We had 5 days to explore a smidgen of Southern Italy before our ferry to Croatia. The diesel is as expensive as in Norway, and the drivers are diabolical so we decided not to do a 1000km detour to Mount Etna and instead drove to Maratea on the western coast. We drove through a barren…
Tag: humor
Dracula’s Castle and a drive through the countryside
Driving around Zarnesti was a nightmare, it was Sunday market day, music was blasting out a speaker and men in matching hats were wasted by 11am in the pop up pubs. I loved it though, it reminded me of the markets in Central America, bustling with colour and culture. But, it meant certain roads were…
Trying out the Olympic Bobsleigh track in Latvia
We visited three towns within Gauja National Park; Cesis, Ligatne and Sigulda. The sights revolved around the Gauja river, with red cliff walls along the banks and orange coloured caves. The towns were pleasant for strolling around with nice castles, churches and old squares. It was all ‘nice’ but not blow away nice, so we…
Our first slice of the Baltic Sandwich
We didn’t spend long in Estonia, just 3 days, but we enjoyed what we saw of it and Tallinn is one of my favourite cities. Heading south we stopped in a few villages, and at Soomaa National Park looking for wildlife. The park is mainly made up of bog, and is said to have a…
From modern Helsinki to medieval Tallinn
We managed to get a free IKEA bus into Helsinki city centre, and repaid them by eating 5 hot dogs, 2 calzones, 1 ice cream and 1 drink for a romantic dinner. I enjoyed walking through the Tori Quarter with its little lane ways and hidden cafés. It reminded me of the lanes back home…
An amusing experience with the Poliisi
We were rather surprised when we first arrived in Finland; all the lakes had red water, instead of the beautiful azure ones in Norway and Germany. But, here they have sand instead of rocks, which means a nice soft beach (I’m grateful for this after slipping on a slimey rock in Norway and falling into…
Remember when: We snorkelled with Turtles
The Gili islands in Indonesia consist of three islands; Trawangan, Meno and Air. We bought a boat ticket to Gili Trawangan, it’s the biggest and most developed island (not really us) but we were hoping for cheaper accommodation as islands tend to be rather dear. We were squished onto a boat and had food piled…
Finnish Sauna – Go nude, or go home
The sauna is a way of life in Finland, it’s not a luxury like in the rest of the world and the locals use them at least once a week. We couldn’t leave Finland without visiting one, but I’ve read that most of them are separate sex, so I’d have to sit in a room…
A fed bear is a dead bear
While in Kuusamo I spotted a leaflet advertising watching wild bears from a hide. It was over our budget, but I would LOVE to see these beautiful beasts in their natural environment. I asked a lady about it, as I expected your chances of seeing a bear to be very low. But she said they…
Attack of the flying ants in Finland
We’ve gotten used to living with flying things in Scandinavia; Mosquitos, midges, horse flies, and standard flies. But tonight we experienced the flying ant for the first time – worst night so far!! After a wonderful night at a beautiful lake last night with no flying insects (this is a rare and joyful experience), tonight…