Travels of 2015
2015 proved to be an awesome year travel-wise. I’ve been thinking about the structure of this post for a while now, and although I initially wanted to make a list of the best travel memories of this year, I couldn’t actually rank the experiences, so decided to showcase them in chronological order. You will recognize some places from the posts I’ve already written, and you’ll also see a couple which haven’t been covered on the blog yet. So without further ado, here are my travels of 2015:Â
Turda Gorge & Turda Salt Mine (Romania)
Date: 3rd of January / Duration: 1 day / With: Friends
A one-day escapade to the nearby city of Turda, where the 7 of us admired the Winter Face of the Turda Gorge and the amazing architecture of the salt mine.
Skiing at the Madarasi Harghita (Romania)
Date: 18th of January / Duration: 1 day / With: My Man
There’s a great chance that I’m one of the worst skiers in the World, but that didn’t stop me from falling (and sliding) on the awesome ski slopes of the Harghita Madaras in Romania.
Amsterdam, Muiden & Keukenhof (The Netherlands)
Date: 17-24th of March / Duration: 8 days / With: My Man, his Sister Reka & her husband Amine
In March we managed to visit Arpi’s sister Reka and her husband Amine, who currently live in Amsterdam. While there, we went to the Anne Frank House, the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens and also visited the awesome small town of Muiden and the stunning Keukenhof Gardens.
The Balkans
Date: 15-22nd of May / Duration: 8 days / With: a group of 50 people & great friends
This trip was one of the highlights of my travels, visiting underrated, off-the-beaten path locations in Southeastern Europe. We checked out a 500-year old bridge in Bosnia & Herzegovina, went rafting on the border of Montenegro and Bosnia, saw Kotor, Perast, Skadar Lake and went swimming in Budva, checked out the Macedonian capital, the Oldest Lake in Europe and the amazing city of Ohrid, checked out the city of a thousand eyes and the bunkers of Albania, went hiking in the Rila Mountains of Bulgaria and spent 2 days in Serbia.
Brasov & surroundings (Romania)
Date: 17-19th of June / Duration: 3 days / With: My Man
Yep, keeping up with my travels this year stops here, nevertheless I decided I’d show you a sneak-peek of the places we’ve been to in the second part of the year, which will soon be showed to you on the blog. Until then, here are a few pictures of our anniversary, when we did a bit of sightseeing in Brasov, and visited its surroundings, including Bran Castle and Village Museum, Rupea and Rasnov fortress, together with numerous Medieval Fortified Saxon Churches along the way.
Maramures (Romania)
Date: 12-13th of August / Duration: 2 days / With: The Parents
Because of a family illness we had to cancel our mini Euro-trip with my parents, but still managed to pull together a 2-day escapade to one of the most fascinating corners of Romania, Maramures. Although a bit fast-paced, the beauty of this trip was that we saw many places, including one of the tallest waterfalls in the country, 6 of the 7 UNESCO-protected wooden churches of Maramures and even went to the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta. I’ve written a guest post for Maria at Travelling Buzz entitled The Top 5 Attractions in the Maramures Region of Romania.
The Wonderland of the Nera Valley, Aninei Mountains (Romania)
Date: 24-26th of August / Duration: 3 days / With: Friends
Although we spent a day to reach this destination and a whole other to get back home, visiting the Nera Valley proved to be worth it. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it features serene landscapes, unique waterfalls, awesome gorges and turquoise lakes, so the 10 of us had a blast camping here. We explored the Nera Valley Highlights and enjoyed a nice view of the Famous Bigar Falls.
Retezat Mountains (Romania)
Date: 31st of August – 3rd of September / Duration: 4 days / With: Friends
You might think that climbing up steep mountains for 9 hours in one day carrying a backpack that weighs 12 kilograms is pure suicide. I must admit I never though I’d say this, but I would’ve made double the road to get to these places where we managed to get to on our short, but adventure-filled 4 days in the Retezat Mountains. Together with another couple with whom we traveled during the Balkan trip, I have seen the most beautiful landscapes ever, and can’t wait to see where we’re going hiking next summer with them!
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Date: 18-19th of December / Duration: 2 days/ With: My Parents
Even though we’ve lived in Cluj for 3 years, I realized the moment I was writing a travel itinerary for One Week Adventures that I don’t have any good photos of the city. Taking advantage of the fact that my parents were heading up there, we joined with the purpose of trying our new (first) Dslr camera, and take a few shots of the place which we called home for 3 years. Here’s what came out of it:
In conclusion, my travels of 2015 have been awesome. I’ve traveled a total of 32 days, visited 4 new countries and traveled through my home country extensively. And nope, I can’t pick a favorite travel memory, because all of them were special for different reasons.Â
As for 2016, all I can say is: BRING IT ON! Looking forward to the new destinations I’m planning on visiting abroad, and also to exploring new areas of my stunning home country, Romania as well!
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Sounds like you had an amazing year, I’m still jealous for that Balkans trip, haha. Seeing Amsterdam there made me remember how much I miss it – really need to go back one of these days. Here’s to an even better 2016! 😀
Don’t worry, the Balkans will wait for you! 😀 I think I’ll be back in Amsterdam at the end of 2016. And yes, here’s to another (hopefully better) year, filled with more beautiful places! 🙂
Looks like you had a great year! May 2016 be as good, if not better! Happy New Year! 🙂
Thank you so much Urska!
Happy new year to you too! May all your wishes, visions, plans and dreams come true, and may you manage to do everything you propose and plan for 2016! 🙂
I love seeing photos from Romania. The country is so unpopular but have so many cool places I would love to visit after seeing your pics!
I can’t wait for you to come to Romania so I can give you the best recommendations, and maybe even show you around! 🙂