2024

The year 2024 was generally a pretty big wilderness. Because I finally fully understood the phrase that had been driving me crazy for 3 years - "one child, no child" :) It's become clear to me that only parents of more than one kid will understand this, however, I'm very careful now with saying this phrase so I don't piss off others. So how did it go? With the arrival of Jonah, we had a couple of months to ourselves to kind of get everyone settled in. There was a little bit of initial sibling jealousy to contend with, balancing daily routines, work commitments and Nina's nursery, so we preferred not to plan any major events in the winter. Even so, it made for some great long weekends at least here in the Czech Republic, e.g. around Pribram.

Central Albania: Vlora, Berat and return to Tirana

As I promised, after northern Albania, I finished the continuation of our Albanian trip, this time focusing on the central part. While planning, the coastal Vlora (although it may fall more in southern Albania, but never mind) and its surroundings made its way onto the itinerary, plus of course the beautiful Berat, which I was really looking forward to. After that we had to catch our flight back to Tirana, but on the way we still managed to stop in the not so well known lake area of Belsh. The capital as such didn't appeal to us much, so our program there was more limited to just hanging out at the playgrounds :) So let's go into some details...

Gdansk: perfect weekend trip

Introducing my discovery this year! Sometime in the summer, I came across photos of this city somewhere on social media and liked it so much that I even added it to my wish list. When I stumbled upon tickets a few months later with nice departure/arrival times and a good price, there was no waiting around. Probably a sign or something :)

Northern Albania: Kruje, Shkoder, Theth

In the introductory article about Albania I have traditionally discussed general information such as flights, car rental, accommodation or how to pay here. I've also thrown in our complete itinerary, the first part of which = NORTHERN Albania, which we'll look at in a bit more detail today. So let's see what you should definitely not miss in this area, ladies and gentlemen - Kruje, Shkoder and Theth.

Albania: practical info + itinerary

To be honest, Albania wasn't my dream destination, but in October we needed to soak up some more sun and the tickets were pretty good, so we just gave it a try. I was even more surprised at how incredibly diverse this country is. Sea, mountains, lakes, canyons, cities, monuments... I just didn't know what to do! In the end, I somehow got the hang of it (see itinerary section below) and it turned out to be a great week just to our liking. So if you're interested in general info about Albania like how to get there, how much money to prepare, what the transport is like or where is worth a trip, you've come to the right place and keep reading :)

The best trips in Rügen

I've had this part of Germany in my sights for quite a few years and this year the planning finally started to take some more concrete shapes. But when people in the area asked us where we were going, we encountered two types of answers. One group didn't understand what we were going to do there, it was so windy! And the other didn't even know what Rügen was, let alone where it was. Actually, I understand... most people just imagine a summer spent by the sea = the sea in the south! But Rügen is in the very north of Germany, and the Baltic Sea washes over it on all sides. It is in fact Germany's largest island, and I will now try to summarize why I think it is definitely worth your attention.

Berlin: what not to miss + where to go with kids

So bye Berlin, see you again! You were exactly how I imagined you - lively, vibrant, full of culture, history, interesting places and good food... especially because you don't only have schnitzel and wurst on the menu :)

Berlin became our 3 day stop to dilute our trip to Rügen, and although I wasn't sure if we could all enjoy and not survive in such a big city (Nina almost 4 yrs, Jony almost 1 yr), my fears quickly dissipated. After all, little ones don't exactly appreciate museums about the war do they. However, it turned out that there is certainly no shortage of children's entertainment either. That's why at the end of this article I'll give you some tips on places you shouldn't miss if you come here with children.

5 Slovenian trips completely FREE

In my first article about Slovenia I focused mainly on the most popular places - lakes Bled and Bohinj + Vintgar Gorge and Peričnik waterfall. All beautiful, of course, but let's face it, often under a huge influx of tourists in high season. Which in turn means higher prices for services (accommodation, food, parking...) than anywhere else in Slovenia. So for those who don't want to push through the crowds anymore, or who would like to save a bit and not pay any entrance or parking fees, I've put together an article with 5 tips for trips that won't cost you a penny! So which ones are they?

First time in Slovenia: 6 days itinerary

We've been packed for Slovenia (literally) several times, but always some illness or injury got in the way. This year, however, we hopefully finally pushed our bad luck in this destination and saw for ourselves what everyone sees in this relatively small country. And that there's really a veeeeery lot to see! I can already say for sure that we will definitely come back here, because I have XX more trips planned, besides this famous (and so beautiful) base that we did now, which I will share with you in the following lines.

TOP trips in Schladming area

Austria is our faithful constant, where we always like to return. Even with children, our opinion hasn't changed, perhaps on the contrary, because it's really hard to find a more babyfriendly destination within easy driving distance. This year our main destination was Slovenia (article here), but to make the trip a bit more challenging, we spent 2 days in Austria on the way there + 2 days on the way back. And the choice for 2024? SCHLADMING!

10 stops along the route Castelsardo-Cagliari

In the previous article 8 places not to miss in the west of Sardinia, we have broken down the itinerary to about half of it, and now we continue our Sardinian beauty tour. We'll start in the north in the town of Castelsardo, and then slowly (not the fastest way!) make our way back south to the capital, Cagliari, from where we'll be departing. Wondering what there is to do along the way? Or do you think that Sardinia's hinterland has nothing to offer? :)

8 places not to miss in western Sardinia

In my first article about Sardinia I focused on general info like how to get there, where to rent a car, where to stay and what to taste. I also included our complete itinerary at the end, which I'll go into a bit more detail now. Today we're going to look at places on the west coast of Sardinia that I think you should definitely not miss + the first two tips are more from the southern part, because we were starting from Cagliari and we needed to make more stops along the way :)

Sardinia: what can be done in a week?

We will certainly not forget this holiday, of course, in a good way. It was the first one we spent like a full pack - with Nina (3,5y) and Jony (6m), from which most people concluded that we would go to a hotel and then make a few trips from there. Actually, I've turned this idea over in my head a few times, but... my more adventurous self kind of took over :)