Travel • Page 16

Just booked a flight to Iceland for September!

 

The world lost one hell of an inspiration yesterday.

 

I've been meaning to check out one of his books at the library since it was featured in a Nomadic Matt book club list a couple months back and it was always just sitting on the shelf and I always chose something else and now there's 145 holds on it. Oh well haha. I will finally read it eventually.

 

Anyone have any experience in Sweden or Norway? Looking for somewhere in Europe to book in September. Also considering Amsterdam or Copenhagen

 

Norway is probably the coolest place I’ve ever been. Could not recommend it more.

 

I'm looking at Turkey, Greece and Israel in the course of two to three weeks. Wondering if there is anything I need to be aware of as a woman traveling alone in this area.

 

Really late but I went to Oslo, Bergen, and Tromso last year and I couldn’t recommend Norway more. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

@waking season

Awesome! I literally just got back from seeing Copenhagen so my desire couldn't be much higher haha

 

Norway is incredible; spent two weeks there in July of last year, and then another two weeks there this past June. Actually looking to move there; have been applying for jobs the last month or so, haha. Going back there myself from October 4th - 15th (mainly staying in Drammen, about 30 minutes southwest of Oslo). If you like the outdoors, hiking, camping, climbing, anything, Norway is the place to be. Delicious food, friendly people, great design, everything. If you're looking to just stay in Oslo, or maybe Bergen, still plenty of things to do in the cities. But if you want to get out in nature, there's plenty of big parks and fjords to go hiking on and driving though.

 

Iceland was incredible. Already trying to go back in the spring.

 

Just came back from two weeks in Switzerland. Place is unbelievably gorgeous (and unbelievably expensive).

 

Amazing place as well, especially if you stick to the mountainous areas. What cities/areas were you in? I've spent a few days in Interlaken, which was fantastic. Also visited Zurich, which I didn't really care for; mind you it was for only half a day or so, but the city is on a flat part of the country, and the city itself seemed like any other European city.

 

Went to lots of places! TMI ahead.

Started out in Appenzell and mostly hiked around Ebenalp the couple days I was there. Spent one night in Bern as a pit stop, then the next day went to Riffelberg (close to Zermatt).

Got really lucky with the weather in Riffelberg and had a perfect view of the Matterhorn. Skies were also so clear that I got this shot of the Milky Way from my hotel’s front lawn, which is probably one of my favorite pics I’ve ever taken.

Spent a couple days relaxing in a cabin in La Forclaz. Would love to spend more time in the French area after visiting, Evolene is the main village there and was so charming when I passed through.

Then four days in Wengen exploring Lauterbrunnen and the Jungfrau region. So many hiking opportunities, could’ve spent the full two weeks just there. In the future if I get the chance I’d spend more time in Interlaken and the towns close by.

Followed by three days in Lugano. Very different than everywhere else I visited but it felt more real/less staged and touristy, and had great Italian food. Then I flew out of Zurich. Didn’t expect to like Zurich, but had a good time strolling along the river by my hotel.

 

Niceee, that sounds like a pretty stellar trip, going all over the country. I know from watching skiing events from Wengen that it's a pretty amazing area, especially with the hiking opportunities it presents

That Milky Way pic is pretty awesome; teach me your ways! I've had a Canon 80D for two years now, but still am a newb when it comes to doing fancier things like that. What settings/methods do you use to get that kind of shot? Or is there a website that breaks down the steps in a clear manner?

 

Started planning my trip to Italy for next fall today. Finally getting to take Mom to my favorite place on earth. But I've still got 11 PTO days leftover which means I can take two 8 day vacations and a 7 day vacation, too. Thinking London/UK (to visit @Platy), Iceland again?, and maybe Portugal? So many decisions.

 

Thanks! The best resource is probably the lonely speck, but in short, the process is: find a remote place with little light pollution, wait for clear skies, use a tripod, and use your lens’s widest aperture. I think the settings for mine were f4/ISO 6400/20 seconds. The PhotoPills app is also really good for seeing when the Milky Way is most visible and has a cool augmented reality function that overlays how it will look over a given location on the date you choose.

 

Thanks man, that link should help a lot! Same with your info on settings and that PhotoPills app.

 

I'm in a period of life right now where I have the opportunity to travel with nothing really holding me back. I have become fixated on the idea of visiting Scotland. However, I don't even have a passport. I've literally never been anywhere (except the border cities of Canada and Mexico, but those don't count).

Anyone ever been to Scotland? Any general tips for first time solo travelers? Since I'm not well-traveled at all, researching this stuff already seems overwhelming.

 

Scotland is so beautiful, especially the farther north into the Highlands you go. Edinburgh and Glasgow are pretty old school cities, with plenty of good museums, restaurants, cafes, and shops. If you're into whisky, there's so many distilleries around the country to visit. My favorite place to go is the Isle of Skye, which is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. If you have time and got a rental car, totally worth a visit. If you got a decent amount of money, I'd recommend staying there via AirBnB's, but there's also a ton of hostels around as well.

 

I stay in Scotland so more than happy to help. Feel free to PM me etc too if you want to go over anything.

Starting with the basics, when do you plan on going and how long for?

The best time to visit and get good weather is probably during May/June/July/August. (April and September can be ok too, but higher % rain).

Ps when i say good weather, i mean not raining and fairly sunny!

 

Legit no idea! At least a week? 7-10 days? I'd like to go during the window you mentioned, so probably late spring/summer. I want to check out that trail of 19 castles on the northeast side of the country.

 

Probably gonna dip once I post this cause seeing people traveling makes me depressed but I can't wait to be done with school in May so I can start making some proper traveling plans. I honestly just plan to wander for awhile once I'm done.

 

I’m back in Norway right now using the rest of my vacation days. It’s been drizzly and gray the entire time so far, but even so, this place is unreasonably beautiful. Love it here.

 

Planning a trip to Italy trying to balance five peoples’ wishlists and the very first critique given were to remove the two things I specifically wanted to do on the trip...that I’m planning to show the other four around where I lived for nine months. Smh.