January 2019
Have you ever played that game “Never have I ever?”. Well, for the first time in my life I am doing something I have never done before.
“Never have I ever…visited the same country back-to-back”.
This all changes this week. If you have been following my blog, you know that I went to Croatia last May to celebrate my birthday. Croatia was absolutely amazing and I just don’t think it is possible for me to ever get enough of that country. So, imagine my excitement when my friend, Dan, reached out to me to see if I would be interested in doing a winter photography trip to Slovenia. Heck yea!
I am sure you are now asking the question. “If you are going to Slovenia how are you visiting Croatia back-to-back?” Simple. The Ljubljana, Slovenia airport is so tiny that you can’t get there directly from the US. So, where is the closest international airport, you ask? Zagreb, Croatia! …and don’t think for a second that I wouldn’t try to soak up a little more of the Croatian culture before heading to Slovenia.
In light of that, Dan and I are spending the first 3 days of this trip in Croatia. We are going back to Plitvice National Park where we hope to get some shots of the waterfalls that have hopefully frozen over a bit with a light dusting of snow. It’s a pretty tall order to ask for perfect photography conditions but I’m bringing my good luck charm in Dan! Pretty much every single trip I have ever been on with him we have always had excellent photography conditions.
- Go to the east coast to photograph Fall Color – BAM! Some of the most vibrant trees I have ever seen.
- Go to Fairbanks, Alaska to photograph the elusive Northern Lights – BAM! An amazing display almost every night.
So, although it is a tall order for what I’m asking for in Croatia, I am hopeful that my good luck charm will pull through again. If not, I’ll still forgive him because – hey – I’m in Croatia!
As an aside, and just so you know, at this point, there is a running joke that the only time I travel with Dan is when we go to some place cold. Dan is very quick to remind me that it was actually me that started this trend when I was looking for a travel companion to go with me to Antarctica in 2008. The tally of cold destinations is as follows:
- Antarctica – the coldest place on the planet!;
- The East Coast of the US to photograph the Fall Color where the mornings were 20 degrees and we had to scrape the frost off of the car windows with our hotel key cards;
- Fairbanks, Alaska in February to photograph the Northern Lights where some days it got down to as cold as -40!;
- Iceland which technically was their summer but was still cold and we were bundled up in multiple layers every morning;
- Zimbabwe in June. Do you know when winter is in Zimbabwe? June!
- …and now Slovenia in Winter!
What’s in store for Slovenia? I’m not really sure. I am going in with an open mind but hopefully I will be able to get some amazing winter shots of the beautiful mountains and the area surrounding Lake Bled. …and if we have some time, a little skiing too since there is a ski resort just a few miles away!