An intrepid traveller who’s visited every country in Europe has claimed one nation on the continent has the bluest water she’s “ever seen”. Lexie Limitless, a US YouTuber who became the youngest person to visit every country at the age of 21, has opened up about her experiences exploring Europe, highlighting some of the continent’s “underrated” nations.
The plucky traveller, real name Lexie Alford, broke the record when she set foot in all 196 countries and now enjoys a huge following of more than 500,000 subscribers on YouTube. In a segment covering some of the “hidden gems” she’s discovered on her travels around Europe, Lexie, who can be found at Lexie Limitless on Instagram, pointed to six perhaps less traditional destinations.
She detailed how one country was a “melting pot” between Islamic and European “influences”, while one of the top underrated places had “literally the bluest water” she’d ever seen in rivers.
She said: “I would say that one of the top underrated places has to be Slovenia. There are some incredible hiking paths and literally the bluest water I’ve ever seen in rivers.”
Slovenia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, is a small nation situated in Central Europe. It is bordered by Austria in the north, Italy to the West, Croatia to the south, and Hungary to the northeast.
In addition to its dazzling waters, Slovenia also boasts many impressive caves. In fact, it’s home to more than 10,000, including the World Heritage-listed Krizna Jama Cave and the 20km Postojna.
Lexie continued: “I also loved Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Again, incredible river running through this city that really felt like a melting pot between both Islamic and European influences, with a lot of very rich history to learn while you’re there.”
She added: “I think also the cutest little village I’ve ever been to, which I actually saw in one of those…while I was on one of those river cruises, was a place called Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic.”
Lexie detailed how it had “crazy bridges” with “aqueduct-looking architecture”, noting its “beautiful rivers” and “adorable cafes”. She also dubbed it “quintessentially” the European village people dream of when they watch a Disney movie.
In addition to these European highlights, Lexie also mentioned Sweden in the summertime, Valle Verzasca in Switzerland, and “last but not least”, Bruges in Belgium, which some may remember from the 2008 Colin Farrell film, ‘In Bruges’.
It follows reports that Lexie’s favourite country of all is the isolated mountain realm of Bhutan in Asia, nestled between India and China. She highlighted its unique accolade of being ranked the “happiest country in the world”.
Lexie dubbed it one of the world’s “best-kept secrets”, adding that the world has “so much to learn from this tiny country”.