Category Archives: Travel Musings

Kurentovanje, Slovenia’s Carnival

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

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Although relatively well known in Europe as Slovenia’s biggest festival, I had no clue what kurentovanje was until I started researching my trip to Slovenia in early January. The photos alone prompted me to book my accommodation: huge groups of people running down the street in full body sheepskin costumes, horns and feathers, wearing bells and shaking their groove thing to ring them.

Masks waiting for their wearers in Ptuj.

Masks waiting for their wearers in Ptuj.

I had to see this in person.

So on Saturday, February 10 I arrived in Ptuj, Slovenia’s oldest city, home to a castle, famous spas, Slovenia’s oldest wine cellar and kurentovanje.

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Brief Update and BIG Announcement!

24 Sunday Feb 2013

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Sorry I’ve been so absent the past few days.

I’m on the final leg of my huge Eurotrip and am trying to soak up as much Berlin as possible before flying home on Thursday morning (and by home, I mean the great New York City, not my hometown but a place I feel very much at home).

I can’t wait to eat in NYC, and try my luck again at the show lottery (seriously, I’m gonna get those front row seats to Book of Mormon at some point!) and hang out with some of my favorite people!

I'll definitely be going back to Maison Premiere for some oysters and absinthe while in Brooklyn!

I’ll definitely be going back to Maison Premiere for some oysters and absinthe while in Brooklyn!

So far, I’ve been to a bunch of museums, wandered around Kreuzberg (I even used some Turkish there!), took myself to the movies (saw Django Unchained–nice one, QT, nice one) and have eaten my very first currywurst! (SO. GOOD. More on this later).

Look forward to more posts about Turkey, Slovenia, Germany and more in the coming weeks!

Will be posting soon about the coolest carnival EVER in SLOVENIA!

Will be posting soon about the coolest carnival EVER in SLOVENIA!

From NYC I’ll head up to Boston to see some family & friends, as well as do an Irish 5k in Sommerville! Ireland, I’ll never leave you! 😉

Then, I”ll be back in sunny Tucson for about a month before heading out on another GRAND adventure: Costa Rica!

Here’s my big announcement! **cue drum roll**

That’s right, I’ll be going to Costa Rica for about 7 weeks, and will be using that time to write the next Go! Girl Guides guidebook! Stay tuned for my postings from Costa Rica, and be sure to find Go! Girl Guides on Twitter, Facebook or add it to your blogroll. Better yet, buy one of their amazing guidebooks (Mexico, Thailand and Argentina currently available) on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble!

For now, I’ll just say that although I have had the time of my life on my travels so far, I will be really glad to be home for awhile. I’ll let you in on those reasons in the coming months.

Hope everyone’s doing swell, and remember: if you like Bumblings of Miss Button here, don’t forget that I’m also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

 

10 Things I Learned in Salzburg

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

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For most tourists who visit Salzburg, the allure lies in its reputation as being the city of Mozart’s birth and upbringing, as well as the home of the original Von Trapp family (you know, the ones from The Sound of Music).

Rock me, Amadeus! Street art in Salzburg.

Rock me, Amadeus! Street art in Salzburg.

As such, much of the sightseeing I did was somehow related to both of these things, and let me tell you: I did not know a lot about either of them! All of this info is probably even on their Wikipedia pages, but I don’t really troll that for this sort of thing, so it was exciting news to me!

Which is funny considering a) how much Mozart I sang growing up and b) the fact that I regularly sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” in the shower for most of my high school years, having looked up all the lyrics and memorized them for that specific purpose…

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Oh, Tucson: Crazy Small World Travel Experiences (So Far)

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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The world is a small place. And it gets smaller as I meet more and more people across it. Here are some crazy small world experiences I’ve had in my travels…

View of the clouds

4. Prague, Czech Republic

My hometown is one of those places where you can play 3 degrees of separation from practically everyone in it. Even on the road. I found this to be true just this weekend in Prague on a free walking tour. I started chatting to a girl by me and it turned out SHE LIVED IN TUCSON. AND HAD DONE THE SAME STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM AS I HAD.

I could reference Bisonwitches and Orvieto in the same breath. We ended up hanging out for the rest of the weekend in Prague, and plan to grab a drink again when we’re both back in the Old Pueblo.

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Favorite 5: Things I Did in Slovenia

15 Friday Feb 2013

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I just finished my first trip through Slovenia, and I have to say: I am impressed. Seriously. For a country so small, Slovenia has a lot to offer, and I can’t wait to go back to explore it more in the spring or summer when it’s a bit easier to get to some of the other sights!

So, here are five of my favorite things I did when I was in the lovely country of Slovenia.

5. Getting lost in Ljubljana

When people say a color is the new black, they’re always lying. But when I heard someone say once that Ljubljana is the new Vienna, I was intrigued to see whether that held water.

This was the Slovenian poet who penned their national anthem. This square is where everyone meets up!

This was the Slovenian poet who penned their national anthem. This square is where everyone meets up!

It does. It has the same architectural charm, the same winding streets, the same cafe culture. But Ljubljana has its own distinct personality, and because it’s still so undiscovered by many tourists, it’s a total hidden gem. I loved walking along the river, admiring all the funky and chic cafes, and wishing I could spend more time there!

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7 Turkey Travel Tips

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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I just spent 6 weeks in Istanbul, and was there for almost a month back in August. Although I’m certainly no expert on the city–only a true Istanbulite could say that, I think–I definitely learned at least seven things about life and travel there.

Some of these are things I wish I had known before I went; others are tips from fellow travelers and ex-pats. They’re pretty basic, but I hope they’re helpful!

A (relatively unflattering) self-portrait at the incredible Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

A (relatively unflattering) self-portrait at the incredible Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

1. Carry a photocopy of your passport with you, especially at night. I don’t mean in your luggage, I mean on your person/in your purse/wallet. Police do make stops and checks, especially if you are in a car at night, and you can get in trouble if you don’t have this. Be sure you know where your physical passport is at all times in the unlikely event that they ask to see the original.

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On Visiting a Natural History Museum with a Bio Major…

11 Monday Feb 2013

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This is from the British Museum of Natural History, not the one in Zagreb, but you get the idea: skeletons!

This is from the British Museum of Natural History, not the one in Zagreb, but you get the idea: skeletons!

This is what happens when you visit the Croatian Natural History Museum with an evolutionary biology major with a specialty in anatomy who happens to be, generally speaking, an enthusiastic guy:

You will have your mind pummeled by facts. For example: you can tell whether an animal had chomping capabilities (or chomped often) by the presence of a sagittal crest in its skull.* 

You will learn that muscles need more surface area to attach (or something), which explains a bunch of stuff related to identifying flightless birds.*

You will wonder how anyone could remember so much after years of not studying it and earning a master’s degree in something completely different.

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Our Trip to The Museum of Broken Relationships

10 Sunday Feb 2013

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As Boris and I were wandering around Zagreb, we kept seeing the well marked signs directing visitors to the local museums. There were the usual: museums for modern art, theatre, ethnography, natural history.

But the one that caught my eye over and over was The Museum of Broken Relationships. What the heck could that be?

Turns out, I really didn’t do any research on Zagreb before our visit. If I had, I would have known that this museum had won awards for most innovative museum in Europe and had started as a touring exhibit. Its collection grew from town to town, until finally it was decided to create a permanent home for it in its birthplace: Zagreb.

So what could possibly be on display at such a museum?

Well, a lot of things. The museum exhibits mementos from past relationships; not all were romantic, although most were. Not all were break-ups, but most were. Each item had an explanation of its significance written by the owner who donated it. Provenance ranged from Bloomington, Indiana, to Kilkenny, Ireland (love you, Kilkenny!) To Manila, Philippines.

For example, one of my favorites was a clever collection of air sickness bags (don’t worry, they were unused), remnants of a long-distance relationship that didn’t make it.

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3 Things I’m Glad I Acquired

07 Thursday Feb 2013

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In the process of packing...you gotta fit ALL THE THINGS!

In the process of packing…you gotta fit ALL THE THINGS!

I recently wrote an article for Trekity about how to pack for all four seasons in a carry-on. 

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how important it is for a long-term traveler to be able to part with clothes or other items in order to keep a diverse wardrobe. That’s not a big deal for some people, but after three months of wearing the exact same clothes all the time–and starting to brace myself for winter–there were a few things I had to get rid of in order to make room for the colder seasons.

Other than the stuff I’m super happy I had with me so far, here are the top three items I’m happy to have added to my suitcase:

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Why the Arts Are Important: Thoughts from a Protest in Zagreb

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

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This morning, after our second day in a row of bućnica for breakfast at Slastičarnica Trakoščan, which you should TOTALLY eat at if you are ever in Zagreb, (Look for Hotel Dubrovnik, and it’s on the street facing that next to Profil Mozaik) we wandered to the Croatian National Theatre.

At first, it seemed like a normal day...

At first, it seemed like a normal day…

Croatian National Theatre

Front of the theatre in Zagreb, Croatia.

As we approached, we noticed a handful of reporters and some people setting up microphones and wondered what was going on. We decided to take a lap around the building, since we couldn’t go inside. By the time we got back to the front, a small crowd had amassed, with a group of people holding and waving signs.

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