TRIP: WEEKEND IN BUDAPEST

Some of you may recall that a while ago I have visited Budapest, my very favourite capital city in Europe*! The trip was a bit fashion related- I have been styling one of my friends for a HIP-HOP concert of her duet. The concert was a success and we had lots of fun preparing as well as during performance itself.

Have you ever visited Budapest? If no, do it one day. It is totally worth it! Here are my reasons why I love Budapest so much:

TRAVEL TIPS: CHILLIN IN LITHUANIA

Lithuania was the last place I have visited during Baltic trip (impression from Heslinki are HERE, from Tallin HERE and from Latvia HERE)

How to travel there?
I was travelling to Lithuania from Riga and I have chosen EcoLines buses services (website HERE). Strength of it: internet connection via wifi is active regardless in which country you are. Weakness: seats are small, so not very comfy. Additional note: the bus did not come on time, eventhough there was no major obstacles on the way (35 min late).

What I have been doing there?
I have been visiting my friend at her place, in the village Kursenai, surrounded by wild forests and lakes.

The most amazing experience from this trip?
Waking up early in the morning to swim in the lake nearby. If you ever have opportunity to do so, try it! It is so refreshing and relaxing :D

What to eat in Lithuania?
Definitely try traditional dishes. It is quite fat, so do not overestimate you possibilities, but give it a try. Lithuania is full of restaurants serving so called- home food, which is fresh and made from local ingredients. I love the most: Saldus Kukurudzaj, soup served in loaf of bread, cooked white cheese.

Place to visit?
HILL OF CROSSES- one of sanctuary in Lithuania, name of it is self-explanatory, 'cos it is a hill with lots of crosses on it. The legend is sayin that, if you leave a croos there, it will bring luck to you and people you care about.
VILNIUS- capital city with beautiful art nouveau architecture. Unfortunately I had a bit of travel- issues when getting to Vilnius. After couple of hours I have been there I can definitely say I want to see more!

TRAVEL TIPS: BEAUTIFUL LATVIA

How to get there?

You can use either bus or plane depending where from you travel. The best option from Tallin was SIMPLE BUS (website HERE). Time of trip: approx 5 h. Strengths: comfortable bus, with touchscreens. Weakness: drivers did not speak english. 

If you travel by plane check Air Baltic airlines (website HERE).

Places I recommend to visit:

JURMALA- town with beautiful shore, couple of miles away from Riga. To get there from Riga use rail, which is neither cheap nor comfy, but fast and reliable (website HERE).

MEZAPARKS- a 'forest-alike' complex. It represents proudly the Nature of Latvia. Most of it, is still not spoiled with humans interference. 

CITY CENTRE OF RIGA- The city is an eclectic bomb mixing adorable Art Nouveau architecture with post-industrial and post-communists leavings. The best way to see it all is to walk through it. Route I took was from  Albert Street, through Bastejkalns Park, Brivibas Pieminieklis (with Freedom Monument- very important for Latvians), Central Market (opportunity to buy local food) to 11 Novermbra Krastmala, where on you can enjoy view of the Daugava river. 

Where to eat?

LIDO (website is HERE)- restaurant with open bar, where you can chose whatever looks the most deliciously for you!

PELMENI (location and more info HERE)- delicious pasta alike food, with fillings as per choice (also vegetarian option) served with cream and local vegetables.

What I loved?

Kiploku Grauzdini (fried garlic bread). It is definitely not healthy and fat as hell, but so -so- very delicious!

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TRAVEL TIPS FROM TALLIN

If you ever have opportunity, go to Tallin! 

I have visited it on the way from Helsinki to Latvia. It was my transit point between VIKING LINE FERRY I took from Helsinki and SimpleExpress Bus I was about to travel with to Riga.

I arrived with the ferry to the at midnight. The harbor isactually not very representative part of the city (at least at night, when I came at night, it does not seem friendly). Luckily it takes not longer than 10 minutes on foot to reach the city center, which gives totally opposite impression.  

Tallin's old town is a fairytale place. Old buildings, small streets creating a maze, with lots of hidden staircases leading from lower to upper parts of the city and lots of passages through gates and gardens and all this is surrounded by massive walls.

What I really liked about the city was that everything is easily accessible. City is not very big, so use of public transportation isn't needed. (unless you are in a situation like myself, when you urgently nees a pair of fashionable sunglasses- I sat on the old ones, such an unlucky coincidence) Tickets for public transport can be bought on every newspaper stand- for more info click HERE .

The choice of restaurants, variations of coffee places and pubs is just impressive.The place I loved was Indian restaurant Chakra, Dubliner Pub  and Boheem.

 sunrise in Tallin

on the border between old town and the city

one of the passages

one of the staircases

one of the gates

old town

my lunch in Chakra

GREETINGS FROM THE TRIP

This year's holiday's are quite intense for me. I have been on quite a few trips already and much more is ahead. Now I'm at the airport in Prague, travelling to Helsinki, Finland. When I come back, I am will share my experiences with you, with special focus on DOs and DON'Ts during Baltic trip planning.

For now check my most recent look. It is black and white set with my new baby: H&M faux leather pants. I love these trousers, especially that I styled it up by cutting out holes on knees.  My advice for those of you who wish to cut out holes on you pants: remember that when sit fabric of pants stretch. Think of it when you choose place for hole, to avoid pants look messy.

How do you like cut out trend?

I gotta go...enjoy your weekend!!!!

pants H&M/top ZARA/sweat RESERVED/shoes PRIMARK/sunnies NEW YORKER/back pack H&M

TRAVEL TIPS FROM FESTIVAL: BAZANT POHODA 2014

With a bit of delay I can announce that I HAVE BEEN ON POHODA FESTIVAL! 

Where is it?

Trencin, Slovakia. Website HERE.

How to get there?

There is no direct buses to Trencin airport, where festival takes place, so the best option is to travel by car. If you do not have car, check festival's website, or Facebook fan page, where lots of people is offering a lift for reasonable price. 

What to pack? 

Wellingtons, tent, parka jacket are must haves, I advise to take also a supply of fresh water (the closest shop is quite far away from the village). Festival village is quite nicely equipped, so you can expect: place where phone can be charged, showers, free wifi all around the field, lots of restaurants (also quite impressive choice of vegetarian dishes), coffee places, fashion shops and gift shops (if you hunt for cool festival- tagged bag, as I did, you have to hunt for it at the very first day. The amount of all gadgets is limited). All info you will find in info-book you can get at the gate when entering. 

Do you travel with kids? 

In the village was a special tent for kids, where the youngest participants of the event could enjoy some pre-organised entertainment. 

This year top performances, as per my subjective choice:

1. Kraftwerk 3D show with amazing visualizations. 

2. Broke- danish band with extremely, positive energy

3. ESEZLESA- Czech band bringing to my mind sound from teenage times by SOMETHING LIKE ELVIS BAND

4. Moderat- it became my very favourite band now! :D

5. Disclosure- <3

TIPS FROM THE TRIP: HOW PACK MAKE UP?

How to pack make up for a trip? Think what you use the most and take just this items.

I am crazy about face colour, so concealer, moisturising cream, foundation and transparent powder as MUST HAVES. To finish up my none make up look I use blush, Rimmel mascara (it makes my lashes to be twice as long!) and Vaseline, which will not only make my lips shiny, but also bring relief if the weather is too hot/cold. As this items usually fill in my cosmetic bag, I usually resign from fancy eye-make-up and take just eye-shadows I use the most. In my case it's black and white set. If I have these basic colours I can play with it, mix it with each other, bronzer or blush to get color I want. 

Manicure or pedicure issues? The best is to make a full treatment before leaving home, but just to be sure you wont walk around with half made nails I advise to take a small bottle of nail polish with yourself. Small bottles are usually appearing in shops during the summer.

TRAVEL TIPS: CANOE

During summer I try to use my time as efficiently as possible. Last week we decided to go canoeing. How to organise a good canoeing trip? Lets check it out!

What you will need? 
Firstly find a place offering water activities. Surprisingly there is really lots of them. Check it, by typing your location in any browser. If you are located nearby Czech/Austrian border, I can recommend place we chose: a river leading from village LEDNICE to BRECLAV (link to website we used you can find HERE).

Secondly invite your friends. When location and prices are checked the idea need to be announced to all your friends. If everything is already prepared, it should not be very difficult to convince them by promising great time. 

Once you have a list of people we gonna participate, you all have to discuss, if you prefer to enjoy wild nature or sport activities. We wanted both, so the way we have chosen was leading through wild forests, the grasslands for horses and leading to the old castle, where we could have our lunch and relax. 

It is very important to remember about your physical possibilities! Don't overestimate your strength!

Once you will complete all tasks there is nothing more than just to enjoy the trip :D

Brno-Trip with Alina!

Sightseeing is one of my favorite enterprises. I love to discover new places. We have been wondering around Brno, where I live since August and admiring the beauty of tall rent houses around bringing to my mind Austrian cities like Salzburg. We have seen city castle and amazing park around it, city cathedral and old town. Autumn is beautifull in here. I fully recommend Brno.