VISIT PLANINICA HILL WITH ME! EXPERIENCE WINTER FAIRY-TALE!

Hello, today I'm taking you to Planinica hill near Mostar. We have chosen this gorgeous hill overlooking Mostar city as our weekend hiking destination for a number of reasons. As regular readers of my blog might know, we love to hike there! The views from Planinica are absolutely amazing. It is the perfect place to breathe in fresh air. Moreover, it offers nice bird-watching opportunities. If you are an animal lover, this is a great location for you. I would add that it is a lovely travel location for any season.  It being winter, I must admit that our visit was additionally motivated by the snow. Herzegovina is a region marked by Mediterranean climate. Snow is a rarity here. There hasn't been any snow in Mostar this year (so far), so the only way to experience it is to visit nearby mountains or hills. We opted for Planinica hills because it's much closer than any of the mountains. 

SHOPPING MY CLOSET FOR A WINTER CHIC OUTFIT

 I don't have much time for hiking and trips these days. You might have noticed that I don't blog as often as I used to. It is entirely possible that I will blog less even in the future. I work very long hours and I struggle with my health. Something has got to give, as they say. 

One more reason to appreciate these little nature getaways more! I did enjoy our hike in the snow a lot. I wanted to look cute, so I dressed up a little. Nothing in this outfit is new. I wore a red umbro puffer coat, an oversized scarf, a second hand skirt, a vintage (hand made) brown belt and a pair of high brown boots. I think red is always a good choice when it comes to dressing for snow because it is a a colour that stands out. This red jacket has an interesting history. Originally bought by my husband and then passed on to me, it is more than a decade old. 

see how I illustrated this red coat!

MEETING A CUTE AND CUDDLY WHITE HORSE!

WATERCOLOUR ILLUSTRATION INSPIRED BY PLANINICA

While hiking, we ran into Vezir, a white horse that dwells on this hill. He behaves more like a dog than a horse. I think it is because he is more used to spending time with people than with other horses. It seems he still fancies me. The first time he ever saw me, years ago, this horse immediately ran towards me. A dog (that used to belong to someone here) thought the horse was behaving too freely so he stood between me and the horse. I presume the dog was trying to protect me. Anyhow, this time there were many dogs but they all seems to be friends with Vezir so nobody stood in his way when he came to greet me.  

MORE POSTS ABOUT PLANINICA HILL NEAR MOSTAR:

MY PREVIOUS VISITS TO PLANINICA- Are you interested in learning more about Planinica? You are welcome to check out old posts here, here, here, here, here and here.  Planinica is one of the hills that overlook Mostar and it is possibly my favourite one. It is 862 meters tall. It offers fantastical views of Mostar city and the surrounding mountains and hills. There is a mountain track leading to the top if you're into hiking, but you can also get there by car (whether rent a car, taxi or your own) or a bike. 

TRAVEL WITH MY ART: PLANINICA - THE MAKING OF THE 'A HORSE ON A PLANINICA HILL' PAINTING. Visit this post if you want to see this landscape painting in more detail.I still have it! made this painting in 2021. I used Royal Talens acrylic paints on a mixed media sketchbook paper. I'm not sure how many hours I put into it but I finished most of it in one sitting. I sketched the horse with  watercolour pencils and then I added the acrylic paints.  I added some finishing touches once I was out on the balcony- I remember it was so hot my acrylic paints dried on the panel almost as soon as I put them on.  I tried to convey the feeling of this place. Let's say I tried to do the best I could with the landscape.  The mountains in the background are not detailed but that is how it is in the reference photograph. I used my own photographs as a reference for this painting. I didn't use a single reference photograph, I checked a few of them and sketched my own thing. Painting the horse didn't take up much time. Horses were actually one of my first motives. I remember drawing a horse in charcoal  back when I was in high school. A lot of artists are fascinated with horses. They are stunning animals for sure. In fact, the thing that took the most time was the grass. I tried to add some texture to the grass. I don't know can you see it in the photographs, but I tried to make the grass look realistic. The same goes for rocks, but somehow I didn't find them as challenging as the grass. The format for this painting is A4, so I couldn't really do the fine details. Seeing it now, it looks like a mix of impressionism and realism. 

Planinica was also featured in these outfit posts: 

SEVEN WAYS TO WEAR A BUTTON UP DRESS

READING UPDATE: READING ASMINOV ON PLANINICA HILL

WHAT TO WEAR FOR HIKING ON PLANINICA HILL? 

HIKING OPTIONS IN MOSTAR

A RED BLAZER PLANINICA HILL

LEOPARD LEGGINGS FOR A VISIT TO PLANINICA HILL

PLACES TO VISIT NEAR MOSTAR

HOW IS MAKING US HAPPY WORKING OUT? MEDITATIONS ABOUT HAPPINESS ON PLANINICA HILL

CELEBRATING MASS ON PLANINICA

HEADPIECE PLUS AN OUTFIT POST SHOT ON PLANINICA

BEL- AMI BOOK REVIEW AND PHOTOS FROM PLANINICA

BOOK RECOMMENDATION ON PLANINICA: MONT- ORIOL

PLANINICA: SUMMER INSPIRATION VS AUTUMN INSPIRATION

OVERLOOKING MOSTAR CITY: PLANINICA

HOW TO WEAR BOOTS IN AUTUMN AND WINTER? 

SNOW CHIC ON PLANINICA HILL (ALSO HERE)

Do you love snow? Do you enjoy hiking? Do you like Winter? Have a lovely week ahead!