Bali Bound

Day 12: Final Day It feels surreal that I'm at the end of my Scandinavian journey.   Lundi Boat (lundi means puffin in Icelandic) I spent my final morning on vacation doing a boat tour with Reykjavik by Boat.  I get the impression that they are a new company as there were only 4 of us on the tour.  All the other tours I could have done just went straight to the puffin island and back and were all booked up at the times that I could go.  I was excited and impressed that they had binoculars for everyone to use and big heavy windbreakers to keep us warm.  Because while the weather was lovely that day it isn't quite as nice once you get moving on the water.  The boat was a fixed up old fishing boat so it was interesting to go down and see the tiny little berths that they slept in between their fishing.  They did 6 hour shifts, sleeping then fishing then repeat.  For about 2 weeks.   Puffins!!! (only the 2 in the middle are puf...

Day 11 My one entire day in Iceland is promising to be a full one!  I'm starting the morning with a city sightseeing tour and an afternoon Golden Circle tour.  One thing that I've noticed in Reykjavik is that they have a lot of graffiti.  Maybe it's just because it's a small city and the artists don't have far to go.  Other than that it is a very clean and tidy city.   President's Home My guess was good and it was indeed a busy and exciting day.  My Iceland package included the city tour.  It wasn't a traditional tour where we drove in circles seeing the same things I ended up walking past.  We started by driving out to the President's home.  I was highly amused that you can walk right up ot the house as it is right beside a public church.  They do have a small sign indicating the forbidden area.  But that's all.  No fence or anything.  I suppose it is out of the way so it's not like you could sneak up on the...

Day 10 What with today being a bit of a boring travel day (I don't even get highway scenery out the window, but Greenland is decidedly NOT green) I figured I could share some of my random observations on this trip so far.  I was a little unimpressed that my free airport shuttle got me to the airport 5 hours early.  I was apparently the last person to leave.  It did mean a few hours of waiting for the check in counter to open and then a leisurely lunch before the flight.  Also, the Helsinki airport is a strange place.  They have very little seating.  I guess they expect you'll just camp out at a restaurant and wait it out there.  And the bathrooms have birds and nature playing in the background.  At first I thought it was some one's cell phone, but no.   Finlandia Hall This morning I went for a bit of a walk to Helsinki's Finlandia Hall.  It's an event venue for lack of better terms.  But quite striking compared to the...

So I head home tomorrow afternoon.  It feels like I just left and it feels like I've been gone forever. I have however had a great time in Iceland.  I am glad that I booked things to do because all I really want to do is nap. The time change is 3 hours behind Helsinki so that is throwing me off too. My hotel is a bit further than I realized.  But they do offer free bus tickets.  Or you can walk and it's only about half an hour to the harbour.  I walked so I could wake up a bit before dinner. Yesterday I wandered around reykjavik for a bit.  Everything was closed but it's a charming little town.  Had some great fish and chips. Today I did a city tour that included quite a bit of stuff not in the beaten trail so it saves me some time having to walk and find all these places.  And this afternoon I did the golden circle tour.  It includes a waterfall, a geyser and a lookout into the valley. Tomorrow I have a boat ride planned.  He...

The trip to Tallinn was a really good day.  The ferry back was quite chaotic.  It seems as though there is some sort of floorball competition going on in Scandinavia as there were tons of sports teams dragging huge bags around and that's what they were telling people they were playing.  We saw a few teams on our overnight ferry as well. But I am in the airport in Helsinki which means that my official tour is over and it's just me for the next 2 nights.  I do have time to explore tonight as the sun doesn't set until 11 so it will be nice and bright for awhile after I get there .  Which is good because my days are filled with planned adventures. Also, I will be really happy to be able to blog on a proper computer.  The tablet likes to make up words sometimes...

Yes, it is holiday time again.  And yes, it has only been 6 weeks or so.  Just the way things worked out this year.  And happily, by the time I get home spring should be fully here and that will be fabulous. I am heading on another bus tour.  There is really something about the bus tour that I enjoy.  It's well organized, I see a lot and I put in little effort and have a good time. Scandinavia will be 6 countries (I hope) in a little under 2 weeks.  Yikes! I start out in Copenhagen, Denmark; travel to Oslo, Norway; head to Stockholm, Sweden; take an overnight ferry cruise to Helsinki, Finland; a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia; and a stopover courtesy of Icelandair in Reykjavik, Iceland on the way home. I have high hopes for this trip.  It'll be a lot of adventure and I think a nice mix of city with a bit of nature.  And I should get a bit more of a break from my fellow passengers with more free time in the cities. Stay tuned for the adven...