon the sky was black and I started playing with the traffic.

I walked the whole length of an avenue called Unter der Linden with beautifully lit linden trees...

... all the way to Brandenburg Gate...

... past the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe...

... to Potsdam Square.

The lively central forum of Sony Center:

Cold but satisfied with the day I headed back by metro.

More photos here.

Kamnik in Christmas decoration

2010-01-07T18:16:00.004+01:00

I hadn't shot Kamnik during the Christmas season for many years - shame on me. So I took my tripod and camera and headed to the town center just before the blue hour began. The place was definitely not photographer-friendly, especially the many parked cars everywhere didn't make for a romantic winter setting. :) And the ice rink was practically empty, which meant my hopes of getting some nice shots of blurred ice skaters went down the drain. Well, this only means one thing - I have to go back! ;)

Snow-covered Berlin

2010-01-03T00:46:00.004+01:00

Our choir Cantemus went on a short tour to Berlin in mid December. We probably caught the coldest three days in the whole month and occasionally froze our butts off, but the sights were phenomenal. I've never been to Berlin before so I didn't really know what to expect, and since I'm not a city person, I didn't get my hopes up too much. But the thin layer of snow that covered the city made it look like a fairy tale, and the many attractions surprised even me. The days were short, but with tripod in hand I managed to squeeze in many different locations and photo ops.

The Berlin Wall:

A 19th century Berlin model:

Reichstag's glass dome:

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe:

Brandenburg Gate:

Reichstag:

German Chancellery (Angela Merkel's office):

More photos in my Photo Journal.
To be continued ...

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T21:47:00.006+01:00

Prague - Day 2

2009-12-13T20:04:00.002+01:00

The second day of my Prague exploration - Saturday - was the longest in terms of distance we covered: Katka and I went on foot everywhere after getting to Vyšehrad by metro. We walked around and saw the walls, orchard and Church of St Peter and St Paul at Vyšehrad and enjoyed the wonderful views.

Panorama from the Vyšehrad walls.

Vyšehrad park and St Peter and St Paul church.

Views from the walls over Vltava and Prague were great, and the puffy clouds made for even better photos.

Prague Castle and Vltava bridges.

We descended to Vltava to the railway bridge...

... and walked along its banks towards the city center. Swans and ducks kept us company.

Soon those lovely puffy clouds turned into an ominous dark mass. Luckily, it didn't rain.

After climbing Petřín Hill Katka asked me if I wanted to see something extraordinary even though it wasn't a tourist attraction at all, and I was all for it, of course. And she took me to see the second largest stadium in the world! It's enormous! Its capacity is 220.000 spectators, but now it's not used for sport events anymore, only for trainings and pop concerts. What a sight indeed.

Dilapidated stands of the Great Strahov Stadium.

Then we headed to the observation tower, a 60-meter Eiffel tower replica offering spectacular views of Prague. It was so windy up there the camera almost flew from my hands.

Windy or not, the views were, again, spectacular. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's true. :))

Charles Bridge.

From Petřín Hill we walked to Prague Castle and caught the late afternoon light.

The smallest house in Prague in one of the old town streets, Nový svét. :)

I chose a location close to Charles Bridge for the blue hour photo session.

Along Vltava.

When the lights on the castle and bridge came on, the sight was quite pretty.

It got darker (and colder!) soon.

The Vltava weir, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.

Last shot of Charles Bridge and we were almost frozen. Warm restaurant and tea, here we come!

There are more photos in my Photo Journal.
To be continued...

Prague in the fall - Day 1

2009-12-09T10:22:00.005+01:00

A few months ago I reconnected - via Facebook, I might add (it can be useful, you see :) - with an old friend of mine, Katka, whom I hadn't seen since our university days. She had moved to Prague a few years ago, invited me for a visit and I gladly took her up on her offer. We set the date for late November, I bought a train ticket and soon I was off to this lovely city. Arriving on Thursday night, I spent three full days exploring the sights, taking photos and catching up with Katka. She kept saying how lucky I was with the weather - it was sunny with some dramatic clouds on a couple of occasions, which is quite untypical of Prague this time of year - and I must say that although I'm not a city person, the place really grew on me.

But this isn't supposed to be a travelogue (at least I don't have the energy to write one at the moment :), so I'll just skip right to the photos.

The Old Jewish cemetery.

Old Town Hall Tower with the astronomical clock.

View from the Old Town Hall Tower.

Church of Our Lady before Týn and the Old Town Square.

Looking straight down.

In the park.

Wenceslas Square.

On Charles Bridge.

The dome and belfry of St. Nicholas church.

View from the St. Nicholas belfry.

St. Vitus's Cathedral at Prague Castle.

The interior of St. Vitus's Cathedral.

View of Prague from Prague Castle.

Late afternoon Prague. Yes, there's a vineyard in the foreground. :)

I waited for the dusk here and almost froze because of the chilly wind.

When the lights came on, Prague looked wonderful in the blue hour.

St. Nicholas church with the observation tower in the background (a replica of the Eiffel Tower).

Before the blue hour was over, I rushed down to the Vltava river and got lucky with this scene.

Charles Bridge.

It got dark too soon, so I concluded my photo session with this picture of Prague Castle and headed to the old town to meet Katka for dinner.

It was a long and interesting day. I walked everywhere without taking the metro or bus or tram. At the end of the day there were almost 500 images on my memory card. :) More photos from my first day wanderings can be found in my Photo Journal, as always.

To be continued ...

Climbing Grintovec

2009-11-25T09:47:00.004+01:00

I've climbed Grintovec many times, but never in wintertime. With the weather being so warm, sunny and stable, it was only logical to head to the mountains. It had snowed a couple of weeks ago, but most of the snow melted, leaving only patches above 1600 meters above sea level. Crampons weren't necessary, although I did put them in my backpack.

It didn't take long to persuade my brother Peter to come along. We started walking well before dawn and despite the dark we opted to turn our headlamps off. The trail was barely visible, but that didn't bother us. Soon, the purple dawn appeared above Velika planina.

Soon the rock faces above us glowed yellow and orange as the sun appeared from above the horizon.

The valley was full of yellow fog.

It had been quite warm up until then, but as soon as we reached the Kokra Saddle, the wind from the southwest almost blew us over. We hastily put on jackets, caps and gloves before continuing.

Now there was more and more snow along the trail. The early morning light was as spectacular as always. Some people were already returning from the top!

Looking towards the southwest we saw the fog in the valley.

The last stretch below the summit - yikes, it drags on forever! The wind didn't help either; it was so strong it was hard to walk in a straight line.

Finally at the top! We didn't stay here long because of the wind, we just quickly took in the views, snapped a few photos and headed back down.

The panorama was to die for.

Other climbers were struggling against the wind, too. Do you see the snow particles flying around in the air?

Going down was a breeze. We just slid down the slope, Peter even managed to fall once. :)

Further down, where the wind subsided a little, I was finally able to change lenses and put a telephoto on to take closer shots of the surrounding mountains. Štruca and Skuta.

Velika planina and the fog rolling in in the background.

Ojstrica, Planjava and Brana.

A scree slope.

Somebody was bored. :)

Grintovec in all its glory.

It was still windy at the Kokra Saddle.

The view towards the Kamniška Bistrica valley, which was filled with a mixture of smog and fog, was magnificent

We saw a girl in only a T-shirt! I would have frozen to death.

What can I say? It was such a beautiful day that staying home would have been a major sin for me. The sun, the exhilaration, the views, it's what makes me want to climb mountains again and again.

More photos here.