The Srebrna Beach is a popular, rocky beach in the limestone layer of on the south side of the Vis island in Croatia. Beach caves are a very frequent occurrence on Croatia's coast, but for me - coming from a cave-poor country - they are always a wonder. There's a very nice straight, tunnel-like beach cave on the left side of the Srebrna beach.
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August 2024, Srebrna beach mini cave, Srebrna, Croatia; Srebrna beach cave, Srebrna, Croatia; Srebrna beach, Srebrna, Croatia
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Erosion); Caving (Basic, Surveying, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Erosion); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
Komiža is the exclusive, still largely authentic fishing village on the Vis island on Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast. There's multiple beaches, and my favorite is the Lucica Beach. But the one near Hotel Bisevo, Gusarica Beach is also nice! It is larger, and more popular. I usually call it the hotel beach.
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August 2024, Gusarica beach, Komiža, Croatia
Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
While on a conference in Vancouver, I had a wonderful walk on one of the days. Partially because I had been exposed to Covid and did not want to infect anyone, so walked around and connected over the net to the meetings. It turned out that I did not get the infection, though, phew.
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July 2024, Inukshuk Point, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; English Bay Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Urban-Exploration (Historic); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
Clarion hotel and conference centre is out of the way of the centre of Abbotsford, but conveniently located near the highway. I stayed here on a business trip because for one night there was no availability in Vancouver where my conference was. Or the prices were too high, north of 400 euros.
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July 2024, Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
Yale Park is a recreation area by the (artificial) Yale lake in the Lewis River valley. The nearest town is Cougar. The park is part of the agreement for building dams on the Lewis River, and the area is maintained by Pacific Corp, the owner of the dams.
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July 2024, Yale Park, Cougar, Washington, USA
Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake, Beach)
While on a conference, I managed to step on to the pool of the conference hotel on one of the breaks. The Hyatt Regency Vancouver is an upscale, nice hotel with many facilities. Sadly, no sauna though. But the pool is nice and protected from the hustle of the streets below.
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July 2024, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool)
There wasn't much snow or sunshine, but hey, there was some. Glad I went!
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June 2024, Järvenpään jäähalli, Järvenpää, Finland; Tervanokan uimaranta, Järvenpää, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Swimming (Waterbody-Lake, Beach)
Rantasauna is a legendary party place in Otaniemi, in the student village of the Helsinki University of Technology (now called Aalto University).
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June 2024, Rantasauna, Otaniemi Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea); Sauna (Normal)
A Friday evening excursion to Myyrmäki, a suburb in Vantaa! I went for a swim in Myyrmäki's community swimming hall, but it was of course also an opportunity to do more sightseeing in the nice weather. And ride more trains... given that my car is broken.
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June 2024, Myyrmäen uimahalli, Myyrmäki, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
Too busy, and now without a car I have not been able to visit the summer cottage this year at all. Sigh. But now my car repair shop nicely loaned me a four-liter green '99 Jaguar for the weekend. Very nice! And a fun car to drive. And it was such a bliss to drop into the lake after visiting the sauna. The water was warmer than it probably has ever been on June 1st...
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June 2024, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Car; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake)
Hotel Vema is a brand new hotel in Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Visoko is a small town near Sarajevo, maybe a 20 minute drive away. It is perhaps best know for the Bosnian pyramids, pyramid shape mountains that some claim actually are ancient pyramids. More on that story later... but for now, we will focus on this wonderful hotel!
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May 2024, Hotel Vema, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
After my visit to Usmi, I felt like I *really* needed to have a shower. And a sauna and swim would be a bonus. Fortunately, Hyvinkää's Sveitsin Uimala was nearby. Very, very nice. Indoor and outdoor pools (from June 1st), multiple pools, very nice saunas, clean, and at a nice pine forest area on top of the hill.
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May 2024, Sveitsin uimala, Hyvinkää, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
I visited Tammisaari on a Friday evening, after a tough work week. It was sunny... my crappy car was still kind of running (but few weeks left), and the swimming hall, the Tammisaari beaches, and Tammisaari in general were just wonderful.
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May 2024, Tammisaaren uimahalli, Raasepori, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
Like skiing or sex, they are always at least good, sometimes great :-) While looking for spare parts for my car, I managed to also stop at the Järvenpää and Nurmijärvi swimming halls. Very nice, both of them. But I was particularly struck how nice Nurmijärvi's hall was. Or Rajamäki's hall rather, Rajamäki belongs to Nurmijärvi, and is also famous for their alcohol production.
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May 2024, Rajamäen uimahalli, Nurmijärvi, Finland; Järvenpään uimahalli, Järvenpää, Finland
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
My first time visiting the Kallie swimming pools. Very nice!
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May 2024, Urheiluhallit Kallio, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
It was a good try. I think. Or maybe I should have pushed harder. But ... it was getting difficult to stay on the slope, even with some smaller trees around me. But in the end I turned around, and did not reach the Dobrun cave in the mountains of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina... the slope was loose gravel, and getting steeper on every step. No sign of paths. I do wonder though, I could *see* the cave but not reach it! And reportedly monks have lived in the cave, is there another path?
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April 2024, Dobrun Cave, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dobrun Party Cave, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dobrun railway tunnel, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Caving (None, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst); Caving (Basic, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-River); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels)