Fantastic news! I’m travelling to Sweden & Slovenia by bus. Now isn’t that just awesome. Eek!

You guys!

Wow!

What a wonderful summer I’m going to have!

Now you might have seen me make hints as to where I’m going, and there’s more where that came from! Golly yes!

Update: The day I published this post, was the day that a bombing took place in my original home-town of Manchester. I am saddened and outraged as this act of terrorism was not only cowardly, but taken out in an area where teenagers and young children were watching (by all accounts) a fabulous concert of Ariana Grande. Everyone is most upset. And so am I.

My fellow Mancunians have rallied round to give each other comfort and support. They are brave, and so must we all be. This has not been the first time that Manchester has been bombed by terrorists in the last 20 years, and sadly, it won’t be the last.

It was only a few months ago that Berlin was targeted by a mad man at the German Christmas Market, then London was terrorised just last March, Stockholm in April, and now Manchester.

And this time it came very close to home, as the office of my brother – The Writer – is opposite the Manchester Arena! I rang home in the middle of the night with a shaking hand!

But what should we do`?

We must cry, and we should.

And then we have to get up, brush down, wipe away the tears, keep calm, and Carry On with things!

Manchester people (of which I am one) are known for plain speaking, and being strong of mind.

We’re stoic, and have a stiff upper lip! #DontLookBackInAnger.

Whatever you think of Britain, the UK is open for business, and always will be.

Let’s make a re-cap on where I’ve been in 2017 so far:

HOLLAND:

• How to visit Amsterdam in two days. With a teenager!
• How to visit Amsterdam: Introducing Zaandam – a Dutch traditional town with windmills!
• Dutch food & waffles: what to eat in Holland!

THE CZECH REPUBLIC:

I went skiing but I didn’t actually write about it this year. Oops! Here’s what I wrote previously…

• I went skiing in a little Czech village in the middle of no-where: Introducing Rokytnice nad Jizerou!
• The time that I fell off the ski lift in the Czech Republic!
• I didn’t kiss a girl but I ate fried cheese in the Czech Republic. And I liked it!

AUSTRIA:

• How to visit Austria: Introducing Vienna – the most civilised city. Ever!
• Vienna – the world capital of music, music everywhere!
• ‘Just because I don’t drink coffee. ‘Doesn’t mean I can’t have coffee culture with hot chocolate, in Vienna!

CROATIA:

• How to visit the Balkans: Introducing Croatia – the dream of Game of Thrones!
• 10 reasons why Zagreb is a family destination – A great place for teenagers!
• Have you ever been to Split in Croatia – Bring out the dragons!
• 21 reasons why Dubrovnik is one of the top European cities to visit. If you haven’t been. Go now!
• Croatia – a basic guide to food!

Now that’s out of the way, let’s move forward.

OMG!

FANTASTIC NEWS! I’M TRAVELLING TO SWEDEN & SLOVENIA BY BUS. NOW ISN’T THAT AWESOME. EEK!

I am ecstatic as Sweden & Slovenia are going to be completely and utterly new, making the countries that I’ve visited (not that I’m counting you understand!), to be 37 countries in Europe, 12 countries in Asia, 6 countries in Africa, 2 countries in North America, 1 country in South America, 1 country in the Middle East, and 5 dependent islands! 3 countries (so far), have been new in 2017.

That makes a grand total of 64 countries and 5 continents!

I’ll be travelling to Sweden & Slovenia. By bus. And here’s why!

SWEDEN

Sweden, otherwise known as the Kingdom of Sweden, really needs no introduction, and is a small Scandinavian country in Northern Europe.

It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest, by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.

Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union with a whopping mass area of 450,295 square kilometres or 173,860 square miles, and a population of just 10 million people!

The capital city is Stockholm.

WHERE WILL VICTORIA BE GOING TO EXACTLY?

Stockholm!

WHY STOCKHOLM?

Because I’ve never been to Sweden as the prices used to frighten me, but right now, the Nordic Nations are all the range right now, and I absolutely adooooore ABBA!

In fact, I was actually supposed to go to Sweden for the TBEX conference last year, but opted to go to the Philippines instead!

WHAT ELSE WILL I BE DOING?

Ha!

I’m excited to tell you that I’ll be doing a hell of a lot of stuff and thinking about it as I write, I don’t even think I have the time to do even half the things I’ve planned, as in actually fact, we only have three (3) days to work with!

Stockholm is a very tourist-friendly city so some of the things I’m planning would be:

• Going to ABBA The Museum: OMG! I don’t even know where to start. I mean, ABBA was, and is, one of the world’s most popular and successful pop groups in THE world! And let me tell you, if you’re just starting out in the music profession and want a guaranteed hit, make sure it’s an ABBA re-mix, and you’ll be in clover!
• Rambling: We’re absolutely going to do a Guided Old Town Walkabout, and then use the rest of the time to ramble and stroll through the city, and various nooks and crannies, ourselves.

• We’ll probably be taking a variety of boat tours as I like water and river destinations, and perhaps, use the Hop-on-Hop-off bus to get our natural bearings.
• I’m going to spend a few hours at Skansen – the world’s first open-air museum! You all know how much I like open-air museums. It just keeps getting better and better! Anyhoo, the Skansen was founded in 1891 and tells the story of five (5) centuries of Swedish history!

• I’ll be going to a few important places of interest such as the Vasa Museum and the Royal Palace. I was looking forward to squeezing in the Vikingaliv Museum which just opened last month, but sadly, we won’t have enough time to dedicate to it on this trip! Note: Many of the Stockholm museums are actually free of charge! Yipee!!
  
• Money-saving: One of the most important things that I’ve noticed to do in cities, especially the more expensive ones, is to actually get a Stockholm City Pass. We used one in Croatia and Vienna, and they both proved enormously useful, not only making things more convenient so that you don’t have to fiddle with a million tickets at a time, but in many cases actually saved money! And if you’re in places like London & Paris, they’re a life-saver!

• I’ll be topping the evening with cocktails at the ICEBAR by Ice Hotel. I mean, the ICEBAR – at the Stockholm branch of the original ICEHOTEL created in Jukkasjärvi, back in 1994!

We’re not going to Lapland at this time, but we will be having drinks at the world’s first permanent bar, made 100% out of ice. In Stockholm!

I’ll have yours!

Book your hotel here!

As for food. I don’t dare think of the prices so we’ll be having sandwiches for lunch and a proper meal at dinner-time. Oh, and did I tell you that the ever-growling stomach of The Tall Gentleman is coming along too. Gulp!

ANYTHING ELSE?

I met a few of the lovely Stockholm Visitors Board team while I was at the ITB Berlin, and they were very helpful when I told them that I was planning to Visit Stockholm. They not only offered me a complimentary Stockholm Pass, but also put me in contact with the Hobo award-winning design hotel that was just launched in March!

This original art design hotel is a creative outlet for urban farming and innovative tech installation and really is called Hobo!

Hobo is not a hostel, or a home for the homeless, but like the art design hipster-style boutique hotel that I went to in Taiwan, is an artistic hotel aimed at forming a holistic experience for the urban traveller, with a touch of hippy trend!

Book Hobo here or here!

SLOVENIA

Slovenia, otherwise known as Slovenija or the Republic of Slovenia, is another tiny nation-state in Eastern – Central Europe!

It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. It has a mass of 20,273 square kilometers or 7,827 square miles and has a population of just 2.06 million people!

The capital and largest city, is Ljubljana.

WHERE WILL VICTORIA BE GOING TO EXACTLY?

Ljubljana!

You heard me. Lju-bl-jaaaaaaaaaana!

WHY LJUBLIJANA?

Because I’m weird and I like going to interesting exotic places!

Seriously though, the reason why I want to go to Slovenia is because I’ve heard such a lot of wonderful things from practically everyone! And remember, just two years ago, I hadn’t heard of any of the Baltic or Balkan States. In fact, I couldn’t even pronounce them!

However, I am a strong supporter of Europe, and I have a weakness for tiny countries in the middle of beyond! Besides, I had such a wonderful time in Croatia, why wouldn’t I want to go to it’s “sister country” – Slovenia – too!

WHAT ELSE WILL I BE DOING?

We are going to be doing a lot of stuff as we’re going to be in Slovenia for a week!

• I wanted to spend some quality time with The Tall Young Gentleman, and I think Slovenia is the perfect place to do it. We’ve got activities jam-packed!
• Slovenia is a very green country and like Croatia, amazingly beautiful. I mean, just look at the photography, so we’re going to be spending quite a lot of time outdoors.

• Of course, we’re going to be spending quite some time in Ljubljana itself as I like to get inside the soul of a city. I also want to prove people who say that Ljubljana only deserves a few hours, wrong!
• We’re going to go on a guided tour so that we can get inside knowledge from local experts.

• We’re going to go on a most delicious food tour. Because food. Yum!
• We’re going to go to the Slovenian countryside and spend a day among the shepherds on Velika Planina!

• We’re going to go on a river cruise which is going to be awesome!
• We’ll be exploring Ljubljana’s largest and most beautiful parkland area at the Tivoli Park.

• We’ll be spending some time rambling through the cobbled streets and running from one museum or local attraction to another, using the Ljubljana Card.

• And to top it off we’ll spend a day at the stunning Lake Bled, not only surrounding ourselves with mountains, forests, and fresh air, but also the medieval Bled Castle.

I’m salivating with architectural delight!

ANYTHING ELSE?

I’m going to be working in partnership with Ljubljana Tourism in order to experience all that is best in Ljubljana, and the surrounding area!

In order to keep to the theme of sustainability and environmental consciousness, we’re going to be staying at the aptly named Hotel Park Ljubljana, located in the heart of the Old Town of Ljubljana, and situated in a leafy park.

We’re going to have a great time!

Book your hotel here!

HOW AM I TRAVELLING?

Well, I’m guessing the title says it all, but just in case you’re not convinced, we’re going to be travelling Berlin – Stockholm – Berlin and Berlin – Ljubljana – Berlin, entirely by coach-bus!

I’m sorry.

What did you say now?

You heard me.

By bus!

Gulp!

I know you’re crazy Victoria, ‘cos the last time you took a 26 hour bus from Estonia – Berlin, you said that you wouldn’t do that again, and yet, here you are!

Doing it again!!!

Yep!

Now I’m not entirely crazy as I’m going to be working in partnership with a German company called FlixBus!

FlixBus, previously known as MeinFernbus is a young mobility provider that has been changing the way millions of people travel in Europe over the past 3 years. It’s a combination of a tech-startup, an e-commerce-platform and a transportation company, making FlixBus one of Europe’s largest intercity bus networks!

One of the reasons that I’ve put all my trust in FlixBus is because we’ve travelled with them from time to time over the years, and just recently, we used their services while we were in Croatia from Zagreb to Split to Dubrovnik!

You might have noticed that there’s an image of a Flixbus on the side of the panel. I’m so convinced that it’s all going to work out, that I’ve joined their affiliate programme so that you can join in the fun too. As usual, if you book your journey via my link, there is no extra cost to you, and I get a little percentage for my trouble.

It’s definitely going to be an adventure!

Book your hotel here!

FANTASTIC NEWS! I’M TRAVELLING TO SWEDEN & SLOVENIA BY BUS. NOW ISN’T THAT AWESOME. EEK!

This article is part – sponsored, and even though I’m working in partnership with the above organisations, absolutely all opinions, and the thrilling time that I’m certain to have, are my very own!

In May & June, I’ll be visiting Sweden and Slovenia! Follow me on Twitter & Facebook to find out what I’m up to!

I’ll be there. Will you?