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Photo of the Week: Finally Seeing the Northern Lights in Porjus

As many of you know, my short trip to Lapland last year was the inspiration for my ‘Texan in Lapland’ tour around Scandinavia this year. On that trip, I stayed in the Porjus Northern Lights Apartments for three nights, hoping that the long nights of January would give me extra time to see the aurora…

Snorkeling…in the Arctic…in WINTER?!

As I sat on the side of the RIB (rigid inflatable boat), looking up at the snow-coated mountains rising out of the sea all around me, I wondered what in the world I had been thinking. Surely I had experienced a moment of temporary madness when I had signed up to snorkel in the Lofoten…

Photo of the Week: My First Glimpse of the Northern Lights

My night at Camp Tamok didn’t start out as a very promising one for the northern lights. It had been snowing heavily in Tromsø, where we had boarded a bus for a 1h15m bus ride out into the Lyngen Alps. That snow followed us south and continued to fall all through the night-time dogsledding trip…

The Vasa Museum: A Failure Turned Success

Inspiring engineering successes turned spectacular failures. Many nations have them. Germany had the Hindenburg. England had the Titanic. And Sweden had the Vasa, which, despite not being a household name worldwide, was no less a deadly failure than the other two. In 1625, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden ordered a new fleet of warships…

Photo of the Week: Breaking the Ice in Reine

When I arrived in Bodø for the ferry across to the Lofoten Islands, I didn’t hold out much hope for the next day’s weather. The plane’s landing was rough because of strong winds, and by the time the ferry departed, snow was falling heavily. Imagine my surprise, then, when I woke up to this…and imagine…

How to Get The Most Out of the Australian Open

A few days ago, I gave you my first five tips on how to survive a trip to the Australian Open. Those tips were all about how to get through the day happily rather than feeling miserable because you’re getting sunburned or heatstroke. The tips I have for you today are all things that I…

My Travel Bucket List

  • Go to South America for long enough that I learn Spanish properly!
  • Walk the Inca Trail
  • Finish the Three Peaks Challenge
  • Hike/boat all 9 of NZ's 'Great Walks'
  • Go to all 4 Grand Slams (tennis)
  • New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour
  • Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
  • Go diving with whale sharks

About the Author

I'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name!

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