Itinerary: Brussels – Oslo – Trondheim – Bodo – Moskenes – A – Reine – Ramberg – Moskenes – Bodo – Trondheim – Oslo – Brussels
Day One: We spent most of day one on the ferry to the Lofoten (about 4 hours), but quickly after arriving we decided we couldn’t just hang around in the village of Moskenes, we wanted to hike after a day and a half of sitting in planes, trains and boats. We hiked the small way from Moskenes to A and spent the night there at the camping of the village. The camping is at the edge of a cliff, so a beautiful place to put up our tents and take a shower after the long journey. We spent the rest of the evening planning a hike the day after.
Day Two: We took a hike along the lake Agvatnet, which is the lake of A. The hike was a little disappointing, but mostly because of the weather that stopped us from getting to higher ground and get a decent look on the place. It was also nearly impossible to go around the lake, so we had to trail back to the camping ground. In good weather, I think this hiking route is worth your while, but definitely not one of the highlights of our trip. We hiked back to our tents (Norway is incredibly safe, our tents remained untouched on every camping ground in the region) and washed our muddy pants in a small pond at the camping grounds.
camping spot in Reine
Day Three: On day three, I woke up excited. We planned a bus ride (yes, we didn’t hike, mostly because it’s nearly impossible to get from one village to another without hiking along the busy main road of the island) from A to Reine, one of the most beautiful villages in the region. Once we got there I was pretty sure this was one of the most beautiful villages in the world even (but I only realized it when I saw it from above, more about that later). We arrived in the centre of the village, where we went to the little store for groceries and had a nice picknick on the town square. We asked the locals for good camping spots and everyone was very helpful. We ended up in the single best camping spot I ever had, so I can only advise you to ask the locals every time you’re looking for a place to sleep! Once we arrived there and put up camp, the day was mostly over and we just enjoyed the view from our tents…
Day Four: We planned our hike up the Reinebriggen, a mountain with spectacular view (we already saw when googling the place, couldn’t wait to get there ourselves), but the weather ruined our plans. We ended up spending our day in the tent, reading every page of the magazines we had with us and trying to cook in terrible weather conditions. Our camping spot was on the side of a little island, smack in the middle of a Norwegian Fjord, which is pretty bad when the wind picks up. Nothing exciting to tell you about day four.
Reinebriggen
Day Five: On the fifth day, we were lucky. We woke up to the brightest sun we could imagine and actually got to spend the morning in our T-shirts outside (a rare occasion above the polar circle). We gathered our things, especially a camera, and started the hike back to the village and to the Reinebriggen mountain. We walked along side the E10, the main road of the Lofoten, passed the road that led to the centre of the village, and just before the tunnel in the direction of Moskenes, we noticed a big, white arrow pointing to a small road running alongside the tunnel. That’s were the trail to the Reinebriggen starts. From there on, you can’t really get lost. The trail just leads all the way up along the backside of the mountain, only to reveal it’s bittersweet goodness when you reach the top. Words can’t even express the beauty of that view, I believe even the pictures we took barely do it justice. It was most definitely one the best experiences in my life so far and I enjoyed every second. After having lunch on the top, we backtrailed on our way down and went back to the centre of the village, to enjoy the sun with the locals.
Day Six: We got up early to pack up our camp and leave for Bunes Beach. To get there, we had to take a small boat ride from the city centre (we saw what time it left the day before) to Vindstad. We found out too late Vindstad actually means ‘Wind City’, and it didn’t take us long to figure out why. At Bunes Beach, after a small walk from Vindstad, the weather was great, we found a beautiful spot of green grass on the beach where we could put our tents, but they quickly collapsed under the strong winds. We were pretty sure they weren’t going to stay up all night so quickly decided to pack up and leave for Fredvang, the next village on the route. We spent most of the day in Bunes Beach, since Vindstad itself is pretty dead (it has a school and a few houses, that’s it) and quickly took the last ferry back to Reine. This is almost the only way in or out the village, so be careful planning this! However, I must add, when we put up tent at the camping grounds of Fredvang, the tent collapsed as well and the storm that night was terrible. That camping ground was located on a (far less beautiful) beach as well, so it actually wouldn’t have made any difference if we would have stayed at Bunes Beach… So, whatever happens: stay there. And I should also mention that there’s no bus that goes up to Fredvang, you have to hike quite a distance to get there.
Day Seven: On day 7, we kind of took a break. Someone of our group was celebrating her birthday that day, and months before we left, we booked a ‘rorbu’, one of the typical fishing cabins in the Lofoten. We walked around Fredvang before finally telling her we wouldn’t be sleeping in a tent and wouldn’t be eating pasta that night. Just a small warning: there’s nothing in Fredvang. Not even a store to buy a bottle of water. When we were there, there was a pizza place though, with a very decent service! Pizza was delivered to our cabin, but no way to buy beer around Fredvang. However, the kind people of the cabin where we were staying, the family Lydersen, baked us a loaf of bread to survive our hike the next day.
Kvalvika
Day Eight: We saw pictures of a beautiful place called Kvalvika on the internet (Google it, it looks amazing), a small beach between cliffs pretty close to Fredvang. We decided to take the hike, even though the weather was terrible. There was a very strong wind and rain that day, but we managed to reach the beach anyway. It had a very mysterious vibe in this weather, but it has to be even more amazing in good weather. After we got back from Kvalvika, the kind hosts of the Lydersen cabins drove us to Ramberg, the largest village we stayed in during our stay, where we found a pretty large convenience store (a cheap one too!) and a good camp ground right at the beach.
Nubben
Day Nine: We weren’t sure about what to do on the ninth day, so we visited the local Tourist Office. We ended up sticking for hours there, just hanging out with the very kind couple running the office. They advised us to climb the small mountain ‘Nubben’, for a spectacular view. Since it was only 200m high, our expectations were rather low, especially since we already climbed Reinebriggen. We were amazed by the view once we got up there, absolutely worth the 20 minutes of climbing! Also met another nice family, who made the climb with 2 little girls (I’d guess them 5 years old). They said they were going to swim in the ocean later that day. Tough as we are, we decided to do the same. No recommendations there, the water was pretty close to freezing and we looked rather silly compared to the people walking around with hats and scarfs…
Day Ten: On our final day before starting our journey home, we decided to rent some bikes from the Ramberg Tourist Office. We took the scenic route passing some fjords to Nusfjord, a village that was protected as national heritage, to see how the locals lived there many years ago. The biking route is amazing, you take the most beautiful roads, pass the most scenic fjords and mountains and eventually end up at the other side of the island: Nusfjord. However, we were rather disappointed when we found out Nusfjord had become a paid attraction for tourists. We understand the money is needed to keep the village in good shape, but we were more interested in the nature than the culture: we didn’t even enter the village. A nice hike to higher ground gave us a pretty good view of the village too, we had lunch and decided to head back to Ramberg. On our last evening in Ramberg, on the west side of the island, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. This was the perfect opportunity to sit on the beach and just enjoy the sun going down, barely touching the surface ocean and then going back up again. We went to sleep at 1 AM, in the bright light of the rising sun…
Midnight Sun
Day Eleven: On the day we resumed our way home, we were rather lazy (and a bit depressed we were leaving already) and stayed most of the day around the camping grounds and the beach of Ramberg. In the late afternoon we took the bus back to Moskenes, where we slept at the local camping ground, only 100 meters away from the harbor where we could board the ferry to Bodo. The boat left pretty early in the morning, so we were in pole position to leave.
Day Twelve & Thirtheen: Our way home was much less exciting than our stay at the Lofoten. The only special thing that happened during the trip was a 3-hour delay of the train (it broke down halfway, but I can only congratulate the NSB for the way they handled it: we got free food, were well-informed, …). In general: we were pretty sad to return home…
We loved our stay at the Lofoten, the nature is amazing and the people are incredibly kind. I would even consider returning there in the future, just to see those amazing views again. So, a quick summary of tips to go there:
- Take the train from Oslo to Bodo, it’s the best (and probably longest) train ride of your life.
- Don’t forget a sleeping mask, the sun stays up 24 hours a day in the summer above the polar circle.
- Besides, take ear plugs too, a storm at night can get pretty loud and violent.
- If the weather is bad the day you want to climb Reinebriggen, reschedule everything, it’s the highlight of your trip!
- If you camp in Reine, this is the best place for your tent: 67.943197,13.091583
- Kvalvika and Bunes beach are very much alike, but both worth a visit.
- Nubben, in Ramberg, is a very underestimated mountain, one of the highlights of our trip!
- The camping ground at Moskenes is perfect for a quick getaway by ferry.
Salina Turda is a salt mine situated in the city of Turda, Cluj County, in the region of Transylvania, Romania. Salt was first extracted here during the antiquity and the mine continuously produced table salt from the Middle Ages (it was first mentioned in a document in 1075) to the early 20th century (1932).
Since 1992, Salina Turda has been a halo-therapy center and a popular tourist attraction. Moreover, it is an open history museum for anyone willing to connect the salt extraction with the events that occurred during Roman occupation in Dacia. The mine had a significant economic function in the development of the city of Turda. The visitors can also observe the excellent condition of the mining compartments, and the equipment used for transporting the salt.
Recreational facilities include a mini-golf course, The Big Wheel (20 meters high, with six gondolas), a sports terrain, a children’s play area, an amphitheater and the possibility to rent a boat and explore.
For more information, you can check out the official webpage of the salt mine here.
We found this approach interesting and the photos inspiring, which is why we decided to share it further. We also love the landscapes, even though we are having hard times recognizing all of them What do you think of the photo technique that was used to take and process this shots?
Ronda is a city located in the Spanish territory of Málaga. It is positioned about 62 miles (100 kilometers) west from the city of Málaga and is surrounded by the independent neighborhood of Andalusia. The city is positioned on a mountainous area of an enormous outcropped rock approximately 750 meters above sea level.
The Guadalevín River flows all the way through the city, separating it into two and creating dramatic landscapes. During the Reconquest of Spain by the Catholic monarchs, the city of Ronda was the last to fall because of the cliffs.
This old-fashioned city is one of the leading tourist attraction spots in Spain because of its combination of picturesque and historic views. The central sights of the city can be effortlessly explored by foot.
The “old town” is situated towards the northern side of Ronda and can be covered as a one-day expedition from the Costa del Sol. However, as a traveler you may also want to visit the Pueblo Blanco also known as the White Villages, which can be explored by extending your trip by a day or two. September is the finest time to visit the city because of Corridas Goyescas – the bullfighting festival and Feria de Pedro Romero – the Spanish Fair.
Other notable places to visit in Ronda include Plaza de Toros – the famous bullring, La Casa del Ray Moro – the water mine and garden, the resorted 14th century Arab Baths, the New Bridge and the historic museum called the Palacio de Mondragón.
For more information to get you starting in planning your trip to Ronda, Spain, check out this link.
Pictures via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
10. Skysurfing Sky surfing is a peculiar type of sky diving which implies that the skydiver wears a board attached to his feet. This is usually similar in size to the snowboard and during free-fall it can be easily removed in case the diver finds it uncomfortable (it can be jettisoned).
9. Wingsuit flying Even though we had a post recently on Wingsuit Flying, we just had to feature this sport in our impromptu countdown as well.
Yeeeah, we couldn’t decide on just one video, so here is another crazy wingsuitflyer person.
8. Tandem SkydivingTandem skydiving refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected via a harness to a tandem instructor. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy, and landing. The student needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump. (info via)
7. Plane to Plane Skydiving involves jumping out of an airplane, free falling, then entering in another airplane. Exciting and adventurous? Could be. Dangerous? Definitely.
6. Skydiving with an Umbrella – Do Not Try This at Home! : ) The people in the next video wanted to “take a storm umbrella to the next level. The umbrella is tested to the max as they drop out of a plane with 300 km/h”. We quoted from the comment of the uploader. This is kind of funny, but could make for a great umbrella commercial. Notice how it just won’t break?!
5. Skydiving Without a Parachute You’ve probably heard of Travis Pastrana, a famous diver. In this video he performs a 12,500 feet sky dive without a parachute. Naturally, he is surrounded by people with appropriate equipment.
4. Skydiving in a Jetski A really interesting video of Jet-skiing on the edge 
Who new the skies were such a prolific water sports medium?
3. Skydiving in a Scooter Talk about unconventional routes! Riding a scooter out of a plane and skydiving in one is not exactly the most common sport in the world. Prepare to be amazed! P.S. We can’t help it if the protagonist is a South park fan : )
2. Skydiving in an Inflatable Boat This is a video shot over the Tunisian desert. A few professional divers jumped from the airplane in an inflatable boat. It is understood that they had their parachutes with them. We didn’t notice any sailing paddles, though.
1. Car Sky Diving We found this video on Youtube a while ago. Apparently it belongs to a bunch of crazy divers who considered conventional sky diving was too boring. We liked the fact that it is called “car sky diving” as this would be a world renowned sport or something. For them, practicing it is that familiar. Anyway, the video is absolutely spectacular. Have a look!
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7. Tanggula Pass – 5,231 m (17,157 ft), in the Tibetan Tanggula Mountains, China
Photo: Fanghong
6. Tanglang La – 5,359 m (17,577 ft), Ladakh, India
Photo via Wikimedia (prayer flags)
5. Khardung La – 5,359 m (17,577 ft), Ladakh, India
Photo: Tomáš Ne?as
4. Changla Pass – 5,425 m (17,794 ft), India
Photo: Sistak
3. Karakoram Pass – 5,540 m (18,171 ft), China
Photo: rule37
2. Semo La – 5,565 m (18,253 ft), central part of Tibet, China
Photo: John Town
1. Marsimik La – 5,582 metres (18,308 ft), India
Photo via BCMTouring
via Environmental Graffiti
Èze is a mesmerizing medieval village located about half way between Monte Carlo and Nice. The real appeal of the Côte d’Azur lies amongst the magnificent views over the St Jean-Cap Ferrat, which is located in the ancient village of Èze. Traffic along the coastal road between Menton and Nice – the Moyenne Corniche, chokes up during early summer, the flights are more reasonable, and the swarm of tourists is much more manageable during Easter.
The village centers on the remains of a 12th century castle – a testimony to centuries of livelihood, from Moors and Romans to the dwellings of Savoy and is suspended on a rock that is 1400 feet (400 meters) above sea level. Wandering through the village’s intricate streets, one cannot miss admiring the view over the exquisite villas that are wrapped with bougainvillea and lead you down the hillside to the Mediterranean.
The village is an admired tourist spot on the French Riviera and is globally known for its view of the sea from the hilltop. Another popular site includes the Jardin botanique d’Èze which is famous for its succulents and cactuses, as well as its breathtaking panoramic views. The village has several art galleries, restaurants and hotels that attract a vast population of honeymooners and travel enthusiasts. In other words, tourists also address this beautiful place as “the museum village”.
Want to enjoy gorgeous views of the Mediterranean Sea or the famous Fragonard Perfume Factory? Or just take long walks on the beach, in a charming setting? For more information and help about traveling to Eze, you can start here.
#1. Victoria Falls Bridge, Zambia – 500 ft (152 m)
#2. Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge, USA – 1053 ft (321 m)
#3. Graskop Gorge, South Africa – 197 ft/262 ft (60 m/80 m)
#4. Navajo Bridges, USA – 467 ft (142 m)
#5. Bloukrans Bridge, South Africa – 710 ft (216 m)
#6. AltaVila Tower, Brasil/BH – 233 ft (71 m)
#7. Pont de Ponsonnas, France – 338 ft (103 m)
#8. Niouc, Switzerland – 623 ft (190 m)
#9. Perrine Bridge, USA – 486 ft (148 m)
#10. Longqing Gorge Bungee, China – 164 ft ( 50m )
#11. Macau Tower, China – 764 ft (233 m)
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The video is about a fearless dude practicing urban skiing tied to a car in downtown Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Usually, these are streets filled with people and car traffic, which is why seeing the snowy landscapes can be quite puzzling to some. But despite this minor oddity, it did happen, someone actually skied in Bucharest and all our cheers go out to that person. Cheers! Don’t mind the police at the end, they were just paying their tribute 
Veliko Tarnovo has a population of 68,197 as per the 2011 census and is divided into two parts. The old city is a compilation of customary renaissance houses spread across the hills around the Yantra River, whereas the new part is a combination of modern and communistic approach buildings.
The city of Veliko Tarnovo is filled with intricate historical sites, museums and lively nightlife boosted by the students of the largest universities in Bulgaria. The best way to see this beautiful town is by walking. The township is large but ubiquitously, is within easy reach and includes attractions like the Tsarevets, the medieval castle of Old Bulgarian capital and many more.
Other places to visit in this small town include the Musical Dramatic Theatre Kissimov Constantine, the Youth House, the Regional Library of P. Slaveikov, exhibition rooms, art galleries and cultural centers.The exquisite architecture and history of Veliko Tarnovo has made this city an admired destinations for travelers across the globe.
If you have been here, please leave a comment with your impressions. Were you disappointed or pleased with your stay in Veliko Tarnovo?
photo above: The St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki church at Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
