I’m nearing the end of my summer holiday. I’ll be doing a series of blog posts about what I’ve been up to, with photos and maps and everything, but not until I have time to do the writing. Say, when I next have a week on a cruise ship with not a lot else to do.
Like this coming week!
I’ve known about the trip for a while, and I’m really excited about it. Technically I won’t be visiting a new country, but I’ll certainly be going to some unique destinations. Here’s the breakdown:
The above map was made over at Sosauce.com and by following that link you can zoom in stuff.
I fly from Zurich to Oslo, then wait 7 hours in the airport. Then I fly to Tromso, then to Hammerfest, then to Honningsvag, which is as far north as you can fly and lang in Europe. From there I’ll visit the “tourisz version” of the northernmst point in Europe, and spend the night in a hotel.
From there I join a ship then sail north. There are some islands halfway to Svalbard, but I couldn’t find them on the map. I’m sure that will just be scenic cruising. But then we land at Spitzbergen, Svalbard, which is pretty much as far north as you’ll ever get unless you’re taking a trip to the North Pole. It’s so far north, one of the tourists attractions is a 24 hour sun dial.
This kind of remote is so cool I can’t even imagine it. I want to go hiking when I get there, but I have to hire a rifle to leave the city limits… in case of Polar Bears!
The next stop is way south, slightly below the arctic circle (it sounds strange when I read that out loud), in Iceland. I leave the ship in Akureyri, then fly over to Reykjavik. I then need to cross from the local to international airport, which means I’ll have maybe two hours to see the city. I’ve been to the city before, but pretty much drove past it and back again from a long truck drive. I really need to look up what I can do in the city in under an hour.
Then I fly back to Zurich (via Berlin) just in time to perform at the Feldkirk Gauklerfestival, which is our first streetshow festival of the year. That we didn’t get more festivals in July and August (but 3 in September) is the reason we’ve had such a long holiday. And the reason why I had to take a work trip in the middle of it all.
Anyway, I’ll be sharing photos, and maybe videos, on my return next Friday. Other blogging will continue, as I have things I want to write and post.