Scandinavia

The term Scandinavia always includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as well as Finland and Iceland. During my trip to Iceland, we spent two nights in Oslo and two nights in Stockholm before and after going to Iceland. In both cities  we only had one full day of sight seeing with a tour guide. 

Oslo is a small city yet has some interesting building with unique archicture. We had a leisure walk to explore the city on the first day after lunch and prayer as well as the next at the end of our guided tour. 

As for the guided tour we visited Norsk Folkemuseum, a Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. Its an open air museum with more than 150 historic buildings and artifacts mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries but some goes all the way back to the 13th century, gathered from around the country, rebuilt and organised accordingly.  

We then went to Holmenkollen where Holmenkollbakken, a large ski jumping hill is located. It has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski festival since 1892, the FIS Ski Jumping World Championship since 1980 and has also hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics. Truth be told, we were not really impressed  with the ski slope as none of us could ski but what thrilled us was the snow! And on top of that it was snowing lightly when we were up there. It was a beautiful sight for us who come from a country with no snow at all. We spent too much time taking photos and having fun that we took longer than scheduled much to the annoyance of our guide. Hee....

We then had enough time to explore the city again and shopped before calling it a night. A good night rest was the order of the day as the next was the much awaited trip to Iceland. 

After an adventurous trip to Iceland, we spent our last two nights in Stockholm the capital city of Sweden. The tour guide insisted though that its the capital city of Scandinavia! Stockholm is a bigger city compared to Oslo and with a larger population too. The guided tour took us first to the City Hall. It may not look much from the outside but the interior is rather impressive.

We then proceeded to visit Vasa Museum. Now this is something that I am impressed with. The museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged! The 64-gun warship Vasa sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. Just imagine, the technology and skill during the early 19th century were not as advanced as today which made salvaging work even more inspiring! 

After lunch and prayer we opted to go on a cruise. Its chilly and some parts of the water was even frozen but we still enjoyed the view and the experience. 

Finally, it's time to fly back home. We woke up to a city covered in fresh snow and it was still snowing by the time we were departing. To me it was like a beautiful  sent off to a wonderful holiday. 

Oh yes. I have also made new friends during the trip. That the beauty of a group tour and even more so when travelling solo. When travelling with friends or family more often than not we tend to cluster in our own small circle. I am guilty of that too.

But then again you may find me wandering on my own half of the time to find a good shot. Afterall, photography is still my hobby even with a compact camera. There were many instances that I miss my DSLR but then again my ageing body and aching bones just could not manage the weight of the camera any more. I am saving all my energy for more trips to come! 

Where will I be going next you may ask? Just wait and see in the next post!

Travel date: 28 Feb - 2 Mar 2017 (Oslo) and 5-7 Mar 2017 ( Stockholm)

Iceland

Iceland has been one of my dream destinations ever since I watched a show on TV about Iceland. The aurora is one thing to look forward to but then that can be expereinced in some other countries nearby too. Its the ice and glacier that I wanted to see with my own eyes. Since I am not braved enough to travel on my own, I booked a trip with a tour group. Hence I am able to enjoy the trip without having to worry about reservation and logistics. 

We flew to Oslo and stayed a couple of nights before flying to Iceland. And upon arrival we made our way straight to  the Blue Lagoon. A man made thermal bath which was supposed to be good for the skin and general health. Its not the bath that got me excited though, its the sight all the way from the airport to the destination. We were told that it snowed the night before and with the sun shining on that day the view from the bus was very much foreign yet fascinating to my eyes. 

The next couple of days were spent sight seeing. We went to see a couple of famous waterfall namely Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss as well as Reynisfjara Beach also known as the black sand beach. Yes, that's  right.  They are the famous locations used in a popular Bollywood movie. 

Later in the day we had just enough time before nightfall to visit Jokulsalon Glacial Lagoon. This is the place that I have been so looking forward to. And Subhanallah, it was immensely spectacular. My heart felt like it was going to burst. It is even more amazingly fascinating when we learnt the scientific explanations on how nature runs its course and made such a beautiful place. One cannot help but feel close to nature and even closer to Allah, the Creator of heaven and earth. 

I wish that I could just stay there a little longer to absorb the sight and use the time to reflect but we had to rush to the beach to see the end of the journey of the melting glacier and ice. It's  an unbelievable sight. Blocks of ice of different shapes and sizes were scattered all over the beach and the sea. Its something that one has to see with ones own eyes to really appreciate how beautiful and awesome it is.  Everyone was simply awestruck with the experience. 

We had a 3 hour bus ride back the hotel and we were hoping that we would get lucky with an aurora sighting on the way. But alas it was to no avail. Upon checking in at the hotel we were informed that the reception would call our room if there is a high chance of the aurora appearing. And that he did! We were just about to get ready for bed when we got the call, and we quickly put our jumpers and coat on and rushed outside. It was very faint initially and our eyes were not trained to identify the light immediately. On top of that the surrounding area of the hotel were brightly lit which did not help to highlight the aurora in its  true form. Unfortunately I only managed to get a couple of shots before giving in to the freezing weather. The next morning when I checked my camera, I wished that I had stayed longer and take more shots.  What I should have done was put on more jumpers and got back out. Oh well, this would give me the excuse to check out the northern light in Finland some other time. 😉

The schedule for next day was a little more adventurous. It included a steep climb on a large truck with huge tyres all the way up one glacial mountain and we were also given the option to try the snow mobile. Which I declined politely. Hee.... Instead I spent the time absorbing the beautiful ambiance of the sun and snow. It another out-of-the-world experience for me. Its eerily quiet and you only see endless field of white snow right to the end of the horizon. It really can humble you to nothingness. If you know what I mean. Honestly, the photos below does not do justice to the real thing. So I suggest that you go there and see it for yourself! 😁

On our way down we stopped at Langjokull Geysir and Gullfoss Golden Waterfall. 

And after lunch we made our way to  Keflavik, a little town in southwest of Iceland near the airport. Before going to bed we wondered if we would get lucky a second time with the northen light but I guess it was not meant to be.

We left Iceland the next morning with a heavy heart but with plenty of fond memories and new experience. I even sat by the window on the plane for a change to catch the last sight of Iceland.

Thank you Allah for making another of my wish come true. 

Alhamdulillah. 

Travel date: 2-5 March 2017