Oh what a year this has been for travelling. I spent majority of time in Ljubljana, capital of my home country Slovenia, where I live. We had two long periods with restriction of movements between municipalities and some time with milder restriction of movement between regions, in total almost 5 months of lockdown. So it was a year of making different kind of records, like the lowest number of visited countries per year, only travelling in neighbouring countries of Slovenia and no new countries visited. It is true though, that it was nice exploring my back yard and visiting many places in Slovenia for the first time. Despite this being a difficult year, there are still some travel moments worth remembering.
1. Travelling done in 4 countries
Austria
Well before COVID-19 entered European continent and wearing a mask outside was considered an impossible situation, we had a ski day in cute Austrian skiing destination Petzen. I am sharing all the details of the trip here.
Croatia
Situation got a bit better in summertime and we took advantage of open borders to spend a few days camping by the seaside in Croatian Istria region. We visited cute cities Motovun, Poreč and Rovinj and checked out beaches at Peroj, Savudrija and Zelena Laguna Resort. We also stopped at viewpoint over Lim Channel.
Italy
When visiting Slovenian region of Goriška Brda, which is situated on the border with Italy, we stopped in Italian city of Gorizia for delicious espresso and a quick stroll around the old town. You can read more about it here.
Slovenia
For a few past years I always said I wish to visit more of my home country Slovenia. Well, in 2020 this wish definitely came true. But due to restriction of movement between regions and municipalities, I was limited also in exploring my mother land, so there are still some regions I wish to visit. However, this year I mainly explored Central Slovenia Region, western part of the country and I also spend a lot of time around Celje, where my and my boyfriend’s parents live. We did a lot of hikes in the area, for example around Dobrna via the Church of St. Nicholas and Resevna.
Central Slovenia Region
In Central Slovenia Region I did quite a few day trips and visited Spring of Kamniška Bistrica, Predaselj Gorge, Orglice Waterfall and Kamnik, Lake Podpeč with St. Anne Church, Polhograjska Grmada and Polhov Gradec Mansion, Rašica and Russian Dacha, Technical Museum of Slovenia, Vrhnika and springs of Ljubljanica river. I also hiked to Velika planina and Kamniški vrh. You can read all about my trips here.
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is also situated in the Central Slovenia Region. I had a lot of time for walks and hiked around Golovec, Rašica, Sv. Urh, Šmartna gora, Toško čelo and other hills, cycled along Sava river and stopped at Sava river beach. I also visited Ljubljana Zoo, Ljubljana Castle, Castle Fužine, Ljubljana Mosque and walked decorated city centre in Christmas time. One of the best experience this year was definitely gin tasting at the the Broken Bones Distillery. Of course I spend the majority of time at home in our flat, baking bread and sweets and trying out recipes from new cookbooks we purchased this year.
Western Slovenia
The western part of Slovenia has 42,5 kilometres of beach so it is a popular destination. I tried a few of gorgeous walkways on Slovenian coast and shared them all here. We also returned to Koper to see an open air theatre performance at Koper Theatre. West Slovenia is also the area with amazing mountains and the Triglav National Park. I spend a few days camping and exploring breathtaking Upper Soča Valley, you can check all my stops here. Between the mountains and the sea the best Slovenian wine growing region Goriška Brda is situated. I visited it for the first time for my 30th birthday and loved it there. Click here for all the details, including a visit to Sežana and Nova Gorica. In this part of Slovenia I also visited beautiful village Štanjel.
0 new countries visited
Since I actively started travelling at 7 years old, this was probably the first year that I did not visit any new countries. So my count is still at 48 visited countries, the same as at the end of 2019. But I did turn 30 this year, does this count for anything? 🙂
2. Most popular on blog and social media
Most popular blog post
Since more than a third of my readers are from Slovenia, it is no wonder that this year the most read blog post was my selection of 10 best off the beaten path destinations in my home country Slovenia. 🙂
9 best photos on Instagram
You can follow me on Instagram here.
Facebook post that reached most people
You can follow me on Facebook here.
3. Travel lectures
In the beginning of February my boyfriend and I shared our adventures in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with travel enthusiasts at Kamnik Library. We were surprised by how many people visited and loved answering all their questions about these amazing destinations in Central Asia.
For 2021 I wish you health and possibilities to move freely around the world as you wish.
