2012/07/15

Hrvatska! - the Croatia road trip

I'm going to share a piece of HRVATSKA with you! That means Croatia, the emerald-green paradise by the Adriatic Sea.

Relive the moments with me!

Yep, tell me about it! I call it turquoise therapy. :) And there's more.



These most awesome views can be seen at Plitvice Lakes National Park, the biggest national park in Croatia - also a UNESCO World Heritage spot. The most beautiful attraction on our journey I think.


So we made an unforgettable nine-day road trip with a group of friends (who started their voyage from Germany and Italy). The Republic of Croatia is... well, basically very many superlatives. I joined the crew in the capital Zagreb and my first actual stopover with everybody was at Plitvice. After that we drove over the windy mountains to the hot coastline and versatile island of Pag.




Spending nights in apartments around Croatia was quite cheap and I think also a very good way to experience the country. It was never too hard to find a place to sleep in.


We really enjoyed the landscape on the road and the next stop was at Zadar. The most memorable place there was the harbor where you can listen to the waves make organ-like sound while sitting on stairs that lead to the ocean (details here). It was SO beautiful and peaceful by night. Not much to capture with a camera though - unlike the luminous "solar system" sight, which was quite unique:


We saw churches from outside and inside. Also met some new personalities.


Off to a new city, Sibenik. During our stay we visited the Krka National Park, which was pretty similar to Plitvice but much smaller. Pics from Plitvice are more worth seeing I think.


The city of Sibenik welcomed us with occasional drizzle and extremely narrow streets. Our car suffered it's part with the latter fact... In all, the city is a traditional Dalmatian city with a long history.




Next the cozy city of Trogir with sunshine and bright blue sky. I made terribly good jewelry findings there! All the items in those little stores were handmade by three women in the Trogir area. I think I have to make a big jewelry post at some point. :D




Finally we reached our final destination, Split. It's hard for me to believe all this went by in only 9 days. There was over 700 pics in my camera so I tried to keep it somewhat small-scale here.


The trip consisted of many laughs and weirdnesses, which not only made me want to travel more, but also gave a reason to modify one's own travel plan. That I'm willing to do time and again.



2012/07/08

say hello to a fresh green student


...who also got slightly tanned in Croatia. I look angry wearing no sunglasses.


But to the actual news: next fall I will start the Degree Programme in Design at Metropolia University, majoring in Textile Design. So the wind blows from this angle from now on.

Deep Dish - Say Hello

2012/06/29

humor

Mr. Fertile
© Amanda Halonen

Here is a recent sketch of mine that became quite merry. I was drawing out on our front yard, having little laughs every once in a while. Watching the plants, birds and silly insects made me draw this.

2012/06/23

Midsummer - sun all night long!



Earlier this week I got a letter from Taik: no luck. But I'm glad to get so far - there wasn't many applicants left in the third part of the exam. I still have the opportunity of Metropolia, both graphic design and textile design.


Now it is time for the lovely midsummer party with a few lovely friends here in our lovely city! Life is good.




My friend had fun with her POLAROID camera. The real deal. ;)


Next off to celebrate the summer a bit more!