Chronicles of a Wandering Music Fan
So you’re planning your trip to the Faroe Islands, eagerly anticipating the spectacular, dramatic scenery and beautiful hikes through the hills. In this sparsely populated country of 50,000 or so people, it’s easy to get lost in all of your epic plans for exploring, forgetting to take time to consider your interactions with the lovely people living in the Faroes. If you’re a bit of a space case like me, you may have forgotten to learn some key Faroese phrases for your trip (oops!). [Read more…]
While getting ready for my first trip to Iceland in 2012, I started doing some casual online research, looking for things to do aside from the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, which I was in town to attend. This is when I stumbled upon the Iceland-focused blog I Heart Reykjavik, which turned out to be a treasure trove of good information for travelers in Iceland. I’ve used her very-helpful posts to help plan parts of each of my trips to Iceland. When I found out that Auður (the woman behind IHR) was leading walking tours of the Reykjavík, I knew I had to check it out. [Read more…]
On my recent trip to Switzerland, I was taken to Yvoire, France, not far over the French border when coming from Geneva. Rather than drive to Yvoire, we took a short ferry ride across the lake from the picturesque little town of Nyon, Switzerland, which is about halfway between Geneva and Lausanne. The ferry ride was a short one, with spectacular views of France and Switzerland from Lake Geneva. [Read more…]
My trip to Basel was a short one–I was only in the city for a few hours–but I’m glad to say that I still I managed to see quite a lot. I first took a walk along the river, enjoying a view of the older part of the city from the opposite bank. The weather was beautiful, and plenty of people were riding their bikes, sitting on benches, and walking on the paths near the water. I then was happy to be able to see a special exhibition of work by James Ensor at Kunstmuseum Basel, the museum of modern art. I was glad to still have plenty of daylight to see the area around the spectacular Grossmünster, and to enjoy walking down the little alleyways and side streets. Basel is beautiful! [Read more…]
Seljalandsfoss, on Iceland’s south coast.
Iceland is one of Europe’s newly-very-popular tourist destinations. Between airfare deals from their biggest airline, a recent addition as an EasyJet destination, and huge festivals like Iceland Airwaves drawing in foreigners by the thousands, there’s been a steady increase in backpackers and budget travelers visiting this beautiful volcanic rock.
As I embark today on a 2-month trip to Iceland (my third visit in two years…I think I might be kind of addicted), I’m again thinking about ways i can keep to my budget and save money in this rather expensive country. Here are a few of the easiest ways to save some serious kronur, and make the most of your time in this amazing place. [Read more…]
Lucerne was probably my favorite city that I visited on my trip to Switzerland this spring. It’s a relatively small city, but it has a lot to offer, especially if you’re wandering around with a camera. Situated on the edge of Lake Lucerne, in the shadow of the Swiss Alps, there’s an unbeatable view from essentially anywhere in the city. With a ton of great shops down little alleyways (including lots of specialty chocolate shops…one of my favorite parts of Switzerland), a wealth of spectacular 18th and 19th century architecture, and beautiful monuments and churches, it’s a great place to walk around with not much of a plan at all. [Read more…]
Zurich was my first stop on my recent trip to Switzerland, and it was a fantastic way to start my travels through this beautiful country. I was staying in the Altstadt (“Old Town”), which meant I was within walking distance of all kinds of great sights. Cathedrals, museums, the lakefront, great shops and restaurants…two days was not enough time to see all that this gorgeous city had to offer! [Read more…]
Switzerland has a lot to offer a traveler: It’s spectacularly beautiful (tons of mountains and lakes? Yes please!), easily accessible from its many bordering countries, and has ridiculously good chocolate. What more could you ask?
Unfortunately, Switzerland is incredibly expensive, which can deter a lot of budget travelers. Worry not! there are plenty of ways to save money, making a trip to Switzerland quite feasible for those traveling on a budget. [Read more…]
I love traveling by rail. Even though it’s much slower and not always necessarily cheaper than air travel, given a choice between the two, I will almost always choose to take the train. It may be because I grew up on the west coast of the US, where taking the train is generally uncommon, but trains have always felt romantic and kind of old-world glamorous to me–even a short, low-rate Amtrak ride from Seattle to Portland.
Because of this love of travel by rail, I was really excited to take a day-long trip through the Alps on the Glacier Express on my recent trip to Switzerland. The Glacier express is a famous railway that goes from St. Moritz to Zermatt. I hopped on in Chur (one of Switzerland’s oldest towns), and spent the following five hours moving slowly across Switzerland, gazing out at breathtaking views of the mountains through the huge windows. [Read more…]
Seljavallalaug, Iceland 10/2013
I’m Katy, a Seattleite quitting my normal life to pursue my two greatest passions: travel and music. I’m documenting my general travel adventures, as well as great record stores, labels, festivals, and music I find around the world.