We began our road trip into Norway after picking up Carolina's coughing, sniffling child in Stockholm (lol). We were on our way but stopped for a night at a friend's place in Kopparburg, Sweden and at a park before crossing the border north of Oslo.
In this post, I cover the major highlights we saw as we made our way from the Oslo area out to the Bergen area and back over 7 days.
From roadside views with multiple waterfalls to the longest tunnel in the world, Norway is a great country to take a road trip.
Carolina and I had time to kill in Stockholm for a day as we waited for her daughter to arrive from Italy. After recovering from our red eye flight from Greece with a car garage nap, we wandered the streets and did a little self-guided landmark and art museum sight-seeing.
We were on our own and pretty aimless until we met up with an old friend of mine. Giles took us around to a few of the more interesting spots including a sunken warship museum with a funny backstory.
This top 10 must-see’s include some typical stops but also some unexpected ones, like where to find Stockholm’s legendary stone face crying over—you’d never guess it—a sculpted vulva! Keep reading to find out more about our 24 hours in Stockholm!
There is so much to see and do, mostly for free or low cost, in any big European city. London is no different.
I spent about 4 weekends exploring London during my visit to England in 2012. On those visits, I wandered the streets of London and found incredible history, architecture, art, shopping, food, parks, and more.
I share in this post all of the highlights from my mostly self-guided experience around London.
The USA continues to surprise me with its natural beauty, innovative architecture, and multiculturalism. The Parthenon and its surrounding park in Nashville, Tennessee are perfect examples of all three of these.
The Parthenon is a replica of ancient Greek ruins still found in Athens today.
But you don't have to fly all the way across the Atlantic to see what remains of it! Head to Music City in the USA and make a detour to Centennial Park to find a replica of the construction as it would have appeared over 2400 years ago.
I’ve visited many cities during my travels, falling in love over and over again with each. Cities like Reykjavik, Berlin, Chiang Mai, Wellington, and Melbourne all captured my heart in different ways. But I did not fall in love with any of these cities like I fell in love with Singapore.
The Singapore Government poured $35 million into one area of the city—Marina Bay. Money well spent, as the product is a masterpiece of architectural wonders, floral landscaping, and waterfront beautification. I could not stop snapping photos during my few hours spent between flights here. Marina Bay easily left me in awe with the city as a whole. Now I know I must go back—especially to see it at night and to stay at its mesmerizing, world class hotel.
During my stay in Melbourne, I had one full day to see and experience the city. Considering it’s the “cultural capital” of Australia, there are many aspects of Melbourne life worth checking out. It’s famous for its dining experiences, sporting events, and proximity to the Great Ocean Road.
I ended up focusing on its art. And if the art is anything like my experience in Berlin, art always has something to say. Through Melbourne’s artistic highlights, including the street art, architecture, and music, I discovered both the controversial and the beautiful.
I squinted into the morning sun and watched puffy clouds float by outside the plane window. My insides leapt as the clouds parted revealing Iceland: a treeless green mass jutting into the sparkling sea. The pilot switched from speaking Norwegian to English announcing our descent into Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik.
After landing, I fastened my backpack buckles around my waist and raised my chin ready for whatever adventures laid ahead. I grabbed a local SIM card at the airport Duty Free, bought a bus ticket, and headed outside to the bus stop. A young Icelandic Excursions bus driver wearing reflective aviators took my bag and told me he could drop me at the Mjódd station. We shared an exchange over our matching sunglasses as I boarded. I said, “Nice sunglasses!” He laughed, “You, too!”
