Lofoten’s postcards from the arctic circle in Norway

19 Mar, 2023, No comments

Pic by Gilles Servais

Lofoten is a well know destination for nature lovers and should be on the list for anyone loving north. Initially there was a plan to visit Lofoten in autumn but we went to Iceland instead, so had to catch up now! After a thorough research, I realised that winter is indeed the perfect timing for visiting Lofoten. You can get there by plane, by ferry or by car. We had chosen not a common way to get there. We flew to Tromso trough Oslo and then took the Hurtigruten ferry for 17 h to arrive in Svolvaer.

Enchanting Westfjords in Iceland

30 Oct, 2022, No comments

We had planned a quick escape to Lofoten in Norway at the end of August but then the Fagradalsfjall volcano went off in Iceland and we decided to change the plans and see the volcano again as it was the most amazing experience we had had and we did not want to miss that again! Just like Katia and Maurice Krafft! Well, hopefully not like them though... Geologists were predicting a long eruption so we were not really in a hurry. Well, the volcano was! The eruption stopped a week before our trip. Whaaaat?????! Although we were a bit sad, one can never go wrong with Iceland, so we decided to finally explore Westfjords instead. It was my 8th time in Iceland and Westfjords somehow always had escaped my planning list! Not this time!

Incredible Iceland - summer 2022 vibes

20 Aug, 2022, No comments

This was my 7th visit to Iceland... I know, I know, I'm totally in love with this place but the ones who have been at least once will understand that Iceland is addictive. I had never seen it in July, so really had high expectations to feel summer, experience the midnight sun and enjoy the greenery. This time we booked almost everything well in advance not to have any huge financial surprises. Summer is the most expensive period and also many places are booked, so plan well ahead your moves or take a tent!

300 km above the Arctic Circle in Norway: Tromso & Senja

27 Mar, 2022, 1 comment

This trip was probably one of the most weird ones we have ever been on. Not because of the location - absolutely not! Norway is magic! But the timing... We left on the 4th day of the Russia - Ukraine war. We were not sure it was the right thing to do, a holiday felt like something totally out of normal to do when a war is taking place in Europe. Putin had just announced his nuclear threats... After all we decided to go, northern Norway sounded a bit safer place than Brussels anyway. We kept to the same rhythm every day: news, news, doing something, then news, news, news. Nevertheless, we had great time and could really recharge the batteries and clear our heads.

Recharging batteries in Iceland (yes... Iceland again)

26 Dec, 2021, 3 comments

We went to Iceland in the beginning of November for a very short trip of 5 days. It was my 6th trip to this magical place (second this year). Did not have lots of expectations. It was really just to change the scenery, recharge batteries and enjoy things this country is offering (and yes, with a hope to see the Northern lights again).

Sicily: Under the spell of Etna and granitas

15 Sep, 2021, 2 comments

Sicily was not in our initial plan to visit this summer (sorry, was there a summer?), it was Iceland, of course, but the prices for car rental had doubled and we just thought that 2000 euros for a rent of a Dacia Duster was not really worth it. And as we did not really have much summer, south seemed to be a good choice to get some vitamin D. Although Sicily has been on my list for 10 years or so, somehow beautiful Greek beaches always won it over. This time Sicily had two strong points: Etna - after having seen the active volcano in Iceland, I definitely wanted to see the most active volcano in Europe and I had started to learn Italian during the pandemics, so it was an opportunity to practice.

Volcano frenzy in Iceland

5 Jun, 2021, No comments

When the volcano in Reykjanes finally erupted after 3 weeks of constant earthquakes end of March and 3 days later the Icelandic authorities had made it possible for public to view this miracle, it was clear for us that we had to go to check it out ourselves - 5th time in Iceland! Nobody knows how long the eruption will be going on, it could stop tomorrow or it could go on for years.

Covid (free) Xmas in Iceland

25 Jan, 2021, 2 comments

I think you will all agree - 2020 has been a year like no other. Well, also for the fact that we went to Iceland 3 times last year :) So also last Xmas were totally different than any other time. With no possibility to meet the family in Belgium and no option to travel to Latvia, the idea was to stay home and watch Netflix... Wait, why to sit in grey Belgium if you can actually sit in a hot tub with an amazing view in Iceland?

Iceland: Where the mountains sing through the screams of seagulls

10 Oct, 2020, 5 comments

Iceland is my new passion or rather obsession :) In one year 3 visits... The trip in February confirmed that there was still so much to see and it was clear that we needed to go back. Covid-19 definitely spoiled many plans of travelers and we hesitated as well - should we really go? After some thinking we decided that actually it was the right time to go as the numbers of infections were much lower than in Belgium and Iceland without tourists would probably be amazing. Well, it was!!! What an incredible trip!

Paxos in Greece: A hidden gem

9 Aug, 2020, 1 comment

Paxos had been on my travel list already for a while. Covid made us change our trip slightly - we had planned to visit Paxos in June but then had to move it to mid July. In normal circumstances I would neveeeeeeer go to Greece in mid-July because of the the crowds and the heat. But Covid made sure we escaped the crowds and the global warming made mid-July bearable with max +28 degrees only. It was super weird to take the flight in Covid times, to have the mask all the time, to have the temperature checked and wait in the queue to be tested or not at the Corfu airport... We did not get tested. Ouffff...

Magic Iceland: The tour of northern lights and hot pools

15 Mar, 2020, No comments

I might have found another travel love (sorry Greece...) - Iceland... After the trip in October I could not wait to get back to explore further its natural wonders. February is considered as one of the best month to visit if you travel on budget and want to see the northern lights, so I did not think twice to get the tickets for the end of February / beginning of March. We were 4 travelers also knows as the best aurora hunter team :)

Amorgos and Naxos - a sure value

22 Dec, 2019, 1 comment

What a better day to write a long due blog post about a wonderful summer than a long and cold winter evening... right? Just the thought of the lovely Greek sun warms me up immediately! Well, you guessed it - Greece was our summer destination again. What are the chances that we would go to Greece again? Hmm... wanna bet?

Ok, once again our choice was Amorgos and Naxos. These islands don't stop surprising us and is a sure thing, you just cannot go wrong. A paradise for travelers who want to enjoy nature's beauty, local culture and very, very good food :)

Iceland - the land of ice and fire

19 Nov, 2019, No comments

Whoever comes from a holiday in Iceland says that it was amazing. Somehow I could not believe that until I saw it myself. And I confirm - it is amazing in all possible ways.

Iceland was not a classical holiday. In October 2019 there was a Latvian theatre festival where Latvian groups from all over Europe participated with different plays. Of course Brussels Latvian group joined as well.

It was clear that it was not worth going to Iceland only for 3 days, so a little group of friends stayed for a week longer. The festival itself in Reykjavik was a blast, such a lovely atmosphere - acting, singing and dancing and just having fun.

Azores - Sao Miguel - Adventure in the middle of the ocean

27 May, 2019, 1 comment

Azores, Portugal, seemed to be a very far destination until I saw a post of a friend on Facebook. Hmmm... It turned out that since 2015 Ryanair is flying to Ponta Delgada in Sao Miguel and it's very easy to get there from Lisbon. After a short research it turned out that indeed, it's quite easy to go on holiday in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. After one million searches for the cheapest tickets I finally found a good combination - Brussels - Lisbon (also looked for Porto) - Sao Miguel for less than 200 euros both ways. Easter also seemed to be perfect as timing.

Irresistible Greece: Naxos and Amorgos (and horrible Mykonos)

10 Nov, 2018, 3 comments

No need to guess where we went on holiday this summer - Greece, of course! In some kind of craziness I had also applied for a Greek summer crush course in August, so the month of August was all about holidays and getting ready. If you are considering learning Greek, well... good luck with that. Not easy at all, although I thought I was rather gifted with languages. The good news is what you actually manage to learn and memorize, It really stays in your head :)

Zanzibar: A true paradise

28 Mar, 2018, 6 comments

Zanzibar had been on my travel list for years but it always seemed to be too far and too expensive. Years ago I had already bought a book and had made a plan what to do and where to stay but it somehow stayed forgotten in the bookshelf. When looking for good offers for a winter escape, my attention was caught by TUI offer - Zanzibar - 400 euro trip both ways for one person! It's a deal! After just a couple of clicks, the tickets were in my pocket. And here started my favourite part - research - what where and how. I did not use my book as I thought info would be outdated and just used all the possible blogs and forums to get inspiration. Funny enough, when I later checked the book, it turned out that I had chosen exactly the same places as years ago!

Incredible Bulgaria - roses, roses and roses again

26 Nov, 2017, 3 comments

This description has been on my mind for a looong time already but somehow the story never made it to my blog...

This May, early June I had an opportunity to visit Bulgaria during the period when roses are being picked in the valley of roses. What an amazing trip and experience. I had been intrigued by Bulgaria since I filled a test on Facebook which told me that I should be living in Sofia... :-) The result surprised me so much that Bulgaria immediately became a top country on my list. And when a friend said that she was organising a trip to the valley of roses, I did not have to think twice.

Naxos - a hidden pearl in Cyclades

22 Jul, 2017, 4 comments

To choose a new holiday destination is not an easy task. At least the first criterion for us is easy - has to be Greece ;-) Stuart Thorpe in his book "Hidden Naxos" writes that "Greece is a kind of a drug, a delirium and once she gets under your skin and into your heart she will never, ever completely let you go. You will be somehow under her spell for life." Could not agree more! This year we felt a need to go on holiday already in June, could not wait till September and our choice was Naxos. Why? It's one of those islands which is not a top destination, therefore a true gem for us.

The lost village of Doel

2 May, 2017, No comments

I had heard about this place already long time ago, it had everything that I'm normally interested in - a rich story in unusual circumstances. We thought that Easter Sunday would be a good day to visit this God's forgotten place. To our surprise, there were many who had exactly the same idea. The parking just next to the church was so full that I thought in the beginning that there was a service organised... But no way... it was families with kids and dogs that had come to this place to enjoy the spring.

Magic Andros

9 Oct, 2016, 2 comments

Yes, yes, I know, we are crazy... going to Greece again! Well, why not? Greece really ticks all the boxes for us - lovely landscapes, rich culture, great beaches and the best food ever. And we are lucky that there are so many islands to choose from :) After some research and consideration we chose to go to Andros - the most northern island in Cyclades. It was supposed to be beautiful and not touristic at all. I confirm. The number of forum posts in Tripadvisor about Andros is around 100 - that's good enough to know that the island is not so popular for tourists - and that's what we were looking for - authenticity.