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Hovercrafting in the Luleå Archipelago

Hovercrafts. Just the name evokes thoughts of hokey science fiction stories from the 1960s–or maybe, if you grew up in a slightly less sci-fi mad home than I did, it just brings to mind the fast ferries that run between Dover and Calais. In any case, I’m almost certain you won’t think of a hovercraft…

The Northern Lights: Photos vs. Reality

You’d be hard pressed finding someone who doesn’t have “see the who doesn’t have “see the northern lights”on their bucket list. I know it featured on mine for years, even though I’d never given much thought to how I would accomplish it. Because all of these people have, at some point, seen a photo of…

Photo Essay: The Smell of Money In the Morning

One of my strongest memories of the Lofoten Islands was not of the stunning fjords (which, with a fine coat of snow on them, were truly gorgeous) or even my decision to jump into the only-just-above-freezing water (after putting on two layers of thermals and a drysuit). Those sights and experiences were certainly unforgettable, but…

Rorbuer: The Place to Stay in Lofoten

“Stay away from Svolvær. It’s too big and you won’t experience the real Lofoten. Go to a little fishing village and stay in rorbuer. That’s the way to experience the Lofoten Islands properly.” That’s the refrain I read over and over again when I was researching my trip to the Lofoten Islands. And while I…

What in the World is Fatbiking?

When I was told that I had been booked onto a fatbiking tour around Rovaniemi, my first reaction was, “What in the world is fatbiking?” It turns out that it’s a whole new sport that I’ve never heard of. My ignorance is not all that surprising, since fatbiking is based around the idea of riding…

Cruising the Norwegian Coast with Hurtigruten

It may not come as a surprise to many of you that I’d never been on a cruise ship before my trip to Norway. As someone who gets seasick easily, the thought of being on a boat for days on end has never appealed to me; plus, I like active vacations where I see more…

Photo of the Week: Mr. Reindeer, You’re Doing It Wrong

You’ve heard of the World Cup of soccer/football, you’ve heard of the Rugby World Cup…but have you heard of the World Cup of reindeer racing? Essentially, this is where (crazy) people put on skis and tie themselves to a rampaging reindeer, presumably having done this many times before since they’ve made it to the World…

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…

This Texan Is Going to Lapland!

Last week, when I posted about how I quit my job to be closer to my family, I mentioned that I had a trip starting nine days after I arrived. This will be the longest, most epic trip of my five-month sojourn to Europe, and I know I will need a good portion of April,…

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