The weekly market in Jakoruda, Bulgaria

 

The small and cozy mountain town Jakoruda (the birth place of my grand-mother, nowadays with some 5.600 inhabitants) is located at the feet of mountain Rila. I have spent many weeks in my summer vacations here, at the birth house of my grand-mother, enjoying the green landscapes, the fresh air, the singing birds and the coziness of this hidden gem...

 

Every Saturday a colourful market takes place. Fruits, veggies, food and tools are available. People are like busy bees, greeting and talking to eachother, checking the different stands and living the market with hand full with bags...End of July and the watermelons and honeymelons were again there, I had some there were simply amazing. I also got one jar of honey, some fresh tomatoes, and, and....:-)).

 

The two pictures below are from the birth house of my grand-mother...

Rila mountain hike and two of its lakes...

 

In the hot summer days Bulgarian people like to escape the heat in the refreshing shadows of the trees in the mountains. Among all mountains in my country (and on the Balkans), Rila is the highest mountain with its peak Mussala (2925m). The peak is some 8 meters higher than the top of Olympus-mountain, the highest one at our neighbors, Greece. The name Rila comes from Thracian word for the "well-watered", which is not a surprise at all. The mountain has some 200 glacial lakes as well as several hot springs! Some of Balkans longest and deepest rivers originate from Rila: Maritza, Iskar, Mesta. One of the most famous lake group are the Seven Rila lakes, about which I have already wrote.

Last weekend I had the big pleasure to visit two more lakes...A big part of the Rila mountain is a national park due to its amazing flora and fauna. This is also the biggest national park in Bulgaria...We went first up to the Fish Lake (first picture) and then refreshed our feet and toes in the crystal clear water of the Dead Lake (6th and 7th picture), which is located at 2100m. Enjoy the hike with me:-)

Beautiful buildings in Munich: facades, ornaments and other details

 

While walking in Munich I could not stop noticing all these colourful buildings and beautiful ornaments from different years...It is really worth sometime to stop for a minute and enjoy all the architectural beauties in areas like Haidhausen and Neuhausen...I hope you enjoy my small selection here:-)

Underwater colours around Tavolara, Sardinia - part 2, nudibranches

 

The tiny nudibranches (from "nacked" (="nudi" in Latin) and "gills" (="branch" in Greek) are some of the most colourful creatures on Earth, and of course underwater. These sea slugs have lost their shell as they have developped other protecting mechanism. They either blend in with the environment they live in or they have striking coloration which is warning that they are distasteful or poisonous...

 

While diving around Tavolara island one may encounter few of them as presented here. However these beauties love cold water and in summer hide into the deep waters...

 
And one big red sea star for a happy end....

Welcome to island Tavolara in Sardinia/ Isola Tavolara in Sardegna

 

Today I will take you to a magic and very relaxing place...from the amazing beach "La Cinta" (on the first picture) you may already spot its mighty and magical silhouette: the island Tavolara. This limestone rock is 5 km long and 1 km wide, its hightest point is Monte Cannone with 565 m above sea level...

Tavolara is pretty quiet nowadays with daily ferries bringing tourists in summer for enjoying the quiet beaches. All inhabitants were displaced in 1962 when a NATO radiogoniometric station was constructed on the eastern half of the island. The aerials from the station can be seen from quite a distance, and that entire half of the island is restricted to military personnel. The island has also a VLF-transitter that can transmit messages to submarines. Now only few families live here and a restaurant offers warm food to the tourist.

 

Last but not least a lot of visitors come to admire Tavolaras underwater inhabitants...

 
Tavolara in the back here after some great dives with our favourite diving club called Porto San Paolo!