October 31, 2012 – 3:22 pm
Travel planning is great fun and the anticipation of a long holiday makes it all the more exciting. Still, even the best laid plans don’t always work out as intended. Online timetables sometimes just don’t get it right, and promises of beautiful hostels in lovely locations can be disappointing. The first half of our 5-week […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Arctic, Holiday Activities, Hostelling, Hostels, Travel Writing
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Tagged arctic circle, Backpacking, Gallivare, Inlandsbanan, Lofoten, Norway, Roar, Stamsund, Sweden, Train Travel
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January 11, 2012 – 11:36 am
The the recent wet weather has caused havoc in many EU countries, and for the first time in my memory (not that this says very much…) my home city of Groningen has had to resort to sandbags to stop the rising waters from flooding parts of the city. OK, I know that the Netherlands is […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Arctic, Finland, Folklore, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Traditions, Travel Writing
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Tagged Arctic, Flooding, Folk Stories, four winds hat, Groningen, Lapland, Lauwersoog, Norway, Poland, rain, Sami, sea levels, storm, the Netherlands, Warsaw, winds
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January 25, 2011 – 11:28 am
If you had a snowy Christmas this year, you may think (or even wish) that winter is over and done with. You might well be right of course, especially if you stay in the UK. On the other hand, if , like me, you love the snow and if you and the kids are still […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Arctic, Backpacking, Customs, Folklore, Holiday Activities, Nature, Trains, travel tips, Travel Writing
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Tagged Ajtte Museum, Arctic, arctic circle, Aurora Borealis, Backpacking, Family Travel, husky dogs, Husky Farms, Ice Hotel, Jokkmokk, Jokkmokk Sami Market, Kids Travel, Northern Lights, Sami, Sami Winter Market, Sweden, Train Travel, Travel Planning, Travel Writing
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December 19, 2010 – 5:10 pm
After 21 years of living in Bristol, this is the first year we have a serious cold snap leading up to the festive season and a real possibility of a white Christmas. As I am writing this, I can only glimpse out of my attic window if I squint enough to sneak-peek through the snow […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Arctic, Austria, Carol Singing, Christmas, Customs, Finland, Folklore, Norway, Traditions, Travel Writing
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Tagged Carol Singing, Carols, Christmas, Gruber, Heilige Nacht, Julbock, Julenissen, Koledy, Minced Pies, Nativity, Oplatek, Rovaniemi, Santa claus, Silent Night, Snow, Stille Nacht, Turku, Wigelia
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Without a doubt, one of the most exciting train journeys we have taken during our backpacking holidays was the sleeper train from Tampere in Finland) to Rovaniemi, high up in the Arctic Circle. We didn’t expect much really – a sleeper train after all is just the replacement of a bed in a hostel and […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Arctic, Backpacking, Customs, Estonia, Finland, Folklore, Holiday Activities, Latvia, Nature, Norway, Traditions, Trains, travel tips, Travel Writing
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Tagged arctic circle, bonfires, druids, Estonia, Festival of St. Hans, Finland, Herb Day, husky dogs, Jani, Jani Songs, Janis, Juhannes, Lapland, Latvia, Maypole, Midnight Sun, midsummer wreaths, Nordkapp, Norway, pagan, reindeer, Rovaniemi, Sami, Saule, sleeper train, Stonehenge, Sweden, Train Travel, wild flowers
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Homes in the Netherlands go yellow overnight, Germans hang a wreath on their front doors, hot cross buns are on sale in all UK shops and the Spanish have started their Semana Santa (Holy Week) complete with parades presenting the story of the Passion of Christ, and nazarenos wearing those pointy hoods. It must be […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Croatia, Customs, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Traditions, Travel Writing
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Tagged Customs, Czech Republic, Easter, Easter Monday, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Good Friday, Maundy Thursday, Netherlands, Norway, Palm Sunday, Poland, Smingus Dingus, Spain, Swieconka, Traditions
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March 10, 2010 – 12:22 pm
Sooner or later, you will get it wrong. That is a given and not something to be ashamed of. We did too. In fact, we made our first mistake on day one of our first ever backpacking trip. We had planned it all so carefully. We would start in Denmark, then travel to Sweden, Finland, […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Trains, Travel Writing
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Tagged Bridges, Denmark, Family Travel, Finland, Glacier Express, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Train Travel
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February 20, 2010 – 12:31 pm
My brother-in-law, Laurie, recently completed a 6-year part-time degree in archeology at the University of Bristol. During his studies he spent most of his spare time visiting and exploring burial sites in the British Isles and continental Europe. Before long we started to refer to his activities as ‘itching and scratching’. Not very respectful, […]
By Annemieke Waite
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Also posted in Netherlands, Travel Writing
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Tagged burial tombs, hunebedden, Jamtli, Netherlands, Sweden, Tapestries, Teens Travel, Travel, Travel Guides, Viking
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