Hiking Around Landmannalaugar, Iceland

You know those beautiful photos you see in travel brochures that you spend your working hours daydreaming about? Those pictures that show beaches with stunning blue water and mountains with colors dancing all over them. You can hardly wait to see these places for yourself, but when you finally arrive your left disappointed when the view is not as stunning as the pictures promised.

Well Landmannalaugar is not one of those places! Pictures can not do this place justice, it is beyond beautiful!

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As you drive the bumpy gravel road an hour back in between the beautiful mountains you see a range of rich vibrant colors that looked as if they had been painted. When you arrive in the valley you are greeted with dozens of tents set up, people relaxing in the hot spring after a long day of hiking, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like you have just wandered into a small happy community complete with a small shop inside an old school bus.

Landmannalaugar
LandmannalaugarLandmannalaugarLandmannalaugarLandmannalaugar
There are several different hiking trails that you can choice from in the area. We arrived late in the day after our change in plans so we opted to do a quick walk up what is called the Blue Peak.

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Do you see the turquoise and blue colors in the mountain? The further up you climb the wider the range of colors you see, from browns to pink, green to black, the colors are stunning. I seriously could not get over the different colors in Landmannalaugar!

Landmannalaugar
LandmannalaugarLandmannalaugar
Stunning right? Sadly we never made it to the top of this path as the weather began to have other things in mind (like a rain/wind storm), but just in our short climb we were able to see some amazing views. If you only have a short time to spend in the area I recommend choosing this path as it gives you a great view of the whole area.

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An added bonus to the beautiful landscape is the adorable furry friends you will find wandering around.

Landmannalaugar
Landmannalaugar
The Icelandic horses are always my favorite, they are so cute and friendly. If you are a horse lover you can even rent horses at Landmannalaugar and go riding on certain trails around the area. H had to drag me away from these guys, I just wanted to take them home with me they were so adorable.

LandmannalaugarNext time I go to Landmannalaugar I will be pitching my tent in the middle of the camp area and spending my days hiking and my nights soaking in the hot spring!

If you are a hiking enthusiast visit Iceland right now and check out Landmannalaugar!

Landmannalaugar

Question of the Day?
Have you ever been disappointed with a place after seeing pictures? Are you a fan of hiking?

Linking up with Bonnie Rose for Travel Tuesday

A Hidden Gem in Iceland

Gjain

A few weekends ago H and I headed off early one Sunday morning with H’s mom for a day trip in the South of Iceland. H’s mom is a certified guide here in Iceland so we had our own personal tour guide to show us around for the day.

Our plan was to head towards Landmannalaugar and spend the day hiking. After stopping at a tourist information center along the way and being told of a few new to all of us places we made some changes to our plans, pulled out the map and headed off on a mission to find these recommend stops.

A little tip to anyone traveling in this area, just follow along the river Þjórsá and you will be able to find these beautiful places!

Gjain
Þjórsá, Iceland’s longest river

Our first stop on our newly updated agenda was the waterfall Hjálparfoss. Look carefully for the sign to this waterfall or you might drive by it and miss it as the waterfall is not visible from the road. When we turned down the bumpy gravel road I was sure we were lost but after the first turn you find yourself right in front of this beautiful view.

Hjalparfoss_001
Hjálparfoss, Iceland

As soon as the car was parked I was off and running around snapping pictures and giggling like a little girl. Something about waterfalls and stunning landscapes brings out my inner child.

Hjalparfoss

Hjalparfoss

Hjalparfoss
After I wore myself out climbing up rocks to get the perfect picture and having H take a dozen pictures of me jumping in front of the waterfall our stomachs told us it was time to have lunch. And what better place to have a picnic than in front of a waterfall with a beautiful river and mountains around you?

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Once our bellies where full (and the wind started to pick up) we packed our bags, took a few more photos and said goodbye to the charming Hjálparfoss.

HjálparfossHjálparfoss
Our next stop was described to us as “the most beautiful place in Iceland” by the man working at the tourist information center. That statement set the bar quite high and I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting much when we set out on a short hike in search of Gjáin.

The hike takes you along a small river with tasty blueberries and beautiful vegetation along the way. I recommend stopping to snack on the blueberries if they are in season, you need to keep your energy up!

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After walking for 15 minutes with nothing in sight but the river next to us my hopes for this amazing place were starting to dwindle. When we saw some waterfalls in the distance I put a little pep in my step to reach the end of the path and see what awaited us.

Gjain
Not too impressive from a distance but after walking for another 10 minutes and climbing one last small hill we finally arrived at Gjáin. And now I am going to be totally cliche and say my breath was taken away by the view that greeted us.

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Does this not look like a place that belongs in a fairytale? This picture doesn’t do Gjáin justice, I fully agree with the tourist information man when I say this is the most beautiful place I have seen in Iceland so far! I am already planning my next trip back to this hidden gem so I can do more exploring of this area.

If you are interested in visiting Gjáin follow the directions to get to the historical Icelandic farm Stöng. From there you walk for about 30 minutes and then you will arrive in your own fairytale!

Question of the Day?
Have you found any hidden gems in your area or while traveling?

Linking up with Travel Tuesday

Finding Grk in Croatia

IMG_8648Korcula was the first island H and I visited in Croatia and by far my favorite place we stayed in Croatia. Along with gorgeous beaches and stunning views Korcula is also known for its white wine, Grk. Grk is produced from a white grape called, Grk, and is mainly found on the island of Korcula. As a wine lover that has tasted wine in several different countries I knew my time in Korcula would need to include sampling some (okay a lot) of the local wine.

Korcula, Croatia
We had set aside a day to head off for wine tasting at the local vineyards on Korcula, many of which can be found about 7 km away in a small town called Lumbarda. We rented bikes, packed our bags, and headed off nice and early since I couldn’t wait any longer to get the day started!

Lumbarda, Croatia
It is about a 40 minute bike ride to get to Lumbarda but the views along the way make the time fly by.

Lumbarda, Croatia Lumbarda, Croatia Korcula, CroatiaStunning right?

Since my eagerness had us arriving a few hours before many of the tasting rooms at the wineries opened we decided to check out one of the local beaches in Lumbarda while we waited. To get to the beach from town we rode our bikes about 2 km into the countryside, and with fields of vineyards along the way I felt like I was in a movie riding my bike through the beautiful fields in Tuscany!

Lumbarda, Croatia Lumbarda, Croatia Lumbarda, Croatia Lumbarda, Croatia
When we arrived at the beach we were hot and sweaty and ready to take a dip in the beautiful blue water. I recommend arriving early, the beaches fill up fast but since we were quite early (we arrived before 10 am) we were able to enjoy a mostly empty beach before it filled up when we left around noon.

Lumbarda, Croatia Lumbarda, Croatia
And then it was finally time to pack up and head off for some wine tasting! As I was getting on my bike to take off H delivered some terrible news. His bike tire had gone flat! Okay so not that terrible but since his bike tire was flat we needed to get back into town to find a pump meaning my wine tasting plan was off the schedule for the afternoon. I am not going to lie, as we walked our bikes back into town I thought about ducking into a few wineries on my own along the way but I didn’t want to ditch H (okay I couldn’t remember the way back home) so back to Korcula we went.

Fast forward to that evening and H and I had just finished another delicious meal and were wandering the small streets in Korcula before heading in for the night. I was still quite bummed about not being able to go wine tasting but was more than happy wandering the charming streets of Korcula when H and I heard some music coming from the end of a dark small street.

Wine Festival, Croatia Curiosity got the best of us after we saw a couple walk up this street carrying wine glasses, of course we had to see where they had gotten these wine glasses! Pure joy is the best way to describe how I felt when we rounded the corner at the end of the long street and stumbled upon a local wine festival!

Wine Festival, Croatia
Wine Festival, Croatia

Wine Festival, Croatia

In a small square we found almost 20 wineries offering samples of their best wines. A live band serenaded us while we sipped our wine. Locals greeted their neighbors with loud conversations and hugs, girls dressed in elaborate outfits handing out the most delicious bread, and there was enough wine to keep my happy for a lifetime. You never would have guessed this was a Sunday!

Wine Festival, KorculaWine Festival, Croatia Stumbling on this festival and sipping local wine with those who live on the island was an experience I will never forget. You never know what traveling will bring your way but no matter what things always seem to work out for the best.

Question of the Day?
Have you ever experience local festivals while traveling?

My European Travel Bucket List

My desire to travel is one that never seems to be satisfied. Even now as I am just returning home from a wonderful two week trip to Croatia I am already dreaming of my next travel adventure. Since I don’t get to spend all my time traveling, I am still working on figuring out how to make travel my full time job! I have a very long travel bucket lists. Picking just a few items off my bucket list to share was more harder than I thought! Here are a few of my travel bucket list items, European version.

Drive all over Scotland
wonderful-Edinburgh-Castle-Scotlandvia
Castles, lush green fields and stunning landscapes, sounds like the perfect place for a roadtrip! Scotland in many ways reminds me of Iceland, (at least the photos I have seen), minus the castles, and I would love to get to drive all over this amazing country and discover its beauty myself.

Visit the German Christmas Markets
Christmas is my favorite time of year and I can’t believe I had never heard of the German Christmas markets until recently. Thanks to some of my favorite bloggers I am now dreaming of my own weekend getaway exploring these markets, admiring all the beautiful crafts and sampling all the delicious food.

Walk through the tulip fields in Hollandtulip-fields-holland-more-great-pics-www-freefbpictures-comvia
When I was an intern in Australia there was another intern in our office from Holland. Her pictures she shared of her visits to the tulip fields were amazing and ever since then it has been on my travel bucket list. Now that I am living a bit closer to Holland I hope to see the tulip fields myself!

Go on a walking food tour through Prague
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Prague has been high up there on my list of places to visit for a while now and after reading Margo’s post about her walking food tour through Prague it looks like an excellent way to explore the city!

Visit AustriaAustriavia
Ever since watching the Sound of Music when I was a little girl I have wanted to visit Austria. With every picture I see of Austria my desire to travel there increase even more. I have now increased H’s interest in Austria as well so hopefully a trip here is in our near future.

This list is just a very short look into my very long travel bucket list. There are so many beautiful places to be seen and so little time to do it! I am determined to see as many places as possible, I have a lot to cross off my travel bucket list!

Question of the Day?
What is on your travel bucket list?

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Welcome to Travel Tuesday!

Travel Tuesday

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This is my last Tuesday co-hosting Travel Tuesday and I just wanted to thank you all for helping make it such a wonderful experience. I have found so many wonderful bloggers through this link up and have fed my wanderlust with all your wonderful posts. Next week we will be announcing the new co-host, I hope you all keep coming back and sharing your travel posts!

Each week Bonnie, Sammy, Van and I will select one post each from all the linked up posts the week before that we enjoyed especially. I haven’t had a chance to read all yours posts from last week’s link up so be sure to head over to their blogs to see who they picked!

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Ready to link up!

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS:
1. SHARE a post about travel! From road trips to trips abroad and from past travels to dream vacations. You can write about travel tips and tricks, favorite places to stay, or anything in between! Just make it about traveling somewhere!
2. GRAB the lovely button. If you run into trouble, just make sure to mention Bonnie in a link!
3. LINKUP goes live every Tuesday at 0800 GMT.

TIPS:
1. Please only one linked up post per blogger. Save other posts for future linkups!
2. The last Tuesday of every month will be a themed prompt if you want to join in!
3. HOP around and meet new travel loving bloggers! Check back to visit some of the newer travel posts!

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