averyrosyyear

[averyrosyyear]

This year, I signed up for the Lake George Open Water Swim 5k on my birthday! What better way to ring in a new year than with my friends doing a thing I love? Joyce was able to join us for the week to provide moral support and expert photography! It was a great race. I placed 6th in my age group (out of 6? who knows!) and I came in under 2 hours, which was my goal. I was really happy with how it went. The swim up to the first buoy was super choppy, and we were putting in work. I did the 5K with Anne, Bob and John but I lost them immediately upon the start, so I had no concept of where I was in the pack, or how I was doing. We spent the rest of the weekend kayaking, hanging out at Anne and Kevin's campsite on the lake, and then doing a lovely 8 mile hike to Cat and Thomas mountains on Sunday. It was a wonderful weekend, and now it's time to go back to school!

This was my first time doing a proper race, or having spectators cheering, which was okay but made me feel a little self conscious. This is the miracle of aging, though, to be able to have those thoughts but then say to myself, please don't be silly, and dismiss them quickly. Don't be silly, everyone here is half naked in their bathing suits in public putting in work. Don't be silly, everyone here has been working for this. Don't be silly, your legs and your arms are strong and they will carry you through the water. You could feel self-conscious, sure, or you could be grateful for this body and grateful for this group of friends and family you get to share your birthday with! It's okay to have the doubts and negative thoughts, you can't always control when they pop up, but it's important that you talk back to them and say, no thank you.

[averyrosyyear]

On August 1, I woke up in Venice and hopped on a train to Milan. At this point in the journey, I had been wearing my pants for like 5 days in a row and was just absolutely RIPE. I'm sure I'm the only one who noticed, and I had no choice but make it a full send in Milan, where it was like 86 degrees and I had a 7 mile walk on my agenda. I bought a ticket to the Armani/Silos Prive exhibit for 1230, and I planned to walk there from Milano Centrale. I stashed by bags in a luggage storage center in the train station and walked the 3.5 miles outside of center city to the Amani/Silos museum. Milan is an interesting city. Besides the Duomo, there isn't much to see there, in my opinion, and it's more of a regular living city. Unlike Venice, which feels like it is awash in tourism, Milan feels sort of like NYC to me, it's just a place where people live. The people are quite fashionable, don't get me wrong! But on a Friday in August, mostly people were just going about their daily business while I was sweating into my pants for the 5th day in a row lmao.

The Prive exhibit was really beautiful! The clerk who took my ticket asked me to "please kindly refrain from touching the dresses." I was like, yeah..duh. But when I got to them, you could actually get very close to them and see the beading and threadwork very up close, and I did really want to touch them, so I understood why they felt the need to say that. I especially enjoyed the pink Barbie room, and I loved that purse up above there. I spent about an hour there, then had a croissant and coffee in the cafe. Then it was time to walk back to the train station, grab my luggage, take another train to the MXP airport, and get on a plane to Oslo. In Oslo, I had an airport hotel room where I had a great night of sleep while airing out my pants again (god bless).

August 2, I woke up in Oslo and flew myself right home. Actually, to Newark, where I picked up my car, then waited for Mary who landed like an hour later, and drove us home. I think I was in bed by 730pm!

What a fantastic trip!

[averyrosyyear]

Marina Tsvetaeva, from a letter to Boris Pasternak featured in Letters, Summer 1926

[averyrosyyear]

Rainer Maria Rilke in a letter to Lou Andreas-Salomé, published in Rilke and Andreas-Salomé: A Love Story in Letters

[averyrosyyear]

Lake Bled and Slovenian Alps SwimTrek Day 3 of 3! July 31, 2025, the final swim.

On this day we all walked to the other end of Lake Bohinj and then got in the lake and swam 4000 meters back. It was a truly great swim! It was pretty chilly, like probably 68 degrees, but the scenery was stunning and the water was smooth as glass. The sun kept peaking out and shining on the bubbles we were making. I saw a few fat and happy fishes. I mostly tried to just chill and take it slow and steady with bilateral breathing and it worked very well. I didn’t feel tired, I kept a pretty steady pace, and nothing hurt. Pretty much best case scenario. We stopped twice for water and snacks and I would have preferred those stops to be shorter, but we were moving as a team.

We got back and they had set up a little picnic for us with coffee and cookies on the lawn and then three tiny baby goats wandered over!! Was it real life?? What a totally lovely way to finish the trip. We all agreed it was our favorite swim and for more than a few, it was the furthest they had ever swum!

After that we had out little cake and goodbyes and then got dressed and I kinda booked it out of there. I got on a bus from Lake Bohinj to Ljubljana and the driver yelled at me and the lady I was on the bus with, but we both got to where we needed to go. Then I got on a bus from Ljubljana to Venice, and booked myself a room in Venice because it just wasn’t looking like I’d make it to Milan. Indeed, we hit a traffic jam and got in like over an hour late. Oh well, I was safe and sound and comfy.

And that’s a wrap on my two SwimTreks! Both awesome and almost totally opposite. I loved them each for different reasons.

[averyrosyyear]

Lake Bled and Slovenian Alps SwimTrek Day 2 of 3, Wednesday July 30, 2025. Aka: the cold water day.

We basically did a giant circumnavigation of Triglav National Park. We left the hotel early and drove in the vans to Lago del Predil, a glacial alpine lake at 1000 meters altitude. It was very cold. I used my sleeveless wet suit and when I got in, my teeth hurt. I don’t know how people swam without wetsuits but some did. It was like 13c, or 55f. It got bearable after 15 minutes or so, but not great. We changed in front of an entire family back into regular clothes and got back into the van to go to lunch.

After lunch we took a tiny hike to a waterfall, which was very nice. We crossed the Soça River and it was amazing! So bright teal, due to some minerals in the water I guess. Then we drove down the road and proceeded to get in that lake and swim again. It was somehow even colder and more painful and miserable than the morning! It took about 5 minutes before I stopped being in acute pain. It took about 10 minutes for me to be able to think straight. But then I guess I felt better because I added on an extra like 500 meters with another lady ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

We then changed again in a field and got back into the vans to go to the car train. So there is this train where you go and park your car, and I guess it carries you through a lot of mountain tunnels and gets you back to the bohinj area in about 45 minutes vs 2 hours of driving. We loaded up a playlist and sang the whole way back. The Australians, as usual, were a total blast and made it so fun! I really liked everyone on this trip, and I feel like I got to know them reasonably well even though it was only 3 days long.

[averyrosyyear]

street art in Venice and Ljubljana

[averyrosyyear]

Lake Bled and Slovenian Alps SwimTrek Day 1 of 3. Tuesday July 29, 2025

This is a shortie trip, so the two full days we have are packed. We started at Lake Bled and swam to the church, then swam back to the shore. Then we had lunched and hiked to the top of a hill for a vantage point. Then we got back in the water and swam the entire length of the lake along their cable. The temps were fine, about 70, and we saw a lot of giant fat catfish.

After all the swimming, we changed and got back into the van and went to a very delicious Slovenian restaurant that opened like last month. We have two local Slovenian guides with us, who are really excellent. They know the owners, the cheese is from the local cows, and everything was really delicious. We were back at the hotel by like 8 I think, for a solid 12 hour day.

The swimming and sightseeing is really enjoyable, but I did not come prepared for the colder weather or all the changing. We need swim stuff and sneakers for hiking and warm clothes for after swim etc etc, which is overall fine, just takes a lot of coordination. Also I am wearing things many days in a row because that’s just what’s gotta happen because i only have one pair of casual stretch pants and one pair of proper pants. It’s all okay, but it’s a good reminder that travel is hard. It’s especially hard when you strip down fully to swim twice a day.

[averyrosyyear]

Monday July 28, 2025, Lake Bohinj, Slovenia

Today was mostly free and also much chillier than expected so we took the bus into Bled to buy some warmer clothes. I got a hooded windbreaker/raincoat that’s actually pretty nice, and a hi vis neon green baseball cap, which I’ve actually been wanting for a while. I can deal with a lot, but I cannot deal with rain on my faceface. Temps are in the mid 60s for the next few days, with rain expected, which is like not swimming weather, so I am anticipating a lot of personal growth.

We took a chaotic and late bus back to Lake Bohinj with a driver who being an asshole to everyone. Some girls didn’t have exact change so he yelled at them to go get it, then closed the door and left while they were knocking on the door to get in. Then he wouldn’t let a man out at a stop and made him ride like 2km out of town while the man was yelling at him that he had pressed the stop signal but it didn’t work. Then he yelled at another girl who didn’t have exact change, but luckily a guy there just paid for her. Idk if it’s something about the euro but both here and in Montenegro, store clerks are very preoccupied with exact change and small bills. They ask every single time, don’t you have something smaller? Don’t you have a 50 or a 10 coin? And if you don’t, they just, like, make the change anyway. And multiple times, if you don’t have exact change they’ll just give it to you cheaper rather than make change, which is baffling. But for the buses here, you can only buy tickets with cash, and most people are buying them from the driver, and the drivers are often insisting on either exact change or very close to it. Seems like a deeply inefficient system to me, but what do I know.

Anyway, after all that we got back safely, albeit irritated, and I took a very long walk around the entire lake. It was beautiful and it reset my brain. Then we met all the other swim trekkers at 830pm here in the hotel, and we will set off at 745 tomorrow morning to start swimming!

[averyrosyyear]

Sunday July 27, 2025, Ljubljana to Lake Bohinj.

Mary and I wandered around Ljubljana in the morning, in the old town and the Ljubljana Castle. This is a very cool city. It has youthful and fun vibes, lots of street art, lots of families out and about. I would love to come back and spend some more time here. Everyone loves a funicular!

Then we got onto a bus and made our way about two hours outside of town to Lake Bohinj, in the Triglav National Park. This is the only national park in Slovenia, in the Julian Alps. It’s beautiful, and reminds me a lot of the fjords in Norway. We checked into our hotel and wandered around a bit, and then got absolutely soaked in a hellacious thunder/rain storm. Luckily the hotel was cozy and has a restaurant in house! Also I have my own room for the first time in like 9 days, so this is feeling very luxurious.

[averyrosyyear]

July 26, 2025 Tivat, Montenegro to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

An uneventful and smooth travel day capped off with some delicious Abi Falafel. The two pics on top are from our last dinner with 9/15 swimtrekkers. This was a really lovely group! I chatted and laughed with so many people, it felt cohesive and friendly and warm all the time. 10/10 would Montenegro again.

[averyrosyyear]

always thinking of that “i couldn’t stop wasting time” quote

[averyrosyyear]

The first time I saw the word “labubu” in the wild I thought it was the hip new way to say “lobotomy” Like. labubu = lobotomy the same way delulu = delusional …………….

[averyrosyyear]

Montenegro SwimTrek Final Day, Friday July 25, 2025. We came down to breakfast to our completion certificates and a notice to give our doctors just in case we became ill?? One of the couples has been having some GI distress since Wednesday, which they think had to do with the pizza we ate when we came back from the lake. Because of that, apparently SwimTrek requires the guides to hand out these cards. So I asked, wait, is the lake known to have Leptospirosis? The answer is no, that they are covering their asses just in case anyone gets sick. No one else has been sick to my knowledge, and I feel fine, but it introduces many questions. The British couple is feeling better so far anyway. It seems like the guides just happen to have these cards handy, so maybe it’s not specific to the lake we swam in. Either way, strange and generally not great!

In other news, we did a final early swim at 6am around the Lady of the Rock. As we were swimming around the back, someone said the water was cloudy and to keep your heads up because the bathroom on the island had an outlet behind the island. So, our track has not been great this week! My body is cauldron of leptospirosis and fecal matter! Luckily it’s been pretty scrappy so far so let’s hope my immune system continues to be a fighter.

We proceeded to spend the day lazing by the pool, dozing and reading, then rallying for a delicious dinner overlooking the bay.

[averyrosyyear]

just in case 🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿

[averyrosyyear]

Montenegro SwimTrek Day 5, Thursday July 24, 2025. This was the best day! We took a long boat ride out to the Adriatic and explored some beautifully clear blue water. Our first swim was a piddly paddle into little caves and coves, and we got to swim through one of the caves. It was so beautiful! We had lunch in the town of Rose, and which was okay. Their vegetarian option was mixed salad and grilled veggies, so like, hot veggies and cold veggies. Then we did a proper swim up the shore where Mary for some reason was absolutely on fire and I was struggling to keep up. I loved the long boat ride and just being in the sun all day!

We came back and showered and got ready for our final dinner which was actually quite nice. I don’t usually enjoy that type of forced sentimentality, but it wasn’t too bad. Dinner was mid again…the fancier the restaurant the more flavorless their vegetarian food.

[averyrosyyear]

Montenegro SwimTrek Day 4, Wednesday July 22, 2025. We did what I am now calling the Montenegrin Triathlon: a hike, a swim and a paddle. The hike was up to this old church on a hill, 800 feet of elevation gain in 85 degree weather. As sweaty as I’ve ever been. Then we did a nice swim right from the shore across from our hotel. We had a free afternoon, so five of us rented some kayaks and paddling around the bay. It was very choppy and busy with boat traffic, but so nice to get out there. It’s was Mary’s first time ever kayaking! She said, on no I’ve found another thing that I love!

We hiked halfway up the hill/mountain and got some amazing views! The sweating though, I cannot overstate how sweaty I was. Jumping into the sea after that was amazing.

Lani brought her go pro kayaking and got some great pics for us in the afternoon.

When we got back to the hotel we sat on the terrace and lazily chatted with the Australians for about an hour, then showered and wandered down to get focaccia sandwiches from a tiny hole in the wall that is run by a chef who has a Michelin Star.

It was a very good day! I like this group of people a lot <3