I’ve written about two contrasting castles in the Netherlands before: Muiderslot and Castle de Haar. Muiderslot is the archetypal medieval castle: square with towers in each corner and crenellated walls between them. Castle de Haar, on the other hand, is far more ornate. Meant to look medieval, only more so, it was actually built in…
Falun Copper Mine UNESCO site in Sweden
“It’s a big hole in the ground.” I think “underwhelmed” is a good word for my first impression of the Falun Copper Mine in eastern Sweden. We were on our way south on a road trip from the northernmost part of Norway back home to the Netherlands after our Hurtigruten cruise up the Norwegian coast….
The Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, Sweden
Some UNESCO sites aren’t famous works of architecture like Himeji Castle in Japan or the 16th century canal ring of Amsterdam, for example, or ancient historical monuments like Petra in Jordan or Baalbek in Lebanon. Some are more modest, less showy, and exemplify local culture and crafts. The Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, Sweden, are a…
7 Things to do in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
I’ve already written quite a bit about our 3-week road trip around Iceland last summer, but I only briefly mentioned Thingvellir (more properly spelled as Þingvellir) in my itinerary article. While it wasn’t a place I particularly prioritized in our planning, it turned out that there are plenty of things to do in Thingvellir National…
Free walking tour of Reykjavik by City Walk: A review
I highly recommend taking a walking tour when you first arrive in any new city or country. It helps give you the general overview in terms of history as well as an idea of the layout of the most visit-worthy parts of the city. Following my own advice, on our first day in Reykjavik we…
Ostia Antica: The Perfect Day Trip from Rome
Just 30 kilometers away from Rome is Ostia Antica, one of the most well-preserved ancient cities in Italy and a perfect day trip from Rome. NOTE: This article is a guest post by Alexandrina Nickolova. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a…
Troll Expeditions Iceland glacier hike
On our three-week road trip around Iceland, my husband Albert wanted very much to walk on a glacier. I ended up booking him a five-hour Iceland glacier hike with Troll Expeditions, leaving from Skaftafell. I decided not to go myself. Why? When the description mentioned crampons and icepicks, I decided it wasn’t a good idea…
3-week Iceland itinerary: the best Iceland road trip!
Three weeks is about the perfect length of time for an Iceland road trip. That’s what my husband and I discovered this past summer. We had three weeks free and drove right around the country to see pretty much all the highlights. What follows here is a three-week Iceland itinerary. It’s a bit different from…
Iceland waterfalls that are easy to reach from the ring road
In the summer, when we did our three-week road trip around Iceland, we saw waterfalls every single day. Some were small rivulets snaking down a hill; others were long, narrow streams plummeting off a rock cliff. These are not what this article is about. Certain waterfalls in Iceland are so beautiful they have become destinations…