Here, There and Everywhere

So it's been a while since I posted. Several years. To be quite honest, sometimes I thought about blogging. Sometimes I even took notes while on tour so that I could blog. Sometimes I even mentally composed posts.
But all the 'shoulda, coulda, woulda' in the world didn't actually translate to a post.

But lately as I travel more and more.... people are asking me to post more. No promises, but hey this post is an attempt to start back.

So my last posts were in Iceland in June 2016. Places outside of the US I've visited since then:
* Germany (of course!)
* England (of course again!)
* Canada
* Austria
* Argentina
* Uruguay
* Poland
* Lithuania
* Sweden
* Belarus
* Norway
* The Ukraine

Surprisingly I traveled a lot around the US as well - two road trips with my friend Lisa took us into the following States:
* Indiana
* Ohio
* Pennsylvania
* New York
* Maine
* New Hampshire
* Connecticut
* Massachusetts
* West Virginia
* Washington
* Oregon
Plus other travels took me to the States of:
* Texas
* Nevada
* Colorado
* Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Illinois
* Missouri

And well then I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that I moved.... across the world...to the country of:
* Latvia

So if I tried to do a post for each and all of these, I'd be writing til the cows come home. So I am going to take the easy way out and share a few photos of key places. Although I really do plan to do a series of posts about Latvia. It's my new home after all....

Without further ado... random photos from the last two years of travel:

Christmas Market in Bonn, Germany

Niagara Falls as dusk

World's Largest Rocking Chair in Illinois

Hiking in Colorado - the mountains have stolen my heart forever!

Exeter England is beautiful in the spring

The Grand Canyon

Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway

In the ruins of Chernobyl. This was the school in Pripyat .

Unique statue in Münster, Germany

On top of the world at the Munich airport

Anne of Green Gables Museum - a childhood dream come true.

The coast of Maine

Krampus Night in Bloomington, Indiana

Clallam Bay, Pacific National Park, Washington

Positivity in Portland, Oregon

Cacti as big as trees in Colonia, Uruguay

Mendoza, Argentina

Jurmula, Latvia

Seeing the Pope in Vilnius, Lithuania

Fall in Sigulda, Latvia

Minsk, Belarus

Perschek Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine

Grand Falls: 9/10 the water flow of Niagara,
but none of the fame.

Between Continents

It was our last day in Iceland, we had a bit of time before our flight back to the US. On the first day we had heard about a bridge that would allow us to span the continental divide between North America and Europe. 

The bridge between the continents was only 15 minutes from the airport, so we headed there for our last Icelandic adventure. 

The bridge is not very large, but it marks the official division between the two continental plates. We were also told that the demarcation line between the plates is peppered with volcanos. It makes sense.

It was a really unique experience to be in two continents at once and to consider just how big the North American continent truly is!

The Golden Circle

Our last full day in Iceland was spent on a well-known road trip east of Reykjavik. When one googles "things to do in Iceland", The Golden Circle always comes up. 

While there are a number of different possibilities for the Golden Circle, the traditional route takes one to four major sites:

Þingvellir Natioanl Park

Strokkur Geysir

Gulfoss Waterfall

Kerid Crater

There are a number of tours that take one through the Golden Circle, but the best way to see it, is to drive yourself. This will give you the flexibility to stop as much and as long as you want. The actual drive itself would take about 3.5 hours without stopping. We started at 9am and returned to Reykjavik around 4:30pm. 

Þingvellir (Pronounced Thingvellir in English) is a national park. There is no one specific sight, but rather a number of beautiful landscapes to see. We drove through the park, admired the lake, and stopped to pet horses. The main route of the Golden Circle takes on through the southern end of the park, at the north side of the lake.

After exiting the park, we continued our drive to Geysir. Up until this point, the route had been mostly just nature, no gas stations or stores, however as we approacched Geysir, a huge rest stop appeared. It was complete with a cafeteria, store and hotel. It also had 100s of tourists. Despite not encountering many people along the route until this point, we suddenly were in throngs of tourists. 

Geysir was incredible. This was probably my most favorite view not only during the Golden Circle but on the entire trip! Geysir is not only the location of a Geyser, but also the origin of the English word geyesr. 

In Geysir are a number of hot spots and water spouts, however one stands out above the others: Strokkur. This geyser shoots water into the air roughly every 10 minutes. While the height varies, I saw it go up to possibly as high as (if not higher than) 50 feet. 

Behind the geyser were some hills. Kelly and I climed up the hill and admired the view, as well as the Geyser from above.

The area was awash with blue lupines. It was one of the most beautiful places, that I have had the privilege to visit.

After spending nearly an hour and a half at Geysir, we ventured away from the "circle" part of the Golden Circle, but still very much stayed on the route. We headed to Gullfoss waterfall. Once again, we came to a huge rest stop with a restaurant, a store, and of course 100s of tourists. 

The Gulfoss waterfall is not the biggest waterfall in Iceland, but it is Iceland's most famous one. The water comes from the Hvítá River which originates at Lake Hvítávatn at Lángjökull glacier. Spray from the waterfall rains upon tourists walking the bath to the observation deck.

From Gullfoss we returned to Geysir and then continued along the circle. We were headed towards Kerið, but first we stopped at a roadside picnic table to eat our lunch and pet more horses. While there we also discovered a stable built into a small mound of earth. It was a beautiful day, sunny, but not too hot, perfect for being outside.

The final stop on our drive was the Kerið Crater. This crater lake was formed by a volcano that caved in. Unlike the last two major stops, this site only had a small parking lot and attendant stand. Surprisingly, there was a cost to enter. This was the first natural site we had visited with a cost. It was only 400 Kr. The water in the lake was a deep turquois. One could walk around the top or go to the bottom, but entering the water is not permitted.

After Kerið, we headed back to Reykjavik. Driving the Golden Circle was an experience that I'll never forget and would highly recommend. It is simply beautiful. 

Mývatn

It was suggested that we visit Mývatn, we thought it was a city, but it turned out the be the region around a lake by the same name. We headed west from Akureyri, driving along twisting, winding mountain roads. 

After a few little stops to take photos of the scenery, we stopped at a beautiful waterfall, Goðafoss. It was one of the biggest waterfalls we had seen thus far and it was a wonder to behold. We spent about an hour at the fall, hiking around and viewing it from both sides as well as afar. Sometimes we were showered by the spray of the water. It was a warm day, so the spray and cool breeze that blew off of it was refreshing. 

After Goðafoss, we continued on, driving around the south of Lake Mývatn. After a short stop for pizza (Daddis Pizza in Vogar, it was delicious!), then we headed due east again on Highway 1, the Ring Road. 

Throughout our drive, we saw a lot of runners and bicyclists. We knew some event was going on, but it was not until we reached our next stop that we found out, it was a 3K/5K/10K/Marathon event. This event began and ended at the Mývatn Naturebaths, which was also our next stop. 

Similar to the Blue Lagoon, the Mývatn Naturebaths are outdoor pools, heated by geothermic energy. Unlike the Blue Lagoon they were not as big, crowded or expensive. We liked them much better! The Naturebaths consisted of three pools of varying temperatures. We spent a few hours relaxing in the water, enjoying the mountain view.

From there, we headed east into what appeared to be a desert, or mountains made of sand. However right around the bend was Hverir, a site of geothermic mud pits. The boiling mud was mesmerizing. It stunk to high heaven (lots of sulfur!), but it was well worth seeing. 

Hverir was by far my most favorite part of the day. We drove back to our 'home' for the night, via the northern route of the lake. It was a great day, and the furthest east in Iceland that our journey would take us. 

Life is a Highway....

Our third day in Iceland, we set off on a journey, out of Reykjavik towards Akureyri. Back home, Google Maps told us that the trip would take about 3.5 hours. Apple maps predicted 4.45. With all of our stops, it took us nearly 10 hours! What a journey it was...

Some of the highlights of the journey:

* Exploring a cave with three large cones of ice in the middle. They had started as snow that fell through the opening of the cave.

* Watching the landscape change from volcanic rock to flatlands to mountains to rocky beaches.

* Breathtaking views.

* Scary mountain roads with high drop-offs and no guard rails!

* Picnicking on the side of the road overlooking a beautiful valley below.

* Glaciers, waterfalls and horses.

* Finally reaching our destination.

A few of the best photos from the journey ..

Raufarhólshellir cave

We were about to enter a tunnel for almost 15 minutes.

Locals...

Just a waterfall by the side of the road.

Such a beautiful day for a drive!