And So This is Christmas…

Hopefully I will get back to my catch-up posts on Denmark in time for a little holiday “hygge.” (Def: Danish word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment.)  But I didn’t want the holiday season to slip by without taking a “real time” moment to wish each of my kind readers, dear friends and family, and supporters of this blog the Merriest of Christmases. Let’s all put our collective hopes together for a return to normalcy before another COVID Christmas 2022!

Hopefully John and Yoko were right in the “Happy Xmas” song released fifty years ago in 1971 when they penned the lyrics, “War is over if you want it.” Let the war on COVID Continue reading

Wrapping Up the Faroe Islands: No Time to Die

I could have easily written an entire blog post about each of my seven days in the Faroe Islands. Every day was filled with unique experiences and spectacular scenery. But this poor blog is so far behind, I am never going to get caught up at this rate, so I am going to hit the highlights of those experiences I most want to remember.  So please forgive me as I cram what should be about four or five different blog posts into one!

Driving through the Faroe Islands was an experience unlike I have had before. Once you head out to the smaller villages, the roads become one lane, often times with a Continue reading

Faroe Islands: The Many Moods of Mykines

While it’s possible to explore the Faroe Islands by making Torshavn a base for day trips, this would also mean spending a good bit of the day in the car, backtracking along the narrow, winding roads. My time in the Faroe Islands occurred over the last week of August and first of September. That far north, days begin to get shorter at a much more rapid pace than they do further south, so I didn’t want to spend precious daylight hours commuting back and forth. Instead, I decided to spread out my visit staying on a few different islands.

Travel by public transportation around the Faroes is sporadic and infrequent, so it’s really best to rent a car. For those who might be planning a visit, it’s essential to do this in advance, particularly during the summer months as there is a limited supply of rentals on the islands.

One of the top attractions in the Faroe Islands is the tiny island of Mykines, the Continue reading

The Faroe Islands: Culture, Conservation, and Controversy

The Faroe Islands unstitched me in so many ways. Not since my two months through Newfoundland and Labrador have I been so enchanted by the unique culture of a destination. Just gob smacking beauty at every remote turn. Hardly any COVID restrictions because there are hardly any COVID cases. Hardly any COVID cases because there are hardly any people. Hardly any traffic because there are hardly any towns. Hardly any roads because there are hardly any cars. While Iceland was a bucket list item left over from many years of making wish lists, the Faroe Islands was like discovering your favorite Danish pastry you had been waiting to savor had chocolate inside! Continue reading

Sailing Out of Seydisfjördur

This past summer when I booked my flight to Iceland, I wasn’t sure how long I would stay, or even if I would be returning from Reykjavik. My airline ticket would have been $400 one way, or $450 round trip. So while I originally intended to just book a one way ticket and see where I ended up, my pandemic paranoia got the better of me. What if all hell locked down, and I had to get out of there? Airfares would likely triple. So as an “insurance policy,” I bought a round trip ticket with the hopes that I didn’t have to use the return. It seemed like a worthwhile gamble either way.

When doing research on potential destinations once I left Iceland, the ferry kept popping up. How cool would that be to leave Iceland by ferry? Cruising out of the Continue reading

Iceland’s Golden Circle: Last but not Least?

Please forgive my lapse in completing the loop around Iceland on the Ring Road.  In real time, I stepped up my pace a bit while traveling as COVID cases have been on the rise again throughout Europe.  Doing research to stay in front of the rapidly changing border rules and restrictions has taken a bite out of my “screen time.”

Closing the loop on the clock face, my trip around Iceland’s Ring Road has finally come back around to where we started, near eight o’clock. But there is still one key attraction left to cover, the Golden Circle. This is by far Iceland’s most popular day trip. Not really Continue reading

Iceland’s Highlands: Taking a Break from Van Life

Aside from the near-perfect weather which I was fortunate enough to enjoy over 90% of my time in Iceland, another reason to visit during the summer season is to travel to the Highlands. This central region of the country located in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve is home to Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland’s tallest mountain at 6,919 ft, located just beneath Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull. It’s considered to be one of the most scenic wilderness regions of Iceland, and a hiker’s paradise.

But there are no paved roads in the Highlands. Just gravel, pot-holed, washboard “F-Roads.” These roads running throughout the Highlands are closed for most of the year Continue reading

Iceland’s Popular Southern Coast

Picturing the “clock face” once again, we are now at a solid six o’clock, keeping in mind the starting point of Reykjavik was at around eight o’clock. Almost full circle.

When trying to decide on which direction to circle the island, it was a toss-up. If I went clockwise, I could cover the northern regions before it started getting colder. And there was a chance (or so I thought) that waiting until the end of August when vacation season was winding down would mean lighter crowds in the more popular southern region. Thus, my decision to circumnavigate the island clockwise. Given the heavy Continue reading

Iceland’s Glacial Lagoons

Once again picturing the clock face now right around four o’clock, if I’m lucky, things should start to get icy. But as I work my way south around Iceland’s Ring Road, I have a lot of uncertainty as I approach the glacial lagoon area. Now being the warmest time of the year, will there be ice in the lagoons? What about the famous “Diamond Beach?” If there are no “diamonds” (ice formations) washed up on Iceland’s famous black sand beach, it will be a serious let-down. Continue reading

East Iceland: A Lesson in Geology and Tourism

One of the many things that makes Iceland’s scenery so spectacular is its unique geology. Exaggerated textures, shapes and definition can suddenly open up from an ordinary landscape into something ghostly, foreboding, or even “other worldly.” Due to these geological formations and years of erosion of the volcanic soil, canyons appear a little more dramatic, mountains a little more colorful, and mossy hillsides are reminiscent of hobbit holes.

Of all the unique geology I have seen throughout my time in Iceland, I am most fascinated by the basalt columns. Yes, I have seen these before, but never in Continue reading