My Story in Dubai

you know that kind of trips you didn´t even thought of, like the destination was not on your bucket list but you went and it was amazing? That´s my story of Dubai. Though I wanted to write this blog already weeks ago, I just got in front of the computer now, in a bar on Bali :)

After 2 years of living in Germany and the last year being the toughest year in my life, I just knew that I urgently needed a break. Like a real break. If possible, in a totally different environment. As my friend from Dubai asked me when am I coming to visit them, that was it! :) The Universe sent me exactly what I needed. Thank you for that!

I will not describe how the sight seeing and the must sees were. My story is that I was privileged to hang out with the "locals" so I got to see their way of living, if I can say that. Quite a lot of things were going on exactly in the time of my staying there. But since my whole trip was in the spirit of being thankful, I should also write about things I really appreciated and was grateful for :)

1.) Friends of 9 years: I met Iztok in 2008 in Ljubljana. Almost neighbours. 9 years is a long time. They know a lot of your jokes/sayings and history when you were like very young :) In no hotel a paper like this would be waiting for you :) It´s written: "Nena #from Novo mesto to Munich, #from Munich to Kijev, #from Kijev to Dubai. Welcome." I arrived in the morning, totally exhausted and first went to bed for 10 hours :)

 2.) New friends: woman talk and walk on the beach, roadtrip to Abu Dhabi. Nastja was probably the best company at the moment. It´s not hard to exclude things at home when you are having that kind of fun :)Another interesting person, new friend, I met at the airport and we flew together from Kijev to Dubai. Talking for hours about all the possible topics, from philosophy, psychology, to movies I could not believe when the crew said that we are landing in Dubai in the next minutes! :) On the picnic I met girls from Slovenia with whom I spent the whole next day. So I am also thankful for this day full of laughter. It was like Sex in the City 3 or 4, hehe :)

3.) Picnic in the desert / sandstorm: the Slovenes in Dubai celebrate the 8th of February, our big national holiday, in the desert. They prepare a picnic and read the poems. What a luck for me, to experience even this. Seeing how cars like Mercedes are being rescued out of the send by a jeep. I saw somewhere in Dubai "Life is too short to drive a boring car." I guess the jeeps are considered not to be boring, hehe. Also our prime minister was there and we went to this meeting in some fancy golf place. But since he was my professor, it was not the first time I saw him :D Oh, I should not forget the sandstorm while we were driving in the city!

Rescuing cars out of the sand is like nothing special there. My friend in the jeep, picture taken by me :)

4.) Extremely friendly people/staff: that was such a balsam for my soul. Sales people at the groceries talk to you, smile at you. In a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi, where I was waiting for my friend in some book store, the salesman came to me and talked with me for about 20 minutes. Not intrusively, not at all. He just asked where do I come from, what I am doing in Abu Dhabi and recommended me couple of books. And then I recommended him couple of books :) I miss this attitude at home. Where people would take time for each other, and not being seen as just a number. The guy at the swimming pol (they have a swimming pool in front of their apartment building! :) was even cooler. I asked him to take one picture of me but he took his task very seriously and did a real photo shooting, hehe :) 

Chilling in the pool 

5.) Universe: so, these was my experience of Dubai. Somehow it was in the spirit of the Universe and love. And being grateful for exactly this trip, at this time and at that place!

“I was born to join in love, not hate - that is my nature.” This quote by Antigone came to my mind after the day in the desert. 

"Follow your soul, it knows the way."

What were your passions when you were 10 years old?

Oscar Wilde once said: "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."    When you look back on your life, what did you once love to do but somehow forgot about it later on? Which interests/hobbies and passions did you have as a 10 year-old kid? I think we knew pretty well back then who we were. At least I did. I was in love with reading, badminton, playing piano and inline skating. Only my skates went everywhere with me. Of course I discovered also later activities that make me enthusiastic: bike and hiking. In my best days 100 km per day were a piece of cake. I lived for cycling. And I liked to said that I am a person of many interests. But anyway, it can happen very fast that you simply forget about your passions. You forget about yourself. Searching for a job or working 9-18 for example. It´s scary, how fast one can become a "soon is weekend again" zombie! Additionally being in a new environment, where you first have to organize your life. And there you are, asking yourself what it is, that makes your soul dance. 

Hiking in Bavaria

Last summer I started playing piano again. What an irony, we even had a pianino in our living room, but somehow I haven´t played it since ages. Starting playing again was so amazing, I felt so alive again! Our brain is such a remarkable thing: the songs I played ages ago, are still there. People don´t say without a reason that piano is the most romantic instrument :) At the same time I began playing badminton again. Similar feelings. As if that voice would say to me: "That´s it. Why did you even stop?" Recently I have even learned some basics of squash. Reading is again frequently on my schedule. Oh, and hiking. What a perfect getaway in a big city! Even more exciting in snow. If I would have to choose 2 coolest things in Munich so far, they would without a doubt be skating through the city (also to work :) and ice skating on a frozen lake.
I believe we often forget that we only have couple of decades on this planet and that we should express ourself as much as possible. No matter what is going on in our life at some particular moment. Because retrospective, days like these are the ones that make us alive. And our souls sing. :) Do you also have some passions you forgot about? You should go do them! 

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

Home sweet home

Last weekend I spent at home, after 7 months I was again in Slovenia. I know, way too long. Now I decided to go home more often! I believe everyone who has been living abroad for a longer time, knows this feeling when you cross the border and hear your language again. But this time I fell in love with our country on a totally different level. I was impressed by literally everything :) Drinking coffe on a cosy balcony of my friend vith the view on the church and forest (I think I mentioned 3 times what an idyll they have :)-take a look at the picture below and you will know what I am talking about, cycling on my dear tracks, looking at all the forests and hills on the way. I said to my mother, how much life our street at home has. She asked: "How do you mean it?" I responded: all of these animals around, not only our dog, but also anmals from our neighbours, everything is so green and cozy." Hiking with the girls an a saturday morning and cycling to the next place near my hometown in the afternoon. On the way meeting a guy for a drink and realize how relaxed and funny slovenian guys are! I think that guys in my region were just borned with this attitude :D Like, everyone is relaxed and funny. If I would have to describe slovenian guys, I would mention this. And that they are extremely sporty, of course :) In the nord everyone is hiking and in the south everyone is cycling, including me :)

Sunday idyll

I am currently located in Munich, before that I lived in Ingolstadt. I said that life in Bavaria can be nice and cosy (they claim that it is the best place in the whole country to live :D ). But Slovenia is in my opinion the definition of cosiness and beauty. Couple of times I was asked in Germany, if I am thinking about moving back to Slovenia someday. I replied that this is not the plan, so probably not, but also that you should never say never. When you have a partner somewhere else, of course you are not thinking about going back. You are thinking about staying with him there. Well, now I also changed my mind about this. Now I know that I am a person for cosy places, so Slovenia is a perfect place. And if happens that I get a nice job at home someday or love brings me home, who knows how I would decide and what I would do :)

My passion, cycling <3

I also understand now better people, who say that they don´t wanna move to some other city because of a job. Being flexible has its price. The last 2 years I was really flexible, in Austria and Germany. But also this can change by time.
Three days always go by too fast. Driving back to Munich I mentioned my impressions. We were all Slovenians, living in Munich. The driver said: "Well, you are the first one after a long time, who is saying something positive about our country." 
They don´t say Home sweet home for no reason, right? :) Place where you are again you :)

The feelings and relationships nowadays

The events in the last time and life in general made me think again. We live in the time of the so called crisis of values. Also when it comes to relationships. So many of them fall apart, because people just give up. Furthermore, I really think that every human being should have a basic knowledge about psychology! Because people nowadays so often complicate and destroy beautiful relationships just because they are not able to express and talk about their feelings. I had luck, I have to say. At the colledge I chose psychology as a subject. It was not just a subject, I am convinced I had one of the best professors in the world. She did not only had a PhD in  Law, but also a PhD in psychology. She could gave us an example from a real life for literally every sentence she mentioned. (if anyone is still doubting about the level of the slovenian colledges-let me tell you, they are on a high level!) And somehow I still have a feeling that I studied psychology and not law actually :) I remember, that I held a speech about feelings and this topic to some of my former boyfriends. And they have always listened to me with an interest :D

What is sad nowadays in my opinion is, that (so many) people are emotionally illiterate. By this I mean, that they do not know or are not able to express their feelings. People simply don´t know, that they will not feel the butterflies, or in other words-be on a honeymoon for their whole life. No, you for sure will not be! The first phase of a relationship is called infatuation. It is a short feeling, which normally lasts about 1,5 years and is very intense. After that, people develop the "real" feeling, which is called love. This phase is not intense anymore, because you see the other one through the "real" glasses and lasts long(er). This means, that some people think they don´t love their partner anymore, because the butterflies are gone. Yeah right! If it would have been so, then every couple would break up after the honeymoon phase! So, it is just the matter of if one is able to develop real feelings or not. This can happen after 1,5 years or after 25 years of marriage. It is sad in every case. Imagine a family with 3 children (more or less already adults), when all of a sudden the man decides that this is not love anymore. Like out of nowhere. Though you have 4 people, who would be prepared to discuss the situation, talk about it and nevertheless suggest and try to find solutions. But one is out of some reason just not prepared or even worse, able to talk about it. We are talking about people and relations here, not about things! And when it comes to problems and crisis, people just give up. Because it´s easy to give up. But they are not aware that crisis are only an opportunity to come stronger out of them. An opportunity to take things to a higher level! There are people, who, after facing some crisis, found out, that this is a relationship of their lives!!
Even harder, when one has knowledge about the topic and is willing to do his best, but there is just no feedback on the other side. And also the most beautiful fairytales in this world fall apart. Just like this, from today to tomorrow.
I read somewhere the following quote: "People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used." Maybe not exactly used, but really far away from it is not.
More readiness for a constructive discussion, please. We only have this one life, which is short!

The best years

As long as I remember, I believed that the 20s are the best years in ones life. Parties, studying, no real obligations. This definitely changed this year. To be more particular, in June/July, soon after my 30th birthday. I somehow got a new perspective of life. Things, that were fuzzy not long ago, suddenly became clear. My perception of life changed, I know exactly what I want in life and what is really important.
Probably also living abroad since 2 years contributed a lot to this state of mind. In fact, all the experiences, people, challenges that life put on my way. All the job interviews, difficulties when trying to speak german on a level of your mother tounge. Not easy, especially when you have to talk to the professionals about the specific topics.
A feeling that you have never been stronger in your life and that you could survive anything. Literally. Abroad you are on your own, there are no "connections" or B Vitamin which is extremely popular in Slovenia. You have to be a fighter. And work hard. Work hard for things that were self-evident at home, which you reached easily. Like someone said already: you feel like a child, who is learning again how to express himself. And when already finding your way home in a new city is a challenge! New city, new country, hard language. Maybe even 2 new cities, because it can happen that your partner lives in another city. And again you have to coordinate, organise your life in a new dimension.

You get aware of your own value. The way you have gone. All the ups and downs. Life would for sure have been easier by staying in a comfort zone. I guess.
You are more than ever interested in the intelligent conversations. Conversations with the depth, about life, psychology, philosophy. Conversations that fulfill you.
You realize that your job is just a job. A duty, which you have to do on a daily basis to be able to survive. To be honest, I feel sorry for people whose sense of life is work. Shortly before dying, nobody regreted that they didn´t have a good house or car. People regreted that they worked too much and didn´t enjoy life and spend enough time with their beloved ones.
Family: when the visits reduce to 1 or 2 times per year, you see them differenlty. Seeing them is a special occasion, an extraordinary weekend, which always goes by too fast. Seeing your sister after almost one year for 24 hours makes you realize what a wise woman she became. And you talk til 1 a.m. because you have to discuss all the wisdom of the world :) You realize that family is the only constant which will always be there, though the members can be located in 3 countries. When things are not self-evident, you start to really value them.
You feel that you have stories to tell, lessons to forward on someone. Maybe on your (future) kids.
It all starts and ends with the family and with the feeling of coming home. Of being arrived. And if on the way you meet the guy of your life, you have everything. <3

Just some thoughts about homeland

The last 15 months I have (more or less) spent abroad, to be more concrete: in Austria and Germany. Two days ago I came home after 3 months. Driving to Munich I talked with a guy from Germany and as I mentioned that I come from Slovenia, he said: "It must be beautiful there, right?" "Yes, it is. Have you ever been there?" "No, I just drove through Slovenia on my way to Croatia." This is actually the most frequent answer I have heard so far from Germans. On the other Hand I met many People from other parts of the world, who said: "Yes, I have been there, it´s an amazing Country." Funny Thing :D
These days I had time to check some interesting stuff online, whatever caught my eye: "Best Pictures of Slovenia in 2015 from different authors, a new article with the title "Is Slovenia really the most underrated Country in the EU?",.. In this article the author wrote, that being at the Lake Bohinj, surrounded by ist mountains, was the most amazing Thing she has seen. She also posted a Picture of her, Standing at the lake. This reminded me of me, being at the Lake Achensee in Austria, which is also surrounded by mountains. Like her, I was thrilled with the lake. And seeing these professional photos, I think to myself: "Waw, what an incredible Beauty!"

Bled

So, like I already read some Quote, living abroad sharpens your sense of seing the Beauty of your Homeland. It makes colours more intense. Something like this :D It happened to me this autumn, when I went with my mum to the forest to pick up chestnuts. As we drove back home, it crossed my mind: "Amazing, how much forest! And all These small hills." Though I have drove there several times before. (By the way, did you know, that Slovenia is one of the most wooded countries in the EU? 60 % of its territory is covered by forest).
Or Ljubljana. I was never actually a fan of this City. Now I think it is a really cosy and cute City.
Mountains. When I lived in Austria, I was fascinated by them, but we also have them -almost in front of our nose :D I even climbed the mountain in Innsbruck, but have never been on Triglav (our highest mountain).
And Lakes. Being fascinated by them abroad, forgetting what pearls we have at home. In my opinion, the Lake Bled is a worldwide masterpiece! :)
So, yes-being abroad changes your mind. And in the next year I will try to explore more amazing places at home. Which should not be to hard, since we live in a small Country.
P.S. And I can´t wait for the Ski jumping to start tomorrow! I know it is out of the context, but I just had to write it :)

Finding new friends

Living abroad means that sooner or later you will have to find new friends. People to go cycling with, for a coffee, in other words: to hang out together. And somewhere you have to start.

One of the easiest ways to do this  nowadays is probably social media. First I checked the Events near the City on Couchsurfing. I found nothing relevant. So, I posted my own post called "Ich suche neue Freunde" (the title was "a Little for fun, a Little for serious" we would say in Slovenia) with a short description, that I would like to meet People to go cycling, inline Skating with. To be honest, I expected that maybe 3 or 5 People would write me. So, the Feedback really surprised me. About 30 People wrote me that they would like to meet, wether they commented the post or sent me private Messages. Guys and Girls.Writing me: welcome in the City, some recommendations what is cool to do in the City and of course, that they would like to meet. Really cool! (: Then I got an idea that it would be nice to meet all of them and so I created the Event. 9 People came (10 including me). I also created a Group on Facebook and that was it. Let the hanging out begin! (:




The place where we met

Already at home, before going there, I had a feeling that it will be fun. Especially because People in the couchsurfing community have this open-minded Spirit and are communicative. And exactly that is how it was, speaking 3 languages(: One guy even said that he has a friend from Slovenia here and will introduce us! (: We met at the City beach, where we chilled in the deckchairs and then later went to some Biergarten and Bürgerfest.

Some of them wrote me, that they can`t come to our Meeting, but would like to meet some other time. So, it Looks like it`s really easy to find new People/friends. And I´m really looking Forward to meet them! (: Or how Taylor Swift said: "I love making new friends and I respect them for a lot of different reasons."

Let's talk about...women

This is a theme that I had in my thoughts for a longer time, I just never took the time to write about it. Then I saw at the Sophia Bush's Instagram (one of the women I adore, by the way) a quote which I wanted to include in this writing. "Other women are not my competition, I stand with them, not against them." A philosophy that I can relate to. If I'm honest, if I had to choose, I prefer men against women. Why? Because men are simple, there are no dramas. Women on the other side can be good actors and they can pretend very good. A lot of them. You can be the most friendly and helpful person and yes-women Will not like you. The reason? Competition.

Long time ago I saw somewhere a thought, which goes like this: "If men like you, women Will hate you." A very simple thought, which in my opinion expresses the point. And there are people, that we didn't actually choose to be friends with but happens that we somehow have some connection with them. Friends, roommates from our partners. I remember my ex boyfriend once told me how his best female friend is jealous of me. I was Quite surprised and asked: "How do you know that?" He said: "She told me." Yes, women often decide that they simply don't like other women .More often that men would thought. Co-workers are a special category, about which I Will not write :D

Recently I watched an interesting show on the televison. It was an experiment, where they at work (or was it a job interview, I don't remember) they confronted 3 women who didn't know each other before. Theye were waiting for someone to come and tell them what to do next. While one of them, the one that arrived as the third one, was shortly away, the person came and gave them some instructions. This person also asked these 2 to tell that also to the third one who was not in the room at that moment. When this third woman came back, the other two intentionally (!) didn't tell her about this information. The same experiment they did with men. What happened there? The 2 men, who got the information, immediately told about it to the third men when he came back. Furtermore, the studies showed, that 2 women create an union,into which other women can not enter. It doesn't matter who she is, how she looks, how she behaves. Men on the other side accept every new member and make a connection with each of them. Interesting, I have to say.

So, yes..it's not easy to find (true) friends among women. That's why I'm happy when I meet a genuine woman, with whom I get a good feeling. But to be honest, they are rather rare. But that is why I appreciate them even more. (:

Why living in Innsbruck is cool (even if you are not a winter sports freak:)

Last year I decided to spend the autumn and winter in Innsbruck. Because I believed it would be cool. Actually I didn't really move, but rather my last visit turned into a loong staying here. Totally spontaneously :D Though I'm not a winter sports freak, but a total summer person (or Sommermensch in German :D). But living in city, where other people go for a vacation, can be really cool. So, here are my favourites:

1. MOUNTAINS: it can happen that you will end up living in a house, directly next to mountains, which means that you have the view on them from every corner of it. Since they are all over the place, the city for sure has some charm. I know, we also have mountains in Slovenia, but I have never lived next to them. I remember I once told someone that we live under the mountain and he asked: "What, how did you mean that? Underground?" That was funny :D But when you look at the picture below, you will know what I'm talking about (:

View from the house

2. MUNICH: this amazing city is just 160 km away from Innsbruck, how cool is that? (: Besides that, the rides (I'm talking about car sharing) are really frequent (a lot of students go home for the weekend) and  acceptable (if not even cheap). So, in November I spent every weekend in Munich. 160 km, about 1 hour and 40 minutes of driving and unforgettable memories. (: It's hard to imagine to do this when living in Ljubljana!

Sunday walk in Munich.

3. CHRISTMAS MARKET: Christmas Market in Innsbruck really is something special. And as I saw on some chart, it was actually listed as the cutest one in Europe. It starts quite early (on 15.11.) and ends in the first week of January. So, no surprise Glühwein was my favourite drink this winter.

Visiting the Christmas Market with my mother.

4. AIR + STYLE: this event is really popular here and I can say it was one of the best things I've seen so far. A snowboarding competition at the Bergisel, amazing music and atmosphere (although it was snowing the whole time) and besides that also Cro, whose concert was on my to do list, was performing here! (: 

One word: amazing (:

5. COOL POSITION: in other words-everything is quite close, also Switzerland. 290 km to Zurich means that you also have to go there (: But one more cool place I would recommend to see, while being here: Achensee, the biggest lake in Tyrol. Seeing the picture of it, I wanted to go there right away. I also visited Rattenberg, the smallest municipality in Austria (only 400 people live there-a bit of geography:). Though in winter, it was totally worth it! (:

At the Achensee, last weekend.

To conclude: if I had to describe my life in the last 3 months living here, it would be: I enjoyed life to the fullest! Or how Germans would say it: Ich habe das Leben voll genossen! (:

Mission: searching for a room in Innsbruck

It was the end of October. After spending quite a lot of time in Innsbruck since June, I got an idea that living here in winter could be a great experience. So it was time to find my own place. I had never had flat viewings in my life. Living in the same flat for 8 years in Ljubljana was cosy. Also when I gave my flat away, I had exactly 4 viewings, all in the same afternoon. But I can say I had luck, because the fourth couple was exactly the type of people you want to live in your flat (:

But searching for a room in Innsbruck is another story. The time I was searching was probably the worst possible: the colledge started and everyone was looking for a flat. People told you right away: "Yes, we have 20 or 30 (or more) candidates for our flat." Innsbruck is a student city and because of that a lot of them accept only students (cause otherwise, other roommates don't get a subsidy for their rooms). Another difficulty you might be dealing with is time. For example: you write them on Monday and they reply, that you can come next week on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Which is a problem if you work everyday till 6 p.m. And when you ask if you could possible come a bit after 6 p.m., they reply: "Ok, but please hurry up, because at 7 p.m. we already have another person coming." And yes, people here have interviews with their potential new roommates. They ask you everything possible. I remember a guy living here said that when they were looking for a new rommate in their flat, they had 40 people coming and they had conversations with each of them. I asked: "40? Isn't that a bit too much? Do you guys really have time and energy for all those people?" He said: "Yes, it's important to me with whom I will live." Another friend told me that his friend didn't find a room here, so he moved to some other austrian city. It's actually not that hard to believe that now. And another fact: it is an expensive city. Someone told me, that the rents here are higher than they are in Vienna.

So, having about 20 flat viewing on average is kinda normal here. I don't know how many I had, but I would say about 10 or 12. And sometimes it was fun. There was a guy which I met at two flats in the same afternoon. In one flat they had sauna, but was full with things. The girl said I can clear it and use it if I want to. Come on, if I had sauna in my flat I would be in it the whole time! :D So yes, you can hear a lot of interesting things while visiting these random people. One girl told me that their roommate moved away because the room reminded her too much of her ex boyfriend :D

Last but not least, it's not a bad idea to do some Couchsurfing, when having difficulties while searching and you actually don't know how (and when) things will turn out. 

So yes, it was exhausting, but at the end I found a really cute flat, located literally under the mountains which means we see them from every room. A guy living here in Innsbruck said while we were talking about some city: "They might have the view on the mountains, but we have them here." Actually I feel like I'm here on a vacation. A bit longer vacation (: 

The view from a living room. I call it magic (:

When breakups become more cruel

Twenty-something women (closer to 30 than 20): when I look at the girls of my generation, I see that a lot of them are married/getting children, when it looks like the majority of them is in a serious relationship. Others are either single or maybe they just ended a relationship. A relationship they thought it was the one. So, why do the breakups get more cruel?

Talking with a friend my age about our peers settling down (having children), we agreed that we are under no pressure because of that (in fact we still feel quite young), but I believe at this age we somehow start wanting things (=relationships) that lead somewhere. What I can't really say for men this age. It can happen that a woman thinks they are doing fine, while he likes her and enjoys being with her. But if their relationship ended out of nowhere, he'll be just fine with it, while she will feel it's a great loss for her. And that he'll just find/meet someone in the future, while she believes she was lucky to meet him and who knows if she will have that luck again someday. So, when women our age meet a person, who represents a package that fits us in all aspects, it's likely we won't feel need to meet/ be with other people anymore.  

I read somewhere (or maybe did I hear it) that (though every death is hard and sad) it's even somehow harder for the relatives when someone dies suddenly, in a moment (for example in a car accident) than when someone is dying for a longer time. Because in the second case  relatives have time to prepare themselves and the chance to say goodbye, while in first case this is not possible. I don't know about death, but I think something like this happens in relationships. That probably the most painful way of ending some story is, when you thought the relationship worked really good and had a future, but it ended in a moment, out of nowhere. A story in which there was no arguing, no cheating, where nobody felt estranged from another. So, the one person, with whom you could practically stay forever, in a minute becomes a part of your past.

And what about the famous bad timing thing? Well, I'm convinced it doesn't exist, At least not when two people who like each other are together. Because if you want to be with someone, you make an effort no matter what. And where there's a will, there's a way.

Charles Bukowski once said:"You have to die a few times before you can really live." But women in twenty-something (around 30) got to this point of our life during years. Years in which we gained lessons, knowledge, experience. So there comes a time when we are able to settle down if (in our opinion) the one comes around. So guys, keep that in mind when dating a girl from this group. Especially if she's a keeper! (:

Where can you meet the most interesting people?

When we were younger (and single) my friends and me thought that we will meet interesting guys in the clubs. Then you see  that it doesn´t work like this and is therefore more an exeption than the rule. :D

Now, years later and quite a lot of international interactions behind me, my list of top 3 ways/places where you (can) meet interesting people goes like this:

1.) Carsharing: definitely the most sociable way of travelling (especially if you are travelling alone). All of my drivers on long distances were talkative, so also the rides were cool. Actually I can´t stay quite (and I don´t get the people who do that), because you can find out so many interesting things this way. For example: my last driver and me found out that we have a mutual friend (who is not a Slovene and lives in Germany!). When he walked me to his place, this our friend was laughing, like: What are you two doing here together? What a surprise for all of us! :DWith my other driver I was later singing at the karaoke. (: To sum up: 3 really pleasant guys in the last 3 months. 3 new friends, not bad!

2.) Couchsurfing: I have been writing about this before. But once again: via this community I have met truly interesting people. Last week I was hanging out with a guy from Sweden which was so amusingly. A friend recently asked me how is this scene and how are people here like. I said that it´s like all these people are the same nation, because they are not typical representatives of their countries. So if for example some nation is known to be close-minded or not open for meeting new people, these couchsurfers for sure are not like that.

3.) Friends of friends: And  last but not least: friends of your friends. I think it´s very likely to find a cool co-speaker in this group. Yes, I know-it´s not easy for women to find/have true female friends, but hey-maybe you´ll meet some cool person at the babyshower party. :D Or you can meet a new male friend at your friend´s birthday party.

So, that was my top 3 list. A list of people/events/things that made my life richer in the last weeks/months. And how do they say: "To travel is to live?" (:

Where I left my heart

I fell in love again. Not with a man, with a city. It's like everyone has a favourite city, and to me that's Munich. I just don't know why it took me so long to actually go there. :D

The view from the balcony

My second visit. Staying at my new friend's flat on a famous street called Leopoldstraße. The building itself is amazing, but the view from the balcony at night is just breathtaking! It turned out that my host/new friend has a lot of friends from Slovenia who live in Germany. And as he said, he likes us because we are really cool and open people, just our language is strange. :D Hehe. A funny guy.

Dianatempel, Hofgarten (:

"Do you like to walk?" "Ja, sure!" He gave me a guidebook and the exploring began. Actually I just had to walk down this street for about half an hour to the city centre and on my way I say the sights. 

Walking down the street

Since I adore parks, the Hofgarten with it's Dianatempel was really charming! Even the taxies, all in the same colour, are so cool. And the architecture in general. Oh, and the Karlsplatz with it's fountain! (:

Odeonsplatz

An interesting question?

But the highlight for sure was meeting my former host who took me to the Englischer Garten. You know, when you are in a good company at the great place? (: It was already dark outside and I didn't see much, but we saw surfers in the Eisbach river. Oh, and seeing the bats while lying on the grass. :D

Karlsplatz

Eisbach

So many impressions for "just" an ordinary day in the city. After experiencing all these animations, you just can't go back home. At least not for some time. Oh, I also found an interesting quote: "Thomas Wolfe was right when he said that Munich was a German heaven on earth."

The view from a restaurant

A chain of decisions

Do you ever wonder why and/or how some things/events happen? Things that you didn't plan and look like a coinsidence.

Well, I don't believe that things happen by coincidence. I can't neither say that I believe in fate. But I believe in words which I read in the past: "Everything in life is as it should be." And that whole life exists of our choices, or better: decisions. But there's something which fascinates me: how do you find yourself in some place and how a chain of decisions (or actions) brings together two people (and by that I don't mean just a man/woman relation, but in general)?

I had an interesting experience in Austria 2 months ago (this time I was there for business not for pleasure). I was supposed to spend the night in some village, which I arranged already at home. Coming there I decided to take a look around and took a walk on the left side of the village. There I met a girl and we said: "Hallo." Soon I was trying to find my place and figured out that this might be hard since the house numbers weren't in a sequence at all. Then there came again the girl I met before. Great! I asked her if she could help me find that place and the next moment we were searching together. "Did you take a walk when we met?" She said: "Yes." "That was a short walk,ha?" She said something like: "Yoo!" To shorten the story: in the end I didn't stay there due to some misapprehension and was running to catch the girl again so I could ask her for some hotel there because I really didn't want to drive back to the city again. She made a call and said: "No problem, you can stay at my aunt's house." 

And there I was: spending the night in a cute wooden house with a woman my mother's age. My bed had been ready before, like she would be expecting some couchsurfer that day :D I said: "You have a really cute house, I would like to live like that someday." She said: "Oh, I don't like it. I want to move to Bali." Well..who doesn't? :D

My cute austrian room

Thinking about it later, there are some elements that fascinate me. How did this girl and me both find ourselves at the same time in that part of the village (or better: how I caught her there during her few minutes walk). And was I supposed to sleep over at her aunt's place already from the moment I arranged my place on? I know, actually it's just about spending the night somewhere, but I think things like that are quite often also at more important matters in life. Also at finding a partner. (:

The same day I saw some interesting quote in the city centre (of course it was in German) and it goes like this: "Life is more than the notion that we have about it."

A day with cousins

Last Sunday I spent with my 2 cousins. With one I often hang out, the other one (my only male cousin) I met just a few times. I think we sometimes act like a 140 kilometres distant place is on the other side of the world and that the whole procedure is needed to visit someone. And though our country is small, there are still a lot of places we haven't visited yet. So, it was time for some family gathering and discovering unknown parts of Slovenia. (:

The view with my cousins (:

After spending some time at the grandpa's house our cousin took us to Golte (a ski resort above Mozirje). He showed us the best view on the landscape, then to a renovated hotel (where we were staying in 4th grade) and from there we climbed to the reservoir and had a drink at the cabin. This lake was new to me. High away from the world, talking about life, relationships and other stuff. And you don't hang out with your cousins like the that everyday. 

At the revoir

Walking back down to our car we met a man from the cabin who served us-such a positive person. It was a short, but interesting convesation about life. He said: "But in the end you see, it's important just not to complicate things." I agree.    

The hotel. I think it looks cute (:

We agreed it was a quality spent Sunday. It was also time for some carpooling in which case it's good to have an assistant, who answers all the calls while you are driving (: With the last guy that was driving with us we also had a cool conversation and at the end he wanted to pay more. I said: "No,I'll take just as much as I wrote." He replied: "It's been a while since I have had such a pleasant ride." I think we should compliment things so honestly more often. Actually I think the world needs more of that! Not just that his words made my evening, I was in a cheerful mood even the next day. (:

The sunset on our way home

And the cousins? They are closer than we might think! (:

A girl travelling alone

In the last 2 months I've been abroad 4 times. Everytime alone, by carpooling and couchsurfing, well to be more exact: staying with people I met there :D Some people say that a girl who travels alone is brave, but I agree with Thomas Jefferson who said: "One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more."

A coincidence? My driver picked me up in Ljubljana and said: "Heey! We've been driving together before! But we were both passengers." I didn't recall that, so after he described our ride, I remembered. How small the world is! Well, this can happen only in Slovenia. :D A guy from Ljubljana, visiting his girlfriend in Austria. It was one of those rides when very soon you feel domestic with that person and 5 hours just fly by. When your co-speaker is extremely honest and open-minded, so you talk with him basically about everything. And when getting out of the car at the end you get a feeling that you have a new good friend. He said: "Damn, now you know too much about me!" :D Another 2 coincidences: he lived at the same street as where I was staying and one day I met him and his girlfriend in the city centre. I said: "I forgot to tell you, but you are really cool!" "Thanks, you are too!"

The Inn river

Innsbruck through my eyes: my second visit here. In the evening I took a walk alone, near the Inn river to the city centre. This area, where you can see those colourful houses looks really nice.

Next days were more animated: hiking, a students party in the meadow, seeing a cute place (Ambras castle) on our way there. There was also time to read a book/drink a beer on a balcony and to visit the shops and bookstores there (they also have Mango). (:

Hiking

The best soup in my life! (the right one) (:

Oh, and I ate the best soup and risotto in my life. The first one (Kartoffelsuppe) was on the top of a mountain, the second was prepared at home by guys. Mmm (:

The view on Innsbruck

The Ambras castle

On Sunday we had parliamentary elections at home in Slovenia (our professor won. I hope this will be a positive change for our messed up country), but here the main event was the FIFA World cup finale, which we watched at the Treibhaus.I'm not that into football, but watching it with guys from Germany was interesting. And I love Germany (:

At the Treibhaus

Selfie at the toilet

Travelling back home the next day from Innsbruck to München and from there to Slovenia with 3 guys was relaxed and we didn't talk much. We were all slightly tired: some because of exams and others because of parties :D

Sometimes we are not the same afterwards

June, my favourite month. Because I was born in this month, but this year I also did a trip in June. An unimportant decision, which looking in a retrospective, turns out to be important, or at least big.

Already on a motorway my heart plays a song (:

München: I traveled through this city for several times, but never actually stopped there. So I was planning to visit it last December and found a host, but plans changed and instead of then I somehow came to his birthday party 6 months later. Furthermore, we were born on the same day! (: Already while walking on their street I got a feeling that this is going to be a cool city. After staying at his place for some time and exploring the city centre on my own something happened in my head. I felt like this is a city where I feel really good, the city where I could and would like to live. 

Exploring the city centre

Being  a guest at the party was also an interesting experience. Watching a football match (Germany vs. Ghana) and later playing some games that I've never seen before: Flunky ball, Beer pong and Looping Louie. It's a fact that at this one party I met more interesting people that I would do somewhere else in a much longer time. And though I love my country, I realised here how small our everyday world at home is. And how much more is it out there. Though I was really looking forward to my trip to Austria, it was hard for me to leave this city.

Looping Louie

Innsbruck: an opposite from München. Staying at my friend's place, where you have a view on the mountains from the balcony, the kitchen and even from the bathroom. If that's not romantic! (: 

On a balcony

Here I did a mountain biking for the first time (with the real mountain bike and everything) to the Nordkette. While for cycling up you need to be persistent, downhill was harder for me. These rocks! :D But lying on the grass on the top, having nothing on my mind, just existing..that was a priceless feeling!

Lying on the grass

On a rainy day we walked through the city centre and since I was hanging out with a photographer, we spontaneously made some cool pictures. From one of them we made a postcard, which I think is a great idea an a personal way of sending postcards. I sent 2 to Slovenia and 2 to Germany (:

A walk in the city centre

On a rainy day

Nordkette

"It's true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names." 
And that's exactly how I feel now.

Cycling in Austria

Coming back home, my sister asked me:
"Where do you find all these guys?"
"On couchsurfing." Couchsurfing, babe! (: